2012 Elvstrom Zellerbach regatta report

 This past weekend's Elevstrom-Zellerbach regatta at The St. Francis Yacht Club will be remembered  by some as the supermoon regatta. For the formula boards and kites who started later in the day during max ebb, racers got the full brunt of the San Francisco voodoo chop & 15-25k sea breeze; For the foiling moths- a smooth flood tide and low teen breeze made for equally impressive racing.

Sharing the same course as the lasers, radials & kites made for some close encounters around the race track and our formula fleet had some of the tightest racing we've had in years. We we're overlapped at almost every mark and finish and despite Xavier taking 7/8 bullets- the local SF fleet pushed pretty hard both days. Soheil showed the most consistent taking 2nd just in front of me & proved you dont need new equipment but rather to have your equipment dialed in.

The ML 10 is still a very competitive board
The Prydes rigs are still proving to be the benchmark as Xavier, Soheil and myself grabbed the top 3 spots while Al, Chris, Tom and Lyn were sailing their north rigs a bit behind.
Percey is still forging his own path on his Hansen designs.

I got some valuable feedback from sailing the 167 in the breeze.
The first day I was on the new Z F 71 S- fin but it proved to be a bit to much in the chop.
I depowered by lowering my booms but that left me in vulnerable position upwind giving up any angle I had.  Downwind the board is flying although not the most comfortable in the double chicken strap and heel cut outs on the 167.
Meanwhile Xavier on the 167w depowered a bit differently by immediately choosing to go down to a 9.0 after the 1st race and using a 61-63cm fin.
The lesson than became clear the second day was the booms had to stay high on the 167 for upwind performance. During the last race I bumped my booms back up to 90% in the boom opening vs the 60-75% I was running earlier in the day on my 9.5 and held my lane upwind quite well finishing the series with a 2nd just behind Xavier.
I never really got the chance to rail the board to look for more power as I was just trying to keep things moving in the big chop upwind. On Sunday after the 2nd race I switched down the the 67 kashy with more control. 

Both days saw conditions build from 15k up to 25k and 4 races were run back to back to back to back making for a very exhausting series. Its important to stay hydrated while on the water and the camel pack with some goo or cliff bars would have made a welcome addition. Instead the cramps set in both days 1/2 way down the downwind leg. There's nothing quite like your calf freezing up while flying downwind across the chop in the chicken strap.
Camelpack and energy bars go on the regatta check list next time!

After overstanding in the ebb in 7/8 races, I finally was the 1st to tack in the group of port tackers when we neared the layline on the last race of the series. Sure enough it looked disastrous but I got ebbed up right to the mark. 

Another golden opportunity came just when I thought I was out of the game completely reminding me again never ever give up. I blew my tack at the layline at the top mark while still in the hunt but immediate was DFL as I struggled to uphaul and clear the sail in the chop. For the next 3 legs I split tacks with the fleet ahead, took some chances and managed to just miss 3rd by a board length.

There was a lot of pleasure boats on the course all weekend with the ferries, commercial fishermen, freighters and kites to deal with. All you need to do was keep looking around and be aware of what was going to be in your path the next min or 2.  For one brief moment, I lapsed and forgot to look downwind 2 min before the start. It wasn't until about 30 sec that I realized I need to high tail it down the line to avoid being run over by a red and white ferry making his way right through our starting line and cutting the fleet in 1/2.
"Keep your eyes out of the boat" as they say!

A great warm up to an exciting season ahead.

Loscocco posted some great photos of the kites & boards available here.

Thoughts on 2016 Olympics- windsurfing & kiting

Lots of mixed opinions flying around these past few days regarding the decision to include kite boarding in the 2016 Olympics at the expense of windsurfing
Obviously - a very happy crowd here in San Francisco with the kite racers ready to take the Olympic spotlight.

I for one couldn't be more happy for them (and Ive been racing windsurfers competitively since the early 90's- getting on the bus late but nonetheless enjoying the ride.)
It's their time to shine so why not embrace it vs fighting it.

28 years of Windsurfing as an Olympic sport 1984-2012 is not a bad run.

Other classes have come and gone from the Olympics with the sailors having made large investments in their skill sets for that class. They had to move on.

The skills in windsurfing will translate to other classes (including kiteboarding) when it comes to course racing.

Windsurfing's been dying a slow death since it's peak in mid 90's.
Sure some racing classes have succeeded- t293, rsx, pwa, raceboard, formula but you see whats happening. The sports become diluted with so many choices, including kiting which has taken a big piece of the pie from windsurfing in the past 5-10 years. While not entirely agreeing that the RS-X is the best format for the Olympics- I have tremendous respect for the guys sailing that class- they are the most fit athletes in the sailing discipline and probably the entire Olympics.

The fact remain- the Olympics can only be so big- while it would be great to see both classes in 2016- there remains room for only 1.

The kiteboard, on the other hand has had a tremendous evolution with windsurfing paving the way for it's success. The 1st  World Championships in kite boarding course racing were held in San Francisco in 2007 and since then the sport has blossomed. It has evolved and continues to change more than any other form of sailing. I just hope that what's make it so successful isnt ruined by the forces at ISAF. Learn from the RS-X's mistakes and success's and blaze on!

The way I look at the decision is that its actually good for windsurfing- at least in the US.
The Olympics has been a hard call for us in the US- getting funding to support an international campaign from an organization that does not believe in us (rightly so as they're job is to win medals and we have a very bleak chance at that.) At the last trials we had 2 men and 1 women vying for the US Olympic windsurfing spot. At the 96 trials we had 40+. 

We've got several of the top 10 in the world in kite boarding and even the top 2 so for the US the decision was right. We'll get more funding with more medals. A win/win for US Sailing Team.



Now with RSX out, the windsurfing world of racing wont be as compromised as before with so many classes for sailors to choose from.
I see it as a win win for the formula class as the rsx'ers have a choice to either continue racing in a high performance windsurfing class or join the kiting fleet.
The formula class is bound to absorb some of those sailors.

The kiting class will benefit from the all the top racers coming in from the RS-X class.

As I understand, the exact discipline for kiting has not yet been selected. That decision will potentially be made in November or after next years Olympics. Most likely it will be racing as that's the format they loved so much at last months kite evaluation trials in Spain.
There's also a chance ISAF could reverse their decision in November with a 2/3 majority voting for windsurfing if that decision gets to the table. There's a petition by the rsx sailors to do this already.

The technical report from the evaluation trials can be found here.

In fact kite racing takes the same format as formula windsurfing in terms of an open one design class. They have a box rule for their boards (registered by isaf 50 board min production) and kites are limited to 3 per event.
We debated and tried having a formula windsurfing one design in the 2012 Games and came to the conclusion that once you're there- they're are many other interest controlling your fate, politics included and the class takes on a world of its own not necessarily in the sailors best interest. A double edged sword that's tempting but often better left alone.

Im still stoked on windsurfing and we had one of the most competitive regattas this past weekend on the San Francisco city front with 8 formula boards racing and overlaps at every mark and finish. But then I look over at the kiters with 20 kites (and averaging at least that in their weekly series where we can get 8-10 formula boards on our weekly series) and I ask myself what am I doing still racing windsurfers when the kiters have a bigger local fleet, more talent, more potential and now the Olympics. I'm excited to learn the sport and hopefully race with them if it all works out.

If you can't beat em- join em!

Steve USA-4


5-11-12 update
Seems the drama unfolding around the decision is just beginning to come to light.

The Spanish delegate apologized after realizing they voted wrong- link

"The delegates were probably confused or didn't understand the motion fully because of language difficulties, or some may have been napping at the presentations and then cast their votes without realising the implications," Yehuda Maayan told Reuters."

Boards magazine did a detailed interview with Rory Ramsden explaining the decision process and the resulting confusion- link

“The Australians and Americans were consistently voting against windsurfing. They were joined by the Irish, who are not known to have a strong windsurf racing team."

Spring training

2012 has kicked off to be a great year so far for wind in the SF Bay. With just a few powder boarding days in the late winter storms- the afternoon westerly thermals have kicked in earlier than previous years.

To date Ive got almost 40 sessions this season & sailed for the first time in Tomalas Bay- what a treat to sail the big swell that comes in off the pacific in a cold march morning.

 Despite no mavericks competition this season, the swell has been pumping through the gate all winter and spring. Ive had some unbelievable rides in head high to double overhead sessions just outside the golden gate and at fort point this spring. I took it it a bit too far and had to be rescued for only the 3rd time in 12 years of sailing here. My mast broke just at the south tower in a big 4k ebb. By the time I managed to self rescue and get things situated on the deck of my board, I was already 1/2 mile out the gate. Sup'ing my formula board with a broken mast section was not cutting it so I gladly accepted a ride in from a commercial fishing boat returning from their ocean run.

The fog returned in vengeance this spring with a few full white out sessions navigating by the sound of the 2 fog horns at the mid span and south tower of the golden gate bridge. 2 horns every 20 seconds for the mid span horn and 1 horn every 40 seconds at the south tower puts horns at every 20 seconds.
If there's more than that- watch out.
5 long blast means you're in the way of a freighter and he cant change his course!
Without even knowing at the time, the biggest freighter ever to enter under the golden gate bridge came in while I was sailing in the city front. It appeared out fog with an escort of 5 tugs and several coasties.

The spring, Ive gotten the chance to dial in my new mikes lab slalom board in a variety of conditions from fully lit in 25-30k+ &; square voodoo chop to flying across a perfectly flat flood tide with a 48cm fin at 2x the wind speed. Its amazing what that one board does. Ive since gotten rid of my previous 2 slalom boards as its taken the place of both of them. Like any mikes lab board, it feels so comfortable to gybe once you find the right placement of your weight in the turns. Ive found a sweet spot around 7.0-7.8 and a 39-48cm fin range.

Ive taken some of my older formula fins  and given them a new life by repotting hem as slalom fins. Above 40 cm, carbon fins make for a more stable foil and don't breakdown as fast as the g-10 fins. The F4 CRAD fins I also tried were super powerful ideal for light to medium winds and adding the power of an extra  meter of sail.

Also new this spring is the introduction of the starboard 167 into my program.
Here's my thinking- tons of r&d can't be wrong.
Starboard has one of the biggest teams with the top riders on. Their job is to test and develop boards. My goal is to sail it this season against the rest of the SF Bay fleet - who will be sailing the ML12 board and choose the best board for the 2013 season.
We've got the chance to host the 2013 Formula World Championships and I want to have the best equipment possible for the venue.

Ive done some minor adjustments and tweaking but the board is really sailing well out of the box.
It's been a bit of a learning curve to sail that board as its got much more vee in the mid section of the board than what Ive ridden before. As a result you need to really sail the board railed up to take advantage of it's longer rails but once there- its got its own 5th gear. This is harder to do as it becomes windier and choppier but with some more time on the water, Im hoping to find a sweet spot in the rough conditions the SF Bay can deliver.
The other big difference is the rear deck layout at the chicken straps. The deck is recessed so you can apply more fin pressure when you're in the chicken straps off the breeze.

After a few times out, I noticed I wasnt getting any fin pressure off the wind in the chicken strap despite the inverted foot ramps. I mounted the straps as skewed as I could to get the position I was looking for but it turned out the spacing between the rear 2 inserts was way shorter than what I was used to. A quick measurement of the L10 gave me 8-9" between the back inserts. The 167 had 5"
I had Zajicek add 2 new inserts a few inches outboard to get some additional leverage. I also had Mike chamfer the fin bold holes at the deck of the board so to let the fin screws sit flush with the top of the board- much easier on the soles of your feet when getting in the chicken strap!

I'm not entirely convinced the heel cut outs are beneficial as I'm not getting that DDW feeling when I go from the outside strap to the chicken strap. My plan is to fill the void with a temporary hard foam inlay and see if it makes any difference and at what cost.
You never know if you don't try...

For fins this season, Ive got the same approach.
Test as many as I can and go with the best.
So far, not much has been able to beat the consistency of a good kashy fin until recently.

In the lighter and flatter conditions, the Z fins form Estonia seem to have better top end speed and angle. Ive been using both a 71 and 68 F models with a S- stiffness. The 71 performs really well but I havnt been able to find the conditions for the 68 to shine just yet. Ive had limited success with smaller fins but recently tried a 64 and was amazed how easy it was to control in the big breeze and chop.

After 2 seasons of running just 2 sails in my formula quiver, Im beginning to question my own logic. I choose the 9.5/10.7 combo because I wanted to simplify things- 1 sail for high wind, one sail for (SF) light wind. (I say SF light wind as we dont really begin racing till 12k here as opposed to Socal, Florida or Europe light conditions where you'll need a 12.0 to stay alive.)
What this leaves me with is situations where Im over or under powered more often than if I had a 10.0 in my quiver. Almost 50% of out racing is done in 10.0 conditions and Im lacking a rig that shines in those conditions.
Ideally a 3 rig formula quiver in SF would consist of

9.0-9.4 for high wind, OP'ed conditions. Match up with a 54-66 cm fin for more control

10.0- the bread and butter of any SF Formula quiver. Can use either high wind or light winds fins as conditions dictate to power up or depower.

10.7-11.0 Light wind to medium wind rig with more powerful fin to drive board. Must be lightweight and easy to pump!

Ive only had the chance to line up once for racing this season (missing the 1st calcup and 1st friday night race for RC) and was caught jumping the gun quite a bit in last weeks friday night race with 3 OCS's out of 5 races, Either I need to practice my starts more or the RC needs better corrective vision!

Tom Purcell USA-13 showing how to take the bullet in the 1st friday night race of the year.

Photo Credit: Chris Ray  www.crayivp.com

Friday April 13th city front racing from the @StFYC race deck

The goal this season is to get as much time on the water as possible to get comfortable with the best equipment I have access to. 
Up next is this weekends Elvestrom Zellerbach regatta at the St. Francis YC with kites, moths and other high performance dinghies. I cant wait to line up with the moths to see who's faster.
May and June get into the groove with a few Calcups, friday night races and the Bay Challenge.
For the first time this year we will run a CISA clinic for junior windsurfers to be held on June 18-20.
For more info- contact the race office at raceoffice@stfyc.com
July brings the SF Classic, the Formula North American Champs and also the US Windsurfing champs later in the month in the gorge with a big focus on slalom as its the IFCA North American slalom champs.

Im hoping my body will allow me to get through July as August has the Formula World Champs in Latvia. It's on my wish list but so are alot of other things this summer (kiting included.)
Stay tuned, Ill post results, reports and evaluations of the equipment I am using.

And yes- for those doubters (myself included) Ive made it almost 1/2 through the ARE exams and hopefully by the end of next summer Ill be a registered architect!

Baja fog

It was billed as the ultimate showdown between kiters and windsurfers with 3 events spanning 9 days on the sea of Cortez on southern tip of the Baja California peninsula. While the kiters showed up in numbers, the windsurfers still found ways to keep the bragging rights for another year. At the end of the day- we found we had more in common than what separates us and in hindsight, I’d say it was more a gathering of the tribes- where we all spoke the same language- wind!

After enduring what seemed like a windless (and snowless) fall and early winter in northern California- I made plans for my first trip to Baja California Sur. I hooked up with our local kiting crew who use the events as a testing ground to where they stand in the off season. The Heineken van made the trip down on Christmas eve packed with 6 sets of kiting gear & 4 people. Rock star siblings, Erica and Johnny almost made it only to be delayed on Christmas morning when their front differential fell out and their 4 wheel van quickly turned in a 2 wheel van.  

In Mexico- anything is possible and after a 6 hour delay and trading some beer for labor they were quickly back on their way.

I arrived 2 weeks later for the first event skipping the road trip and flying directly into Cabo St. Lucas. Alaska Airlines & Virgin airlines are probably the friendliest airlines for board enthusiast with $50 excess baggage fees per board and quiver bag and no haggling. Part of the reason our local race fleet stopped traveling was the fact that you'd show up to the airport with your board and sail quiver and possible pay $300-500 in excess baggage fees.

The Lord of the Winds Showdown in Los Barriles hooked up with the Travel Channel who was featuring the Sand Masters show at the same time. If you’ve never seen it, these guys create unbelievable works of art in the sand.  Their final creation was a huge sand stage for the Lord of the Winds where Johnny ‘Pacifico’ Heineken was crowned Lord of the Winds after taking the long distance race.   (Windsurfers 0: Kiters 1)

To say there is a bigger emphasis on fun vs a normal regatta would be an understatement.

We came in from racing with the race staff handing us a Pacifico as our official check in.

The organizers pumped up the the idea a Lord of the Winds showdown in ever way possible.

The windsurfers won the pre-party with Josh Samperio crushing the kiting and SUP crowd in a 42 sec binge under the beer tap bookmarked my double shots of tequila vs a meek 20 secs performance by the kiters. (Windsurfers 1: Kiters 1)

The first day of racing saw over 40 heats of slalom run on a 10 mark downwind course. It was super exciting to see the kiters try to figure this one out as there’s still a mix of sailors using course boards, twin tip boards and even surf boards.  The windsurfers looked the most graceful in the 16-22k breeze laying down their gybes and generally staying untangled compared to the kiters. It was Tyson Poor who dominated the slalom with a string of bullets followed by Bryan Perez and myself in 3^rd.I raced with my ML 70 cm wide slalom board, 7.8m2 north warp and 44cm F4 fin for the slalom racing and switched up to a 48 cm fin for course racing. The event had $20,000 worth of prize money- most of which was allocated to the kiters but I ended up covering my entry fee with some well earned prize money!

In one race, we had a humpback whale emerge from the water just at the windward mark as we were rounding it. In other races I was surrounded by small flying fish jumping through the waves as I flew downwind. There was quite a few manta rays and even sea urchins near the shore.  Needless to say, by the end of the first event- my feet had taken a real beating!

We followed the next 2 days with course racing and a long distance race where the wind never really materialized above 15k so the kiters had a huge advantage making it look easy with the course gear and 15m kites compared the windsurfers who were on slalom gear and 7-8m rigs.  I made one brilliant move in the 2nd course race after the wind shifted 30 degrees and caught the rest of the fleet off guard. I was on the only one starting on starboard and planning across the line but the RC called me over early- doh....

In hindsight- its better to be a few seconds late if you've got the room.

Im pretty envious of what the sport of kite racing is doing with the gear evolution and the amount of sailors they are attracting. It’s almost as though history is repeating itself after windsurfing’s peak in the early 90’s.

Several of the world’s top ranked kite course racers hail from the SF Bay and for the past years they’ve progressed as a group- training together & sharing info freely. As a result, the group has raised the benchmark much more than any sailor could do on their own.  Next year, I vowed to either come back with a kite or a formula equipment to be better matched.

Next up, we packed the van up for a short trip up the coast to La Ventana and set up camp in the arroyo.

It was amazing to see how many wind junkies make the trip down from the northern US and Canada for several weeks or months in the winter. There are literally hundreds of sailors camping on the beach living off the grid in their RV’s or tents and enjoying the sea and the wind in southern Baja. All you really need is some protection from the wind and the sun and you’re set.  The food is cheap and the liquor even cheaper. I never once worried about my safety while in Baja. They say the Mexicans don’t enter the water from march to October and its only it’s the crazy wind starved gringos who travel from the northern US that endure the fierce el norde winds.

There are several outfits like Baja Joes or Palapas Ventana that will let you sleep in relative comfort for under $50 a night or on the contrary- several camps where sailors have built elaborate structures for cooking and showing outdoors and most importantly- keeping your sails rigged up and ready and out of the UV. 

It takes the meaning of beach bum to a whole new level!
This grasshopper still has a thing or two to learn as I realized a Baja fog beats the SF fog any day of the week.

We started off the racing by joining the weekly slalom series at Playa Central in La Ventana run by the legendary Alex Aguera. It was a no BS event with several rounds of slalom for amateur and professional kiters and windsurfers. I again managed a 3^rd behind Tyson and Bryan getting schooled by my lack of time on the water the past few months. Nonetheless it a great tune up for the La Ventana Classic to follow.  It was so nice to sail in powered up conditions. I was lit on by new mikes lab slalom board, north warp 6.3 and F4 44cm fin in a 25-30k breeze.

Tyson Poor and Wyatt ' Miller Time' have stepped up their game recently taking the next step and opening their own resort in La Ventana to maximize their entire waterman experience. 20 hours on the water a week really shows regardless of whether its freestyle or slalom!

The next day we started the La Ventana Classic. This is the first lucha libre Mexican wrestling themed windsurfing Ive ever been to in my 25 years in the sport. On Saturday evening we all gathered in the city's main square for a classic lucha libre wresting showdown. It was way better than any B rated movie you've ever seen and kept us entertained the whole evening. A greased pig catching contest followed with the windsurfers edging out the kiters.
(Windsurfers 2: Kiters 1 if you're keeping still keeping count.) 

The rivalry continued throughout the event as the big match up was the long distance race which pitted the kiters vs the windsurfers in an 11 mile reach from the island of Ceralvo back to La Ventana. We packed all our gear on the local fleet of fishing boats for a 8 am transfer to the island and waited for the wind to build around 2pm.  I never realized how good a beach fire could feel at 11 am in the morning.

It was probably 15-20k at the start but 20 min later at the La Ventana finish it was a much lighter 12-16k. Tyson Poor on a JP 112l slalom board and 7.8m rig had a good lead built up at the first mark with Johnny Heineken on his 9m kite in hot pursuit. I was way underpowered on my 7.8 and 39 cm fin and in hindsight could have used something bigger like a 9.0 and 44cm fin. For windsurfers to have advantage- you really need to keep things on the edge of the comfort zone and be totally overpowered. Needless to say, it wasn't happening for me just yet.

Next was a 1.5 mile downwind leg and small reach to the finish. This is where the kiters made huge gains. I rounded in 5th at mark 1 and slipped to 11th at the finish as 6 kiters looped straight downwind in the finish while we had several underpowered downwind reaches eating lots of ground. Tyson and Johnny rounded the last mark overlapped with a final 10 second reach to the finish just in front of the beach. It was Nascar type racing at its finest with Tyson not allowing Johnny to pass him with several aggressive moves to keep him in front and take the bullet by a mere 3 feet. (Windsurfers 3:Kiters 1)

There was even some sailor who made the crossing on a fat pair of water skies and a kite!
The rest of the event had some low wind jet ski tows in giving Byran Perez and Tyson Poor an chance to showcase some their tow in windsurfing skills.  In addition, the kiters competed for the Big Air contest. 

The windsurfers held on this year but its obvious the sport is changing with kiters outnumbering the windsurfers almost 10:1. We still won the party, the greased pig contest, and the Classic so to say the sport is dying is simply wrong.

We completed 3 more days of course racing where I managed to finally get the top spot at the end of the regatta in the windsurfing course racing. My prize was a huge lucho libre belt emblazed with all the classic mexican mojo you could imagine.

Im not sure I could have had a better time with a better group of people. Except for Montezuma's revenge, the Baja experience is something Im hoping to repeat next winter.

Steve Bodner

USA-4

Last day la ventana classic

Last day la ventana classic brought more course racing. We nearly missed the 1st race as we
went whale shark diving in morning.
Luckily we got back in time for the 5 min gun and I helped the rest our crew get out on the water while the wind build and the windsurfers started later. 

I rigged 7.8 and f4 48 cm fin vs Lyn on 10.0 formula for 5 quick 4 min races.
All in all- the slalom board puts up a good fight vs the formula board in quick racing
My best races finishes were just behind top kiters in 5th place overall in the mixed fleet racing
In my worst races I understood too mark and needed to double tack - DFL!
I switched to Lyns 9.0- super comfortable as wind got lighter later in day!
It powers up sooner and better through lulls than 7.8
I'm learning to play downhaul strap much more to induce more power to lower 1/3 of sail + moving boom height up as wind lowers.
All in all a super regatta!
Muchos garcias to the race organizers and volunteers.

Day 6 la ventana classic

We had a 7 am boat ride across the La Ventana bay with 98 other wind enthusiast for the long distance crossing. As usual we sat around and waited for the wind to fill in....
By 2pm we were fully lit in 15-20k on a 20 min beam/broad reach across the channel between La Ventana Island- by the way- its for sale!- back to mainland baja California Mexico.
I started low with the rest of the windsurfing fleet and getting some local knowledge to make a big arch across the bay I account for the wind shift as you crossed the channel. Tyson broke out from the pack as Bryan myself an Wyat all took the low route. Meanwhile the kiters took the high route keeping it lot up. Despite giving it everything I had I just couldn't match match their speed. I never felt lit powered like I do in a formula board. A good effort bit I felt out matched. I rounded the first mark in 5th behind Tyson on a jp and np 7.8, Johnny on a 11m kite, Wyatt on 7.8 &; Bryan on a 7.0. The next leg was a deep reach so 6 more kiters caught up as they can go way deeper. Just at the last mark before the finsih we all came together and I edged in 9 or 10th place out of a fleet of 99.
I ran a 39cm fin with the warp 7.8 and ml 100l 60cm wide course slalom board.
The 460 mast is working better in the sail with less downhaul and more tack strap but it's doesn't quite have the 5th gear I was looking for like the 6.3 I had the breeze yesterday.
In the marginal winds the 44cm or 48 cm fin might be a better choice.
I'm hoping we get some more lit up conditions but it looks like the forecast is lighter for the next few days.
Maybe a good time to learn how to fly a kite!

Baja road trip

Day 5: We packed up & left Los Barrriles en route to La Ventana. The van was packed with 5 racers and their gear.

We arrived and set up camp on the beach and finally hit the water for the 1st lit up session in what seemed like months. The board felt great but 34cm fin may be too small as I seemed to be spinning out some going into the gybes. 

I tried putting my back foot back further on the board to carve but it may be better with 39cm for lit up conditions and 44 for regular conditions

So far- the quiver is getting dialed in 

6.3m 34cm fin 25k +

7.0m 39cm fin 18-25

7.8 44cm fin in 15-22k

48cm for course Racing

Day. 4 final showdown

The only thing left was the Lord of the winds showdown long distance race
With only 12-14k it was no match against the kiters on the upwind course.
Johnny Pacifico Heineken took the line honors.
I vowed to either to return next year with a formula board or kite.

Day 3 report lord of the winds

It was hurry up and wait today as the northerly breeze failed to come in strong like the previous 2 days.
The kite racing on the course gear have a lower wind minimum than the slalom windsurfers so they started and finished the day with 2 races while the slalom windsurfers only got 1 race in.
I was well prepared being the only one starting on starboard as I came ripping in only to be calledOCS while the rest of the fleet sat parked at the other end. The big lesson I learned was in a situation line that it's better to be a few seconds late than early. Nonetheless I think the horn was 2-3 seconds late.
No big deal I rallied back as much as I could to 3rd in a light 14-16k but havnt quite found the grove on the course slalom gear. I tried a 490 mast but the 7.8 sail really needs the tack strap yanked to get any power out of it.
A few more knot of breeze would have been nice but then again it's January and I'm sailing in baja. So far I'm sitting in 3rd place in course slalom behind Tyson & Bryan.

Day 2 LOW- baja

Day 2 report: Lord f the Winds showdown

1 slalom windsurf heat & 3 kite slalom heats followed by 3 course races. 

Tyson continuing to dominate the fleet with another day of bullets. 

I tried the mast track a bit more forward to 65-75% and it worked better coming out of the gybes.

In race1 slalom, I managed another 3rd behind Tyson & Bryan and still holding into 3rd with Casey's 2 dnfs from yesterday. 

The kites did 3 rounds of final slalom with the best of the fleets qualifying to the final rounds The twin tips just beat out the course boards running smaller 30 fins. 

By 1 we moved into course racing. 

I want able to get any angle the whole race. I felt I was way underpowered with my 460 mast in my 7.8. The luff curve is set up for the 490 bend & I'm really loosing out in the low end w/ no upwind angle with flat draft. I knew I should have packed the 9.5!!

After 2 races the RC said they were done & I derigged only to have the next men's windsurfing start in 30 min later- doh...

I watched the remaining kite course slalom from shore as the California crew cleaned up.  

It's super sandy rigging on the beach with not much protection from the elements.
A tarp is a must have in travelling quiver.