Planning to meet at Sandringham at 12.30 to start at St Kilda or Port Melbourne at 1.

Pity it's moderated a little...

I will be at sandy by 1230 for sure. Please be gentle with me.

ockanui said...

today crook, tomorrow good, meet y'all at Port M, hopefully be able to get a lift back to port after the show?

Mike, what's your phone number? Will you have a mobile with you at Port Melb in case there's a late change to the start point?

It blew its tits off last night here in Melbourne.. It's still honking now.. It's looking good for the arvo.. 35 knots NNW .. Bring it on..

I just have to decide what board.. 14 or 17..

DJ

Today will be all time - it's honking. I would have come, but my car is in for a service this week.

30+ knots. One of us had chest pains and is now in hospital as a precaution, another was throwing up over the side of the board. And a first time downwinder scrambling to avoid the rocks at the gates of hell. It was a bit wild. Good thing we have exceptional safety plans here in Vicco.

ockanui said...

Wow that was hard work out there today wind blowing a gale so hard that i had chest pains in the middle of the bay mmm not an ideal spot to have them! in hospital under observation bummer

Good luck Ockanui,hope it turns out to be nothing.

Wow Ockanui, hope it turns out OK for you, that's scary - at least you're already on the 'breeze, that's a good sign

T'was a wild day on the bay.. They are saying 70 kph winds and there is now a severe weather warning.. Tomorrow is looks great..

There was a huge turn up today with Jonathan having a full load and my 17 having to go on the roof.



MickV was there with his beautiful DC and Jean was there with the girls from the mon/wed Sandy paddle group.



WTF.. we might see lots of little Starboards in the future.









We're off.. These strong wind down-winders always look easy-peasy at the start.. Unfortunately the northwest wind had turned back to the north and maybe we should have started from our normal starting spot because we ended up paddling 90% on the right side to prevent heading towards the heads.



We soon started to get spread out and I waited for the tail enders to catch up.. You know it's strong when you get those little ripples across the waves.







It was a real eyeopener for Scott on his first real down-winder.. It was a great effort by him and the other down-wind virgins.





I was having a ball and got some of the longest runners on my 17.

I paddled across to Green Point to see if anyone else made it across and were waiting.. But no one had stopped there due to the off sure wind.



I joined up with some of the tail enders and we paddled to Sandy marina together.. It was a nice sight to see the flat calm water in the marina.

DJ

Gee Roscoe, didn't you see the ockanui wrote that it was hard work out there

Rosscoe said...

DJ - I'm sure you and/or Paul took some video footage. Would be good to see that too. How did the newbies find the experience? It would be good to hear from them.

Yeah got a little bit of video but I was designated backmarker today taking care of the newbs so nothing terribly exciting I suspect. It's transcoding now so I hope to throw a clip together later tonight.

ockanui said...

Thanks lads for thoughts , signs are good, I mean I can still post on the breeze, just having a few tests all being well I'll be out for tomorrows session

You're a lunatic Mike, but glad to know you're okay.

That was an epic two hours of my life.
Thanks for having me along, Get well Mike, you might have put the moz on yourself by asking me what I do for a job.
I would type more but it hurts to lift my fingers.

OK. confession time and the fingers are better now after holding cold beer.
I had done a few No winders at my local and after watching hours of DJ's vids I thought to myself I should be ok. I've been farting about on my 14 glide for 18 months so I know how it handles.
I could not have been more wrong. Nothing I had done or watched or thought about in any way prepared me for today. I did however manage to get my wettie on with PFD and leggie ok, even remembered in the scramble to grab my paddle.
The wind was howling as we left the beach and as soon as we popped out from under the hill we took off. Not knowing exactly where I was headed also caused my a little concern.
The wind in my opinion had a little to much north in it and the waves and wind were pushing me not where I thought I should be heading. I was concentrating so hard on where I was going I was stuffing my techniqe and falling in. Watching the more experienced crew dissapear off into the distance was a little unnerving as well. It was nice to know that there was someone designated as last to keep the staglers in line.
I guess the conditions may have been a bit much for a first timer but you have to start somewhere. DJ paddled along side for a while and gave some great tips which I will put into practice next time. The catching runners thing is really hard. Don't look over your shoulder look in front and aim for the dip, the exact opposite of surfing. I was exhausted towards the end and the waves had settle a little so it was more enjoyable and I got the hang of it near the end. Out in the middle it was more a battle so stay upright so technique went out the window.
As I finally entered the marina I thought bugger that for a joke and never again. On the drive home that all changed as I had time to process all the events of the day. Sure it was really rough, really windy, really @#@#ing hard work. I can't really say enjoyable but more of an experience. I think with more experience the joy will come.
Thanks for having me along today.
Cheers

Stupid transcoding... this video aint happening tonight. GoPro and Final Cut Pro really don't like each other. Bring on the new upgrade.