The forecast called for wind in the 30s (mph, that is). That's what we had when I started rigging - a 4.7, since the wind cannot be trusted. The 4.7 never got wet. Neither did the 4.0 that I rigged afterwards - I switched to the 3.4 Nina had rigged, since the wind had picked up:
I got onto the water when the wind averages where in the mid-40s, gusting into the mid-50s. I took advantage of this rare opportunity to sail in a lot of wind.
A lot. Enough for the Red Bull Storm Chase. More than I had ever sailed in before. At one point, the averages where 49 mph, gusting to 59 mph. For those used to other units: 59 mph is 95 km/h, or 10 Beaufort - Windstärke 10, "Schwerer Sturm".
That was a bit too much for me, even on the 3.4. I pretty much had to waterstart in both straps; sailed out of the harness half of the time; had the sail barely sheeted in, and was nevertheless fully planing on my small FSW board. The wind was onshore, the tide was low, and I was wearing a helmet, so there never was any real danger. But the fun-factor was somewhat limited, and when gusts hit, I had a really hard time to keep the board on the water. Back on shore, it was not just blowing sand - it was blowing shells! Even getting the gear back to the parking lot safely was a 2-person job.
Usually, low tide and SW wind at Kalmus is flat and smooth, but not today. Eddie caught Nina trying a Shove It (when the wind was "only" around 25-40 mph):
A few minutes later, it looked a bit windier:
It still does not look
that dramatic on the picture, but she came in a few minutes later, too overpowered on the 3.4. When the wind picked up a bit more in the next half hour, we had smoke on the water. At one point, I thought it was getting flatter again, because the wind was flattening out the little waves.
Well, finally getting a session on a 3.4 was all nice and good, but can we now please go back to being comfortably powered on 4.0 or larger?
