GoPro tails, Weird Wind and a little bit of Perspective - 60 Days of Summer Day 21

I decided to take a rest from my slalom training and popped down to Sprecks for a quick session to test out some different sets of twin fins for Black Project on my wave gear. It felt rather strange to be on small and loose kit after two weeks of slalom sailing. I am not sure what was happening today but I couldn’t seem to get comfortable even for a moment. One second it seemed stupidly windy the next not much was there, I wasn’t the only one having the same issues, it was just a really funky day. When I looked online later I saw that it was gusting from 20 to 36 mph and rather shifty so that explains a lot. With the wind so unpredictable it was hard to settle into any sort of rhythm but the sun was shining and the water is warm so I wasn’t complaining (OK maybe a little!).

I was working with the GoPro again today. I am still trying to iron out a few issues. Stills from the mast mount seem to be coming out blurred, which I am convinced is due to the vibration, I will try some different settings and see if that solves the issue. My lens for the most part did not fog up but I did notice a little water later in the session but this did not affect anything, this is totally my fault for not changing the water absorbing strips before going out. I have 3 sets and they all look identical, I am going to get my sharpie out and number them so that I don’t make that mistake again. NOTE TO GOPRO: WHY DONT YOU MAKE THE DIFFERNT COLOURS OR NUMBER THEM LIKE GOLF BALLS? The final issue is not quite knowing how hard to tighten the screws, I want to leave a little give in case of collision but today I didn’t do them up enough and most of my mast mount footage was lost because it kept slipping as I went over the chop.

A rare non blurred mast mount shot, often they seem to have patches but I am confident I can solve the issues.

So of you who have read a few GoPro related posts will be starting to wonder; Why bother? The answer is simple to explain. You would take hundreds of photos on land to get that perfect one in relatively controllable conditions, getting the right shot is never easy there are so many variables. Now add water, wind, vibration and human error into the mix and it is clear that you are unlikely to get the perfect shot straight away when you strap a camera to yourself or your gear and go onto the water. There needs to be that element of luck present for you to get the picture that you are looking for. That being said, you need to persevere and eliminate error wherever you can so do take advice from others and do get out there with your camera, gain experience, iron out the issues on the so so days. In time you will be ready for when the conditions are good and you’ll end up with the great clip of video or the stunning shot. I am yet to get there but I feel that it is just around the corner.

This is just a sample of some of today's video, nothing too exciting but great as always to be on the water and hope you enjoy the ride.

What’s coming up?

Tomorrow, I will be looking ahead to the Neil Pryde State Championship which will take place on Saturday with my full event preview including my take on preparing for the big day, hopefully this will give you the motivation to get out and give racing ago even if you are (like me) a die hard wave sailor at heart!

Pic of the day

This picture was actually taken last summer, the stunning Makanalua Peninsula behind me is protected by some of the world's largest sea cliffs and is home to the Kalaupapa leprosy colony. 

In the 1800's it was chosen at the perfect(?) place to isolate leprosy victims. I am currently on a self proclaimed mission to find wind, waves, fun etc. but at age 33 (the same age as me) and in 1873, Father Damien deVeuster, arrived at Kalaupapa. A priest from Belgium, he served the leprosy patients at Kalaupapa until his death 16 years later after contracting the disease. Father Damien built homes, churches and coffins; arranged for medical services and funding from Honolulu, and became a parent to his diseased wards. Puts what I am doing into perspective some what but it is really motivating to see what is possible! You can read more about Molokai and the Makanalua Peninsula  at http://visitmolokai.com/kala.html and lots of other sites. The isolated community is still there today and yes, still cut off from the world although largely by choice.

Sailing record = 100% (20/20 possible days)

More to follow...

Run Rabbit Run, HAM Challenge & Molokai Crossing - 60 Days of Summer Day 17

Ever watched that little rabbit being chased in a greyhound race by the pack of angry dogs? Well if the answer is YES then you’ll know how I felt today at times during my training. A mark had again been laid again but today we had up to 7 guys all challenging for places. The basic set up goes something like this; all race out to sea from the beach, the leading sailor gybes and the rest follow, the leaders(s) stall to let the others get close before accelerating and racing full tilt towards the mark, round the buoy and then race back out to sea. In a bar pool type winner stays on manner the leading sailor then decides when to turn and the next drag race is started. The racers included Peter John (super fast and infamous Kiwi), Gregg Thomas (the oldest PWA slalom sailor), Tomohiko Komai J202, J???? (not sure his number or name but he is on JP/NP) & HI5 (earlier in the day HI34 was also racing). I am starting to get to know some of these guys and it is really motivating to get some input into my challenge.

Gregg in action at the last event. This pic was taken by Jimmy Hepp and you should check out his website and Facebook page, he is becoming Maui's businest photographer, keep up the good work, you are great!

More of the rabbit, well to get experience leading and chasing you can choose to gybe at different times and naturally if you are behind you tend to become the leader at the start of the next race, not to say I was always in last place but it did get a fair few opportunities to lead out the pack and having Peter John’s massive frame maxed out chasing you and more often than not hammering past you, is quite a sight. The set up meant that by the time get got to the inside mark there would often be 4 guys all trying to negotiate the choppy turn and this was really the best part of the session, being that close at the mark to some really fast guys was great fun and really challenging. I spent a lot of time checking out what lines they took and trying to follow and react. It was so hard to keep a smooth line and maintain speed with all this confusion. It was again reinforced how important it is to stay on your feet, a few times I managed to sneak inside a fallen rider and make up some great ground, at other times I fell from the #1 spot and came out half a leg behind EVERYONE. A great day of practice and I say a big thank you to the guys for their help, I look forward to some more sparring over the coming days. I was on my 6.6m again and that was great but later in the session the gusts became too much and my crash percentage rose, you can see from thart below that it was gusting 35 mph at times. My session finished as I took a massive fall on what would be my final gybe of the day, not sure what happened but one second I was at full speed coming into the mark, I had just unhooked (luckily) and coming over some chop, the next thing I remember was being under my gear in a heap, my shorts hap ripped off and my timer had started itself! I seem to have got away with just a stiff neck so nothing that a few Advil and some ice can’t sort out.

Advil - keeping windsurfers on the water when they should be resting in bed! I can't count the number of times I have trashed my ankle or something but loaded up on ibruprofen to reduce the swelling an numb the pain so that I could go out an wreck some more!

Click to enlarge this and take a look at the highlighted area, you can clearly see that the exists from my turns were rather messy today and they got worse as it got windier.

I was on the water between about 2:30 and 4:15 pm today, the big gusts around 4pm were getting tough for me to control and a 6.0m would have been fater round a course.  

I have been invited to take part in the HAM (HawaiiAmerican) Speed Challenge this is a GPS speed event where a team from Hawaii competes against a team from The Gorge and one from New England. There are 3 scores that count; best 100m, best nautical mile and best Alpha 500 (this is a leg and a gybe in the middle). I set out today to set a respectable nautical mile and estimated that it would take me 2 minutes (at 30 knots) so I set my timer and set off for a massive downwinder which was so much fun. When I got my tracks back on the laptop I was pleased with my speeds during the main part of the run but my overall speed was hindered by my acceleration time at the start and because I didn’t go far enough and my gybe out to sea counted. Next time I will run for 2min 45 seconds so that I can be at as close to max for the entire 1852m (= 1 nautical mile).

Click to enlarge, you can clearly see my nautical mile attempt in green. My avergae was 25.39 knots but most f the time I was running in the 27 to 29 range. If I can get a full fun anywhere close to 30 knots I would be thrilled.

Over the next few days I will try to set a decent 100m speed, I need something in the 35 knot range (my current PB is 33 something – on choppy water) and good Alpha 500 for that I need to set myself up on a one mark downwind slalom course, this is a really good concept and one which would be very interesting to the racer because it is not just about your top end and is a better measure of how you would fair in a slalom race.

All in all a good day and one during which I had a lot of FUN and after all that is the moto for the 60 Days of Summer Project.

Today's pic of the day: This pic was taken with the GoPro mast mount and captures the moment I landed an over rotated forward, you can see that I let go on impact to try and save my board! I think the result is pretty cool and I hope you agree.

One of the aims of the 60 days is to encourage others to be inspired, so the question is simple "What would you do with 60 days?" If you have read this far please take a few minutes to leave your comments below and share with the me and all the readers what you would do. I have found that by voicing your thoughts they are more likely to become a reality so by leaving your little note below you will be one step closer to your goal.

Whats up next? It is time that I registered for the race event next weekend, I will try to get that sorted tomorrow and in 3 weeks time there is a Maui to Molokai crossing so I need to find out some more info and look into the logistics; that would be a great experience, the channel is super rough and really dangerous. I am a little sore from a few days of having the pedal to the metal and really think that my wave board needs some attention so taking a day off racing tomorrow and will go in search of waves, jumps and tricks, maybe a good day to get working on those freestyle moves, that is sure to be a funny thing for people to watch!

More to follow...