One of my favourite pics from 2009.

Who knows who this legend is?



And this one?

That top picture is some old bloke who was obviously in over his head!

Next pic. Spotty going for 50 knots! Or... is it Tony W on his 4.4m?!! looks more like Spotty's sail.

That was Sept 27th 2009. One year after the other photos. I will never, ever forget that day! It was insane!!!

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Adriano said..

Yeah Mal Wright. I think you're right Daffy. No other Aussie had won an international event. It was the second? St Maries de la Mer 1989 speed event at The French Trench. He used Neil Pryde RAF Speed sails and I think in the next event at Sotavento (1989?) Mal had custom RAF Speed sails in stunning purple and monofilm and was joined by Peter Dans using bright yellow sails. Must have impressed Neil in France with the win!

It was 1988, the very first competition held at the French St Maries de la Mer canal. Mal had the top 500m of the event of over 38.5 knots. It was 13" epoxy custom speed board he shaped himself and self designed and shaped fins. Apparently, the Euro's were very grumpy that Mal was beating them. There is a wheel mark over the front of the board where someone 'accidentally' ran over it, and all his fins disappeared at the airport on the way home. I think you are correct that he had NP sails at the event, but after that Gaastra picked him up and that was what he had at Sandy Point. He used a 3.8m custom speed sail and did 250m of 41.9 knots.

Hold on a sec. I'll just wind the date on the 'Time Machine' back a bit to 1989.

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sailquik said..
That top picture is some old bloke who was obviously in over his head!

Next pic. Spotty going for 50 knots! Or... is it Tony W on his 4.4m?!! looks more like Spotty's sail.

That was Sept 27th 2009. One year after the other photos. I will never, ever forget that day! It was insane!!!

Hee hee gotcha.

It's Tony Wynhoven on a 4.4 - the same bloody sail I was using with 30 kilos less ballast!

Here's me in a 45 knot 'lull' and a better pic of you looking sharper than the submarine pic.




And I love the energy going on here

And that was a stop, The head really didnt want to go down the course with a 4.4 maxed out. Oh for another like that one with what I know now. ??

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kato said..
And that was a stop, The head really didnt want to go down the course with a 4.4 maxed out. Oh for another like that one with what I know now. ??

Yeah, You me and Ado would eat that up now! Err.... I think.

Yeah either that or it would eat us up!

I had only been speed sailing for a year at that point and had a lot to learn so I would guess I can handle those conditions better now.

The key I've found is one's mindset. What I try to do now when it's so extreme is to mentally put up the necessary mental defences against weakness and then concentrate on integrating my thoughts with the elements. I visualise the force of the wind and water and sand and focus on drawing on that completely rather than seeing it as something to endure. I find that if you are anywhere approaching 'survival mode' you are wasting your time and not speed sailing and consequently your balance, your strength and your focus will not be on the patch of water 10 meters in front of you. Nothing else but that patch matters. If you're looking at the sandbar, the sky, another sailor or your board you're not focussed.

Last year I was at the Pit with Kato when the wind suddenly picked up 15 knots and we found ourselves with sails a size too big for the conditions. When we got to the dunes we just both stopped. I wasn't prepared for 40 knots with a 5.0m sail and neither was Kato with a 5.8! The problem wasn't the sail size but rather that we were not mentally ready for the sudden change in conditions.

It's like entering the easterly speed run in 30-35 knots. If you don't commit you'll either hit the sandbank or catapult on the chop. Then once you get to a certain point you can't pull out!

We were soft

Um, I managed a run and did PB's that stood until I went to Luderitz. Scared the crap out of me though...... and I definitely backed off while I was still accelerating at 47 knots.

I was there in 1989 and yes i was one of those 100 odd sailors who couldnt sail in 60 knots , i couldnt even get my sail out of the sand that had blown on the sails and buried them , but i did witness some of the runs , scary **** for sure

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kato said..
We were soft

Yep.

The wind drought has provided some clarity about what I'd do next time in that situation. Go hard!

I would say that day in '89 and the one on 2009 where very similar in wind strength.

In '89 I managed only one run down the course on 14" speed needle and 3.5m Wave sail in what I thought was a bit of a lull. (wishing a had a 3.0m like some of the others).

In 2009 I managed 2 runs but only one good one where I was semi in control. I went over 10 knots faster on a wider board (CA40) and a 4.4m KA Koncept sail. Both days has gusts to 60 knots!

I have seen winds peak that strong at Sandy Point since then, but not days where the wind average was so relentlessly high. Those two days were way out there!