Portugal was hit bt storm Doris this week. With 30 ft plus waves, the only place for downwind was in rivers and lagoons. A bunch of guys hit the Minho River and we enjoyed great conditions with 30 knots winds and gusts pushing 50 knots. This is only a small unedited part of the run. Much more to come. I used the new SIC Bullet 17'4 FAST and it was pefect; the board was riding by itself and it was easy surfing the bumps on the tail.

Nice.. I love those long smooth bumps..

A big gust of wind and the importance of wearing a good strong leash

Yes.. and maybe even a good idea having a longer leash and using the tail leash plug in those conditions..

It's funny how it doesn't look that windy till you see the board working like a kite..

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DavidJohn said..
It's funny how it doesn't look that windy till you see the board working like a kite..

You have to turn the volume up to hear the howling wind!

Looks like fun - where in Portugal?

Minho River (in the Northern boarder between Portugal and Spain). Usually we do it in the ocean, the Northern coast around Oporto are is perfect, but when there are big storms we go to the rivers or lakes.

Here is another long glide from that day!

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DavidJohn said..
Yes.. and maybe even a good idea having a longer leash and using the tail leash plug in those conditions..

It's funny how it doesn't look that windy till you see the board working like a kite..

I had the exact same thing happen on my SIC F16 on a recent DW in Melbourne. 45 knot gust from offshore, tipping the windward rail up, off I go.
Had my leg rope attached centrally the same way, and it was also a shorter coil legrope. It works well normally, as you don't step on it when stepping back.
But as I bobbed up, the board took off the same way. I thought..."oh s**t, I have a kite! Jeez if that leggie breaks I'm in real trouble".
Mental note to change my legrope set-up on really windy DW's.

Recommendations, peeps?