The return of Noon Island

So since arriving in Bahrain from Hawaii at the beginning of September I've hardly had the time to stop and think let alone type, but I guess that I wrote plenty over the summer so maybe it was good to have a rest from the blogging scene for a while. During my 6 week or so break I really did enjoy watching online footage from Cold Hawaii and hope that such coverage continues. More recently I have been checking out p as the winter swells start rolling in. Having left my trusty twin fin with Colin I keep seeing it pop up online (kinda makes me feel a little more connected with the island!)

It has been windless here, totally still for weeks and super hot. Yes I have kept busy, plenty of training, lots of running and even a biathlon last weekend which was somewhat fun. Trying to run between 30 and 40 km a week, keep in the gym and work on my swimming and biking. Work does seem to get in the way but I keeping active and ready as best I can.

At last the weather broke and today we were treated with a decent breaze, perfect for my 5.6 Bolt and 105 Sumo. It was great to see my buddy Carl getting some rides on his kite too. The water was perfect, about 28C with the air in the low 30's. After not being on the water in ages it felt amazing to be blasting about and chucking in some freestyle moves (I mean crashes of course!). As for the title of this post, Noon Island refers not to some deserted spot but one of the big ships that is mored just offshore where I sail here and it was great to see her again close up.

No, this isn't Noon Island!

So here's me hoping that's the longest I'll have to go without wind for a while, looks like to could be windy tomorrow too, heres hoping.

Hope all those in northern climes are not getting too cold!

More to follow...

Forget the World Cup its still windy!

The wind continues to blow here in Bahrain. My feet were not as sore as I thought they would be so got out on the water for half an hour after work before the wind dropped down and I decided to watch the 2nd half of the England Vs Germany game (BIG mistake!)

It was great to get in the water after another hot day here at the edge of the desert. Strange at the end of the session I was sailing along and hit something underwater, I was in deep water and didn't see anything but heard a ripping like sound, it was rather strange and not sure what I hit.

The wind seems to be on a downward trend but still blowing. I am hopeful that I will get a couple more days, 4 in a row now and counting (and 5 in the last week). Still working hard on the flakas but I was a little disapointed yesterday and today, I think that I need to throw the rig more. I will watch some more videos think that will help and get some video taken so I can analyse my error(s). 

More to follow...

Weekend warmup...

The charts have been bang on all week but I have had various work commitments which have meant that I have not been able to get out the last few days but I knew that I would get back early today so was pleased to see the sasnd flying about this morning when I woke up. The wind persisted throughout the day and when I got home it was perfect for more freestyle training.

15-20 knots, 38C airtemp, 34C water and sunny, not bad! I continued to work on lots of board / sail 360s and heli tacks. I was finding it rather harder to get the final part of the board/sail 360s today, guess that was due to more wind?

I tried a flaka on just about every run, ok so they may not look much like the flakas you see on youtube or at your local beach but I do feel that I am making progress. Today I was getting better pop and getting the nose jammed into the water, not getting far enough forward. I seem to almost get it then lean back and not commit fully. I had a few fun crashes but everything is still in one piece!

Tonight I will watch some more video so that I can analyse my progress a little better. With the wind set to continue for a number of days (actually looks to me like the longest period of wind I have seen in 3 years!) I wonder if I can get these flakas ticked off before we leave for Hawaii?

Great video, nice to see an old HSM SO, these ones with the cammo luff hold a special place in my heart...

The 2 week countdown has started, we'll be negotiating excess baggage charges with BA in 14 days time.

More to follow...  

Its all in the wind

I woke up this morning to again find that the forecasts were correct and the wind was still blowing 18-20 knots so I quickly made my way down to the camp.

The Camp, a few bits of wood made it rather more sheltered today which was great.

The tide was very low so it was great for freestyle and blasting but not much in the way of ramps, I was rather stiff from my run last night so went exploring the channel. Once I had loosened up a bit I cam back to Kite Beach for some more freestyle practice, I do feel like I am making small baby steps forward. With the weather this perfect this really was fun windsurfing, I only wish I could have shared it with some people, windsurfing in Bahrain is rather a lonely past time. 

Amwaj is covered in flags, and the good news is that they have to get replaced quite frequently!

After a break I was back on the water, the wind had started to drop and it was clear that it was the end of the three days of wind. I had a really fun freestyle sesssion between Kite Beach and the ships, trying hard to land a flaka but not really commiting myself enough, something that I will have to work on. The wind dropped and I called it a day. I thought that the fun was over but I had the pleasures of dealing with a welded together mast, I guess three days of sandblasting on the beach in 35-40 degree heat doesn't help. I had to take it home in one piece and it took a lot of banging on the grass and alot of water to finally loosen. 

Today's wind chart.

There was just enough time left in the day to meet Liz at the pool and go for a swim at Tala Island, what a perfect end to day. I think that we will be waiting a while for the next batch of wind so it is back to the paddle board and GPS training,

More to follow... 

A little bit of nature

Today had looked like a good day on the forecast and it didn't dissapoint. As Liz was working I didn't have a car so after my session last night I left my gear hidden in a building site next to the beach so that I could ride down this morning to sail. It was great arriving at the beach a little after 7am and my gear there ready, the wind blowing 18-20 knots and the sun shining.

The Camp!

Beach Road

I have been slagging off my Angulo Sumo 105 recently, to be fair it has seen better days, but it has spent almost 2 1/2 years getting thrashed by the harsh Bahrain climate, the rugged and sharp beach on Amwaj and a few trips to Hawaii where is was always abused and made to do things it shouldn't! Today though it did prove (yet) again that it can handle a whole range of condition and is well suited to the sailing here.

Beach road

I had a fun freestyle session (with a small wave fin) in front of my new beach camp, the condition were perfect and it was good to make some progress (small steps!). With it not super windy I put on a longer and straighter fin so that I could make my way upwind to the building ramps in a spot I will call Outsiders, a lonely place upwind and offshore where there are ramps when it is windy enough, luckily we have had a solid wind for 2 days now so the (small) swell lines have started to develop and they produced some decent ramps. 

It was nice to be able to get some good forwards rather than just spinning although I never find looping on a 100+ litre board that comfortable on the ankles or feet. My feet actually started to rub on my straps and worried that I would create the same problems that I had during the last two summers (where my feet had holes in them for what seemed like months) I though it was time to make my way back downwind and reunite with my bike. 

After a break, food, water and a 30 minute gym session I was ready for a 2nd session. I knew that I needed to change the staps on my board to reduce the rubbing so I quickly took the really soft HSM ones that I have on my wave board and slung them into my rucksack.

A nice healthy lunch.

A brief session infront of my freestyle DVD over lunch did help!

Changing the Old Dakine to super padded HSM straps did make my feet less painful but they are still sore.

Another freestyle session and some more progress before going to Outsiders where the waves had built up and were providing some decent ramps for forwards and backs. Was great to be getting some height for a change but it was a bit hetic on the 105 now and my feet were sore so didn't stay that long. With the tide building and a solid 20+ knots I knew that the Wall (speed course) would be starting to work, the tide was still a little low but as I went down my second run I saw a dolphin which was rather cool. Session 2 over, time for a quick ride to the pool to relax with some friends before going home for a break.

View from the camp.

I wanted to try the Wall later so made a DIY aquapak for my GPS and made my way back with a new supply of drinking water. With the temps over 35C from 6am to 6pm it is vital that you have water wherever you go, carrying it all is rather a pain! My first run was my best with 22.14knots, while not quick it is the first timed run on the course so guess that makes it a record. The wind was dropping and I was rather underpowered but it was enough to show the potential that the Wall has. I did see 2 dolphins so that made up for for dying wind. Time to call it a day and get some food so that I can train at the gym tonight.

I have seen dolphins in Bahrain before but this was the first time I had seen them in Amwaj.

With the wind forecast to stick around for another day I parked my gear in the camp and rode home, kinda liking this no rigging / de-rigging life!

More to follow...