Wild, wooly and overall insane...Day 3 was every bit of that and more. Course location was Katama but unfortunately the wind wasn't quite cooperating. There was plenty of pressure but the direction was more west creating a very deep almost dead downwind course. As we pushed back the start time from 12 to 1 to 2 and finally 2:30 the breeze slowly shifted to the SW enough that allowed us a course to the east end of Katama Bay. The only problem with the course was that it had calf high chop at the beginning of the run and then a nice smooth section in the followed by an exit into a flooding tide which created some very impressive and very treacherous corduroy chop.
Given the absurdly deep angle the course had to be set up I decided to go with my 12 Meter Kite. I later came to realize this was the biggest kite on the course but after a few practice runs it felt surprisingly good even with the wind clocking in at 32 to 38 Knots.
At the start of the heat I waited back to watch the first few riders take runs to try and get an idea of the best line down the course. With the deep angle and the chop it was imperative to get a good line that allowed you to be in flat water at the top and then still have enough angle to not hit the protruding point but still be very close.
My first run was really good, I picked a good line and felt confident so on my second run I pushed it really hard and felt the board really light up. But as I finished and exited out into the wind vs. current chop my nose nipped a wave and I went from being on my feet doing 44 knots to being on my head doing 44 knots and then I began tumbling...and tumbling. I felt either my board or my other leg crank into my right calf/ankle and when I finally gathered myself I saw my board 50 meters upwind through the stars. Definitely my hardest fall so far. But after a relatively quick body drag back upwind to my board I was able to compose myself and get back on the board and start making it back upwind through the hip high chop that was outside the race course.
From there the heat went relatively well but my entries were slow and I was finding myself inside on the protruding point. So much so that I actually ended up on the beach in one run. You can see the photo sequence below.
Unfortunately my results were once again less than stellar and despite riding hard I wasn't able to get the speeds out of the boards that I wanted. The guys on the top end of the scorecard were able to push their Vmax over 50 Knots with Rob Douglas doing an average over 50 knots with a VMax of 53!!!
I am excited for another day out there today and am ready to push it.
Huge thanks to Jana Halirova for taking the photos.
Given the absurdly deep angle the course had to be set up I decided to go with my 12 Meter Kite. I later came to realize this was the biggest kite on the course but after a few practice runs it felt surprisingly good even with the wind clocking in at 32 to 38 Knots.
At the start of the heat I waited back to watch the first few riders take runs to try and get an idea of the best line down the course. With the deep angle and the chop it was imperative to get a good line that allowed you to be in flat water at the top and then still have enough angle to not hit the protruding point but still be very close.
My first run was really good, I picked a good line and felt confident so on my second run I pushed it really hard and felt the board really light up. But as I finished and exited out into the wind vs. current chop my nose nipped a wave and I went from being on my feet doing 44 knots to being on my head doing 44 knots and then I began tumbling...and tumbling. I felt either my board or my other leg crank into my right calf/ankle and when I finally gathered myself I saw my board 50 meters upwind through the stars. Definitely my hardest fall so far. But after a relatively quick body drag back upwind to my board I was able to compose myself and get back on the board and start making it back upwind through the hip high chop that was outside the race course.
From there the heat went relatively well but my entries were slow and I was finding myself inside on the protruding point. So much so that I actually ended up on the beach in one run. You can see the photo sequence below.
Unfortunately my results were once again less than stellar and despite riding hard I wasn't able to get the speeds out of the boards that I wanted. The guys on the top end of the scorecard were able to push their Vmax over 50 Knots with Rob Douglas doing an average over 50 knots with a VMax of 53!!!
I am excited for another day out there today and am ready to push it.
Huge thanks to Jana Halirova for taking the photos.
Moving the sunken tree off the race course
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