6/15-6/17, Sulfur, 4.7-9.0, 85L-135L
Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2007 10:53 amWow, what a Father’s day weekend. I already logged the Thursday Sulfur session. I went home Thursday evening, loaded the motor home, and took off with Penny Friday morning for a long weekend at Sulfur. We couldn’t have picked a better weekend. There were no threatening storms and few clouds. Just lots of sun, perfect 75 to 85 degree weather and tons of wind.
I wore the GPS 2 hours Saturday afternoon and it paid off as I was able to set a new personal best of 35.1 mph, almost 2 mph better than my previous record. And that was in the Sulfur chop. I knew the Sonic 85L would be my speed board even though the water is pretty rough by the time the wind is strong enough to use an 85L board. I just wasn’t sure whether it would be the 6.0 2006 Infinity or the 5.3 1998 Northwave Race that would prove the fastest. They are both 2-cam sails, but the 5.3 has a leaner entry with shallower draft that is locked in near the mast and it doesn’t have a floppy head. Dimitri always pushed lots of downhaul to get that lean entry at the front of the sail. At least for speed runs parallel to the waves, the Northwave has proven the fastest. Too bad the monofilm is about to go on the 5.3. I would buy another one if they still made them. Still, I love the Infinity as I always have a blast on it.
Friday was the light wind day of the 4 days but that was good with me as I had a new 9.0 Retro that I had never sailed. What a sweet sail. For those famous Sulfur lulls it is much easier to uphaul than my 8.5 V8 (3-cams) and easier to handle in the gusts. It is 0.5M bigger than recommended for my Carve 135 but the Carve seemed to love it. Board/sail ratings must have something to do with the stock fin as the original fin would have never handled the 9.0. The Curtis fin I am using is the same length as the stock fin but seems much faster and less likely to spin out.
Saturday and Sunday were near identical days except the wind was SW Sat. and WSW Sun. and cooler. Both days started with 7.0 winds by 10:30, ripping 6.0 winds by 1:00 and 5.3-4.7 winds by 3:00. I sailed until 6:00 both days and quit with the wind still roaring through. Few of the usual Sulfur crowd showed up. Doug and Vern showed up Sat. and George made it up Sun. We had a family of windsurfers next to us but I didn’t catch their last name. There were never more than 4 sails on the water and only a few boats. Doug was the only kiter that didn’t immediately end up on the other side of the bay.
Sunday saw some equipment failures. I broke a boom but, since I was going out, I was able to take the broken arm off and sail back to shore. A fellow sailor from Ogden wasn’t as lucky as he had to derig and swim back. I tried to pull him in but the nose of my board went under every time I tried to pull him. He got in on his own about 10 minutes later.
It is great to have Penny and her motor home along. She commented that Friday and Saturday’s weather was some of the best we have seen at Sulfur as she could lay outside without getting cold. We had some great meals and watched movies both nights on my Father’s day present, a new combo flat screen/DVD player. I also had a hot shower each night and was able to flip on the central heat to take the chill off in the morning. What a rough life. We finished the weekend with a Father’s day feast at Flying J.
As I said at the 1st, what a great weekend. And what a great year of wind. I already have 31 sail days. I had to go back to 2000 to find a windier year. And that was when we had the ever dependable Rush. I miss Rush but I don’t think my equipment or my vehicles do.
I wore the GPS 2 hours Saturday afternoon and it paid off as I was able to set a new personal best of 35.1 mph, almost 2 mph better than my previous record. And that was in the Sulfur chop. I knew the Sonic 85L would be my speed board even though the water is pretty rough by the time the wind is strong enough to use an 85L board. I just wasn’t sure whether it would be the 6.0 2006 Infinity or the 5.3 1998 Northwave Race that would prove the fastest. They are both 2-cam sails, but the 5.3 has a leaner entry with shallower draft that is locked in near the mast and it doesn’t have a floppy head. Dimitri always pushed lots of downhaul to get that lean entry at the front of the sail. At least for speed runs parallel to the waves, the Northwave has proven the fastest. Too bad the monofilm is about to go on the 5.3. I would buy another one if they still made them. Still, I love the Infinity as I always have a blast on it.
Friday was the light wind day of the 4 days but that was good with me as I had a new 9.0 Retro that I had never sailed. What a sweet sail. For those famous Sulfur lulls it is much easier to uphaul than my 8.5 V8 (3-cams) and easier to handle in the gusts. It is 0.5M bigger than recommended for my Carve 135 but the Carve seemed to love it. Board/sail ratings must have something to do with the stock fin as the original fin would have never handled the 9.0. The Curtis fin I am using is the same length as the stock fin but seems much faster and less likely to spin out.
Saturday and Sunday were near identical days except the wind was SW Sat. and WSW Sun. and cooler. Both days started with 7.0 winds by 10:30, ripping 6.0 winds by 1:00 and 5.3-4.7 winds by 3:00. I sailed until 6:00 both days and quit with the wind still roaring through. Few of the usual Sulfur crowd showed up. Doug and Vern showed up Sat. and George made it up Sun. We had a family of windsurfers next to us but I didn’t catch their last name. There were never more than 4 sails on the water and only a few boats. Doug was the only kiter that didn’t immediately end up on the other side of the bay.
Sunday saw some equipment failures. I broke a boom but, since I was going out, I was able to take the broken arm off and sail back to shore. A fellow sailor from Ogden wasn’t as lucky as he had to derig and swim back. I tried to pull him in but the nose of my board went under every time I tried to pull him. He got in on his own about 10 minutes later.
It is great to have Penny and her motor home along. She commented that Friday and Saturday’s weather was some of the best we have seen at Sulfur as she could lay outside without getting cold. We had some great meals and watched movies both nights on my Father’s day present, a new combo flat screen/DVD player. I also had a hot shower each night and was able to flip on the central heat to take the chill off in the morning. What a rough life. We finished the weekend with a Father’s day feast at Flying J.
As I said at the 1st, what a great weekend. And what a great year of wind. I already have 31 sail days. I had to go back to 2000 to find a windier year. And that was when we had the ever dependable Rush. I miss Rush but I don’t think my equipment or my vehicles do.