dpb

Got out yesterday ....sw force4/5 sunshine nice waves...low tide a few rocks, but hey.. should a got out couple hours earlier in fact . Today too onshore and only a 4 oh well maybe tommorrow after work..almost got agybe in an all between the waves...

icantthinkofone

Wooohoooo Also got out on sat.. and had a great time on the 121 carve. Feels tiny and skittish (yeah, ok!!) Deffo bought the right board. Still having problems absorbing the gusts... needing to feather the sail slightly (not a lot but enough to 'unsettle' the board), to avoid being pulled up into the air.

Fast tacks are about 70-30, gybing is just not happening.. I can carve down/bear away, but from there it just goes plain wrong!

Finished off by putting my hand through my 7m whilst *carrying it on the beach*!!! Oh well.. 'tis an old ezzy axxis I paid 40 quid for, so not the end of the world I guess.

icantthinkofone

While I think of it - Franx / others,

Allegedly there were a *lot* of hypersonics made last year, and a lot sold, but not as many as made... so there are a lot of 03 hypersonics about the place... surfstore.co.uk have them on special at about 550. I could get one for a somewhat less than that through a mate who'd probably be taking a small cut... if there are that many around some barginning might not go amiss to try some barginning...

personally I've decided it's too specialist - my first 'sinker' is going to be nearer 95 litres and of freestylewave persuasion (I hope!)

Franx

I hears the 03 hypersonic was supposed to be quite a large improvement on the one before. Easier, faster & shorter, with a bit more rocker at the nose, so better in choppy water

That said, I currently have no money.
I will soon though, as I'm selling the car, but then I'll have no way of getting it to the lake
Anyone got a £50 car they don't want?

dpb

hi yer , i think i saw the hypersonic bout tis time last year - was lookin for larger board and spied this -and guys advised me -no. okay for FLAT water so i got 131 carve. Even at that stage they would have given a hefty discount (the next big thing lol ). So your windsurfin dehab experience was good icanthinkone ? vfm ? dont tell me you got out every day -what did you do when there was no wind? mate o mine ran a bar there 20 years ago before any development -thought there were a lot of sandflies if the wind wasnt up. Oh franx cant you get the bus that things only 22? aint it

Franx

Ever tried taking a board, 2 masts & 3 sails on the bus?
Maybe I'll build a windsurfing-kit carrier for the bike

The Carve's meant to be pretty fast anyway - probably as fast as you'd ever want to go I do remember racing someone on one when I had my old Bic, & it worked out quite similar. Far better all round board than the Hypersonic, I should imagine.

dpb

..ive travelled abroad , everything in 3m board bag before now.....havnt attempted bus yet mind

icantthinkofone

Yeah, good experience with dahab...

Airline not-so-great, but the plane was new enough - mediocre service, and lacking in legroom (even for charter, I'm not some spoilt business class brat!)
VFM - hmmm... given that I went easter week... expensive somewhat tied by g/f's leave. Better than vfm vass 'cos it blew, when I was in vass it didnt.
Wind - there wasn't a day I didn't go out, only 1 non planing day, 1 marginal 7.5 day, and otherwise 4.2-6m generally. No real prob with sandflies, but then it's all quite developed now. As for when there was no wind... see also the reason I went easter week
Rescue cover is virtually non existant tho - non locals aren't allowed radios or to drive powerboats... break anything and you're relying on another windsurfer to summon help, or sitting on the board and waving - ok if near shore. The egyptian staff then bring out the boat to get you.... I'd certainly not venture too far without going buddied, but otherwise, it didn't bother me.

Never tried a board on public transport before, but have done an 8ft coffin bag with 7pairs of skiis and a snowboard across the paris metro during the evening rush hour. Enjoyed that a lot

icantthinkofone

Oh, and franx - get a board bag with wheels on the back, attach the front to the seatpost of ur bike with the uphaul, and presto!

Franx

Hope you took the body out first...

I might just try and leave all my stuff at West Kirby when it comes to that time. I work there, so it shouldn't really be a problem. Or borrow my mum's Forester & attach a trailer to it.....

I only went out twice over the last few weeks Too occupied with a combination of work, and trying to sell the car, so I have more money just until I get a job.

dpb

[QUOTE. Or borrow my mum's Forester & attach a trailer to i[/QUOTE]
nah....... yer want an impreza....does the job personnally lookin at vito now

Franx

[QUOTE=dpb: nah....... yer want an impreza....does the job personnally lookin at vito now [/QUOTE]

I had an impreza...bloody sold it.

Vito? That's the Merc one isn't it? It has a nice gearshift - like the volvo S60, & a strange sort of foot-operated parking brake. No good for handbrake turns

dpb

sorry franx didnt realise - mind youll save fortune on gas alone id go for 5 year old vito if i did 90k diesel - dont know how much parts could be tho..... would like to lose preza shortly just too enjoyable to drive

Franx

The worst part is, I sold the Scoob, as I thought the Rangie would be more practical, & cheaper to run (on LPG, that is)....but I didn't quite take into account the top end engine rebuild that it just had Parts are ridiculously cheap - brake pads, for example, are about 8 quid or so, but it doesn't quite break even, as you tend to need more of them, being an old Landy underneath

I'll get another one soon - but only once my bank balance has recovered

Don't lose the 'preza - you'll just regret it like I did I do love my old Range Rover, especially now the engine works properly, but I just can't afford it any more Short break from cars for the moment, I think

icantthinkofone

Must admit I haven't regretted loosing my scoob. Replaced with a saab 95 for pipe and slippers motoring (lots of business miles), and a sprinter van for sailing / windsurfing

Getting back on topic... went for a sail yesterday, borrowed a starboard go (180!!) and 8.5 for some power.

Suprising thing was it was really quite good fun! on a 60cm fin it goes upwind nearly as well as my boat.. and planes nicely on flat water. Worth a giggle anyhow.. but I still managed to sink the tail gybing it's over 1m wide ffs!!

dpb

Im assuming you took the family + dog with you

Franx

It is a boat....
One of those boards you can walk up and down...always good for a laugh!

There's a thing similar to that at the sailing centre in West Kirby. They mostly use Hifly Mambos - weigh about a tonne, but they go quite well I think they're about 180 odd litres or more...

icantthinkofone

Yeah, I know... but got me thinking about formula kit!

Boats, boards, whatever... Once a racer always a racer I guess

Sailed the mambo/matrix in dahab when teaching g/f. They're plastic and HEAVY, consequently not as great as you may think at planing or stability... The Go's 1.1 (IIRC) METRES wide, and weighs 9kg.. planes quite well and quickly. Not exactly lively, but fun on an otherwise useless day.

No family or dog Just a bit on the clumsy side..

dpb

this thread needs more input ...... ........AND MORE WIND

icantthinkofone

Tell me about it... we're letting the footballers overtake!

Did hear mention on the boards forum of peeps sailing 5.5's in waves on the S coast on wed nite... no fair Was out wed and thurs evenings, drifting around on a semi-sunk 121 with my 7m... at least my tacking's getting dryer

Did get 2 planing runs on thurs before the wind switched off, not ideal tho...

Franx

Football taking over?
Never.... This one's staying at the top, along with the mountain biking one

Do you remember the board similar to the Mambo, but with no daggerboard, and twin fins? That was a cool one. We had one one test the other year, and it was pretty bloody nice. A little heavy, perhaps, but you can't have everything The only problem I found with the Mambos, were that when caning along at crazy speeds, the daggerboard tended to fall down, and it tipped you off They are good for a spot of freestyle stuff though, (and trying to remember how to windsurf).

Again, I've not been out, as the stuff's in Liverpool, and I'm not. I'll be back in June though, to fail dismally at a few more carve gybes I may even add to my grand total of around 4, if you can call it a 'carve'.

Franx

Have you got the GPS working? What speeds? I won't tell....
As I was saying on the other thing, I am now the proud owner of an E-trex Summit, with which to measure and break every possible record Or more likely, to drop in the lake and watch it sink slowly to the bottom
I still don't trust the waterproofing though. I shall borrow a waterproof case from the sailing centre I think.
I assume a different identity on Iwindsurf by the way...Forgot the password for my original name, so I'm back to 'Franko'

dpb

fowey beach here i come...

icantthinkofone

Aha... I'm on the venture - the big numbers sold me on it, though the venture plus altimeter would have been nice... I'm intrigued as to how the summit manages barometric pressure - normally an altimeter has to be zeroed vs a known elevation to get around high/low pressure - hence why airports put out such information with their weather... If it uses the gps altitude to do that, you gain resolution, but not accuracy?? Erm, anyways, geek hat off........

Got mine an aquapac - notice that it says "the battery compartment isn't waterproof, dry it before using the unit" (or words to...) Took that to mean it doesn't really *work* underwater, just that it doesn't kill it. Also, the extra air in the aquapac means it'll float

Best speed so far - 19.6kts or 22 and a bit mph. Which I was quite pleased with severely underpowered on a (very flat) ezzy 7m. Most of the time I couldn't get in the straps Covered 13 miles during the day tho....

Franx

The summit does need to be zeroed - something I've not got around to doing yet. The thing says that you have to go to a point of known altitude - a trigpoint or summat, and then type in the altitude. It then calculates the altitude from there, as a proprtion of the barimetric pressure...

It is gaining resolution as you go higher, but as it works on the timing difference between you and the satellites, it can calculate the altitude as well as your position. Atomic clock's in the satellite, and it relays from it, back to you, calculating the timing difference between the 3 or more satellites & your position & altitude
There's a concise explnation for you...

>Weather man's hat off....

I plan to crack 50 miles an hour by the end of the summer If Bjorn Dunkerbeck can do it........

I'll go now

icantthinkofone

Yeah, I understand how the basic GPS fix works (and in 3d), was merely pondering the summit. So, you need to recalibrate from a point of known altitude on a reasonably regular basis - as weather rolls through... I'll put up with the 10m vertical accuracy the GPS plot is giving me. Not going to be enough to measure my jumps tho

Yeah, we should have a scoobynet speed challenge. Pretty confident 30+ won't be too hard. Cracking 40kts might be interesting tho... good excuse to eat lots of pies - or carry a rucksack full of water bottles

Franx

Mine goes up to 9000 metres Might just crack the top of my wave jumping....

It doesn't say it needs recalibrating often. Just whenever the batteries are changed. I'll have a look in the little book though, & see what it says.

Not sure about 40 knots I'm a tad out of practice at the moment though. More like a 40 knot face plant Give it a few weeks when I'm back where the water is, and we'll see

icantthinkofone

This is what I'm thinking about - if you stay in the same spot (at same height) as weather systems pass barometric pressure will change. It's the principle barometers work on.. so I'm not sure how you can *not* need to calibrate it! (But hey, based on mine, the batteries last about 1 day, so there it is )

Took mine out in the car, 50kts is 60mph (indicated)... scary stuff!

Franx

I see what you mean. Perhaps it's a combination of atmospheric pressure, and the normal triangulation altitude..............or something. I shall see what the thing says, when I remember...

Took mine in the car as well.....and proved just how inaccurate the Range Rover's speedo actually is. Reads about 15mph faster than it's actually going - could be a good thing?

I don't think anyone's actually cracked 50 knots yet. I think the record is around 46, or something pathetic like that

icantthinkofone

yeah, Finan Maynard's at about 46.8 (IIRC) over the regulation run, so it's reasonable to assume they're peaking past 50.. and that was complaining that they needed another 10degrees of wind angle... Either way, it's pretty seriously fast in any terms

Also reasonable to assume that most recreational sailors are at a bit over 30mph, so when you're heading at each other.... that's some real closing speed.

Interestingly it shows the speedo on my saab to be 2mph under at any speed.. I'm guessing that's engineered in as it's not a %age error. (fairly recent car with all leccy stuff..) I'd better stop relying on a 10% error eh