Grantsville Res, 6/16, 5.7/5.2, 85L/109L

[kenonstott]

I was working near Saltair and could see lots of whitecaps to the west on the Great Salt Lake so I knew we had a winner. We hit the water at 2:30, John on his 5.2 and 109L board, I was on a 5.7 and an 85L board. Both of us were overpowered almost immediately. At 4:00 it went to 4.0 winds for 20 min. Still, it was up and down and we decided to hang on for dear life for some of the time rather than miss some planers. A great place for speed runs as there aren’t many waves. Hell’s corner on the SE corner of the lake also puts your jibing skills to the test, a good warm up for the Gorge. It was kind of a blast to the past as my normal 5.7 is in the shop being repaired. I drug out the full-on Northwave Race from my attic; 5 cams and a huge luff right to the top of the sail. That sail on my little Sonic85 Race and with a good Curtis Race fin led to some wild speed runs in the gusty winds, pointing upwind like a banshee. A fun combo but once that sail is down in the water the luff fills up and it is hard to get back up. My 5.3 NW Race has 2 cams and a much narrower luff down to the top cam which seems like a better design for what I do. We finally pulled off the water at 6:30 exhausted but with big grins on our faces. Still lots of wind coming, I hope we saved something. Team Ibuprofen rules.