Sunday, May 11, 2014

A great ABK camp

The ABK camp in Hatteras finished two days ago, and we had a blast. 25 campers and 5 instructors had fun on the water for 5 days, with an about even mix of light wind and planing conditions. Experience levels ranged from total beginners to windsurfers working on Willy Skippers, Vulcans, Conca Tacks, Speed Loops, and Donkey Jibes.

Andy Brandt taught the camp with a broken foot, which did not affect his teaching abilities at all. On the first day, he diagnosed and fixed problems I had with exiting from Back To Back - I let the sail come up when stepping, and/or did not slice it forward neutrally. On the water, he was sitting on a SUP, which made him easier to spot, so things worked out just fine. When the wind picked up, I started playing around with loop drills, and made definitive progress. But rather than sticking to only loops, I started working on other tricks, too, to maximize the amount of information I could get from Andy. That gave me enough to keep working on Upwind 360s, Clew-first Carve 360s, and planing out switch from a sail-first jibe in both straps on my own. Planing switch was a very new and different feeling, and I am eager to try it again when the conditions are right. Planing Duck Tacks and Switch Konos seem feasible now...

We have had a typical SW wind pattern the last three days, with a steady ramp up in the afternoons. Yesterday afternoon, meter readings showed low 30s, with gusts up to 40 mph. A bit much for my taste to try new things, but just sailing and playing with the chop provided plenty of fun. The next three days look like light winds, before the stronger winds return in the middle of the week. A welcome break to rest sore muscles and to practice light wind freestyle!