You Can Race!

This year my bro Andy decided that it was time to step forward and throw his wetsuit into the competitive windsurf scene for the first time and as the UK 2010 slalom season draws to a close I thought that it was about time to ask him a few questions.

Cold water training!

Check out the full article here:

 “…if you can sail out and back; then you can race!”


on http://www.blackprojectfins.com/

More to follow...

Maui Race Series State Championships: a racer's view - 60 Days of Summer Day 23

26 years ago (in 1984) the first Maui Race Series champions were being crowned. If you are old enough and were windsurfing at that time cast your mind back to what it was like in those defining years. I still have windsurfing magazines from 1984 (I was 7 years old); the iconic images of Robby Naish, Mike Waltz, Pete Cabrina and many more of that era inspired me and began to mould my future path. I was 18 when I put my academic career on hold, sold all my race gear and bought a ticket to Hawaii. I owe a debt of gratitude to those early pioneers just as the sport of windsurfing owes a debt of gratitude to the organisers of events and competitions around the world. Without event organisers there would be no stages for our champions to be born and publicized. I want to publically thank the Maui Race Series organisers and volunteers for their hard work, it was hell out there at times today and it took grit to get through the races, imagine how horrid it was on the start boat and this is Hawaii, people do it in Denmark, in Scotland and many other cold and wild places just so that we can race, jump and spin in front of the cameras. I also want to thank the sponsors of the series and all companies who have sponsored events in the past here and around the world, without this cash injection it just would not be possible. I am sure that association with such an amazing sport is beneficial to these companies so it is a win-win situation.

Some last minute advice is always good. You can see the flag order clearly writting on my arm so that I didn't forget! Picture courtesy of Jimmie Hepp

This post will concentrate on my experiences today and reflect on where my racing career might go from here. For an article about the whole event and all the results check out The Maui News - Double honors for McGain, Roediger.

The alarm sounded at 7am this morning and it took a period of total concentration for the next ten and a half hours to ensure that I was: prepared, rigged, at briefing, at the start line, ate food, drank water, changed sails, changed fins, completed races, de-rigged, packed my gear, attended the after party at Neil Pryde and finally drive safely home! I didn’t stop for a moment and had very little time to actually step back and ponder what was going on, I didn’t even notice the results to other divisions or races, how others were doing, barely had time to say two words to Liz who was gallantly supporting and assisting all day (Thank you xx). It was great to see baby Jack turn up to support his uncle on his first trip to the beach and I am sure that he will become a regular feature of the Kanaha and Ho’okipa car parks in future years. I did manage to grab my helmet cam for a couple of heats so that you can experience what it was like out there.

The Maui Race Series is split in two parts; first up it is age groups then in the afternoon it is mixed up into ability groups each section has four races with one discard and prizes are awarded for both. This format is excellent but some sailors do feel the strain and there tends to be a few less survivors on the start line in the afternoon (especially today with the brutal conditions). The quick running heats are extremely efficiently organised and a total of 44 heats were run in 4 hours of racing.

My camp during the pre-race set up. Picture courtesy of Jimmie Hepp

Nervous, yes extremely nervous is the best way to describe how I had been feeling in the run up to the event. I knew that I had put a lot into it over the last couple of weeks, I knew that I had been absent from racing for a long time, I knew that I had been writing about in online, I knew that lots of people have been reading about my adventures… the list goes on, lets just say I was nervous! I was pleased and sort some comfort into the fact that my logistical preparation had gone well and I had a very calm set up in the morning although the changeable wind made equipment choice critical and had many scratching their heads a little. Before long I was sat on the beach upwind of the start with just 5 minutes to go with a bunch of other racers. My nerves were calmed a great deal when Matt (Wicks) joined me (we races together from age 13 to 18 I think) and his cheerful words made me feel at home.

To the start, well I have been practicing so was a bit confident but the strong winds of up to 40mph+ of the last couple of days had made it extremely choppy with some rolling waves out to sea so setting up was rather hard. Two minute count downs go extremely quickly and all of a sudden I was crossing the line with the pack sprinting to the first mark at full speed and within just a few minutes I was crossing the finish line just behind Matt and in 8th place (out of 10). Wow that was quick, I knew that my hesitation on the turns had cost me a few places but I was so pleased not to have embarrassed myself and completed the first race.

End of Race # 1, Matt wins this one. Picture courtesy of Jimmie Hepp

During the set up for the second race I was concerned that a heap of the other sailors seemed to be way ahead, was I late? But, as we came within ten seconds of the flag it was clear that a number of sailors were over early and would be disqualified. Matt and I were again side by side, I led to start but my lacklustre gybes let him through and I was playing catch up. After 3 minutes with the throttle on full we both crossed the line within 15 feet of each other, that was so much fun! I thought I was in trouble with the officials as one came running down the beach screaming at me, luckily all he wanted was my name!

The end of race #2, maxed on a 6.0m. Picture courtesy of Jimmie Hepp  

The wind had increased and I just had time to change down to a 5.5m but didn’t have time to change the fin. Liz handed me the helmet cam and I dashed off to the start, you only get about 5 minutes before you need to get back upwind to the start area. The start was amazing, I think I reached the first mark in fourth but once again the turns were causing me trouble and I slipped to eighth by the end.

This is mens 19-39 age group race # 3 including the pre-race countdown. A good start but it goes wrong!

With the wind still maxing out at 40 mph on the course I stayed with the 5.5. Not such a great start but again I was right up there at the start before drifting down the pack after a series of poor gybes, I couldn’t understand why my corners were so bad on race day after being so good in practice. I was certainly playing it too safe. With some disqualifications I ended up with a sixth place in this race so it turned out to be a good result.

I didn’t stay for the final prize giving and results so it was only later I got to read the full results and much to my surprise I came 5th overall in the 19 to 39 division and in that second race where a few people were over early I WON! My results were 8th, 1st, (8th discarded) and 6th = 14.7 points. Consistency and start discipline had really paid off and I am really pleased because this was one of my major weaknesses as a teenage racer. I only wish I had known these results before going into the afternoon as it would have given me confidence to push a little harder.

I think this is the start of 19-39 Race # 2, you can just see me in the middle behind the white North.

After a short lunch break where I spent much of my time adjusting my 5.5 to cope with the increasing wind only for the wind to drop down and me have to switch back to the 6.0m! I did get some much needed rest back at my base camp, having a good race day camp is so important and I always try to get out of my wet gear whenever possible, the longer you are in wet clothes, wetsuits etc. the more energy drains out of you.

For the afternoon I had signed up for the Expert division and the increasing wind, swell and rain made for torturous conditions but it reminded me of racing in Denmark at the 1994 Youth World Championships and I was relatively comfortable. With even less time between heats in the afternoon there was barely time to catch your breathe before you had to be on your way to the start boat. The wind picked up some more and I could see more coming upwind. I just had enough time to change down to the 5.5 again and change the fin before the third race. Again my turns were letting me down but my speed was good between the marks. With better turns maybe I could have won the division but I ended up third with a 1st, 3rd, 3rd and 3rd (Discard) = 6.7 points. Again I didn’t realise that I had won the first race until later when I realised that Bernd was over early. As I rounded the final mark I started to reflect on the whirlwind of a day and smiled but was a little sad that it was all over and I would have to wait until next year to race again.

This is the Expert group  race # 3 including the pre-race countdown. Too many mistakes, really over powered on 5.5m.

Max 100m speed of 29.95knots during the races.

So where to go from here? I am certainly keen to continue with racing for fun and aim to compete in a few Maui Race Series events next year. In a month I will be leaving Maui and going back to Bahrain for a number of months and I will be sure to take some slalom kit with me because the conditions are perfect there to train. I had luckily borrowed virtually all the gear used from Hot Sails Maui and Tom and to compete in the future I will have to get some boards and order sails, booms, bases etc. This is expensive but with careful planning I am sure that I can reduce the cost a lot. Slalom racing is fun and my advise to any budding racer is prepare, get your practice in and get signed up, if you approach it with the right attitude you will enjoy yourself and your sailing with improve immeasurably. Now that this challenge has been completed it is time for me to start my next. Check back tomorrow for more info about my next mini-challenge!

Sailing record STILL 100%

More to follow…

Eight in the 808 - 60 Days of Summer Day 20

My Tabou received some more attention this morning and is now sporting a flesh lick of paint. I am itching to get back onto a wave board and sail after a couple of weeks dedicated to being overpowered on big gear. After confirming my entry this morning and choosing my event t-shirt size (which ended up being quite difficult!) I arrived at a much windier Kanaha than was presented yesterday. It was set up to be a great opportunity to get some high wind practice in and I rigged a 6.0 with most people of 5.5 – 5.8m sails. It looks like it will be rather windy on Saturday so I had picked up a 5.5m to add to my ever growing quiver of boards and sails. There are not many details online about the 2010 Maui Race Series but this weekend Kanaha will host the Neil Pryde State Championships, the first possible start is 11:30am so get down and check it out. It should be a good watch for all the family (entry if FREE for spectators!). I will be posting a report on Saturday evening which will include onboard video from my races so that you’ll be able experience what it is like to hurtle round a slalom course with 10 other guys all trying to beat you!

With my two week preparation almost complete my plan for today was to simulate a full race day which consists of 4 races in the morning and 4 in the afternoon, I would use my timer to practice my starts and try to get into some sort of rhythm. It was extremely choppy especially in the upwind area where the races will start. It is hard to fully visualise the course without the course actually being laid but I know the Kanaha waters well and the GPS tracks are interesting and show that I managed to keep a fairly constant course throughout the day. I completed 4 back to back downwind slaloms with a max speed in the low 29’s.

The timers used these days are rather better than what I had15 years ago with a big display and being easy to use.

After a brief lunch break I was back on the water for the second set of 4 races. The wind had picked up (but looking at the online data it appears that it wasn’t as windy as two days ago when I was on the 6.6!) and I was thankful of the extra inch of downhaul that I had added during the break but, the broad downwind legs especially the first two were extremely tough and it was hard to keep the board in a straight line and from smashing into the chop. I have been practicing on a figure-8 course in recent days so it was interesting to try out a different angle.

This is the analysis of one of the practice races, you can clearly see the sail upwind and start (the shorter red ones) where I was coasting and then the 5 legs. The start is towards the beach from the outside and it this clearly shows how much slower it is going out through the chop on the 2nd and 4th legs. At the weekend I will try to set a WAYPOINT at the startline so that I can assess my speed at each of the starts.

By 4:15pm I had successfully completed 8 practice races and hadn’t fallen off at a gybe mark even once! I figured that was a good time to quit for the day! My max speed was clocked at 29.82 knots and I was pleased with a new Alpha 500 PB of 22.734 Knots which will go towards the HAM challenge score, looking more closely this was completed with only a max speed of 26.7 knots which makes me think that there is more that I can do here.

Check out the HAM website, maybe you could do a challenge in your sailing area?

This GPS image shows all of the tracks from today, again you can clearly make out the start area in the top right, the five legs and the upwind cruising (back up to the start).

After arriving home having completed some errands (of which one was to stock up on Powerbars!) I once more donned my running kit and set off into the wind and up to Paia before going straight up the hill, it was a fairly short but tough run and I was really pleased after a fairly taxing day at the beach. I do feel somewhat ready now for the weekend and I may not train tomorrow or Friday instead opting for some bump’n’jump action as I am keen to get on my waveboard and try those new fins some more.

Pic of the day

On top of the world, click to enlarge

Sailing record = 100% (19/19)

More to follow...

A Beautiful Day to go Sailing - 60 Days of Summer Day 19

The morning started with some much needed repairs to my wavebaord, who will be back to pounding the waves in Sunday once the racing is completed rather than sat in my back yard cooking in the sun.

It looks rather messy at the moment, but a good layer of filler today and plenty of sanding and it looks much better, all that is left now is some spray paint and some Sharpie markes (for the graphics) and she'll look as good as new (almost!).

My box of board fixing tricks.

With not too much wind forecast in the 808 state I had half planned an SUP downwinder before the wind picked up enough to get some light air slalom practice in. The downwinder will have to wait until after Saturday as I really need to keep training. It was a very different to normal Kanaha today with very few people at the beach, it was a peaceful and pleasant place to hang out and the 10-14 knots onshore breeze was perfect for the 8.0m and 80cm wide board.

Later in the session the wind picked up a little but not enough to challenge Tom’s record speed of yesterday.

I tried a slightly different set up today with more downhaul, slighter higher boom and longer lines, this seemed to work well and I felt the most comfortable that I have on the big kit. With the sun shining on the deserted beach it was great to hang out and swim with Liz before getting out for one final session. No great speeds today on the GPS as it was a little too light, it would have been good to have tried an 8.8. Thanks to Liz for all the pics today.

Not much wind today but great to be on the water on such a beautiful day here in Hawaii.

So it is just a few days to go until the Neil Pryde State Championships and everyone is getting geared up. It looks like there will be 20-30 knots of wind on the day so looking at the logistics because I definitely need 5.5, 6.0, 6.6 and 7.3 rigged and ready to ensure that I am covered. The thing that I never forgot about racing was the enormous amounts of equipment needed, it is a bit easier here in Hawaii because it is one warm but secondly the wind is relatively constant but it will start off lighter in the early rounds, get windier as the day progresses and be lighter for the later races so I need to be prepared for everything. With the first race at 11:30am I am guessing that my mound of gear will need to make the short journey from my house to the beach around 9am.

It was great to feel a lot more comfortable today in the gear, what a difference from 2 weeks ago!

One more question on my mind is whether to enter the Semi-Pro or the Expert division, I want to race against my buddies Matt Wicks and John Smalley (who I used to race against when I was young) but I don’t want to chew off too much and be at the back of the pack all day. I will get the opportunity to race in the 19-39 category too which will be really tough but great fun. I need to register tomorrow so will sleep on it and make up my mind in the morning. I finished the day with the Kanaha and back run and was pleased with my pace.

Pic of the day - I have talked about the Kanaha run lots in the last couple of weeks so I though that it was about time to include a picture that I took while out on my bike along the path. What a beautiful place to run/ride/walk, it is really motivating to look up and see this.

Click to enlarge

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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...

Slalom Sparring and Prototype Fins - 60 Days of Summer Day 16

With just a week until the final Maui slalom race of the season the action at the beach is hotting up. Everyone seems really motivated to do well next weekend and it had led to some great training opportunities as racers jostle for position on the water. Confidence is so important during these super charged testosterone full races and that knowing that you can out pace or out turn your fellow competitors is vital if you are going to succeed on race day.


I am starting to meet a few of the racers at the beach who seem to be at Kanaha every afternoon and it has been really useful to get some input from equipment set up to advice on starting. I remember my first few events on the UK national circuit in the 90’s and how intimidated I felt, that cannot have helped my performance so it is great to feel a little more at home amongst the racers here. Tonight I set up some sparring with a fellow competitor who has his own buoy. Rounding a mark on your own is one thing but when you add other sailors into the mix the perfect laydown slalom gybe may not, okay probably isn’t the best policy and you have to adapt to the situation FAST before you either bounce out and fall and/or get hit by someone else. I almost don’t want to write this but I seem to be developing a habit of falling when the person in front of me falls, not sure why but that is certainly the time to attack rather than falter. After several rounds of sparring I was really pleased, I had plenty of speed and managed to cut inside at the mark and come out with some speed. We were running really short legs to get as many competitive corners in. We were both using GPS tracking and it was great to be able to compare. At first I was running 26-27 knots but as the wind picked up my speeds increased to 27-29 knots. At the end of the session we had a good chat about the good and bad and agreed to meet up to practice starts – I now have a timer so need to get used to using it and the starting procedure.

I am pleased to see less dark colours on the turns today = better speed maintained! Best 100m run today was 29.035 knots with a top end of 29.605 knots.  

I was set to test a 32cm prototype race fin today but that almost didn’t happen when I realised that I didn’t have a set of screws that fit – they were all too long. Luckily after searching my box of bits I just about managed to find enough washers (about an inch think on each screw!) to fit it snugly into the box. (My session was almost halted again when I broke my downhaul rope and had just enough left for a double run through the pully rather than a tripple, it was rather hard to get the desired tension, note to self - get some spare line!) For the last couple of days I have felt the need for more grip and this new fin certainly gave me that, it was really smooth and I felt in more control. I think that this will be perfect for 6.6m and lighter wind 6.0m weather but, I think that I might need a 30cm when I am over powered on the 6.0m and a 34cm or 36cm for the 7.3m.

The 32cm prototype felt smooth and fast, it was great to have more control and better grip. I look foward to getting my hands on some other sizes.

I also have a some 16cm Twins to test out, they have plenty of flex so I am confident that they will have plenty of slide. I have my fingers and toes crossed for some waves so that I can try them out and report back.

On arriving back at the ranch I still wanted to push myself a little further and again donned my running shoes, to be honest maybe I should have rested but I am always keen to see when the max is and I came pretty close to finding it today as I totally blew out half way through my run, eventually I got home but totally shattered. This is where I must pay tribute to Powerbars which proved an excellent way to help speed up my recovery. I think that it is time for some rest and the latest episode of Friday Night Lights!

I have been really pleased with the Powerbars I bought the other day, these seem to really help in the recovery phase and I will certainly be buying some more.

Pic of the day - Paia Bay

This is one of my favourite beaches in Hawaii, whether you want a swim in the summer, to relax in the sun or a surf in the winter this is so often the perfect place to be.

Sailing record = 100% (15/15)

More to follow…

Slalom 102 - 60 Days of Summer Day 15

I believe that I completed the Slalom 101 course yesterday with a Merit and today it was time to face new challenges offered by the Slalom 102 syllabus! With a little over a week until the Neil Pryde State Championships today was time to step up the training on and off the water. While I know that my technique will be rather rusty come race day I want to ensure that my fitness is top notch. I know that it is a grueling day of racing with 8 races to complete (4 in my division and 4 in age category) and the fitter I am the more consistent my pace will be. For those of you who have been following this blog for a while it will not come as a surprise that I feel that fitness will be one of my strengths because I (almost) obsessively train year round in the gym, on the road and in the pool; my GPS device has become one of my training partners and measures of success.

The first part of my training today was scheduled to be a long bike ride; Liz and I rode 26km including a long stint into the wind and then straight up Haleakala; tough but, great fun. We arrived home rather tired but both managed a sprint to the finish, Liz not happy with 26km carried on to Kanaha and back to make it 33km - nice work before breakfast!

Time for some food, rest and rehydration. During my break I went to collect the new prototype Black Project Fins that I will be testing in the coming days and weeks, they look amazing but more of that in tomorrow’s post.

My on water training today would focus on the turns as this is an area that I definitely need to improve and I wanted to try out the 6.6m and AA combo. There was a buoy set up at Kanaha on the inside which provided a perfect target and with a few others with the same idea often there were others at the mark which created some competition. I was less powered today and the turns were far more successful although I always seemed to fall when the sailor in front of me crashed, not sure why that was! My GPS is providing me with important feedback; my runs today were slower than yesterday in the 27-29 knot range but this was expected as I was working on a figure 8 course today and I was less powered. The 27cm Speed fin was definitely too small today and the new 32cm Race prototype will hopefully change things (the prototypes were being photographed today and were not available for on water testing).

I am getting more used to using the GPS and software and it is providing some great feedback, every flat water sailor should get one!

I was exhausted when I got home but I wanted to push myself a little more and powered down and Gatorade and some water; changed into my running kit and strapped my GPS to my wrist, I was ready to set off down the bike path to Kanaha once more. It was tough but with the wind on my back the first 3.5km wasn’t too bad although when I turned and had to run into the 20mph wind my legs really started to feel it, but with the help of a few good tracks on my iPod I completed the 7km course in 39min. I am not sure that I know a descriptive word to describe how I felt but all I could do was lie flat on my back for a while on our living room floor. Another Gatorade and a Powerbar later I did feel rather more human once more. Training for today was complete and that felt good!

Two Weeks – When I started the project I set out to motivate myself and others, see how much action I could get and have a ton of fun. In the last 2 weeks I have windsurfed everyday, hiked, surfed watched the sunset, ran, swam, biked and had a great deal of FUN. I have pushed myself to do new things and have been encouraged by the number of visitors to the blog on a daily basis. As we enter the 3rd week it is time to step it up a gear so watch out for some interesting posts in the coming week and please keep reading and remember to spread the word as your feedback is extremely motivating.

Facebook Advert – I teach Economics and Business Studies so as a marketing experiment I decided to create Facebook ad for the project, let me know if you see it and be sure to click through. These could be a great way for you to promote your business? I set a $2 a day budget and left it run for 7 days and paid 17 cents per 1,000 impressions. It took about 10 minutes to set up.

This could be a great way for you to target your customers.

Pic of the day

I talk a lot about Kanaha Park in my posts so thought that it would be a good idea to include a pic that I took one early morning a couple of weeks back.

Click to enlarge.

What’s up next? With the forecast for it to be flat and windy on the North Shore I expect that there will be some more slalom training tomorrow and I am keen to test the new 32cm fin but I also want to get out on my wave board and test the new 16cm twin fins, maybe I will be able to do both but I’ll have to wait to see what feedback my body gives me after today’s effort! A south swell is expected to arrive over the weekend and I would love to loose the sail for a few hours.

Sailing record = 100% (14/14)

More to follow...

60: Day 14 – Slalom Training

The forecast for today was for stronger trades and no waves. In the past I would have been sat at home moaning at the lack of swell. However, this year things are different and a flat and windy day was perfect for me to try out the smaller slalom board (more kit borrowed from Tom!) and a 6.0m. It is quite likely that it will be rather windy for the State Champs in 9 days so I was really motivated.

Before going out today I was extremely keen to get the GPS unit working correctly and check on the official speeds from yesterday. After trying a number of different pieces of software I settled for GPSResults from http://www.gps-speed.com/, this is really easy to work out and makes it easy for you to superimpose your tracks onto Google Earth.

It seems easy to use but I will need to read the tips online and ask others how to get the max out of the software.

I was extremely pleased to confirm that I had broken both Tom and Andy’s 8.0 speed and I would be able to claim back the family trophy. The Lightwind Speed Challenge is a bit of family fun and speeds are only counted when the sailor is using at least 8.0m and a board bigger than 100 ltrs. The speed ladder now stands like this;

1st   Chris Freeman  27.14 knots (2009 8.0m GPS, 2005 Exocet S4 125 ltr)

2nd  Tom Hammerton  25.63 knots


3rd  Andrew Freeman  25.33 knots

Tom was a little sad to hand over the trophy but I am sure that my speed is not that safe and he'll back claiming it back at some stage soon enough. When I get out at THE WALL in Bahrain, then I think that 32+ is possible on this gear maybe more.

Enough of yesterday today was nothing short of exhilarating. With the wind peaking at 35mph I rigged my smallest slalom sail a 6.0m GPS and paired it with a borrowed Alex Aquera (http://www.alexaguera.com/) designed full carbon slalom board and 28cm speed fin. Wanting to simulate race day and test myself I set about sailing a number of full downwind slalom races, the course is always set up in the same place at Kanaha so it does make training easy. I will try to use a watch to get my starts better but I need to get one yet!

Winds were maxing out at 35mph today, more than enough for my 6.0m!

After the first completed course I was a little shocked how tiring it was, I was on the edge with the sail and board combo and crashed one of my turns. When it is this windy at Kanaha it is so choppy and going out it was really difficult to keep the board on the water, coming in was easier over the back of the waves/chop but disaster was always just a moment away. On checking my GPS my course max speed was somewhere in the 27 knot range, less than I had expected (and not good enough). After a short rest I cranked on 2 more inches of downhaul and slid my track forward 2 inches to keep the board down. I completed 2 simulated races with very a short break in between and my top end speed had increased to over 31 knots, I was starting to get used to being so overpowered. Sailing today brought back memories of my youth when my brother and I always sailed totally maxed at Mersea Island in Essex. I was struggling on the turns and that will kill any chances that I have in the race. For the 4th race I slid the track back an inch and worked on simulating the start better, I was getting tired by now and while the speed felt good, it wasn’t as fast according to the GPS and I crashed 2 turns. Time for a break.

After a brief swim and chill out with Liz (thanks to Liz for some motivating words xx) I went for a final test race. The wind had moderated slightly and I felt a lot more in control and much smoother. I gave myself a countdown in my head for the start and raced to the first imaginary jibe mark. As I powered down the leg I kept telling myself to push it and commit myself in the turn and it would be all ok. A few moments later I had flipped the rig and was settling down on the next leg; that was a better turn, right one down 3 more to go. Confidence is a great thing and my next turn was better still despite the large chop on the outside I managed to come own planning and with one slight pump I was settled back down and hurtling down the 3rd leg. I was enjoying this more that earlier in the day and I nailed the next two jibes. I was so pleased because I had shown myself that with a bit of grit I would be able to complete the races. When I was training for the Amwaj Triathlon I completed the full course after work one night and that gave me confidence, this was the same. I don’t want to get too excited because doing this on an imaginary GPS course on your own is one this but doing it with 10 other guys round buoys is very different but it is a start and one from which I can build.

GPS tracks overlaid onto Google Earth - If only we'd have been able to analyse like this back in the 90's!

During my 3rd race I hit a peak of 31.14o knots and a 100m best speed of 30.329 knots.

Evaluation time; to be able to see your speeds and tracks on the computer after your session is amazing, I could look at each of the races that I did and work out where I was fastest and look at my jibe arcs. My top speed came from my 3rd race with a max of 31. 14 knots and a 100m speed of 30.33 knots. I was pleased because I wasn’t sailing a speed course and that was in the heat of battle. My record on a speed course is only 33 or so knots at the moment (something that I am keen to improve during the Maui VMax events in August). It was windy today but not as windy as it could be, it is clear that 6.0 will be too big for my 72kg medium frame on the windy days and I will try to get my hands on a 5.5m. The fin I was using was a speed fin and I didn’t feel like it gave me enough grip or control, I will try to address that issue too. In all, a great day of training and one during which I learnt a lot about my gear and more importantly myself. Training will continue tomorrow.

At the end of the day I was totally exhausted and asleep on Anne and Tom’s couch at 8:30pm!

Pic of the Day

I finally got my camera working so I will be including some pics from the last couple of weeks at the end of each post over the coming days. Today's pic of the day is from the top of Haleakela.

Click to enlarge, high res image available on request.

Sailing record = 100% (13/13 possible days)

More to follow…

60 - Day 5: To GoPro or not to GoPro? (++ Slalom 101 Update)

Ever since I first saw images from a GoPro camera a few years ago I have wanted one but I could never quite bring myself to part with the cash and I wasn’t too impressed with some of the first videos I saw out there. More recently the HD version was released and this has made a big impact so luckily to my complete surprise Liz bought me one for my birthday and had sent it directly to Hawaii, so I finally picked it up this week. So I have decided to GoPro but the question today is “Should we all GoPro?” Hopefully by sharing my experiences you will be able to make up your own decision (for those of you wondering I have no connection to the GoPro company so this is impartial – well at least until they give me some money!).

I can’t say much about setup yet but chatted to GP about how he set things up so started there. I got the SURF HERO HD which comes with a sticky mount for your surfboard but also a neat FCS adaptor so you can add a FCS plug to the deck and easily install the camera when required, when I am next mixing up resin (sure that it will not be too long!) I will add this to one of my surfboards (probably the 8’0”). Yesterday I picked up the bike seat post mount which works really well on the boom and I think with a little adjustment and some longer bolts could work as a mast mount. I saw a guy at Ho’okipa a couple of days with a mast mount but didn’t quite see how it was done hopefully I can check it out. The issue with mast mounts is that you have to cut the luff sleeve and given the increase in the number of people wanting to use mounts I wonder if there is a neat way that this can be built into the sleeve during design – something for Tom to work on in the loft!

I have fitted my camera with a 4GB SDHC ($30) card but I am concerned that it will not be big enough but I didn’t want to drop $120 for the biggest 32GB one but I recon that it could be a good investment in the long run.

So today I have tried a boom mount on my wave gear and immediately learned a few lessons, firstly make sure that you know which setting you need. I thought that I had set up for stills every 2 seconds unfortunately I had it on the multiple shot mode which takes a few shots one after the other then stops. So I thought that I had captured a few good waves that I got (yes I know that it is summer but we seem to be getting some better than normal swell) but I didn’t. I went back to the beach and worked it out but both the wind and waves dropped somewhat and then the camera fogged up. While it wasn’t the most successful first run out I did learn a lot so that is good.

This was my favourite shot that I took today, many of them were ruined by the fogging of the lens, I will get some goggle anti-fog and see if that works, I also need to do something to reduce the water droplets.

My second session of the day was at Sprecks with the 8.0m GPS and I decided to try the head mount shooting video. Looks like we may get some decent waves later in the week and into the weekend, the wind should be building again by then so I keen to get it attached to my wave gear and into some surf.

Ok this is a rather boring video and the quality is not great because I am working on a slow connection but I do like the head cam video footage. Watching the video I look rather more comfortable than I really am.

So that’s my first effort (well actually not, I did borrow one last summer when we had a few waves) over the coming weeks I will try out different options and will post my experiences and you can make your own mind whether to GoPro.







Slalom 101 Update: After my wave session the wind was getting light so I decided that it would be the perfect time to get on the 8.0m. I am finding it a little tough on my arms due in part to the very long lines on the boom that I borrowed, I should try some shorter lines and/or a seat harness and see how that goes. While I found the session hard the good news is that I didn’t fall off any jibes!

I am planning to team up with my old friend Matt Wicks (who is also doing the Maui Race Series) over the next few days to see if a bit of training together will help. I also want to get out the GPS and see if that feeds back any good info. I am starting to think that this weekend may be a little soon and I may have to wait a further two weeks for the State Championships to make my debut/comeback.

Wider Water Community: Congrats must go to 15 year old Connor Baxter who won the Maui-Molokai SUP race a couple of days back. I interviewed him few years back for Boardseeker.com and it is great to see his waterman career develop. Nice one! There are lots of pictures on Jimmy Hepps’ FB page so check them out.

Spread the Word: You have obviously read this far, you may have enjoyed what I have had to say, you may not, but do me a favour and pass on to your windsurfing and other interested buddies.

Up Next: Our friends from Bahrain just arrived today so think that I will take them on a hike or something in the morning so that is likely to feature heavily tomorrow and there are plans to watch the sunset from 10,000 ft +. I will also try to get out for some more slalom action and take some more GoPro shots/video with some different settings.

More to follow...

60 - Day 4: Slalom 101

It has been almost a year since I got my hands on some borrowed slalom gear at the 2009 VMAX speed series (hopefully there will be some 2010 events coming up) and I am planning to compete in the Maui Race Series this weekend so want to get out there and see how things are. I used to race on the UK circuit when I was at school and sailed slalom gear full time until I was 18, then discouraged by my results at the 1994 Youth World in Denmark I quit racing (I know it might have been a bit rash), swapped all my slalom gear for wave kit and bought my first ticket to Hawaii. Racing was very different back then but interestingly many of he names are still about and it seems that many of my peers from that era seem to have landed themselves in Maui with the likes of Jon Smalley, Matt Wicks and Dan Ellis all regulars at the beach here. The gear has changed dramatically and the lighter winds today were a perfect opportunity to get out and try some more modern gear and see if I can still race. I wasn’t that good back then so hoping that some maturity may help me out a little!

This is Tom on his race kit and I would like to thank him and HSM for all their help so far in making this slalom dream a reality.

The first thing that has not changed is the amount of kit you need – tons! At the start of the day I had a board, 2 sails and a in but it but somehow by the end of the day I seem to have begged, borrowed and bought rather more and now boast 4 slalom sails 8.0m thru 6.0m and more masts and booms to fit, I do need to get another mast and think that with the added load of the bigger rigs I should invest in some new extensions and bases that up until now have just had to cope with my 5.0m wave sail.

With the wind steady between 16 and 18 knots (not wanting to push myself too hard) I took the 6.6m, I should have had the 7.3m up but I don’t have a mast for that yet. What was clear from my some what brief session is that I will need rather more practice over the coming days if I am going to be able to compete at the weekend. What is for sure is my level of tiredness today and the big smile on my face it was great to be out and I was amazed that it had been almost 15 years since I owned a slalom board!

GoPro Update: Managed to get a good mount so tomorrow looks like it will finally be operational so there should be some video on the next post.

Wider Windsurfing Community: I have just had an email to say that the WindSurfer International Magazine is now live which is always worth a read, thanks for your hard work Brian.





Coming up tomorrow: I need to step up the slalom training so I am considering a Sprecks to Kanaha loop. I was reasonably pleased with today’s effort but I will need to be MUCH better by the weekend that is for sure!

More to follow…

60 Days of Summer - Time to pack

This time next week we will be somewhere between Bahrain and London on route to LA then OGG. In many ways the time seems to have gone so slowly and yet it only feels like yesterday we were packing to leave Maui.

Southside Maui Beach - looking forwward to some southside surf and SUP action.

BAHRAIN: I was really pleased to get a good string of days on the water but this last week has only really be windy between 11am and 2pm so I haven't be able to get out. Instead it has been back to the gym and pool. There is a possibility of wind today but then the models show nothing for the rest of the week.

FLAKA - some progress has been made, I was feeling good about things then saw some great videos of Air Flakas which raised the bar somewhat. At the moment I guess I am just not giving it enough, I must commit to the move more, with plenty of wind around the corner I am pleased that I have at least made a start, hopefully within a couple of weeks I will be able to report on rather more success.

Air Flaka by the master!

KIT? Seems like Maui has been super windy this year so far, which makes me wonder if I need a 4.1m HSM Bolt too? Taking my 73 Tabou but would love to get a 79 and a 100 freestyler.

SLALOM UPDATE: Fimgers crossed Andy (who starts to persuit of UK slalom glory this weekend) will be meeting me at Heathrow with a slalom board and sails packed and then I will be almost ready for the Maui Race Series, my first event is likely to be in 2 weeks time.

TRANSPORT: Busy searching for new Maui wheels... needs to be able to get around the island while being weighted down with tons of gear and still be able to find room for a trip to Costco. Lets hope the summer 2010 version is better than some of the wrecks I have driven in the past!

I had better start packing.

More to follow...

Maui Race Series 2010

After watching Tom and everyone last year I really want to give the Maui Race Series a go this summer. Hoping to get a slalom board and rig, but if not it will have to be a trusty wave board. It should be fun.

I will not be in Maui until the 9th July so guess its the 17th and 31st that I will be aiming for.

More to follow...