New GoPro Mount, waves and new challenges - 60 Days of Summer Day 24

I woke up this morning and could not believe that it was August already, the time is flying. I also realised that my foot was rather sore; I had cut it on my fin yesterday. The forecast of 20 knots and 7 ft wind waves looked promising and I had arranged to go sailing with my buddy Marc at Sprecks.

Plenty of duck tape later my foot was ready to hit the water. It was such a joy to be on super light kit today after two weeks of being maxed out on big heavy sails. There were some fun waves on the Camp One reef and while my 4.5m Bolt was a little small for jumping it was great fun to be in some swells and getting some backside rides.

The sun was shining, the wind blowing and the waves somewhat peeling but one problem, my right foot! The cut on my right foot was rubbing too much and it was super painful to do anything particularly when in the front strap. I tried to loosen the strap but that didn’t seem to change anything, I was OKish riding with it in the back but I knew what the real solution was and it wasn’t long before I limped back to shore and packed my gear. It was only then that I realised just how painful my foot was and I was rather angry at myself because I should have known better and sat out for the day, the waves have just been too tempting! Tomorrow I will have to stay off the water and likely avoid running or walking much too. Maybe I’ll hit some golf balls but I want to be super careful in the hope that I can get back on the water after just one missed day. GUTTED!

Before I went on the water I tried out a new mount on Marc’s gear and on review I am really pleased with the new angle and when I am back sailing and we have some conditions it will hopefully produce some good shots. I do need to solve the water droplets issue and will try the RainX solution.

I used a mix of bits from the bike seat post and roll bar mounts. It attached to the mast about 6 inches about the boom and facing towards the sailor in a portrait orientation. We had the camera at a slight angle, you really need to try to think about the sailor, sail and board positions while sailing to ensure that you get the shot you want. We realised later that we should have rotated it into landscape for the video footage.

This will be a great angle and I look forward to trying it!

I really like landing shots with tons of spray. Can't wait to get this to Ho'okipa. Thanks Marc for your camera work today.

With the racing finished and the wind blowing hard one of my next challenges will be too see if I can break 40 knots on a windsurf board. Last year I had one day on a slalom board (the same one I used for the racing) and a 6.0 and managed 33 something. This year I have a F2 Missile to fix and I know that can go REALLY fast in the right hands. The board does have a few issues but nothing a grinder and some resin cannot fix. While 40 knots does not seem fast by modern day speed sailing terms we do not have a proper speed course here, we just have the inside of the Camp One reef and you sometimes get a flattish section between the waves so getting fast times is really hard (and scary!). There are some MauiVMAX days in the pipeline for August so that should help. I will be spending a lot more time in the waves too and I cannot wait to get back into my normal habitat.

66 litres of pure speed! I think that the smaller size will really help me becuase with my lack of weight I find it hard to keep the board on the water when it gets super over powered.

Sailing record (for now) 100% (23/23 days)


More to follow…