Finally the season is warming up properly.

Yesterday was one of the most enjoyable sessions ever for me. A good friend from my teacher training at Keele Uni came to visit. He is great company, one of the wisest and kind hearted people I know. Back at Keele his online name was Hookipa, I asked him what it meant and it all started there.

As long time readers will know I tried windsurfing as a kid, for about 10 minutes on a school trip (scarily this is about 25years ago). I had always wanted to learn it but life got in the way and I forgot until I was 28. He reminded me of this ambition, and in my summer off I travelled to Cornwall but ended up surfing instead. Upon moving to Weymouth I started slowly but surely with windsurfing, treating myself to a board and rig for my 30th. It was great to be able to sail with Ioannis yesterday. I know he really enjoyed it, especially when the sun came out!

In terms of the session, it looked a lot windier on the water than it felt in the sail. Usually I would have been well powered up with my 7.3 Hot Sails GPS and Exocet RS2 (90l). I was on my smaller board (non intended sinker) for a short period of time, but quite slow, indicating not enough sail/board/fin. I was beating myself up for only getting a peak over 32knots, I like to think of this as a minimum now with an average over 30. The conditions looked like more speed was easily possible, perhaps I need to shed more of the Christmas pudding that is still making my harness tighter than it should be. Results for the day here, in hindsight I am very happy with them.

Hopefully more sun and good winds later this week.

The Bus

Thanks again to Andy "Scottys Caddy" Stallman for the photos. ;)

Season is warming up nicely

After a very cold couple of months with only a couple of sessions my fitness is at a low point. This is now hopefully quickly changing, I am forcing myself to exercise every morning and evening to boost any time on the water. This last week I have been out more than the rest of this year so far. Nothing great to report, just a warm up to what I hope will be a great season.

New sails are on the ship on their way over here, and recently I took delivery of my new Black Project Type RS 'Ultra fast downwind slalom' fins. I ordered the 30, 32 and 42cm and already had a prototype 34cm. The 34cm is the only one I have used properly so far with my 7.3 Hot Sails GPS late last year. It is a fast fin when running off the wind, with a slightly looser feel than the 35cm Type R, which I prefer as I love my 35 Type S.

You can see most of my fins in the picture, there are a couple of the tiny speed fins missing from it. These are my regularly used fins. The new Type RS 30 and 32 will be great for my 6.6 in choppier water, and I am looking forward to trying the 32 with my 7.3 on flat water with a small board in well powered conditions. Clockwise from the left in the picture are my Type R fins (40, 45, 50cm) for big board/sails, then my most used Type S (29, 32, 35cm), WeedSpeed fins (34, 42cm), medium size slalom (32.5, 35, 37.5cm) and finally at the bottom of the pic are the new shape Type RS (30, 32, 34, 42cm). I think I am covered for all conditions, hidden away with my speed board are my Type S 24 and 26.5 and a prototype 20cm speed fin.

The white block you can see over the 40R is a device I have made to fill the void in a deep tuttlebox, I find this so incredibly useful for quickly getting the bolts in without threading the brass inserts, and ensuring the fin doesnt rise into the box when tightening the bolts. As I use Allen head bolts over tightening is a lot easier than with a normal screwdriver.

The Type RS 42 was a gamble, I rarely use a fin so big and have so far only had a session in very light winds with my 8.8 where I rarely planed. I should have chosen a bigger fin to go with my Exocet SL Sport 78, which is a wide 129l board. I think in well powered 8.8 conditions this fin and board combination will be great, but at that point I always look to move down to my 8m which I find to be a couple of knots faster. This fin will be great as the biggest for my RS4, and smallest for the SL Sport. It will be my go to fin for summer cruising I hope, when the winds here often ramp up enough in the afternoons on hot days for some cruising.

Thanks for reading,

good speeds and winds

The Bus.

Young Talented Speed Surfer - Scotty Stallman

Not long ago a new regular turned up at our local salty lake. Scotty Stallman was small in stature, but not in ambition. One week after his ninth birthday he began his first few lessons with Tris Best at the very popular OTC (Official Test Centre, which delivers for any ability or age and is now partnered with PuraVida Boardriders).

He progressed quickly and soon became a popular part of the local scene. Over the last year I have seen full grown adults stay on shore because of less than ideal conditions, while Scotty was out clocking up some incredible distance.

Ghosts of Speed - Film Review

Ghosts of Speed was a project directed and filmed by Angelo Pecere. Angelo, as the name suggests is Italian, he has travelled a lot and windsurfed in many locations. When he visited the Netherlands he experienced a beauty and passion for the Speedsurfing side of our sport and here was born the idea for the film.

Over the next year, with the help of many friends and contacts he put together this project. It started life as a storyboard, many people gained interest and offered their help. Walther Siksma was the other main film maker behind this work of art, with excellent camera skills the pair have managed to document what is in every speed surfers heart quite accurately.

Matched with a musical score by Bluman the film is a fantastic respite while waiting for the next storm. I chose the word respite carefully, it means a rest from something difficult or unpleasant, that waiting time between fast sessions can become unpleasant. We need the adrenaline, the competition and also thrive on the technicalities of the sport. The movie truly brings that break, it takes you back to the water highlighting what it is that we do and sometimes advertising it well to the wider world.

Not all of it is a good advert for those faint of heart, Ghosts of Speed shows how difficult and dangerous our sport is, along with the dedication required. Filmed in epic offshore wind conditions where most people would be at home with the windows firmly closed Angelo has captured the passion very well.

For the tuning nerds among us there is a very informative extra on the disk, and with such clarity in the camera work some of the top guys almost give away their secrets when bearing away with the gust. If you too want to get the top speeds this film is a must see!

Trailer Ghosts of Speed (official) from Angelo Pecere on Vimeo.

From all of us passionate speedies in the UK thank you to Angelo, Walther and the rest of the team (there were many who helped out, sorry for not mentioning you all on here). To order your copy click the link here. From the 15th January 2013 there will be a downloadable copy available here.

Good speeds and WARM winds
The Bus

Happy New Year

My new years resolution was to make sure I put up at least one post per week, as you all know as we get older time seems to pass faster and faster so I personally need to make sure I schedule stuff to do and this is one of the most important things I do now (for me).

2012 was a good year for me, after the previous 3 being full of serious illness and work problems, which were probably related. In 2012 I was not ill, other than the occasional cold or back ache. At work I am now praised for my teaching methods, whereas in the past I was disciplined. The irony is I do not do anything different since I started teaching, I was disciplined for students not having methods written in their books, now I am praised for not wasting time getting students copying down. Through the year I have changed my outlook on life and have stopped worrying about what happens at work and one thing has allowed me to do that, success in windsurfing.

At the start of 2012 I was offered team rider opportunities with some of the most respected manufacturers in the industry, this was a real boost to my confidence. After heart disease many people do not realise the effect it has on confidence in all areas of life. As this happens mostly to the male population not much is written about it and we just get on with it. Of all the people who have contacted me through this site ALL of them have suffered the same mental issues to greater or lesser extents, and only time heals these wounds, opportunities decrease the time in my experience. I would like to thank Ian Kraft (Exocet), Chris Freeman and Tom Hammerton (Hot Sails Maui and Black Project Fins), Chris Jackson (ex-UK importer for Black Project Fins),  Ed Britnell (K-bay - Chinook Importer) and Simon Todd (formerly Windtek Shop Manager). All of these together unwittingly have really helped me feel normal again and not wake up feeling like a heart disease victim every day, their support of my windsurfing has given me a new lease of life.

Locally I want to thank the Portland Pirates team, all of the regular riders have been there and supported in their own way over the past year. Pete Young for being the goal to beat and the guru to learn from, Mark Matthews for pushing me every time he goes out and beats me and also Steve Corps for the same. 

It was a great year on the water, with 111sessions and 2221nmi sailed I was on the water for longer this year than any other. My speed goals were partly hit, I wanted 38knots but only managed 37.24 on the last day of the year. I wanted a 35knot average and managed that with 35.11 again on the last day. I hit my Alpha goal (22knots) and was just under my Nautical Mile speed by 11 hundredths (I wanted 28knots). I made no distance attempts this year as it was not long after my 200km that I suffered blood clots, it was something that kept dragging me off the water, next year will be different and I want to get a good few distance sessions in.

To the future, this is not a goal for the year but one for the next 16 months. In April 2014 I will be 40, I want to have hit 40knots on Portland Harbour by that time. It is a very big want with only a few sailors having achieved that in the past. I am pretty confident that at The Ray or West Kirby that I can get over 40 peaks with a 40knot average, Portland Harbour is a lot gustier and no where near as smooth as those two speed strips. This year I will get to one of them though! 

New kit should soon be on its way, with the 2013 Hot Sails GPS coming and some new fins from Black Project to try out, these being a cross between their powerful Type R slalom and their speedy Type S. I am sticking with my current Exocet RS Boards and maybe they will get a little sister at some point through the year.

Coming next on this site will be a review of Ghosts of Speed, I should have watched it for the umpteenth time and can highly recommend it.

Best wishes for 2013 from myself and Kat.

Good speed and winds

The Bus