Anyone know where we see results ? ( apart from just the winners ?

www.bluechiptracker.com.au/results.aspx?CId=11&RId=647

Cheers, got it over on WA section , ta

no one seems to want to talk about the race this year...

its the party that is the interesting part

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Windxtasy said..
no one seems to want to talk about the race this year...

I'll talk about it - albeit briefly and from my perspective!



Race preparation - about 1hrs sailing in close to 6 months.
Decide to enter the race a few hrs after online registration closes on Thursday.

I took a Mistral SUPERLIGHT Raceboard and borrowed 9.5m Race sail in case it was too light for me to get going confidently with my 2014 KaRace 8.7 and a borrowed older Starboard isonic 122. I'd freshly completed repairs on both boards that morning..

Arrived in Lanno about 8am with caddy, my 6yo son Koen
Fuel up on Pizza, Pie, Jam Donut & Coffee
Arrive Ledge Pt about 9.15 and search for someone for Koen to hang with while I prepped and raced.
Socialise with Legends of Windsurfing and some of which I'd not seen since the mid to late 80's
Meet the gorgeous Kristina Reimers with Blair Gavin - Kristina takes Koen under her wing
Enter the race - No. 191
Drink litres of water - sweating bullets its scorching hot - will realise later I should have drank about 4lt more water!
12.15 For fear of cooking my rig and exploding my mast I fit new harness lines and adjustable outhaul kit to new boom - guessing the positions..
Make adjustments to Tribal WeedSpeed 43 head and fit to isonic.
Start delayed till 1330 - apply stickers to sail - stickers turn to jelly - job done
Wind has kicked in..
1300 rig the 8.7 and walk gear to the start line - torn cartilage in my knee starting to burn..thinking..'I don't deserve to be here WTF am I thinking!?'
About 15kn on the beach.
Race starts and I hobble to the water and hang back waiting for clear air. One of the last off the beach.
Get stuck behind a guy on wave gear and my competitive instincts kick in and I suggest to him he should bear off and pump. He stalls and I'm away!
Get planing and shoot upwind to get above the tail enders..notice vent screw is undone...thinking..'you idiot!'
More like 18kn and I bear away and realise instantly my sail is somehow rigged perfectly..remember it was previously Jesper Orths..hang on for dear life..
Fin is awesome...board trimming nicely..harness line positions ok - had set them forward after overhearing chat with Jesper & Blair. Very thankful
Way too fast for comfort knowing as soon as I fatigued I would eat it. Have caught up with almost half the fleet.
Get to 1st mark totally gasping for air...jump into the water...feels much better in the water..so cool...so comfortable...SO THIRSTY!!!!!
Waterstart and realise my gear far exceeds my ability so I go into survival mode..back foot in the strap and explosive speed..
Try to take some load off my arms and sit in my harness..accelerate unbelievably in the swell and chop and no hint of burying the nose.
Back knee is weak and sore...find a comfy stance and load it up! Too fast...too fast...pant..gasp...
Back feet are getting jammed into the straps and cant get them out..should moved them inboard and not just loosened them..lesson learned
Overtake a bunch that went past me when I was in the water..
Trading places with Liss Earle on each leg..she looks composed..I'm a shambles!
I stop at every mark to catch my breath..every run feels like I'm choking on CO2...SO THIRSTY I could almost drink seawater.
Outside mark midway down the course an older guy crashes in front of me as I waterstart so I chat with him and tell him its cool I'm in no hurry..
He drowns his rig..I float for another minute or so..
Gybe too early rounding a marker boat on the inside and decide to chat with a few crew struggling with their gear..ask the boaties what beer they have on board..
Thinking I was only just over half way I ask how many marks are left..answer comes back 'One!'..Yeeha! I'm off!
Round the last mark and follow the few in front of me...squinting through the spray and annoying floppy fringe I cant see the gates at South Passage..
Notice those ahead of me tacking down wind..we are all too high...catch sight of gates and tack down wind..
On the home run and thinking it would be perfect to hit the back of a wave full speed and launch..ok thats my plan!!
Get a nice flat run between two set waves and....
THE WIND DISAPPEARS!!!!
Grovel to make the second gates...
Grovel toward the finish..
Try pumping onto the plane..cant get over the hump..float to shore..cheered in by the crew on the beach and my excicted son..hobble over the finish line in 109th position.
Met at the finish line by the AWESOME event volunteers with a big bottle of water...the sweetest water I've tasted in like, forever!
Big hug from my caddy and super stoked!!

Thanks everyone for your support especially Kristina & Blair with childcare and transfers, Tom & Julie Radis for their kindness and hospitality(and finding my misplaced board and rig in the sand dunes at 9pm Saturday night) , my mates for lending me gear, Jesper for his pre-tuning of my sail..scary fast! and last minute supply of sail numbers, All the event staff, organisers, volunteers and the Lanno Community and, mostly my son for hanging with me all weekend.

Congratulations to all for making it such a successful 30th Ledge to Lancelin!

The best Lanno trip yet!!!

MOB, brilliant write up. Thanks.

Hey that's a great summary MOB, I haven't done race but feel next year might be the year. Got a fair bit of TOW to get in before .
Its great to here how it all unfolds during the race. I think ill be taking a few breaks the marks as well. I have a fellow sailor also keen to break our LOC virginity
if anyone one else has some tales ide love to hear them.
ps MOB your son would be very proud of you.

Adam, bit of gloss-over with the lost gear part of the story

I was going to post my story but then realised I remember some of thurs and little bit of sunday arvo lol

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Mark _australia said..
Adam, bit of gloss-over with the lost gear part of the story

I was going to post my story but then realised I remember some of thurs and little bit of sunday arvo lol

I'm sure you are more than capable of shining further light on the episode Mark..don't forget to mention how good Tribal WeedSpeed's are at lopping branches off overhanging Peppermint Trees.. ..and I trust there was no paperwork for you to return to on Monday after issuing the APB..

I spent most of my time looking for this local Lano guy



but he was nowhere to be seen

I got to meet Patrik (without a "c"), I tell Proffit I voted for him and get a hug... the vibe is great.

It was another stinkin' hot one, not quite as hot as last year (my first attempt) but not far off. Perusal of 4 weather sites had the wind pegged as 12 - 18 from 2pm. Last year it came in stronger than expected then backed off. I had my 8.6m + large board tuned well and thought I was on the money when the wind came in at 12kts. 1pm, I de-rigged my 7.5m.

I was about to put my harness etc on when Snake says "I think it's picked up a bit". 25 mins to start and it had picked up to 18kts on the beach. Arrrggh. I see guys like Rowen starting to get medium gear ready. So I have to get a new board, rig a new sail in about 15 mins in scorching heat. I manage to get it done with enough time to catch my breath before the start.

I had registered early so at position 103 I was windward and behind the elites. Well worth it, coz as soon as the flag dropped the elites in front ran, dropped their boards, got lucky with a gust, and cleared the line.

First leg out, nicely powered and in control with my Patrik Freeride and Gaastra Matrix feeling great in ocean conditions, heaps easier than slalom gear. At times feeling so powered it's too much effort to fully sheet in, just need to relax, breathe and go for the long haul.

I make the first gybe, sweet! People falling off all around. Next leg is sooo broad, I have to go deeper on every wave face and bear up on the back of the next wave as the sail loses its power - hard work. I go deep past the inside marker and pull of the gybe.

Still well powered on the way out. People on race gear that got a naff start are wizzing by but I'm still thinking I'm in for a good finish under 50 mins. Nail the next outside gybe.

Next inside run is another very broad one. Wind is dropping as we come to the inside. I see people going well past the mark and follow but as I gybe there is NO wind and I fall in and struggle to water start. I finally get going and see a cray pot line too late - splat. Arrgghhh. I'm looking at the boat and thinking I should have gone deeper.

Finally get around the boat and start slogging out. I get on the plane and am nicely powered again for the last two thirds. I'm getting tired now and managing a potential cramp in my calf.

As I round the last outside mark, I realise the wind is dropping and the course is wayyy deep. Deep on the wave face, try and stay on the plane on the back of the wave. Harder and harder. Everyone is gybing to take a second bite - I drop the gybe and the wind is so light now I struggle to get going and my strength is leaving me.

I think I have gone far enough and make my final gybe. I struggle to get moving as the wind is now very light. I pump a bit on the swells but have to dog it for a good portion. I see lighter weight sailors whizzing past me and I'm getting tired and cranky

It's a slow ride into shore but I jag a gust and pass two sailors right at the end. I sprint to the finish to make sure that no one edges me out on the beach.

51 mins, ok for my second attempt. Stoked to just to finish really.

Love catching up with mates and swapping stories afterwards.

Thanks Snake for the ride back to Ledge. Thanks to all the volunteers. An EPIC adventure!!!

Great stuff Paddymac, sounds like you had a pretty good run. The endurance thing seems to be a common issue. Looks like I have to be doing lots of long runs and of course sailing broard reaches.
Well done on your race Paddymac and hopefully I'll see you out there next year.

Could Aus 888 (seen this number one a brand new evo 7) share his feeling with the new sail?

Select to expand quote

Man0verBoard said..

Windxtasy said..
no one seems to want to talk about the race this year...

I'll talk about it - albeit briefly and from my perspective!



Race preparation - about 1hrs sailing in close to 6 months.
Decide to enter the race a few hrs after online registration closes on Thursday.

I took a Mistral SUPERLIGHT Raceboard and borrowed 9.5m Race sail in case it was too light for me to get going confidently with my 2014 KaRace 8.7 and a borrowed older Starboard isonic 122. I'd freshly completed repairs on both boards that morning..

Arrived in Lanno about 8am with caddy, my 6yo son Koen
Fuel up on Pizza, Pie, Jam Donut & Coffee
Arrive Ledge Pt about 9.15 and search for someone for Koen to hang with while I prepped and raced.
Socialise with Legends of Windsurfing and some of which I'd not seen since the mid to late 80's
Meet the gorgeous Kristina Reimers with Blair Gavin - Kristina takes Koen under her wing
Enter the race - No. 191
Drink litres of water - sweating bullets its scorching hot - will realise later I should have drank about 4lt more water!
12.15 For fear of cooking my rig and exploding my mast I fit new harness lines and adjustable outhaul kit to new boom - guessing the positions..
Make adjustments to Tribal WeedSpeed 43 head and fit to isonic.
Start delayed till 1330 - apply stickers to sail - stickers turn to jelly - job done
Wind has kicked in..
1300 rig the 8.7 and walk gear to the start line - torn cartilage in my knee starting to burn..thinking..'I don't deserve to be here WTF am I thinking!?'
About 15kn on the beach.
Race starts and I hobble to the water and hang back waiting for clear air. One of the last off the beach.
Get stuck behind a guy on wave gear and my competitive instincts kick in and I suggest to him he should bear off and pump. He stalls and I'm away!
Get planing and shoot upwind to get above the tail enders..notice vent screw is undone...thinking..'you idiot!'
More like 18kn and I bear away and realise instantly my sail is somehow rigged perfectly..remember it was previously Jesper Orths..hang on for dear life..
Fin is awesome...board trimming nicely..harness line positions ok - had set them forward after overhearing chat with Jesper & Blair. Very thankful
Way too fast for comfort knowing as soon as I fatigued I would eat it. Have caught up with almost half the fleet.
Get to 1st mark totally gasping for air...jump into the water...feels much better in the water..so cool...so comfortable...SO THIRSTY!!!!!
Waterstart and realise my gear far exceeds my ability so I go into survival mode..back foot in the strap and explosive speed..
Try to take some load off my arms and sit in my harness..accelerate unbelievably in the swell and chop and no hint of burying the nose.
Back knee is weak and sore...find a comfy stance and load it up! Too fast...too fast...pant..gasp...
Back feet are getting jammed into the straps and cant get them out..should moved them inboard and not just loosened them..lesson learned
Overtake a bunch that went past me when I was in the water..
Trading places with Liss Earle on each leg..she looks composed..I'm a shambles!
I stop at every mark to catch my breath..every run feels like I'm choking on CO2...SO THIRSTY I could almost drink seawater.
Outside mark midway down the course an older guy crashes in front of me as I waterstart so I chat with him and tell him its cool I'm in no hurry..
He drowns his rig..I float for another minute or so..
Gybe too early rounding a marker boat on the inside and decide to chat with a few crew struggling with their gear..ask the boaties what beer they have on board..
Thinking I was only just over half way I ask how many marks are left..answer comes back 'One!'..Yeeha! I'm off!
Round the last mark and follow the few in front of me...squinting through the spray and annoying floppy fringe I cant see the gates at South Passage..
Notice those ahead of me tacking down wind..we are all too high...catch sight of gates and tack down wind..
On the home run and thinking it would be perfect to hit the back of a wave full speed and launch..ok thats my plan!!
Get a nice flat run between two set waves and....
THE WIND DISAPPEARS!!!!
Grovel to make the second gates...
Grovel toward the finish..
Try pumping onto the plane..cant get over the hump..float to shore..cheered in by the crew on the beach and my excicted son..hobble over the finish line in 109th position.
Met at the finish line by the AWESOME event volunteers with a big bottle of water...the sweetest water I've tasted in like, forever!
Big hug from my caddy and super stoked!!

Thanks everyone for your support especially Kristina & Blair with childcare and transfers, Tom & Julie Radis for their kindness and hospitality(and finding my misplaced board and rig in the sand dunes at 9pm Saturday night) , my mates for lending me gear, Jesper for his pre-tuning of my sail..scary fast! and last minute supply of sail numbers, All the event staff, organisers, volunteers and the Lanno Community and, mostly my son for hanging with me all weekend.

Congratulations to all for making it such a successful 30th Ledge to Lancelin!

The best Lanno trip yet!!!

Great account! Love it..

Love the personalised accounts..

I've been spending some time on slalom kit this summer, primarily 107 iSponic and 7.8 Reflex.. Felt pretty dialed in. Those who've been on SB for a while know I've mostly been a freestyler.

Took this kit for a run before the race, comfortable. Then I decided to use an 8.6 Reflex and 110 iSonic for the race for no other reason than I didn't wanna get bogged down at the start..

I was second row @ 111, it was all a bit of a blur but I was stuck in a bit of a log jam. Still didn't get off to a clean start, but the 8.6 and wide board payed off as I just squeezed onto the plane..


The 8.6 and 110 soon became too much and I burnt out at the second outside boat, my front hand gave away going into the gybe. From there I played it safe, I gave up on overtaking people and moved my harness lines forward and prepared to coast home.

I had a few moments where I decided to gun it again after being overtaken by certain sailors, but could never keep the pace up..

Final leg heading in and the 110 and 8.6 was again perfectly powered, but I was too tired to maximise the setup, Spotty skipped past me as I bounced my fin over the inside reef.

Great race and very well done by the event organisers who managed to hold the race in the 1 hour of seabreeze..

Had the race been held half an hour later, that 110/8.6 combo would have been a good choice..

----

Funniest thing I saw was back at Ledge, 20 seconds before the race, Slowboat was ready to go, with his fin cover still on.

After having a little chuckle, I decided I should yell out and let him know.. Most people have told me I should have kept quiet..

Good one Barn,
Did you make a special trip over from NSW or do you live in WA?
That's are fair bit of rig to be hanging onto , you must have well knackered by the end!
These stories are great , all the little tips and experiences are sure to get us LOC virgins frothing for next year

I saw Spotty on the course about half way -

KA sail with Orange and a big blue mistral board ?

He came flying past me at an Amazing rate of knots - and i thought he was well on his way to a top ten place.

And then mysteriously he just handbrake stopped dead in the water 40 m in front of me on about the 3rd leg heading broad and towards the coast.

What happened Spotty ? - it looked like a huge chunk of weed launched itself onto your fin.

Awesome race by the way - i had a blast!

Thanks for the stories, keep them coming!

Always a great event! Well organised, great exposure for our sport and a challenging race.

Thanks to the organisers and special thanks to all the volunteers!

Here's how my race played out.
Always a rush at the start (will arrive earlier next time!). With the sound of popping masts in the heat I didn't want to rig until the last minute. It took ages to break through all the spectators and racers to get down to the water, with only enough time for one square run out and back and no time for tuning.

From position 217 (final row up the beach and at the Northern end) my race start was the worst I've had (my 5th year). A guy infront of me drifted down the beach with his feet up on his board waiting for the breeze which was killed by 150 8m sails upwind. Nothing I could do but wait...

Finally up and going, just got up to speed only to hit a cray pot line and go down with a heavy caterpault. All mixed up it took ages to get going again only to find the nose of my board smashed and that I was right at the back of the fleet. Just like I announced after my first LOC race, I will always use a weedy from now on!

From here it was just a game of catch-up. Managed to land about 1/2 of the gybes. My board speed was no good, but at least I could head deeper than most with the old narrow board which is where I made up the places. Got directly to every mark except south passage where I had to add a short seaward leg to get through the buoys.

My sail size was about right, but could have done with a bit more downhaul given more time at the start. My lack of fitness was a problem as I found myself feathering the power to have a rest every now and then.

Seeing my GPS numbers there is a lot of room for improvement! 45th across the line and 15th in open. 41:52. Bring on 2016 LOC!

Starboard Sonic 295; Ram 7.8; Gorge Gear 36

I flew over from VIC to do the combined Guy Cribb wave sailing + racing course.

My prep for the race was spending Thurs attempting forward loops at Wedge Island (and coming out with bruises all over my back). Then the Friday we do racing technique, followed by a practise run of the course at 5:30pm with Guy for anyone who's interested. Me and one other guy on the course are the only ones mad enough to try this.

Then on the day I have borrowed a 111 Carve and 7.5 Gator. No fancy race gear for me.

Boiling hot on the beach, so I rig up, then take off the downhaul so the mast doesn't snap. 30 mins before race start I go to take my gear out for a spin and to adjust lines and mast foot. Notice mast has broken anyway, just from the pressure of the luff tube at the top. OMG! No spare, I'm facing a DNS. Guy lends me his spare, already rigged, NP Ryde 7.0. At least I know it'll be rigged right!

Put my boom on, get my PFD on. Put rig and board together.

I am so fricken hot, dazed, standing holding kit I have NEVER used, about to do a 25km race. My last thought before the start: "this PFD is really in the way."

We start. No point in running from the back, runs of people in the way. I scoot behind people and get a few places upwind. Messy air and nobody's planing so I keep moving upwind. Get some clear air and I'm off!! Great position to go deep nice and fast to the first mark. In the excitement I've forgotten to breath! Have to move my harness lines back twice on the plane, lose some ground, but still passing people.

Get to the first mark, stuff the gybe but stay up to wobble around and... I can't hook in. My harness hook has slipped under the bottom of my PFD. Only way I can fix it is to get in the water, cinch down my harness, water start and hook in once until the next mark. By mark 6, with a harness cinching and water start necessary at every turn, I am completely rooted.

Speed between marks feels great, and the Carve is surprisingly forgiving and the stock fun only spins out twice.

MOB I think I might've been sitting with you in the water at mark 6 catching a breather and floating downwind past the boat. If it was you, you said, "keep going we're more than half-way there!" I was thinking of packing it in, and you helped get me going again.

Screwed up the entry to South Passage a bit, but got moving on the swell, pumped my sail all the way to the beach to overtake two guys in front of me, hit the beach (remembering to get out of the straps), dump my gear and run up the beach. Beat the guy furthest in front by 11 secs!

My first race, I came 102nd at 1h 0m 28s. Huge fun, great atmosphere, seriously challenging. But I'll be pretty confident I'll improve my time next year.

My top tip? Bring your own PFD!!

Select to expand quote

Reflex Films said..
I saw Spotty on the course about half way -

KA sail with Orange and a big blue mistral board ?

He came flying past me at an Amazing rate of knots - and i thought he was well on his way to a top ten place.

And then mysteriously he just handbrake stopped dead in the water 40 m in front of me on about the 3rd leg heading broad and towards the coast.

What happened Spotty ? - it looked like a huge chunk of weed launched itself onto your fin.

Awesome race by the way - i had a blast!

Sounds the same as my setup, 8.7 Ka Race on the 137L Mistral, had a white T over my PFD, setup choice for us felt good but the outhaul needed to be played. Started in 8th winward position on frontline but as can be seen from drone vid I struggled to get my mass off to a flying start pumping the disturbed wind left by those upwind of us. Being able to run faster than the those beside you with big kit and hit the water jumbing onboard and pumping like MAD is key to a clean getaway. Interesting watching the several on the front line scattered along it making a good start even some way down.

I can remember an inbound leg where it was quite deep and had flattened out the rig a little on the previous leg as the wind had seemed to have increased. Wind dropped or the main fleet shadowed us a bit and was trying to pinch and ride swells to get close to lay mark and remain on the plane, No weed though but slugged it a little bit as well after an inbound mark. Having adjustable outhaul on one side no good when you really need it on the other when the wind or angle are not working for you.

Had lost count of the marks by the last one and got suckered in to those ahead looking? for another inbound or the passage too early/south. Put in a couple of gybes and then lined the Sth passage marker bouys up and passed another competitor Dion, before the catamaran. Was closing in on Mathias just before the finish and was not going to let him finish without running for the line. Coasted at the last minute at speed till the fin n sand just met and light footed it off the deck and found my legs could not keep up as I set foot on the bottom.

Went into a tuck n roll with big splash and back onto feet with the crowd screaming to chase the other guy over the line finishing in 30th overall, and fitting seen was the 30th LOC.

Pouring that cold water at the finish over my head straight after felt awesome, and the beer always tastes better too soon after swapping stories in a vibe shared by all who give it a go!!!

Thanks to the volenteers and LOC team and yet again another last minute down to the wire waiting for the wind sweltering start.

My 6th attempt at the great race,the goal was to finish top 20,got an average start and was probably around 40th to first mark but made up lots of ground particularly on the deeper legs (the futura 111 7.8 tribal 33 weedy were working a treat!) found myself in front of some more fancied starters coming in to the last out side boat (And in the top 20 as it transpired!)and thought to myself just make this jibe and you've got em, made gybe then got to excited and thought I could make the finish in one tack based on my success on the previous deep legs dooh! so while coming of the plane several times attempting the impossible I let atleast 4 through, still stoked to finish 22nd overall with room for improvement .
Big thanks to all who make this great event possible .

My first time back since my age started with a '3'. It now starts with a '5' ..... but was full of confidence armed with a Taboo Speedster and 8.6 Severne Overdrive setup, backed up by antique Pryde V8 7.5 and Race 6.5 rigged on the beach. Also been sailing a fair bit for first time in 12+years. No need to hear briefing as done it all before...

All ready in good time and all going to plan until need a (routine..not race nerves!) dump (latrine not wave) and wait 15 minutes for use of the lonely crapper. Now pushed for time I'm out for the tune up run on the 8.6 and decide its too much for my 76kg frame.
10 minutes later I'm in full blown panick boom change mode, followed by wandering through the pack shouting 180! ... 180!... with 20+kgs of kit in hand. Made it to start posi exhausted with untried sail with about 15 secs to spare.

I remember from probably 8 or so previous races, not to get carried away and make sure planing in clear wind before thinking about back strap. All goes well and I'm powered up heading for first mark about mid field. Probably about half way when realise me and the bloke infront are heading for the police? (Recue? Decoy?) Boat, rest of field another 10 degrees offwind heading for the first crayboat marker. The extra offwind has my V8 (wind range 17 - 17.5 knots) maxed and I am catching a few bu wondering when the bomb will go off.

A word about Speedster deck pads. They rise up in the middle so arthritic people with no ankle flexibility dont need to extend this joint ... I see this as a plus. The down side is that, after a 4km full on downwind leg, you need a downhaul winch (or in fairness loose straps) to get the back foot out. Having neither I struggled big time to get the foot out and went in for a well earned rest at the first mark.

A further word about fin size. My 40cm carbon weedy was too big for radical downwind in 18 knots and the back leg was in no mood to bend to absorb the chop by tthe time it came to turning. I wonder what it looks like when you're 6ft 2 inch and trying to gybe with perfrctly straight legs.... the potracter gybe?

Much the same for the next 3 marks, ample and well needed rest and harness line adjustment time at the marks. They do need to be foreward...I'll just use a bilateral one one the mast next year. Despite agony and exhaustion, i was having the absolute ultimate adrenalin rush and wondering where the hell I'd been for the past 12 years!

By about mark 5 the wind had come off a little, could smell the pub and started taking feet out of straps a good 300m before the boats. Managed to make the remaining gybes but wished I'd listenned to the briefing, seemed to be the only bloke gybing past the boat outside the gates, planed past a few on the run through south passage and ran up the beach as if for the sheep station to finish 80/220 in 51.45.

This is a magnificent iconic WA event which every windsurfer should attempt at least once... if only to prove to yourself that you (still) have it.

lessons for next year...this is a serious reminder list... wild horses wouldnt keep me away...next year

1. Have a crap before 10am
2. Loosen footstraps to facilitate both insertion AND removal of foot
3. Smaller fin OR learn to squat 200kgs
4 Even more, longer, deeper downwind practice
5. Get really, really fit. Fit isnt nearly enough.
6 Aim for the magical 45 minutes, top 50?

Thanks to Stuart ans later Dave and Ian for great company. Thanks to the Pinaroo boys for the post race assistance and to all involved inorganising this wonderful event.

Living in WA without windsurfing would be like living in the Alps without a pair of skis!

Many thanks to all who have submitted their write ups so far!

I have to do it one day, but the stories of the fitness quotient required are scaring me! Oh, and I don't like the heat much.....

Great tales of heroic deeds!

I'm all revved up to have a go now........got a year to get fit by the sound of things

Well I had to google Ground Hog Day. Slowboat is correct, it's as much a ritual as a race. All staring at the horizon waiting for something. Someone thought the haze out there was a good sign. Sorting out the red flares from the green flares, the green arrows from the yellow arrows, talking up eight sixes.

The excitable race director called it first and announced it over the loudspeaker. " Here it comes folks! We've just felt a cool puff of breeze down here on the beach!".
That got us moving. I rigged with spare time this year and took the 8.6 for a warmup. Went like a dream, easily reeling in anyone warming up on anything less. Nothing to do now except spread it all out on the beach at starting position 163; and go check the opposition.

The race director called “We’ve got an 18 knot reading on the beach now” at just the wrong time. About 7 minutes after he’d declared a start in 15.
What’s it going to be out there if it’s 18 on the beach? I’m thinking. Whitecaps all over now. Too late to do anything but rationalise. There was cloud building to the east, that’ll kill wind, there’s another patch to the west, and besides, the forecast is only for 15. This is just a puff it’ll drop.

I was actually right about that. About 600 metres from the finish, the wind did drop, I bagged out the 8.6, pumped onto the plane and gained a few places to finish 70 something.

Next year.

Went for a sail this week, talked up my ambitions to do l to l with sailing mate , went out , didn't pull one gybe , struggled, had a couple of good runs, but realising I have a LOT of work to do, here's to pre season

Dont worry about not making gybes. I missed the first four and needed the rest time anyway. I found just having the goal was a great incentive for getting fit.
Good luck...see you there
Stevie

Cheers Stevie, getting fit seems to be key and of course making gybes is going to help. I think I will spend the rest of this seasons sailing doing gybes and doing as much sailing off the wind as possible. I'll leave the fitness side to the mountain bike in winter and then start of next season really try to get some long down winder runs in. All in all my motivation will be that fact that after doing ledge to Lano I WILL be a better sailor.

You sure will... but dont get too carried away on the training front. Enough competition as is!