Ady wrote:
I hear you! This is depressing. ...but I can’t complain since I just got my winter windsurfing fix in the tropic a week ago. That’s helping. ...I know how privileged I am.
...May want to set your board and rig in your living room and practice to get ready when the weather cooperates!

Cmon Greg, how long are you going to keep me waiting for the Bonaire story?! Show me the real thing, not the placebo!

Ady wrote: Will be glad to but, don’t hold your breath: As my wife pointed out to me, “every windsurfing video looks the same!”. I guess I can probably agree with that if one is not into the nuances of the sport. Frankly, back and forth on the water isn’t that exciting to most viewers...
Anyhow, I’m working on a couple of short clips. Stay tuned!

I’m eager for the story actually- how was the windsurfing, did you do/try any new stuff, different equipment etc. If you can put a few pictures to the words that would be a bonus. I know, good videos take a lot of time, I don’t have nearly your patience myself and it shows. So don’t worry about the video, give me the rundown asap . Don’t make me come to Sheboygan and drag you to the pub for it

So, yesterday I did exactly the same pointless back and forth that I have pledged myself not to do this year . The overpowered energy draining runs to the opposite shore and back were nothing short of mindlessly fighting the elements where I could have practiced instead moves like Slam or Aerial jibe and even Forward loop just in front of the launch. The side-on wind was great for that as I wouldn’t have feared about drifting too far downwind and there were plenty of ramps for jumping. Also the strong wind was excellent quick accelerator -perfect for freestyle.
Well I blew it. My retarded brain shuts down in situations like this and I can’t take the right decisions on the spot, without somebody giving me an example. Anyway I’ll stay positive, the season is just starting and I’ll take this fiasco as a lesson. Hopefully I’ll do better the next time especially when conditions are less then perfect. Which also reminds me that I should use the 86 only in good, clean wind conditions -the 6 lbs that I shaved this winter didn’t make any difference .

Admirable. I've had the same thoughts myself, but sometimes you just gotta lay back and dig on the moment.

wendell garvelink wrote: I agree, sometimes it’s so perfect that you just don’t want to bother with anything too technical and just want to blast around till your legs start shaking. When it’s crappy dough I should wait a moment instead of rushing to get on the water and try to analyse a bit what are the conditions good for and what I can do to make the best of it. That analytical element is still completely missing from my sessions.

Yeah. You got me thinking. I've been stuck at the same level forever. I gotta start challenging myself again. I'm going to take your advice. Keep it close to shore and take advantage of the marginal days.

It seems to me that the right procedure would be to dedicate the first hour or two of every session for working on something appropriate for the conditions. If I don’t make it a habit I’ll soon forget what we’ve been posting here . The funny thing is that I always imagine doing stuff on my drive to the lake but when I get there I become overwhelmed with information and all the plans are forgotten.

Hope to get some rides on Wolf tomorrow. The forecast looks ok for 7.5

Watching a guy struggle with a foiling board yesterday made me come up with a funny comparison. So imagine you are not satisfied with the performance of your-run-of-the-mill bicycle and instead of replacing it with a super light and efficient racing bike for riding fast, BMX type for tricks, mountain bike etc. , you go and buy yourself a monocycle. And here you are trying to figure it out and getting so preoccupied in the process that you can’t realise that everyone around you not on a monocycle is having a lot more fun then you. How otherwise can you explain that the guy from yesterday waisted his whole afternoon to get lifted a total of 5 min or so and catapult several times in the process while the rest of us were planing most of the time. The guy probably has watched a lot of Kay Leny videos and believed that he too can foil the swell on Wolf without a sail even, because he was using a 5.5 Ezzy wave sail badly rigged on a Sumo mast on top of that . Ay yay yay! Just get yourself a kite dude.
There you go-the monocycle of windsurfing

Some screenshots from the Wednesday session: