May 16.
Lake Winnebago, Taycheedah, WI. Launch at Deadwood Point. 1 kite, 4 Windsurfs. Air temp 84f / 29c. Wind SSW 20-24 knots, gust at ~28 knots, lulls at 16 knots. Water temp 63f / 17c. Conditions: chop / 1.5 foot waves.
Sailed Naish Starship 100 L + 5.7 Sailworks Revo. TOW 1h.

Everything started well: warm air and water. Felt like summer. Gusty wind but nice when powered up. Then 45mn in, I over-rotated my left knee during a jibe. Still not really sure how it happened... Result: busted MCL, 4-6 weeks off. Bummer. Waterstart and return back to shore was interesting... and painful.

This launch site is small but very nice with grassy area for rigging, sandy beach and a very nice bordering property. Great from South to West to North winds. There's a chest-high sandbar extending westward for about 150-200 yards. Falling and suddenly standing on the sandy bottom this far out is surprising.












Jacob in the background:

Was getting bored and put the footage of my last session in a Vid. At least I got something to do over the weekend.

Ady,
Yes, initially I thought about it the same as you did: front outboard and back centered might have created an awkward position. However, when sailing, I found it didn't felt weird at all and your investigation confirms that. I looked at the footage and found exactly when I over-rotated (could hear me cursing in the background!). It's really hard to tell what went wrong because it doesn't seem like anything went wrong! My foot came off the strap on the vid before I lost my balance it seems. What I recall tho, it felt like I left my foot in there a fraction of a second too long as I flipped the sail. Some young and flexible bodies would have had no issue riding the board half twisted coming off a jibe. But like you mentioned some time ago, I'm not in my 20s and my flexibility is limited I guess. So I really don't know what really happened and what I could have done different to prevent this from happening...

As you said, I was thinking of setting the back straps in pairs more outboard on the Starship but I like the maneuverability the center strap position offers especially in the chop or swell. Being able to move the board at the slightest pressure of the foot either to go around or pass right above chop and swell is really making this board worth the purchase in wind above 20 knots. Instead, the IQ is like sailing on a rail, which is not as fun when the water gets turbulent. Nonetheless, setting the back strap ouboard on the Naish is quick and worth a try to see if it makes a difference in maneurvrability.

On a similar topic, after my last session on the IQ at the beginning of May, I moved the straps even more outboard: I was sailing with my feet slightly pulled away from the straps and found that the curvature of the deck close to the rail offers a more ergonomically comfortable stance and better leverage over the fin. Haven't had a chance to try that new setup on the Starboard yet...

As far as my knee is concerned, things are improving: i can almost walk normally and go through stairs up and down. I went back to the gym and I'm doing stationary bike to make the joint move without much resistance for now. There are movements that are quite painful to do and it is still swollen. It's been 2 weeks now and looking at the progression, i should be able to go back sailing in 2-4 weeks if things are staying the course.

The funny thing is that I totally stopped watching the weather forecast. No need for additional temptations!

Nice photos in this thread! Thanks for posting! Glad to see you are keeping windsurf alive in the Maui of the midwest.

Saturday June 24. Heading out to Lake Winnebago after 6 weeks off. 13-15 knots, finally time to get the new lightweight bd kit to good use.

Bout time! Looking at the graph you'll be likely on your strong wind gear though.

Yep! There were +25 knots gusts at times. The wind was very irregular throughout the day with plenty of lulls. Nice amont of crowed on the water, kite and windsurf. Started with 7.5 on the 124L and switched quickly to the 6.5. By the time I was spent I could have switched to 5.7. Didn't want to sail the 100L for my first day back on the water as it is more work than the 124L - at least for me. Had a couple of good fast runs over a couple miles long. The knee held-up ok. Going back Sunday around 3:30-4:00. Awesome to be sailing again!

Mike having fun on his 100L freestyle.





Kite out, windsurf in.



WindPower shop. Kite and windsurf lessons were underway all day

Seems a bit onshore for you guys, glad it worked out!

Glad to see you back on the water, Greg, How's that knee feel after sailing on it? That spot has a good exit for the wind. Looks like it's barely above the water.

Thank you guys. Knee is feeling ok. A bit weak under lateral pressure, so I'm being careful not putting any torque. Yes, the water level is not too far and there's a convenient set of slippery concrete stairs to access the water. Water is at waist-height for about 80 yards out. The only unappealing part is the sewer color of the water; it is partially due to phosphorous runoffs and water treatment plant "cleaned-up" water releases that promotes algae growth... I red that they are trying to lower the authorized level of phosphorus in the water. That should help I guess...

Sunday was a tone of fun: Drag-race with the kites and plenty of jibes. Using Ady's trick to slightly pull the foot out from the strap before engaging the turn proved to be helpful. Putting more downward pressure on the boom helped going through a few successful ones! Here are a few pics.

June 25 session.
Lake Winnebago, Taycheedah, WI. Launch in front of Wind Power. 4-6 kites, 3 Windsurfs. Air temp 68. Wind WNW 17 knots, gust at ~21-23 knots. Water temp 69. Conditions: small chop / 1 foot waves.
Sailed Starboard AtomIQ 124 L + 7.5 Ezzy Cheetah.

Mike wrote:
Yes it was, but WNW slightly off to the left by a few degrees which allowed 2-mile straight runs along the shore all the way to Deadwood point and return.

From the June 25 session