Day 21 - A solid cruise

The wind came in around 4 o'clock but it was nothing special but I was that bored that I decided to go big and see what came of It.....Not to disappointed at all.

Not reaching any more then 20 knots It gave me enough power in my 7.2 to just cruise, Long runs out to the open sea and back. It's probably the most fun I've had this trip, Just locked in blasting and not wanting to stop....Only looking back towards the beach and realizing you've sailed out of sight making you turn back.

The X-cite 120 is built for this sort of stuff, Plenty of volume to feel safe when the wind drops off and super comfortable to lock in for the long runs...And doesn't mind the odd jump.

I'll be leaving to head back east in the morning, 3 solid days on the road to try and get to SP by Saturday arvo. The only thing that will stop me would be good wind some where on the way home, But I should be in Canberra by Friday.

See you all at the next club night.

Day 20 - Nothing

Absolutely nothing, Nada, Zip....The forecast for the rest of the week is poor so I'll be heading home for sure on Wednesday to try and may a Saturday session at Sanctuary Point.

Day 19 - Cross off 15 knots

With thunder storms on the horizon and not a chance of the southerly seabreeze I went for a look at some other beaches in the area to see if there was a chance of getting out. There was a few spots that put the light wind dead on shore and it looked ok...But they were spots where I've never seen anyone swimming let alone windsurfing. You could see parts of the reef that looked close to the surface and further out you could see the waves breaking over an even shallower part of the reef. Not wanting to temp fate I gave it a miss and went back to the beach that the boys had a  little wave session at the other day. The wind direction ESE is side shore to cross off and there's a nice little beach break that had some half mast little gems coming in. The 15 knots was enough for me to slog out on my 112 with a 6.2 and catch the waves back in, It's a lot of fun in the small surf. I got barrelled heaps but it did not matter, Never much more then chest deep and no heavy waves it was perfect.

The rest of the weeks forecast looks really bad so I think I'll be in the car by Wednesday and on my way home, Things are looking ok for SP on the weekend so I'll probably head straight there. I put together a little video of Scotty in action at this beach from the other day, Hope you like it.



Day 18 - 6.2 and some swell

The wind came in a bit late today, So I put off going out to Corros and just headed for St Georges beach instead. It wasn't that windy so I rigged my 6.2 and 5.8 hoping it would pick up a bit....It didn't but I still had a good session on my 112.
There was heaps of ramps today and the water was super choppy out the back,  I'm pushing how far I'm willing to sail off shore with every run and having lots of fun in the rolling swell out back. I'm now happy to gybe in and conditions and i like to use the swell to make things heaps easier for me.

I've had no issues snagging lobster posts this year but must admit to only having used my big board twice, So it has limited the chance of getting my fin snagged. You can't see them, The pots at all on the way out due to the glare but once you gybe and head back in....There is  heaps of the buggers and you wounder how the hell you made it through.

Loop training, I've been going through the motions and still haven't had a fair go yet. I've done lots of low speed no board loops, The one where you jump in the air and just sheet in.....so I know what the slap on the back is going to feel like, I just have to pluck up the courage to do it a speed and with the board on my feet...I think It's closer.

There's a chance of a sail tomorrow but next weeks forecast looks crap, I might head to SA or Vic in search of wind. With only one week left the trip is almost over, It has not been the best trip for wind but I still had a good time sailing with the guys from LBG. The first week of the trip was just epic so at least I got some really good days, The rest were ok but just not what I've been use to.

Day 17 - Sweeeet

The wind came in at about 2 o'clock and stayed all afternoon peeking with some 30 knot gusts, It started steady and just built nicely.

I rigged my 5.8 first and went for an hour before I felt there was enough wind to switch to my 5.4, I would have been OK with a 5.0 at times but I just stuck with what I had rigged. The swell was back today and there was some really good ramps, Which I now have the ability to hit at full speed and launch off and actually carry some distance....And land and keep going.

Scotty had left me his X9 boom to use for the rest of the trip as I was a boom short due to the untimely demise of my X6. I don't know if it was the flashy boom or that everything else was perfect but today was so sweet, Best day I've had on the water for a long time.

I sailed more today in one session then I have for the whole trip, Well It feels that way....I'm very sore.

Good wind and swell for tomorrow, Back to Coronation and some waves.

Day 16 - Ever had the wind switch dead off shore?

The boys left for Perth this morning as the forecast looked at bit better down that way and they are due to fly out the following day.

Did they miss much....No not really but there was some wind, The afternoon saw the return of the southerly but only for a short time. I rigged my 5.8 and blasted around on my 95 for about and hour, No swell just pure flat water which gave me the opportunity to work on my gybes. I worked on increasing the arc of my gybe to help my chance of planing out of them, I have a habit of carving real hard and turning on the spot which kills my speed and stalls the gybe. Do I plain out of them...Only a few but I make It round dry about 90% of the time now on my 95 even in real choppy conditions so I'm happy with that.

A storm appeared out to the east and it looked bad, I was way out the back before I decided it was time to come in. One run too late, As I gybed and made my way back the wind shifted dead off shore and left me with some serious work to do to get back, Lucky it was strong enough for me to keep planing but it was very hard to make it back to shore. It  took me about half an hour or more to get back anywhere close to shore and with wind starting to drop I decided to take my chances with the rocks and came in well north of where I needed to be. I managed to pick a hole in the rocks and sail in to shore and start the long walk back to the car, by now the wind had stopped completely and the storm was about to hit. I popped my kit on my head and walked back down the beach to the van.....That was lucky.

The forecast tomorrow looks much better....

Days 10 through to 15.....Not what WA is suppose to be like.

Well it's time to get caught up on the blog, To say the least WA has been very disappointing this time around. We have not sailed much over the past week due to the lack of wind but we managed to salvage a few short sessions here and there. With mainly off shore winds this week we looked around for new places to sail and did find a few and got a couple of early morning sails in both flat water and small waves.
Everyone just wants one last epic session at Coronation before they go home but it looks unlikely, But with a dodgy forecast and no swell to be seen thing are not looking good for the boys.
We've passed the time going to the beach for swims, The mall for food, The movies for entertainment and the Pub for refreshment. We've also resorted to buying a football, Frisbee and tennis balls to help entertain us while at the beach, Each evening ending in a few beers out the back of the cottage.
The forecast is looking better for the next few days...Let's hope It holds in there.

Day 8 - No wind

We sat around all day today waiting for a forecast that was not that impressive, But wait we did. We filled in the day by reading books, Mostly windsurfing mags but some hard core novel reading has also taken place.  Scotty claims to have read his 4th book since leaving high school, We've also watched a few movies and visited the local windsurfing shops to help pass the time.

We went out to Coronations for a look late in the arvo and it was dead flat, Like nothing I or any of the guys had seen before. We sat around for a while and waited for the wind to pick up...It didn't so we called it quits and headed back to Geraldton.

We did get a quick sail at St Georges when we got back to town but It was nothing special, Flat water and sailing straight into the afternoon glare...But a sail none the less.

Tomorrow sees the best forecast we've seen in days, We are looking forward to it...Hopefully there will be some swell to go with the wind.

Day 7 - The afternoon sesh

The wind had switched south and It was time to head to the beach, We decided on an afternoon session at St Georges. It wasn't all that windy when We first got there so I rigged my 7.2 with my 120 and went for a short blast, And short it was. I was straight on the plane and at max speed, Did a little chop hop and was lining up the next ramp. As I loaded up the boom for the jump I heard a crack but before I could do anything my kit exploded. My boom had snapped, I had ripped the arm clean out of it. Now that was fun, I've only done this once before in a high speed crash. It was to far to swim back so I flipped the rig to see if I could water start and sail back, I could and I did get back and the boys were impressed I came back with all bits of my boom. After a closer inspection we could see that the other side was cracked as well and would not have lasted much longer. The jumping session at coronations must have put this boom to the test, I'm very grateful it decided to fail at St Georges and not out the back of Coronation. Anyway if you have a 2010 Pryde X6 boom I'd suggest you inspect it either side of the boom head before you go sailing and make sure there is no cracks, After  some research I've found that this has happened a few of them.

Anyways I switched booms and changed down to a 6.7 and sailed the rest of the afternoon, The boys had some fun trying some freestyle moves and some jumps. It was a good way to finish the day.....I did manage to bust my first harness line today as well.

We put the GoPro on Pete today so we'll see how that turned out and post something up in the next few days. We got a few pics today so enjoy them, the forecast looks ok for tomorrow afternoon so we'll be going back to Coronations.

Day 7 - The morning sesh

We got up this morning knowing the forecast was not all that good, Scotty went for a jog while the rest of us had breakfast. When Scotty came back he told us we could get a sail in down at a beach near the Point Moore play ground. We drove down and had a look, It looked ok so we rigged and went out. On a 6.2 I had one planing run before the wind died, A few of the lighter guys managed to salvage something out of It but mostly we were under powered, We did managed to see some dolphins which was cool.

....The afternoon forecast looks a bit better.

Day 6 - Coronation 4.7

We sat around most of the morning waiting for wind, This season has been  nothing like I've experienced in my previous trips. The forecast looks very dodgy for the rest of the week with only 2 real solid days the rest look a bit hit and miss.

Out of boredom we went for a drive to St Georges to have a look, The wind was SE and quite off shore but Pete decided to rig and have a go. He slogged out and once past the wind shadow found himself off and going with out much of a problem. Pete sailed for a bit longer before he came in and took up position in the shade of the trees with the rest of us.

The wind started to switch and was SSE, We started to get our gear out of the car and rig. Scotty got a call from Barn who told us Coronation was starting to fire, We quickly threw our kit in to the cars and headed out to Coronation beach.

Most of us were on our smallest kit, It was windy but at times I could have done with a half meter more but it was still good. My first run out was cool I hit a wave and flew, Managed to land nose first and come out of it fully planing. Gybed onto the second wave and caught a sweet ride, I was having a ball. With all the other guys around you It was awesome fun and pushed you to try some things you probably would not normally try.

No forwards for me but some sweet jumps, Scotty was pulling a few forwards and trying some other moves that I don't know the name of. Pete went for a back loop but didn't get the landing but credit to him for giving it a go.

We had some big stacks, Stuffed some gybes and damaged some kit but It's one of the best days sailing I've had in a long time. We finished off the night with a few beers and quite a bit of bullshit, Most of us hurt but we went to bed wishing for more of the same tomorrow.

Day 5 - A bit of a Fizzer

The boys got here yesterday late in the evening, Just in time for some dinner and a few brews. We finished the night watching Trade Winds and R.I.P on dvd before going to bed.

We woke early and Scotty being the hero amongst us went for an early morning run, The rest were content with a stroll over to the beach. There was no wind so the morning was used for checking gear for damage and fixing the odd ding and then off to the shops for supplies. We lazed around for the day reading magazines before we decided to head for St Georges for the afternoon.

A light seabreeze came in and only tempted 2 of the guys out for a short blast, Scotty managed a forward for us and put on a little show as the evening came to an end, But really today was a non-event.

Tomorrow should be interesting as most of us have singed up with local Canberra freestyle guru Barnaby to teach us to forward loop tomorrow so that should be fun.....I'm actually crapping my shorts.

....Anyways we'll see what tomorrow brings, Armed with 2 GoPros and a Hi Def video camera and a 400 Zoom DSLR camera we should be able to bring some good stuff for you to see.

Day 4 - No wind at all

No wind at all today just waiting for the boys to arrive...Forecast looks OK for tomorrow afternoon.

Day 3 - Oops I think I rigged too small

When I got to the beach this morning I thought I was in for another day on my 4.7, It was blowing hard. I rigged and set out on my 95L....slowly, As I slogged out I did feel some what underpowered but my sail soon filled and I was off. Most of the swell has gone but there was still the odd wave that made a good ramp on the way out. The first one for the day was good, I launched and for the first time I felt real control while in the air and to be honest not shit scared about being up there. It was a simple rocket air and landed in a massive splash but I just held on, I popped up and was going again.

I had about 4 runs to the shipping lane marker and back before the wind really died off, I mean really died. There was not enough wind to keep me slogging along and no chance of a water start. I was a long way out and just drifting downwind with the swell, I did start to feel a bit uneasy, This place has shark written all over it. The water has been discolored for days due to the storm they had last week, I know if I were a Great White this is where I'd be looking for my next meal...

...After what felt like half an hour I got a gust and water started and headed back towards the beach but I'd drifted so far down wind I was in for a walk. After slogging in it put me north of the boat ramp which is not a good place to land, the reef is very shallow here and if you sail in you'll rip your fin box out or if you choose to walk over the reef you run the risk of stepping on a Cobbler and that will end you day real quick. I decided it was best to tack and head back out and make a bit more ground up wind to a point where I know I could land safely. After about three more attempts to get up wind I made it to the boat ramp and landed safely.

I changed to my 5.8 and the rest of my session was good, over powered at times but I'll put up with that, Just knowing that I have the power to get myself going if the wind drops again puts your mind at ease and you can get on with the fun stuff.

I got my days mixed, The boys arrive tomorrow late afternoon some time. Good timing as there is no wind forecast for tomorrow but it's on again for Friday. Looks like we'll have wind up until about Wednesday of next week and then a few days rest, There's a few 30 Knot days in there so I think everyone will be looking for a rest by then.

Anyways I hope we get a bit of an afternoon breeze....

Day 2 - Maxxxed 4.7

It's Hard work sailing a 4.7 fully maxed for a long period, I gave it a red hot go. The wind was already blowing southerly by the time I got up this morning and as keen as I was to hit the water I put It off until i'd got everything sorted for my stay.

I got to St Georges beach at about lunch time and got my gear ready, Pulled out my 5.8..No too big, Pulled out my 5.4 then 5.0 and finally settled on my 4.7. It's not that windy near the shore and can be deceiving but when you get out a bit from the wind shadow it really kicks in.

4.7 was on the money but hard work at times but to go any smaller would have left me under powered at times. Sailed all day and was shagged by 7pm when I packed up, A few beers and off to bed.

Scotty and the boys are due to arrive tomorrow and I am looking forward to heading out to Coronations with them. I haven't been out yet but I've been told that It's a bit of a mess after the big storm last week.

And just in case you were wondering....Yes the lobster post are still there.

Day 1

Arrived in Perth today and went to have a look at an 82 litre wave board just in case things get a bit full-on. It didn't turn out to be a very well looked after board so I gave it a miss but I'll be on the look out while in Geraldton.

I took the scenic drive through Lancerlin for a bit of a look, It was to good to pass up...Blowing 25+ Knots I rigged my 4.7 and blasted around for a few hours before I had to leave for Geraldton. I made It to Geraldton just on night fall and ready for bed, The forecast for the next few days is looking good so a good sleep is needed to refresh the body after 3 big days on the road.

Kimba-Half way across Oz

Made it to Kimba last night, it's claim to fame is being the half way point for crossing this great land of ours. 2600km to go and I am going to push hard today...I want to cross the Nullabor today and make it to Norseman tonight.

Slow start

Finally got away today, about 9am...oops. Have my first day destination in sight, I should hit Port Pirie by sundown. I'll still have about 3000km to go when I get on the road tomorrow...big day ahead of me.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Only a bit over a week to go before I'm back on the road and heading for Geraldton WA, A few of the boys from the club are joining me this year...I hope WA turns it on like it has for the last 2 trips.

Looks ok so far...