Sylvain wrote:
I felt so bad that your day got shortened like that! Just remove the seats in your car and bring everything you own next time!!

Sylvain wrote:
bummer, sorry to year Sylvain....... maybe it was a good thing that I got stuck at work last night

Thanks everyone (Rick, Rich, Chris) for offering your sail.
I was bummed out, this behind said I was exhausted.

I still can’t jibe but I tried so that was good
I feel like I am entering the jibe well, full speed, knees bent, hands apart. The board carves all is well, but when I get the wind in my back, just before turning the sail, I feel like I lose all my speed very quickly and that is when I fall down.

Maybe I will try to post a video of me jibing with a good angle and ask for your help

I can tell you right away, that you are sitting on the tail, thus creating a massive drag and stalling. It’s a habit that we develop when learning the slow /flare/ jibe . The habit is deeply rooted and takes long to overcome. To keep the board carving you have to lean forward and put your weight on and around the mast track. This is hard to achieve if you don’t have enough speed and can’t sheet in the sail fully. I sail downwind after unhooking, many times pumping the sail a little bit until I feel it getting light. That’s my trigger to start the transition. If I don’t feel the sail becoming light I try to abort the jibe and go for a tack instead, otherwise the chance of crashing it is very high.
I’m sorry for what happened to your sail, but like Chris said yesterday at the “ Power jibe” bar-there are dues to be paid on our way to windsurfing prowess. I just wish our dues weren’t so expensive.
Reflecting on the day-it was great. Wind was around 25 mph base with gusts up to 35 and above. It’s rare for me to use just one sail for a whole session , but yesterday I managed to stay with my beloved 5.2 from start to end. I sailed in front im the marina and didn’t go to the narrows like Chris and Reid, where I would have been overpowered. What did change this time was the boards. I used both my 94 Kode in single and tri fin modes and my 86 Kode single fin. I got surprised how well I got along with the 86-a board on which I have cracked ribs twice. I guess it’s the experience that I’ve collected for the last two seasons on the 94 or the evil spirit that I suspect lives inside of it was busy with punishing Sylvain I actually enjoyed sailing it very much, regardless that I sink to my knees every time I stall it. When lit it is fast and with it’s wavy rocker turns tight and loose-better then the 94 in tri fin setup.
Awesome day at Clinton, can’t wait for the pictures!

Excellent Ady. As you said I learned windsurfing on a 250 liter mistral back in the 90’s and jibing consisted of sinking the tail and orienting the sail right.
I m excited to try again being conscious of where I apply pressure on the board when I carve.
Thanks again

Don’t be too hard on your self though. A strong wind like yesterday can be too much, especially if you are severely overpowered like you were. With an oversized sail for the conditions you enter the jibe with so much speed while the oversized board bounces like crazy in the rough chop, you have to be very good to keep it in control. It’s natural to freak out and pull back. I crashed like crazy too, especially when I used the tri fin setup, it feels very different, I’m absolutely not used to it and today I’m talking through my nose.

I offered my 4,7 or 4.2, just saying.

Thanks Ady.
Thanks Chris for the offer, I was too nervous to crash and wreck anyone’s sail.

Here it is, a goal for next year: by end of next year, my goal is to pass 50% of my jibes.
Keep me accountable

What were the conditions like last time you guys were out?

Douglas Rohman wrote:
I think I saw the range was 20-38, somewhere around there.

Fun day at the Marina. Everybody got there before me - rigged and ready. I went with the 4.7 with 95L RRD FSW. I rigged up just in time for the midday lull as the air temp hit 90 F. Half hour later the wind started to come back. I headed my way up to The Narrows. Just up wind of The Narrows was some peaky swell. The wind shifts made it cross-chop. Pretty nasty stuff. I found flat water on the sides. The boosted wind up there made me give the 4.2 some thought. You could make it work if you could get it up there. I had blazing runs back. I took a break and then went out for another sesh. Hard to try any tricks this day with all the cross chop and gustiness. Water was refreshingly cool. We got off the water around 6:00. Great to see so many folks out. Looked like the the biggest gathering of the year.


Bloomington



Champaign



Decatur





14 of the day's 78 photos.


See All Of The Day's Photos Here



Rick (4.5 sail) and Chris (5.2 sail) at The Narrows



Ady (5.2 sail). You see that face? That's Clinton Lake Shock and Awe! Say hello to Ady's 86L little friend.



Ady (5.2 sail - 86L). Ripping into a duck jibe. See photo link for full sequence.



Ady (5.2 sail) Rippin' tacks. See photo link for full sequence.



Rick (4.5 sail) and Ady (5.2 Sail)



Sylvain (5.6 sail) Ripping before Clinton got the best of him.



Sylvain (5.6 sail)



Rich (6.0 sail). Foiling! If Rich is on a 6.0 you better rig something that starts with a 4.



Rich (6.0 sail). Rich tearing into jibes. So much water being thrown off of Rich's Goya Volar the lake level is lower now.



Chris (5.2 sail) Chris pulls the board back to beam reach before he lands this - amazing. See full sequence in photo link.



Chris (5.2 sail). I think that shirt glows in the dark.



Rick (4.5 sail). Ripping duck-jibes.



Rick (4.5 sail). Boom! There was juicy starboard ramps on the far side. He got a hold of one. Or it got a hold of him. See full sequence in photo link.



Rich (6.0 sail) Quittin' time. That's a wrap. 'till next.




See All Of The Day's Photos Here

Woaa! Thanks Reid, you are making me look a lot better then I really am It was a nice day indeed and you’ve captured it!
I’m glad you were able to take pictures of us in what appears to be almost the same phase of jibing -the entrance, or the set up /not sure what they cal it/. Anyway, it’s a good opportunity to help Sylvain with some tips.
I have to clarify first that I’m not sure what you are doing in the picture Sylvain and I may be taking it completely out of context, but for the sake of the topic let’s assume that you’re coming in for a carve jibe. Compare it to the other two pictures of Rick and me and you can spot immediately what is missing in yours-SPEED! The lack of spray and the nose of the board being this high are a telltale signs of your weight being on the tail and making the board plow the water, creating drag and slowing down. You may be doing it on purpose-coming in for a break or doing a tight flare jibe, but like I said let’s assume that is a carve jibe attempt. The result of slowing down like this in a carve jibe is usually disastrous, board starts to slam into the chop bouncing wildly and can easily change direction and throw you over the handlebars. The sail on the other hand stays powered up, pulls and feels heavy and is very hard to get sheeted in. If you look on the other hand at Ricks and mine pictures you can see the spray our boards are throwing indicating the speed we are coming in with and we try to maintain it and even gain more if we can by leaning forward down and keeping our weight mostly over front leg and front arm-the same thing you do when trying to start planing. The board rides flat, in control and the sail stops pulling because you are moving faster then the wind. Time to eat the cherry-carve, flip and hopefully don’t flop