We've been speedsurfing in Australia for a few weeks now - here's Nina in Coodanup (aka Fangyland):
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But speedsurfing is windsurfing, so it naturally comes with large doses of humility on a regular basis. Even after sessions where she set new speed PBs, Nina usually points out that many of the male speedsurfers on the water were several knots faster. There also seems to be a rule that only one of us can have a great day on the water - if Nina has lots of fun and/or sets PBs, I have a mediocre (or worse) session, and vice versa. After a great day on the water, it's always quite likely that the next day clearly shows our limitations. Our second trip to Albany in January was a good example: on the first day there, I set PBs in 4 different categories, and my top speed was closer to the speeds of other speedsurfers than usual; but the next day, when the wind picked up a few more knots, I sailed slower than the day before, and could not figure out what was holding me back. It was a day where many sailors (including Nina) set speed PBs, but I was stuck in the mid-30s, not even getting close to the 40-knot barrier that many others passed easily. But we had Nina's PBs to celebrate, and a local speedsurfer threw a BBQ in the evening where we had a chance to meet many of the locals, so it was a great day, anyway. The next morning, while waiting for wind, we got a very interesting rigging lesson from one of the fastest speedsurfers in Australia, which helped to to set a couple of new top speed PBs a few days later, in a session at the third fantastic speed spot we visited in Western Australia (Peel Inlet/Point Grey).
We are now at Lake George in South Australia, along with a few dozen speedsurfers from all over Australia, and the "get faster or get humiliated" game continues. On a day with very gusty and strong west wind, Nina caught a huge gust and got above 38 knots for the first time. As for my performance, I'll be quiet, and just point to the rules outlined above, which were in full force. That day, multiple Australian teams has several speedsurfers set multiple PBs and/or go well above 40 knots, with top speeds above 44 knots. The next day, when it was again cold and very windy, one of them even set a new spot record of more than 48 knots - an amazing speed to most natural speed spots. But frustration about once again not reaching 40 knots aside, there were many lessons to learn from both days, and several things to try that should help us get faster. There also were some interesting observations to be made, for example that PB improvements are often quite small - typically just a fraction of a knot. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, and a few lucky guys improved their speeds by several knots. In these cases, the common theme was that (a) they caught one gust were they were at the right (read: very flat) place, and (b) that they windsurfed a lot on that day, which helped to increase their chance to be at the right place at the right time.
Tomorrow looks like a winging day, and hopefully it will get strong enough so that I can join Nina on the water (yes, winging in Oz also handed me plenty of humility doses, along with some fun days). She really wants to play with a huge wave that is in the middle of the bay, about a mile from shore but easily visible. According to some descriptions, it's a mast and a half high, but in deep enough water for foiling, and crumbles slowly instead of breaking. Sounds like quite an adventure ... one that I will watch from a safe distance.
