Week ending 22/06/2012

Busy busy week.

After a week off training monday was time for a cliff run, really hard and running up the cliff steps my right knee gave way twice. Not nice. Then a mile swim, I find the swim is almost a warm down exercise. I swim with 1kg wieghts on each wrist and a swim float for my legs. My theory is the run works out my legs and then the swim does my arms, it seems to be working.

Tuesday day off, give the knee a rest.

Wednesday cliff run, a little further but hard again and again my knee gave way. Back in the pool after.

Thursday 5pm and the wind is howling. Tide too high for speed but cross shore at Vazon and a nice 3' wave rolling in. 5.5m Firelight and Starboard kode 94, believe me this is small kit for me in the waves. Hutchy is on his 4.2m. A few flip de doos over the handle bars and a good work out.

Friday and it's still windy 6.0m smack and Kode 103 and again I'm flip de doing both ways but after 1 hour my right knee is giving me jip.

At first I thought that having the previous week off had been the trouble with my leg giving way this, but now I know why. Last Sunday on Fathers day I played 9 holes of golf with my son and Father, thats were the problem came from. The twisting of my back leg in the follow through. Now it all makes sense, I haven't really had much knee problems since giving up golf 4 years ago.

Next wind is forecast for Sunday. Hopefully good for speed.

June 8th

So much promise but when I arrived at the beach the wind looked like it was starting to drop. I rigged up the 6.6 and went out for a couple of runs but the wind wasn't anywhere strong enough. Still you always learn something. I had a racing 28cm fin in the W54 for the first time and had no problems with spin out. It should prove to be faster by quite a bit compared to the R30. I'll still use the R30 in open water contests and tight courses. After a couple of runs I packed up and went down to Vazon for a bit of down the line wave sailing. 6.0m Firelight and Starboard kode 103 were perfect for some hits. Very strange jumping back on wave kit though after all the speed. A good couple of days sailing then followed by a couple of days of running and swimming. All starting to pay off now and plenty of time till Luderitz in Nov.

June 7th

All coming thick and fast now. Yesterday was one of the most enjoyable speed sailing sessions I have ever had. Sunny, warm, offshore winds 22knots gusting to 32 knots. A bit of a wind range but when the gusts came through it was great. 2 hours out on the water until the tide got too high and the wind became too fluky. 6.6m Hotsails GPS / Starboard Isonic Speed W54 / Black Project Fins R30 Combo I went out on the W49 first thing for a couple of runs, what a difference from sailing it at West Kirby last year. Back then I couldn't get in the straps and felt uncomfortable all the time. Now I have changed the straps to Hot Sails straps and moved them in board as I did on the 127 it felt great, no problem at all slipping into them. I changed up board because Pembroke bay is way too gusty, on the 54 I can sail up and down all day long no problem. The 49 needs more constant wind otherwise when your my size you end up swimming a lot. 41.93 knots maximum yesterday which I was happy with. Not the greatest angle for high speeds but definitely the best angle for a fun session sailing parallel to the beach back up wind. Today is looking good also, slightly more wind and WSW which should make quicker speeds although it will be harder to get close to the beach earlier enough. We will see.

June firsts

Plenty of first yesterday. First time using the big kit this year, 8.8m sail and 127 ltr board. First time in a summer suit this year. First time sailing with the back straps placed more in board. Very much competition speed training as opposed to record attempts. I have changed the straps on the 127 to Hot Sails straps, this enables me to put them slightly more in board as they have 3 holes in each strap. This worked great for me and I'll do it on my other boards as well, size 12 feet and trying to ram them into straps too close to the rail can be difficult but that extra 3/4 inch moved inboard makes all the difference. Had the boom slightly higher than normal and in the light winds felt great. Really felt locked in on the reaches. 34.93 top speed was good. It's all about the small changes now which should make the difference from runner up to champion. Luderitz record attempt is taking up all my thoughts, really excited to see how far I can push the equipment. Starboard Isonic w44 on the way and Tom is weaving some magic on new sails. Fins, Sails and boards are the best out there and we will see something very exciting come November. Off water training is going great, fitter than ever at the moment and pushing hard. Strong winds forecast for this Friday and hopefully there will be some wind forecast for West Kirby or La Franqui that I can make the most of. The roll on ferry to France now sails every day so La Franqui will be easier to get to.