That's why I hate these school kids and "ligthies" screaming past me in a 12 knot wind...but I get my own back when it gets to 20 knots and up, my 95kgs being able to hold down most everything (without having to resort to a weight-jacket).

petermac33 said...


He was on JP slalom 84 litres,55cm wide with 6.2m NP RS2 rigged very full with 36cm fin.

Huh?
That is small gear?

petermac33 said...

Sometimes would rather grovel much of the time on small gear rather than hold up a 7m plus great wall of China. Anything bigger than 6.3m for me starts to feel heavy.The benefit is i can usually guarantee a sail with a 7m plus/large board combo but no topspeed and less enjoyment. 8.6m these days is the in thing for light wind sailing,must put a lot of stress on the body,especially when gybing.

Actually when bigger gear is set up correctly its very light in the hands and doesn't create very much stress unless the wind picks up. The only issue is when you fall off and need to get going. Often the wind is too light to waterstart or for me the skill isn't there. This leaves uphauling a big sail.

Back in the day anything much above 6m seemed pretty big but that era's 6m is about the equivalent of today's 8m sail.

Wow thats amazing! Probably what we'll all be doing in a few years time. How difficult would it be to balance?

Got out yesterday down at the Cott with the 7.4 O2 and - for the first time - 'the daughter's' JP Funster at 145 litres. Absolute revelation to be able to pump up onto the plane right from the shore (a bit of centreboard down helps get the board out of the water, then kick it off once underway). I am 87 kgs.

Once offshore a hundred or two the wind was stonger and there were some great fast blasts, not to mention the odd ramp to 'contend with'. All good for the first sparkly seabreeze of the season.

Here is what the wind was doing at the shoreline (between 4 and 6pm). I was a bit surprised when I got home to see how light it was, given the fun I had. Stress free too - the odd time I ended up down the beach there was no walk of shame, just centreboard down and a quick tack upwind. Centreboard down also makes uphauling a certainty. Amazing what board litres and a centreboard can do?