MARTYN OGIER 68

Foot Straps

2011-12-13T06:15:00.000-08:00

Just thought I would clarify the foot strap situation as you must think I am a bit of a chump not to check before I went.

The Starboard straps in 2009 / 2010 were too small for my feet, just could get them to expand. The 2011 starboard straps I got for my slalom boards and W54 were great, no problem making them big enough. I then got the 2011 W49 and presumed the straps would be the same, a bit tough the first time you get in to them but then they stretch and are ok. The straps looked identical but after I extended them they wouldn't expand to fit. Don't know why.

I have now fitted some Hot Sails Maui straps on, cosy slipper type comfort, ideal for the 50 knot barrier.

West Kirby 7th Dec 2011

2011-12-08T05:15:00.000-08:00

Where to begin, probably best at the beginning I suppose. As I am starting writing this I am already thinking what a moaning old git I am but you'll have to put up with me, I'll say it as it is. Flew up Tuesday night. I wanted to be fresh and ready for a long session on the water Wednesday and fly back Wed night. Booked into the Greasby Premier Inn at 8pm, scampi and chips, watched half of Transformers on tv then tried to get sleep ready for sailing. You would think that after all this time that falling a sleep would be easy but when your passionate about something the adrenaline/excitement gets going and all you can think about is bombing down that wall at over 40 knots. Woke up early, breakfast at 8am and straight off to the lake. Steve Thorp and Jacques Van de Haut are already back in the car park after a few runs, its freezing. The course is very broad, the start is flat but the word is as you progress down the course the chop get horrendous / unsailable. It's windy Jacques and Steve are on 5m sails, I rig my HotSails GPS 5.5m stick my new Black Project type x 40 in the Starboard Isonic 49. This is the first time I have sailed the board, sail or fin but it's blowing 41 knots steady gusting 53 and down the wall the chop is 30cm high. PERFECT! The type X's come in 35, 40 or 45 sizes, this isn't their actual size this corresponds to the speeds each is designed for. I opted for the 40 as I wanted a bit more grip when I got into the chop. In the car park it was cold but I was taken aback when I got into the water, freezing. Gloves, neoprene hood and boots all needed. I only had neoprene shoes and after one run could feel the base of my feet. Ant Baker lent me a pair of ripped booties which helped for another couple of runs. After my last run I only noticed that my heel was hanging out of the boot when I got back to the car park and looked down, I could feel them at all. Another time after a wipe out I was lying dazed in the water thinking it was weird that I could feel the pressure of the back foot strap but my feet were sinking to the bottom of the lake, how can that be when I have the board attached to me, I sat up in the water and realised the board wasn't there at all it was floating away. The other problem I had was I could get my foot straps big enough and ended up sailing down the course feeling like I could be ripped out of them at any stage. (that's the moaning out of the way) From the car park it was a reach up to the northern start of the wall, then open the throttle. Unbelievable acceleration, watching others bear away they had 7 seconds from the start to when they sheeted out and slowed down because of the chop, I'll post some picture or you can check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omZVNSkdH_Y All day sailors were putting in a run then coming back to the car park waiting for the wind to swing to the West and hope the water would flatten off. It never happened WNW is too broad for West Kirby, too much chop. I ended up completing six runs, all over 42 knots 10 second speeds except the last 2 and all over 44 knots max. One run did stand out however 49.43 Knots maximum 46 knots 10 sec on one gps and 49.62 knots / 46.52 10 sec on the other. I new it was fast because it hurt a lot when I crashed at the end of the run. Today I am back in Guernsey and taking ibuprofen. My left hip is really hurting. Summary- It's all about learning, board rig fin combo were perfect, I have to change foot straps and get a decent pair of booties. The wind angle was perfect for big speeds but West Kirby won't have flat water in that direction. As soon as you were hitting 49 knots the chop was 30 cm high, you couldn't slow down and I crashed after every run. I was pushing hard though. Great to get 49.5 knots max when averaging out my two gps's, one of the fastest speed ever reached on a windsurfer. Believe it or not sailing at 49 isn't as scary as you would think, it's all about being in control. You can be out of control at 36 knots and its as bad. The board rig and fin has been pushed to levels I dreamed about, it's all possible. This isn't what could be my fastest set up. With canal type flat water, 44 cm board, smaller fin I don't see why I can't go faster. I have a idea of the speed possible but won't publish it, I'd rather prove it.

West Kirby

2011-12-05T06:13:00.000-08:00

West Kirby here we come. All booked up. Fly up Tue evening fly back Wed evening with a record in the bag, hopefully.

Forecast west force 7-9. If it comes throiugh that should do. Let you know Wed.

December

2011-12-01T08:12:00.000-08:00

December here already. I have spent the whole of November looking at forecasts for West Kirby, missed last weekends session but as it turned out it wasn't epic.

The problem is all the forecasts show epic conditions for 5-7 days time and then gradually back off.

This weekend looks ok but next Wednesday looks fantastic. Fingers crossed, I am desperate to get up there.

Here in Guernsey we have had wind and waves, onshore at Pembroke bay a week ago. Dead cross shore Monday with 3-5' surf at Vazon.

Today I had one of the best sails I have ever had at Perelle reef. Side shore out behind the island with some bombs coming through. The wind lasted about 20 minutes but the surf was the best I have sailed there. Two waves is all I caught and I stoked.

The first half to 3/4 mast, slightly aprehensive as it formed. Perelle surf is deadly, any mistake and your washed up on huge boulders at the back of a small island half a mile off Guernsey. Everything would be gone and a rip that would take you out to the English channel.

But when the waves are good they can live with anywhere on the planet. First wave aprehensive but the second, mast high and peeling. As soon as I took the drop all thoughts of damage went, four buttom to top down the line in the critical section turns and taht will do. Gybed out and the wind had gone, drifted out and back again.

I have never had such a short epic sail.

Went for a mile swim in the pool after and sailed that wave over and over again in my head.

Aurigny Support

2011-11-10T05:12:00.001-08:00

Weymouth Speed Week prize giving

2011-10-24T23:18:00.000-07:00

2011-10-24T07:30:00.000-07:00

Weymouth Speed Week 2011

We have just finished Weymouth Speed Week and have had the best winds of the last three years. Nothing fantastic but two good counting days and one just beneath the minimum required for a count leg.

I have to be a bit careful with my report as I got into trouble last time. The problem with Weymouth is there is so much going on with regard to categories that it’s difficult to keep up.

A quick explanation of competitions under the banner Weymouth Speed Week.

Weymouth Speed Week

Weymouth Speed Champion – Sailing craft producing the fastest single run within the week.

Weymouth Boat Champion – Boat producing the fastest single run within the week.

Weymouth Windsurfing Champion – Windsurfer producing the fastest single run within the week.

Weymouth Kite Champion - producing the fastest single run within the week.

International Speed Windsurfing Association - European Tour Weymouth
Windsurfer that has the fastest average of two runs per leg given that 20% of the fleet record 3 or more runs over 28knots. Men and Woman.

Normally at an ISWA event each leg would be up to 1.5 hours long with a 30 minute break between legs. After 4 legs you can have one discard and after 7 legs you can have two. Due to the complexities of Weymouth each leg is the whole day. (I hope that’s diplomatic enough)
United Kingdom Windsurfing Association - British speed sailing championship
Windsurfer that has the fastest average of two runs during the week given that 20% of the fleet record 3 or more runs over 28knots. Men and Woman.

The great thing about Weymouth is it brings the whole British Speed sailing fraternity together in the same spot. Also with so much going on it is all controlled through Nick Povey, Pete Davis and Paul fantastically well. The GPS timing means that we have accurate timing and results within a couple of hours for finishing the days racing. I have been critical in the past of Weymouth but when you add it all up it is one of the most enjoyable contests to enter. Weymouth is easy to get to, lots of Bed and Breakfast Guest Houses, a superb sailing academy with showers and restaurant, parking and a great rigging area.

Down to the racing

The competition stated on Saturday the 15th October. Not enough wind for sailing but the forecast for the week was looking good to perfect. A nice leisurely day meeting up with old pals and rigging our sails, putting fins in the boards and getting ready for the coming week.
Sunday was the same story but we knew that Monday forecast great winds from the West.
Sure enough on Monday morning we were greeted by 15 knots of wind and a forecast predicting 20 to 25 knots as the day went on. Everybody knew the wind would increase only the locals new that as the tide dropped the water would become rougher. It was a gamble as to how long you were prepared to wait until venturing onto the water, bearing in mind that you would be sailing right up to when the course was to close 5.30pm.
I took to the water at 11.45, the wind was filling in quickly and averaging 18knots on the course. Westerly winds mean sailing from the academy toward Chesil Bank then bearing away for your run out into Portland Harbour, the further down the course the rougher it gets until you are bouncing your way through 12” of chop. If you want quick times there is no letting up at the end of the course, quick and flat on the way in and hold on to your hat on the way out because you are on broad reach with board flying all over the place. As the tide dropped the course got more and more choppy. We did stay out there to the last minute, over five hours nonstop sailing. Five hours nonstop racing is a hard thing to train for, most sailing sessions are about two hours long and only in Weymouth are we sent out for the whole day but it’s the same for everyone and that’s the rules. I sailed the first 3 hours with my Hotsails GPS 8.0m sail on my Starboard Isonic 107 ltr board using a 37cm Black Project fin. Later I changed down to 7.3m sail, 90 ltr board and 35cm fin however with the sea state worsening the speeds didn’t increase.

David Garrell from Luxemburg took the honours with a quickest time of 35.72 knots, average two runs of 35.042 knots, Kevin Greenslade averaging 34.167, Thorsten Mallon 33.776 and myself on 33.626.

That gave me a second place in the UKWA rankings and a third in the IWSA rankings.

The rest of the top sailor’s average speeds put them in

5th Patrick Van Hoof
6th Daniel Borgeland
7th Ant Baker
8th Dave White
9th Guy Cribb
10th Jim Crossley
11th Bob Cunningham

David’s speed was the best for the Weymouth Speed Week windsurfer category.

Day two and the wind had turned slightly more to the North meaning the course was sailing the opposite way round, choppy waters on the outside sailing into flatter water by the finish.

Wind conditions were slightly less than Mondays and again I was on the Hotsails GPS 8.0m sail on my Starboard Isonic 107 ltr board using a 37cm Black Project fin combination. David again had the fastest speeds of the day but it was closer than Monday. Another 4 hour marathon session on the water.

Results of the average speeds of each competitors two best runs.

1st David Garrell 33.431 knots
2nd Kevin Greenslade 33.053 knots
3rd Martyn Ogier 33.007 knots
4th Ant Baker 32.162 knots
5th Stephen Corps 32.123 knots
6th Daniel Borgeland 31.442 knots
7th Patrick Van Hoof 31.437 knots

On the water my GPS showed a max speed of 37.03 knots and a 10 second average of 35.85, having checked with the other riders it was the quickest of the week but unfortunately not over 500m.

After day two I had IWSA ranking points from a third and second place which ranked me 2nd overall behind David Garrell and in the UKWA rankings I had two second places which put me in second behind Kevin Greenslade.

Wednesday and still more wind. Very light winds at the start of the day and although at the end the day the round didn’t count due to insufficient number of runs over 28 knots were completed it was close.

Only three sailors completed more than one run over 28, I managed two, Ant Baker three and Kevin Greenslade managed four. Being the heaviest on the water but sailing the smallest sail, 8.8m, and smallest board, 127 ltr didn't help my cause. Most of the sailors were on 9.5m sails and 140 ltr boards, luckily the rules worked and the day didn't count. When you have to use that size equipment in my opinium it's not speed sailing.

Thursdays forecast was for no wind so we were released for the day. Friday threatened to produce enough but never quite got there.

Final windsurfing results were,

Weymouth Windsurfing Champion – Men - David Garrell
Woman- Zara Davis

International Speed Windsurfing Association 1st David Garrell
2nd Martyn Ogier
3rd Thorsten Mallon
Woman- Zara Davis

British speed sailing championship 1st Kevin Greenslade
2nd Martyn Ogier
3rd Ant Baker
Woman- Zara Davis

A great weeks competition with some really nice people, well organised and fun. Watch out next year I am coming back for the number one spot.

Tuning equipment

2011-10-08T05:44:00.000-07:00

Last minute tuning of my larger windsurf equipment ready for British Speed Sailing Championships in Weymouth.

Hotsails GPS 8.8 on the Isonic 107 with Black Project R37.5 this morning. This is only the second time I have used this combo but it's so sweet. Even better that I remember from Sweden. I'll use the R40 next time to give me a little more to push against over the chop.

British Speed Sailing Championships

2011-10-06T08:05:00.000-07:00

The British Speed Sailing Championships are just around the corner and I have had a hard decission to make, whether to fly up to West Kirby or tune my bigger gear for the British Champs in Weymouth from the 15th - 21st October.

My heart said West Kirby but my head told me to get some training in on the big kit again.

Also Aurigny Airlines have just stepped in to help me with travel costs fly from Guernsey to Manchester so that I can keep up the record attempts. New Aurigny sail stickers just printed and the chance to get some pictures taken was the sensible thing to do.

Having said that I keep checking if anyone has posted some good speeds.

Next stop Weymouth where I'll also pick up my new small Isonic speed board which will be better for world record attempts. The W54 is a beautiful board to sail and fantastic in Competition sailing when ease of use is as important as ultimate speed but it is too big for real speeds ie above the 45.77 knots already clocked.

Todays sailing was quite light, 8.0m Hotsails GPS and the Starboard Isonic 107 / Black Project R37.5 combo. Clocked up 33.75 max speed but not great sailing. Westerly winds are the worst for getting any sort of flat water. 20 years ago and all I wanted was westerlies for wave sailing.

More testing over the next week and some pictures to add later.

West Kirby Sept 2011

2011-09-13T06:38:00.001-07:00

Took my first trip to West Kirby in 18 years yesterday.

Got up at 5.30am, caught the 7am plane to Manchester arriving at 9.30, Hired a car and drove an hour to west Kirby arriving just before 11am. Sailed then caught a plane back this morning.

I took three sails 5.5, 6 & 6.6 One boom two mast and my Isonic 54. 45 kg of equipment, buying a sporting goods extra allowance allows me to take 40kg after that I was charged a horrendous amount for being over.

Ian Richards and Will Trossel were sailing already but the word in the car park was that the tide would breach the wall within 30 minutes and then recede at about 12.30.

Rigged the 6m with Isonic 54 and S type 29cm. Soon to be change to the 26.5 when I missed judged the depth of water. The board works best with the 29 for most points of sailing but is quicker off the wind with the 26.

It was really blowing strong WSW which is almost dead 90 degrees to the wall. We sailed along the wall and then bore away at the end to get fast speeds on both tacks, starboard slightly quicker. The further away from the wall and the chop built and built until it was 12" high and you were at max speeds.

Sailed from 12.45 to 4.45 in as much wind as I could hold on to. Come the end my body was hurting a lot, its not every day you sail in a gale for 4 hours.

Managed a max speed of 45.77 and a max average of 43.44. The sail felt great and could easily go 47, 48 with a broad flat course. Were I was powering through at max was horrendously choppy. The fins both felt great, the 26 slipped a bit as you were beating into the course but when powered up was rock solid.

After the session Ian Richards commented on how good the sail looked and how it was flexing with the gust.

Lessons learnt

The Isonic 54 is a great board so easy to sail and will be perfect for competition.
Would of been better with a 49cm board for quicker times and also with 24cm fin.
No problem with sailing that fast. Having been so long since I sailed over 40 knots I didn't know how 45 would feel with 2011 kit. No problem at all, always felt comfortable and I don't see why pushing 50 will be a problem with the right conditions.

Sailed quicker than any one on the water, Farrel went in at about 5.15pm, the wind had swung a little which may have made it easier for quicker runs but it may not of I can't answer that one because I wasn't on the water. It could be that he is a faster sailor than me but I don't think so, with what I have learnt sailing yesterday I can challenge anyone.

Weymouth is coming up then Port Saint Louis. The results from Germany have thrown the European Tour wide open. I fancied David Garrell for the title after he won in Gruisson but a poor German event has opened the door. I need to be top 3 at least in Weymouth and Port St Louis but again I feel really confident.

Good or Bad day

2011-09-06T02:14:00.000-07:00

The forcasat was unreal, force 7 to gale 8 SW. Low tide at 7.30 am.

I have been waiting in atisipation for this morning for the past 5 days. Sunday I had a slalom session on my Hot Sails GPS 8.8 and Isonic 127, Monday a wave session on my Smack 5.8 and Evo and today was going to be the day.

I can't make my mind up if it was a good day or bad. Certainly it didn't turn out as I had hoped. The wind was howling all night and I could hardly sleep with excitement. I got up at 6.30 and went straight to Pembroke bay. Offshore winds but it looked light, how could this be all the forecasts give wind, there must be wind out there.

I rigged my 6.6 amd put my Isonic speed 54 and 90 ltr board on the beach, it still didn't look great. I was in just after 7, Low tide was at 7.30 neaping so I would have too long before the tide was too high.

The wind was very square to the course it reminded me a lot of Port St Louis. The wind was blowing force 2 upto 6. Not what I had hoped at all and no way of being able to get onto the Speed board.

I satyed in for two hours hoping that the wind would fill in but it never happened, I think it has to be spring tides to get a decent run. On a square course my best was 37.47 knots but it was very frustrating.

It is chucking it down cats and dogs now, so was it a good session.

Good parts
Got out with the 6.6, although under powered, need to tune it a bit more.
Sailed 6.6 on the 90 ltr board for the first time, the board felt big with that sail.
It was a square course so times weren't that bad in the end.
Another 2 hours on the water.

Bad parts
I was expecting epic conditions.

The search goes on!!

SUP

2011-08-20T05:41:00.000-07:00

Great SUP session this morning down the coast and back. Lots of Bass and Mollet swimming below, beautiful sunny weather. No surf though. Looks like it will be a good week for sailing with wind on the way for Tuesday.

Here comes Man Flu

2011-08-15T23:55:00.000-07:00

Always at the beginning of summer and the end I get a cold. It is just starting to show the signs of one coming out, full blown man flu by the end of the week I reckon.

BILLABONG

2011-08-12T07:33:00.000-07:00

When I came out of retirement in 2009 to compete again I bought two Billabong suits, their quality was second to none. Now in 2011 Billabong are supplying me with wetsuits.

I am thrilled that such a massive company as Billabong have shown faith in me and my sailing.

Speed session

2011-08-11T08:34:00.000-07:00

Good fun speed session at Pembroke Bay as predicted.

Couldn't get on the Starboard Isonic 90 as the wind was way to gusty and light. Opted for the 107 ltr board with Hotsails GPS 8.0m and Black Project 37.5cm fin. It was a lot of fun, top speed of just over 37 knots.

Pierre came down late on in the session and took some pictures which I'll add later.

2.5 hours on the water, the training has paid off.

Next good forecast is for Sunday, no big winds but should be fun again.

July / August

2011-08-11T00:34:00.000-07:00

Firstly sorry fro the lack of postings this last month.

Things have been soooo busy. After the Swedish speed event I had a month of hectic work mixed in with a bit of windsurfing. Mid July I noticed my wieght starting to rise and since then I have been training hard, SUP ing and windsurfing, back on track!

It's amazing how fitness can slip over a four week period. Obviously windsurfing is the most important exercise to do but unfortunately Guernsey doesn't get wind every day. I have had some good slalom sessions and tried out sailing the southern end of Vazon in Westerly force 5 on Monday. It looked good from the shore but was way to choppy inside and rough as hell outside, water totally confused with waves jacking up right in front of you. A lot of air time. Still it was a good session with my 8.0m GPS Hotsail and 107 ltr Starboard Isonic.

Today looks like it may happen. We have force 5 SW at the moment with the tide falling. The forcast has the wind at it's strongest from 10am - 1pm and that coincides with low tide. Pembroke Bay low tide and great direction is the venue, just hope the wind picks up a bit.

I hope to use the 8m with my 90 ltr Isonic. This will be the first time I have used this setup.

I blog later to tell you how it has gone.

July 2011

2011-07-18T03:00:00.000-07:00

For the past month we have had light winds and sunny weather however that all changed yesterday. Force 6 winds, rigged the 7.3m Hot Sails GPS and Isonic 90 ltr / 35cm R Black Project fin combo again. Just such a good set up.

For some reason my GT 31 showed speeds when I was out there but when I checked them that evening the session shows up but no results. A bit of a worry, I wouldn't like that to happen in a contest.

I was consistently showing high end 36 knots during the session but West winds just don't work with speed sailing over here. SE to SW and Pembroke bay at low tide works, NW you have a strip outside of Grande Havre that works on mid to low tide, N is Perrelle Bay at mid to low and E to NE Vazon Bay Low tide but Westerly, get the wave kit out.

Today we have force 5 -6 Westerly with a swell. Wavesailing time!!

June Speed Session

2011-06-22T12:07:00.000-07:00

Had a good sailing week, two sessions stand out.

Last Saturday I wave sailed Perelle, Perelle is a wave break behind a small island on the west coast of Guernsey. Very intimidating, you sail about a kilometer from your launch spot out into deep water. The break can be big, up to 16' before it closes out. The other problem is that if you wipe out you end up on the rocks, a bit like Hookipa rocks but bigger. That's the bad news, the good news is you can get four great big bottom turns in on glassy waves.

I sailed there for a couple of hours on a very high tide, not as good as I have sailed it but good fun. Came in de-rigged and went down the coast to Vazon Bay for an hour of small waves and some jumps.

Today was speed time. South West wind, forecast at 22 knots. I went out at Pembroke bay with my Hot Sail GPS 7.3m, Starboard Isonic 90 with Black Project R35. What a combo. The wind was too cross shore for great speeds but great for testing the kit. It's the first time I have been out on the Isonic 90 and it didn't disappoint.

Again Guernsey doesn't have a speed strip long enough for good average speeds, you get a max speed and it's time to slow down before the rocks. Top speed 38.76 knots no spin out, sail was light in the hands and as stable as can be. Choppy water again but very pleased with the top speed.

My 2011 equipment is just so good together. It's taken 3 years but I finally feel everything has come together.

Sweden 2011

2011-06-11T05:28:00.000-07:00

Photos by Lennart Bernfort

The Meteox forecst had been spot on since I arrived in Sweden and Sunday was no exception. The day started with no wind but by 6pm the wind was starting to pick up from the East. Game on, first possible start 6.30 with 50 minute heats, ten minute rest then another two heats.

The rules are that 20% of the fleet have to achieve a run over 28 knots for the leg to count. It was obvious that the first leg wasn't going to count as most times were around 26 knots but a gusty ten minutes that could all change and during round two that is what happened.

Everybody was sailing big kit. The Simmer boys on 8.6m, Maui Sails 8.4m and North Sails 8.6m. I was on my Hot Sails GPS 8.8, Starboard Isonic 127 and 45cm Black Project Fin. Being the heaviest sailor in the pack and sailing around about the same size sail meant I had to use a lot bigger board than the other sailors.

It's difficult to judge how fast you have been sailing compared to the rest of the fleet when being timed on gps. Everyone tells a different story when you ask their speeds, some are telling you max speed, some 10 sec average.

The third leg got started but by that time the wind had died and the leg got cancelled.

Thats the latest I have sailed, by the time I had packed up and got back to the hotel it was past 10pm, quick bite to eat shower and bed. The forecast was a lot better for the next day. No results till the morning so an anxious sleep.

Next morning and I am looking down the Swedish results list and can't find my name, what has happened, has my gps not recorded! Then I realise there is a Swedish ranking and a ranking for the European Tour Swedish speed event. I look down but not too far because I am in 5th place, thank God for that. Although confident you just don't know till the results go up. 5th place in such light conditions is great.

Last day of competition and the wind had been blowing up 25 knots but by the time the course was set up it was back to 12-16 knots. Four rounds were held but in the end only two of them counted. I was on the same kit as the day before although I changed down board size to my Isonic 107 for the last round.

Final results for the three counting rounds were dominated by the Swedish men led by Marcus Richardson. I was the fastest non Swede with a 5th, 4th and 5th place making me 5th overall.

1st Marcus Richardson SWE 30 0.70 2.00 2.00 4.70 4.70 31.589 30.435 30.557
2nd Daniel Borgelind SWE 38 3.00 0.70 3.00 6.70 6.70 31.273 30.654 30.513
3rd Markus Emanuelsson SWE 55 4.00 3.00 0.70 7.70 7.70 30.343 29.712 31.717
4th Anders Björkqvist SWE 877 2.00 6.00 4.00 12.00 12.00 31.317 29.278 30.498
5th MARTYN OGIER K 68 5.00 4.00 5.00 14.00 14.00 29.298 29.615 29.686
6th Torsten Mallon GER 818 6.00 8.00 6.00 20.00 20.00 28.565 27.909 29.650
7th Patrick Van Hoof B 52 8.00 5.00 7.00 20.00 20.00 28.355 29.424 29.335
8th Johan Gelander SWE 51 7.00 7.00 8.00 22.00 22.00 28.530 28.454 29.118

Conclusions
The jump from 2010 gps to 2011 is as extreme as fro 2009 to 2010, really impressive. Chinnook booms and extentions have made a big difference with stiffness and weight savings. We have sails that are now as fast as anything on the market. The Starbaord Isonics boards are fast and really easy to ride and my Black Project Fins are the perfect complement to rig and board.
Altogether it is a great start to the year, the best.
Bring on the next event.

Planes trains and automobiles

2011-06-03T23:54:00.000-07:00

Living on Guernsey has its benefits but when you want to get off the island then your troubles begin.

The title should have been planes, trains, automobiles, ferry and more automobiles.

My destination is the European Speed Contest in Sweden. To get there with all my kit in the quickest way possible means shipping my van to England without me so that when I fly out on the Tue morning at 7 am and land at 7.45 I can jump straight into my van and get driving.

The only port in France that has a ferry from Guernsey is St Malo which is great when you’re travelling South but when going North would put another 8 hours drive on my journey.

7.45 Tue and I am in the van and driving towards the channel tunnel. 2.5 hours later I am at the tunnel 10 minutes too late for my train so have to wait an hour for the next available one. 35 minutes later and I am driving off in Calais.

Only 14 hours of driving and a hour ferry crossing to go.

Klagsham Sweden is the destination. On the Baltic sea Klagsham has a nice club house overlooking the bay. It is a shallow bay stretching for miles. It doesn't matter what direction the wind comes from the sea remains relatively flat. South to North Westly winds tends to have a thermal effect increasing the strength. South to East and they say the wind comes through "the trumpet" which accelerates the wind.

The forecast before I left was for wind the day before the contest and the day after. Spot on up to now, beautifully sunny though. The event started on Thursday 2nd June and runs to the 6th. On Friday we were informed at the skippers meeting that the contest was going to move 40 km up the coast were they thought there was a good chance of a Northly thermal wind developing. It was a good call and almost worked out; we got out on the water with big kit however the winds never increased enough to hold a counting round.

Today we have had no wind but 25 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. The forecast for tomorrow is Eastly wind at 12 knots; the locals are saying that could increase due to "the trumpet" to 18 knots, game on. Mondays forecast is 18-20 knots South Eastly as with tomorrow that could increase to 25 knots, plenty to have a counting round.

I'll update when I get more news.

New Kit

2011-05-29T08:55:00.000-07:00

Finally got everything together for some pictures, not great light conditions but there was wind and Pierre had his camera.

Went out on the 6.6 with my Isonic 90. I think I was over excited about strong winds and finally getting out on th 90. As it tunrd out the 7.3 would have been better but I stuck with the 6.6 and moved up to my Isonic 107.

Some ok shots, stickered up.

Off to Sweden on Tue. 7am flight from Guernsey to Southampton, pick up my van which was shipped over on Friday, drive to Folkstone, catch the train through the tunnel, 10.5 hour drive to Ferharn Germany, catch a ferry to Sweden. Not too bad then!!

It has to be this way to cut down on days away. With Guernsey being so small it isn't possible to fly ou with my gear.

The forcast is for good winds up to the event and then nothing during but forcast change all the time.

GPS 2011 UPDATE

2011-05-03T08:50:00.000-07:00

Had my first session on the new gps's yesterday.

8.0m with my Isonic 107 and R375 fin. Great combination, managed just over 36 knots on a very small strip. Vazon bay at high tide left me with 250m of broad reach, on the gt-31 it showed by speed beating into the reach at 22 knots. The exceleration was fantastic up to 36then sheet out before the rocks.

The 2011 sails are more stable than 2010 and noticably quicker, the 2010 are fast already. The fin worked great, no spin out over 6-8" chop, I'd probably go one bigger for slalom.

Next stop is the Swedish Speed Championships 1st - 6th June. Hopefully after that there will be more confirmed news on a World Speed Championships. There is something in the pipeline I have been told.

Really looking forward to competing again with the new sails, they are a big jump again in performance from 2010. New fins, booms and boards have also improved on 2010, figures crossed for the results as well.

SUP

2011-04-06T08:32:00.000-07:00

Nice hour in the water today on my Starboard SUP. 3' reef break, summer suit, and sun out. Feels good.

HOT SAILS GRAN PRIX SPEED SAILS 2011

2011-04-04T03:11:00.000-07:00

New sails arrived today from China. They look great, just logo'd up the 8.8 ready for some forcast wind later.

APRIL

2011-04-01T10:28:00.001-07:00

April is here and the sun is out, full on spring time in Guernsey.

My wave gear has been put in the shed, no more play time it's time to get serious.

My new boards arrived this week and my sails are due on Monday. I got out on my Starboard Isonic 127 today, 8.8m Hot sails gps and 45cm Black Project fin. First time out on the 127 and it took some getting used to, wave board last week and big race board this week.

Now till November is speed time, testing, training and competing.

Today was great, sunny and warm. The wind was very gusty offshore 12-14knots but a great learning session. The 45 cm BPF worked great no spin out and when you get the Isonic locked in on a broad reach it rocks. Very fast. I'll use the BPF 47 for more long distance training but for speed the 45 is great.

The Isonic 127 took some getting used to. It's feels very short but I'll soon get used to it.

Sails to start tweaking with in a couple of days. Lots to do and it feels great to be testing full time again.

The Chinook booms make a big difference to the feel of the rig. They lighten up the feel and control.

NEW STICKER

2011-03-23T07:15:00.001-07:00

New sail stickers hot off the press.

Feb training

2011-02-28T08:52:00.000-08:00

Not as much on the bike as January but more sailing, still on the wave gear at the moment.

170 miles on the bike, 16 miles running and 10 miles swimming. What has stopped me is a throat infection that went on and on. Four days of not being to swallow food or water and a weight loss of 7 pounds, just feeling drained. The unfortunate thing is I came back training too early and as of yesterday my throat is sore again. A huge forward loop in dead onshore winds on Saturday that horribly wrong has seen my right knee swell to the size of a football. Anti inflammatory drugs and rest is called for.

On the up side.

My new Hot Sails GPS's should arrive in the next week, my new Black Project Fins came last week, new Starboard Isonic Speed 53 and slalom 90 the week after next and then it's down to some serious testing with every combination of fin, sail and board. The new Chinnook booms and extensions are fantastic, so light they make a huge difference to the rig feel.

EUROPEAN TOUR

2011-02-15T01:22:00.000-08:00

Windsurfing European Speed Championship Tour 2011
For 2011 the European Speed Champions will be decided from the results from participating National events.
Criteria for Tour
• Based on the results of accepted European National championships.
• The Male and Female competitors’ tour winners will be crowned the European Champions.
• The best of three results to count for the ranking, if a tie exists, then the riders fastest speed will decide.
• All events to count as a factor of one.
• Additional prize money and timing systems will be used by organisers to encourage higher profile sailors.
• Before an event is accepted as a counting round of the tour the local organiser must agree to accept minimum standards of speed competition.

ET Minimum Standards
 Fixed course over a minimum distance of 250 m with starting gates
 Accurate timing system, Navi GPS and GPS results pro as minimum standard
 Minimum speed of 28 knots achieved at least 3 times by 20% of the whole fleet, to qualify as a counting round.
 Event to run for a minimum of 5 Days on a fixed date
 A minimum of 2 months notice of event with published NOR and confirmation of entry by organisers one month before.
 Competitors have to be fully paid up members of the ISWC to get a European tour championship ranking. This does not exclude them from their National championship as long as they are members of their National association.
 Off shore course wherever possible
 Includes a Junior Fleet where ever possible
 Encourage festival style with clinics etc if possible
The Countries that have agreed so far to the standards and wish to take part are Belgium, Sweden, UK and Germany. Dates and details to follow.
Invitations have been sent to Spain, France, Austria, Holland and Ireland who have shown an interest in being included. European Riders who wish their nation to be included please contact your national speed championship organisers and ask them to contact us.

SUP here we come

2011-02-15T01:10:00.000-08:00

Just got my first SUP and can't wait to get in water. Years ago I used to surf and I have always been into wave sailing, SUP seems the logical next step. Guernsey has some great surf breaks, reef breaks that are perfect for SUPing. We also have some huge off shore breaks that I have looked for 20 years and thought about sailing them. The problem with the offshore breaks is that when it is windy enough to sail, being 3 miles off shore without a support boat because its too windy doesn't sound so good. SUPing however is a different story, jump in a rib and shoot out there with the SUP.
I'll keep you posted.

Feb wave action

2011-02-09T05:43:00.000-08:00

Thanks again to Pierre gsyphoto.com for some great February action

2011-02-09T05:42:00.000-08:00

Jan 2011

2011-02-01T23:52:00.001-08:00

January over and I've clocked 440 miles on the bike, 26 miles in the pool and 12 miles running and some great wave sailing. Come on February!

Speed Tour 2011

2011-02-01T05:12:00.000-08:00

News on the grape vine is that the 2011 Speed European tour has been approved in principle,just the details of the rules to be agreed.

Interested parties are from UK, Belgium, Germany, Spain (Tarifa), Holland, Austria and Sweden.

Fuerteventura is a strong possibility for a World Championships. This will be a stand alone event as a one off world cup.

Another place showing interest is Dakhla in Morocco, possibly for a production worlds.

Obviously all is to be confirmed.

Speed has never looked so good.

Jan Waves

2011-01-18T05:16:00.000-08:00

It seems we have had one of the best weeks wave sailing for a long time.
Sunday was pumping, sets up to 3/4 mast and light cross offshore winds. For me a little too light, I struggled to get up wind. A bigger wave board would have done it.

Jan Wave Session

2011-01-12T07:43:00.000-08:00

Nice wave session yesterday. Small 3' surf breaking on Vazon's centre reef and onshore winds but with a long run into the reef it was a lot of fun. Big stalled forwards were the order of the day. 1 push loop that ended with me putting my elbow through my sail ended the day.

Air and water temp is only 9 degrees but with hood and boots the only cold part is the hands. Half an hour of not being able to feel your hands then they start to warm up again. I have known worse. Deffinately not the weather for slalom cruising though.

My Van is loaded with my wave board and 82 ltr speed board. Either fun in the waves or epic speed. Too cold for anything else.

BIG NEWS

2011-01-07T05:31:00.000-08:00

As of 7th January 2011 I have signed to sail with Chinook booms and extentions.

I am thrilled to be part of such a fantastic brand with a history of making some of the best equipment there is.

Another piece of the jigsaw sorted on the road to World Champion.

2011

2011-01-04T03:02:00.000-08:00

2011 is here and I am more eager than ever to get competing. Training has gone to a whole new level, running or biking combined with a 1 mile swim every day. I can feel the swim is making a big diiference already.

Fridays forcast is epic. I'll try and get some pics posted.

WIND SHORTAGE

2010-12-12T23:58:00.000-08:00

The temperature has warmed up a little over here but the wind has disapeared.

Started on my winter fitness program last Sunday 5th. KILLER.

Just started to feel I was slipping a bit on fitness so I am back in training. Its a killer when you stop and then start again. Light runs and bike until Christmas then step it up in January. At the moment its 15 mile bike ride every day. I want to do a bike ride and the run before Christmas.

Two weeks of free time over Christmas so lets hope for some wind. I need to get some wavesailing shots.

2010 World Tour Speed Rankings

2010-12-03T01:48:00.000-08:00

It's official I am ranked 2nd in the WORLD!!

Rankings 2010
ISWC Overall Men
1. A. Bringdal, SWE
2. M. Ogier, GBR
3. B. Dunkerbeck, SUI
4. D. Garrel, LUX
5. B. Moussilmani, FRA

ISWC Overall Women
1. Z. Davis, GBR
2. F. Aubert, FRA
3. M. Auge, FRA
4. B. Hoefer, GER
5. S. Wahl, GER

IKA Overall Men
1. Alex Caizergues, FRA
2. Sylvain Hoceini, FRA
3. Rob Douglas, USA
4. D. Williams, GBR
5. D. Leroy, USA

IKA Overall Women
1. M. Gil, USA
2. C. Consorti, FRA
3. S. Bredenkamp, RSA
4. J. Grobbelaar, GBR
5. Caroline Adrien, FRA

December cold

2010-12-02T03:54:00.000-08:00

We have had 30 knots of wind for the past week. Only problem is it's only 1 degree outside at the moment. Time to insulate the face, pitty it doesn't grow on top so well.
Should warm up next week, time for some wave sailing I think.

2010-11-23T10:29:00.000-08:00

PORT ST LOUIS REPORT

2010-11-23T10:20:00.001-08:00

2010 INTERNATIONAL SPEED TOUR

Event: Speed Classic
Location: Port St. Louis, France
Dates: 16th – 21st November 2010

Tue 16th Nov: Day one of the competition.

Arriving at the event site, we are greeted with Mistral winds gusting 60 knots dead offshore / slightly biased starboard tack for the course.The organisers decided to postpone opening the course after concerns were voiced over whether the guard boats could rescue sailors if they got into trouble. When the course opened we had steady 30 knots. Bjorn Dunkerbeck showed the way riding his new Starboard Isonic Speed 54 with 32cm fin (later to change to 30cm) and 5.6m sail. I opted for my new Isonic Speed 58 with 32cm Black Project fin and 6.0m Hot Sails GPS. The course was like a boiling saucepan - chop and 3' waves breaking.

I went out without boots thinking that I might have to change down to my smaller kit (5.5m sail on my Isonic 49) which I can’t sail in boots. I don't know if it was the cold numb feet or just not being used to sailing without boots but I was all over the place. There was then a technical problem which closed the course for 15 minutes and gave me time to go in and put my boots on. When the course re-opened it was like sailing in slippers, I quickly put in two good runs and my ranking shot up finishing 14th. As with most speed competitions there is always an “if only” and that was mine.

My speed history has always shown that tight courses aren't the best for me but with the problems I had to come back from, 14th was great. It put me in a fantastic position to finish the year in contention for the world championship.

Wed 17th - Friday 19th Nov: No wind.

Sat 20th Nov

The wind was back but blowing in the opposite direction to Tuesday: 18 to 20 knots of dead onshore wind and 6’ surf breaking all over the place - it was to be an absolute disaster for me. There wasn’t any type of consistent swell breaking it was all confused surf. I went out on the 8m and 107 litre board. It was the right equipment to get out through the surf however I pushed too hard during the first 30 minutes cumulating in a few wipe-outs and ripping the sail panel below the boom. Another 30 minutes of getting back to shore and changing sail to the 7.3 and I managed one under powered run before the wind dropped and I couldn’t get back out through the surf. It was the most frustrating time but I couldn’t do anything about it. The legs are 1.5 hours long and if something breaks it's game over.

My strength has always been being competitive in all winds strengths and that has enabled me to climb the years end ranking. It's very difficult in a one leg comp to hit the jackpot straight away. In Weymouth if they had had two legs on the windy day I would have been higher. Germany I was lucky to come out with what I had because you need weed fins which I didn’t know about. It’s all part of the learning process which I will put to good use next year.

With the points I gained in Port St Louis my year end ranking has risen up to at least 3rd position. It all depends on how many male competitors registered for Port St Louis, I am trying to get confirmation before I publish official results. I believe that there were 40 competitors and if so then my ranking will be up to second place and therefore:

VICE CHAMPION DU MONDE !!

Port St Louis Speed Classic

2010-11-18T09:14:00.000-08:00

Tue 16th, the first day of competition and we are greeted with Mistral wind gusting 60 knots dead offshore / slightly biased starboard tack for the course.

The organisers decided to postpone opening the course as to concerns over whether the guard boats could rescue sailors if they got into trouble.

When the course opened we had steady 30 knots, Bjorn Dunkerbeck was on his new Starboard Isonic Speed 54 with 32cm fin (later to change to 30cm) and 5.6m sail. I opted for my new Isonic Speed 58 with 32cm Black Project fin and 6m Hot Sail GPS. The course was like a boiling saucepan chop and 3' waves breaking.

Like with most speed contests and sailors there is always an "if only". I went out without booties thinking that I might have to change down to 5.5m sail on my Isonic 49. I don't know if it was the cold numb feet or just not used to sailing without boots but I was all over the place. The course then had a technical problem which closed it for 15minutes and gave me time to go in and put my boots on. When the course opened again it was like sailing in slippers, I quickly put in 2 good runs and my ranking shot up finishing 14th.

My speed history has always shown that tight course aren't the best for me but with the problems I had to come back to 14th was great. It puts me in a fantastic position for the world championship but I won't start shouting from the roof tops just yet.

We have two days with no wind and another forecast for tomorrow. Saturday is forecast for onshore winds, high surf and rain but the organisers have said that they intend to run another leg.

Time will tell.

Regards

Martyn

PORT ST LOUIS

2010-11-12T07:59:00.000-08:00

Only a couple of days till I am on the road again. iphone is loaded with new sounds, van packed and shipped.

Here we go. Can't wait, great forcast for the start of the event.

11/11/2010 PHOTOS

2010-11-11T11:22:00.001-08:00

SPEED 11/11/2010

2010-11-11T08:01:00.001-08:00

Got a speed session in today at Pembroke Bay. The wind was nuking, I rigged a 6m and due to the direction went out on the Starboard W58 with Black Project 30cm race fin.

6m was all I could hang on to. The wind today started Southerly and gradually backed around to the West. Southerly is dead offshore at Pembroke, I would say it was WSW to West when I went in, way too broad for decent speeds but one hell of a work out.

You could just about stay inside the bay on Port tack sailing out jibe and sail straight into the beach, gradually sailing off the wind over horrendous chop until you get a flat section between the breaking 4 to 5 foot waves, then let go. Looking at the gps tracks I had 150m to speed up to flat out before hitting the rocks at the end of the bay.

Top speed 37.808 Knots.

I am pleased with that. I had no run into the course. Pierre from gsyphoto.com took some photos that I will publish later, they remind me of Sotavento on a rough day.

OCT 29TH SAILING NEW STARBOARD 107

2010-10-29T07:30:00.001-07:00

2010-10-29T05:05:00.000-07:00

I sailed the new Starboard 107 this morning in 5 - 25 knots of wind with a 7.3m sail.

The board has plenty of volume to get going but doesn't feel too big when fully lit. I used the Black Porject 35 race fin and had no spin outs at all. The scoop in the deck really helps with control. Compared to the 101 its so much better. The 101 for me was ok with a 8m sail but when you put a smaller sail on it felt bouncy and out of control. The 107 trims just great through chop and is lightning quick to excellerate peaking at 36.09 knots today.

All looks good for Port St Louis

Photos to follow.

2010-10-28T23:42:00.000-07:00

Weymouth International Speed Week 2010

2010-10-28T23:39:00.000-07:00

A very strange event!

Weymouth is one of my favourite speed events, the facilities are fantastic, great restaurants, guest houses and a direct ferry from Guernsey.

2009 was the first time I competed at Weymouth and with a fourth place finish I was really looking forward to 2010.

The weather forecast leading up to the event was about as bad as it could be, NO WIND! As the week edged closer the forecast started to look better with a slight possibility of some light winds during the week.

There are a number of different competitions running at the same time during Weymouth and they all have slightly different rules regarding results (some of these changed as the contest went along). I’ll try and explain the differences below.

Weymouth Speed week

Daily speeds are taken regardless of wind strength and direction with the fastest Windsurfer, Boat and Kite surfer prices daily.

The winner of the event is the vessel with the fastest run of the week.

You also have a veterans prize for over 45’s counting their best single run over the week, winning boat, windsurfer, kite, woman’s windsurfer, professional fleet, gold fleet, amateur, novice and youth.

Alongside this there is the UKWA men’s and woman’s champion which is based on the average of your two fastest speeds (having your best average was only decided during the contest) and the British Kite surfing champion.

Also there are the World speed tour ranking points based on the average of your two fastest runs per leg sailed. In Weymouth each leg has to have 25% of the fleet sail faster than 28 knots on an open ocean course and 30 knots on an offshore coastal course, normally in a World Tour Event it would be if 5 sailors reached these speeds the day would count. The time of each leg is at the discretion of the organisers but at every World tour event apart from Weymouth these would mean 1.5hr legs with and hour in between meaning you could have 1 day where you have 3 legs, this evens up the contest making it a fairer indication of who is the fastest sailor. In Weymouth they have two different legs per day whatever the wind strength but it is only classed as one. (I don’t know why either)

I know what you are thinking why not have all the competitions the same.

Are you keeping up?!

Saturday 16th October was registration day and with a light North East wind some competitor’s ventures out onto the water with huge sails. The wind was blowing 10 – 12 knots which wasn’t enough for a World Tour event.

Sunday 17th October saw even lighter NE winds of 8 - 10 knots.

Monday 18th October and the wind was starting to build. With 14 – 16 knots NW winds most of the sailors ventured out onto the Harbour course. We almost had a counting day; my fastest run was 27.99 knots which placed me 4th.

Tuesday 19th October and again we have 14 – 16 knots NW wind on the course. The morning leg from 10.30 – 12.30 sees speeds of over 28 knots. The afternoon leg sees the wind increase slightly and the speeds are increasing. The course is set 1 km up wind of the rigging area and at 4.30pm as per the morning briefing most of the sailors sail back thinking their day is done, including me. Once on shore the event organiser announces that the leg has been extended by 30 minutes.

This shouldn’t have happened, if the course gets extended then a flagged signal has to be placed on the course. It wasn’t. It also meant that some sailors had their best runs during this period. The day was also counted as one leg however it could have had two counting legs, this meant that some competitors sailed for the last hour only and had a great result.

Wednesday and Thursday saw the wind back off to 8 – 10 knots.

Friday looked promising to start but in the end speeds weren’t fast enough to have counting legs for the World Tour.

Overall I place third in the Professional Windsurfer fleet. A podium finish with prize I was informed on Thursday however by the time Friday prize giving came about the Professional Windsurfer fleet had been added to by a Professional Kite surfer which pushed me down to 4th.

I was using my Hot Sails Maui 8.8m sail with Sarboard Isonic 122 and 40cm Black Project fin. A great combination for the day. I could of change my boards down a size later in the completion however with such gusty winds I didn’t want to miss any good conditions that came through. Sailing out on an open ocean course makes changing equipment difficult.

That’s the bad news, the good news is that with another solid result added to the German Speed Championships from last month my world ranking has jumped up to 14th. 2010 World Tour is based on your best three events this means that at the moment 9 sailors in front of me are counting the last event in 2009 as one of their counting 3. Next stop is Port St Louis in the Camargue region of France. This is the biggest event of the year carrying the most points.

Is it going to be my year? I don’t know but I am in the right position to have a go.

Windsurfing Speed World Cup Ranking 2010
Pos Name Nation Total Best 3 out of 5 Results1
Anders Bjorkqvist SWE 336,64 168,00 91,89 76,74 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
-/- EC 09 Swe 10 Gbr 10
2 Steven Flanagan IRL 272,27 193,20 79,07 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
-/- EC 09 Gbr 10
3 BALDINI Andrea ITA 261,56 210,00 51,56 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
-/-, Challenger Sails EC 09 Bel 10
4 KREISEL Hans NED 211,16 159,60 51,56 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
-/- EC 09 Bel 10
5 HAACKE Bjoern GER 206,11 84,78 69,77 51,56 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
-/- Ger 10 Gbr 10 Bel 10
6 MALLON Torsten GER 205,96 86,96 67,44 51,56 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
-/- Ger 10 Gbr 10 Bel 10
7 FUCHS Manfred GER 204,09 80,43 72,09 51,56 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
-/-, KA Sails Ger 10 Gbr 10 Bel 10
8 DUNKERBECK Bjorn SUI 201,60 201,60 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
-/-, Starboard, Severne EC 09
9 BORNEMANN Christian GER 185,96 134,40 51,56 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
-/-, Carbon Art EC 09 Bel 10
10 Dirk Jan Knol NED 184,80 184,80 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
-/-, Loft Sails EC 09
11 GEESINK Anton NED 177,56 126,00 51,56 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
-/-, Loft Sails EC 09 Bel 10
12 Pearse Geaney IRL 176,40 176,40 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
-/- EC 09
13 BORGELIND Daniel SWE 165,18 83,78 81,40 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
-/- Swe 10 Gbr 10
14 OGIER Martyn GBR 159,81 83,72 76,09 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
-/-, Starboard Gbr 10 Ger 10
15 Monty Spindler USA 151,20 151,20 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
-/-, Loft Sails EC 09
16 NAUMANN Michael GER 149,39 97,83 51,56 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
-/-, Loft Sails Ger 10 Bel 10
17 VAN HOOF Patrick BEL 149,24 97,67 51,56 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
-/- Gbr 10 Bel 10
18 DAVIS Peter GBR 146,29 92,40 51,56 2,33 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
-/- EC 09 Bel 10 Gbr 10
19 MERLE Manfred GER 145,04 93,48 51,56 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
-/- Ger 10 Bel 10
20 HOEFER Armin GER 142,87 91,30 51,56 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00

Weymouth

2010-10-12T06:31:00.000-07:00

The van is packed and I am ready for Weymouth.

Two great days of sailing in Guernsey. Sunday onshore wavesailing and yesterday a speed session at a new spot.

Yesterdays wind was North East and the tide was high, usaully this provides no speed strip at all but when passing Grande Havre Bay I pulled in and at the Northern end the wind was blowing over the headland and offshore providing nice smooth water. Not knowing if it was sailable I opted for a 7.3m on the Isonic 101. The strip is only aproximatly 250m long, giving you 100m to beer away and speed up and 50m to slow dowm. 36.7 knots was my top speed, real fun to be out on flat water just wished it was a longer strip.

Speed Tour

2010-10-12T06:10:00.000-07:00

Weymouth starts this coming Saturday, with wind forecast on the Saturday and Monday. The forecast is for light winds but we all sail in light winds from time to time.

I don't know why speed competitions have a noose around their necks that the contest isn't a good one unless records are broken. No one worries about a slalom comp with 8m sails so why do people when it's a speed contest.

It's as important to know the fastest 8m2 sail as it is a 5m2 sail and a speed contest is the place to find out. I would rather be sailing with a 5 instead of an 8but its still a contest.

The world speed tour has to re-educate the public to this then we will have a tour to be proud of. Also the tour needs a tour sponsor rather than individual contests. All the national contest are booming, over subscribed at times. These events are up and running a tour sponsor would only have to come in to provide prize money. Prize money doesn't even have to be much but it would give a more professional look to the organisation and help it grow again.

Look at this year, the Belgium event, German event and Weymouth, all great speed events up and running but with no chance of records being smashed, does it matter?

National events with a 7500 euro prize fund, that is what we need. World and European events could follow but get a secure tour in place first.

Sept wave sailing

2010-09-16T12:37:00.000-07:00

Back from Germany and it's windy. I just had the first wave session since March, all summer I have been testing and training for speed and now I realise why I love wave sailing so much. It was light and on shore but was great to feel the freedom of sailing with a wave sail and board.

No time to rest though Weymouth is comming up and I feel sooo ready, can't wait.

GERMAN SPEED CHAMPS MY STORY

2010-09-15T23:48:00.000-07:00

Just back from the German speed event, knackered after the drive.

I'll put a full report together on the blog site later on in the week but I thought I'd let you know how things went.

The course in Fehmarn is in the middle of a big natuarl harbour. No real flat off shore speed strip at all and full of weed. No one told me I would need weed fins. After being so confident with the fins I have that was a real shocker. I borrowed two fins from a local fin maker, a 24cm and 28cm ( all he had ), and had to swap them around the boards I used. With the winds we had and sea conditions I used the Isonic 101 and 94. The last day I should have used the 122 and the second day I could have used the speed 58.

The course was about 1 mile upwind from the rigging area and each leg was 1.5hrs. 1.5hrs sounds like a long time but if your out with the wrong kit or the wind changes you haven't really got time to sail back downwind change and beat back up especially with weed fins that are too small.

Race Day One

leg one
About 20 knots, 8m on the 101, broad course with wind chop up to 18" high (the chop stayed the same in every round)
Placed 8th with a 2 x 500m average of 30.9 knots, max 33.9

leg two
Wind picked up a bit and changed down to the 7.3 on the 101. They change the course and made it squarer.
Placed 14th with 2 x 500m average of 29.7 max 31.89
Fin was way too small. I couldn't do anything about it the board was slipping sideways.

Race day 2

Leg 3
25 -28 knots wind 6.6 on the 94
Placed 9th with 2 x 500m average of 32.4 max 35.7

leg 4
Wind dropped a bit. 7.3m on the 101ltr. Should of stayed on the 94 ltr board
Placed 15th with 2 x 500m average of 31.1 max 34.6

Leg 5
Wind dropping after the race started. On the 7.3 and 94. The main start bouy started drifting during this race which meant that the course was getting tighter all the time. The race was thrown out due to this but then reinstated.
Placed 13th 2 x 500m average of 29.8, max of 32.8

Race day 3

Leg 6
Wind blowing 20 knots but forcast to drop. On the 8.8 with the 101. As the race started the wind started to drop and I was struggling to get runs in. I should of been on the 122 ltr board but it wasn't finned up and I would of had time to change.
Placed 17th average of 26.2, max of 30 knots.

Overall after 6 legs and one discard I placed 12th. 1st place International and 1st placed guest.

Conclusions
Being 110kg board size is critical for me. I either plane or sink. On the windiest leg I could have used the Isonic speed 58 which would have been faster but with the course so far up wind changing equipment during a leg wasn't practical.

Fins again were a huge issue but out of my control, I was lucky to find weed fins at all.

Leg 5 should have been chucked out.

The sails are as fast as the Norths, Prydes and Gaastras but the package of sail, board and fin have to be right. Changing equipent during the legs wasn't possible however it will be in Weymouth and France.

12th should bring my overall ranking up to 30 ish now that the ranking system has changed. With Weymouth and France I think top 16 is achievable. This year everthing revolves around France, it has the most points by far. 3 events to count for the ranking.

1st International doesn't mean much to me but it did bring a lot of media attention and my kids where please to see two trophies brought back.

Under the circumstances 12th was a good finish but I always want more.

GERMAN SPEED CHAMPIONSHIPS

2010-09-15T01:56:00.000-07:00

4TH SEPTEMBER 2010

DAY 1

No wind on the first day of competition at the German speed surfing in Orth on the island of Fehmarn. The last of the sailors signed in for what they hoped was going to be an epic battle of speed over a 500m course. All the title contenders to be crowned German Speed Champion have turned up, last year's winner Alexander Lehmann, Thorsten Mallon, Manfred Merle, Michael Naumann and Martyn Ogier travelling form Guernsey to enter his first German event. All together there is a starting line-up of 67 competitors and 16 internationals. On the women’s side we have the current German champion Birgit Höfer and Steffi Whal in the starting list.

Unfortunately the wind was not strong enough for an official race on day 1 however the mid-week forecast is very promising.

In the meantime a solid program of activities is planned to keep the sailors occupied including Stand-up paddling and seminars for everyone keep boredom at bay.

5TH SEPTEMBER 2010

DAY 2

On windless day two of the competition in the morning Wolfgang Lessach held a lecture on the proper use of the Speed Finns and as expected this ended in a controversial discussion, which probably still persists.

In the afternoon as part of the Rip Curl German SUP Challenge a GPS paddle speed competition took place on Naish SUP boards.

The women’s results in the SEA Paddle comp were 1st Caro Weber, 2nd Place Birgit Höfer, 3rd Roswitha Merle.

In the men 1st Andreas Wolter, 2nd Christian Hahn Platz, 3rd Place Andy Mattausch,4th place Manfred Merle.

During the day a lot of visitors turned up to stroll through the rigging area asking questions and checking out the speed equipment being readied for the next day’s optimistic forecast.

6TH SEPTEMBER 2010

DAY 3

The day starts sunny and no wind but with a Forecast that from midday the wind will increase from east with gusts up to 19 knots. A slight uneasiness crept around the competitors as one after the other skippers meeting were put on standby waiting for the wind to increase. At 17.00 the green flag was hoisted for a fun race, the best 5 x 10 second runs to decide the winner.

In the evening a good humoured annual general meeting of the German Speed Tour was held in the tavern "Syrtaki".

7TH SEPTEMBER 2010

DAY 4

Here it is! Southeast winds up to 24 knots. The course is set in the eastern Bay of Orth about 200m away from the rigging area. At 11:00 clock the first race is started. The wind is very gusty with sailors taking between 7 and 8 square meter sails. A 1.5 hour race on starboard tack over a 500m course, the average of your best two runs to count.

Michael Naumann took the win from Uwe-Soren Schmidt second and Gunnar Asmussen third. Martyn Ogier was the first international struggling in the light gusty winds in 8th place.

After three-hour break for the competitors to get some food and the results to be published the second race was started. The wind had swung slightly and increased in the gusts allowing the sailors to change down a sail size.

8TH SEPTEMBER 2010

DAY 5

11:45 No.3 race was started. The course had been re-laid to run on Port tack. The wind had increased again since yesterday allowing most sailors to be on 6.3m sails. This time, Gunnar Asmussen won the day ahead on Michael Naumann, and Armin Höfer. Martyn Ogier top international for the third race in succession placing 9th
13:50 race No. 4, same wind direction but slightly lighter than the mornings race. With the course set out in the middle of a huge natural harbour the wind strength wasn’t making much difference on board speeds at all, it was the sea state that kept speeds down to the mid 30 knots mark. Gunnar Asmussen won yet again confirming his desire to win his first speed competition, second was Uwe-Sören Schmidt and third Michael Naumann. Martyn Ogier kept up his dominance for the international trophy with another win in that category.

17.00 Just as everybody was packing up thinking the day was done race No 5 was announced to start in 30 minutes. Another great race saw Gunnar Asmussen win from Michael Naumann and Uwe-Sören Schmidt third.

9TH SEPTEMBER 2010

DAY 6

The rules for the German Tour are that if one sailor completes at least five runs over 25 knots the day counts. Winds were between 10 – 15 knots. All the competitors on their largest kit (maximum sail size permitted 9m). Gunnar Asmussen won from

Michael Naumann and Uwe-Sören Schmidt third again confirming their rankings in that order for the week. Martyn Ogier won the International fleet and 12th overall in the main event.

10TH SEPTEMBER 2010

DAY 7

On the penultimate day of competition saw the competitors waiting in vain for the wind.

The highlight of the day on the 20-year anniversary of the German Speed Tour was the KA-Sails team raffling off a brand new KA-race sail. Followed by tasty cocktails.

The current ranking for the event sees Gunnar Asmussen (F2/North) 1st, Michael Naumann (The Loft / Exocet) 2nd and Uwe-Sören Schmidt (Surftools) 3rd.

In the woman’s event Steffi Wahl wins ahead of Birgit Höfer and Anja Kruse.

11TH SEPTEMBER 2010

FINAL DAY

Drizzle and no wind meant competitors started packing up ready for the prize giving at 15.00.

The German Speed Championships were sponsored by Nordswell Surfwear , Camp Inn Fehmarn, Windsurfing Journal, Design Lessach and the Tourism Association of Fehmarn.

Results Men

1st Gunnar Asmussen (F2/North)
2nd Michael Naumann (The Loft / Exocet)
3rd Uwe-Sören Schmidt (Surftools)
12th Martyn Ogier (Hot Sails Maui / Starboard / Flying Objects / Black Project Fins)

Results Woman

1st Steffi Wahl
2nd Birgit Höfer
3rd Anja Kruse
Results International sailors
1st Martyn Ogier (Hot Sails Maui / Starboard / Flying Objects / Black Project Fins)

Martyn Ogier receiving the 1st place international sailor prize

German Speed Sailing Championships

2010-09-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

What a journey. The German championships have always been an event I wanted to attend, back in the past it was always well attended by the big guns, Maka etc.

Getting here has been a bit of a adventure on its own. Living in a small island like Guernsey getting anywhere can be difficult and costly. The only way I could see of getting to Germany in the quickest time was to ship my van to England without me, pick it up at Southampton airport, drive to the Euro Tunnel and drive up from Calais. All went to plan, the van left on Monday 30th without me and I flew on the red eye on the 2nd.

6am start on the 2nd, picked up my van just after 8am and on the road. 2.5 hrs later and I was in Folkestone ready for the tunnel. Its quite daunting turning up without a clue of where to go or what to do. I was ahead of schedule as I had prebooked the tunnel crossing for 12.30. By now I was in a cue of traffic going through the self checkin, no way of getting out of it but to my great relief when I got to the automated check in, tapped in my booking code, it told me that I could go on the next train.

All going to plan and ahead of schedule. I didn't know how long the train would take but decided to try and have a nap as I would have a 9 hr drive the other side. I just got off dreaming epic speed conditions when the annoucer informed us that we had arrived, 30 mins from leaving. Not much of a nap but well ahead of schedule now.

Sat navs are so great. I know 99% of people will read this and say "yeah so what" but I have never had the need for one until now. I entered the destination "Fehmarn" and off I went. 6 hours driving through France maybe Belgium and Holland, difficult to tell when your following the sat nav and all the names look the same (foriegn) then into Germany and I need to stop. The german motorways don't have as many petrol stations and hotels along the way as in France so finding one took a little longer than expected but find one I did and had a good night sleep and food.

Friday 2nd and I am up early and on the road by 8am with approximately 3 hours to go. It's feels lot easier than driving yesterday evening and before I know it I am at the bridge that takes you over to Fehmarn Island in the Baltic sea.

Fehmarn is approximately 10 miles square. The motorway from mainland Germany runs straight over the connecting bridge and on to Puttgarden on the North East of the island where there is the main ferry port for freight and transport on to Denmark.

We are based on the South West side on Fehmarn in a small village / marina called Orth. It's quite similar in feal to Weymouth, lots of yatchs and small boats pottering about. Lovely cafes and resturants with outside seating, a holiday type of place.

From first arriving the speed sailing potential is obvious. It doesn't matter which direction the wind is, there will be a speed strip to sail.

Most of the competitors have turned up on the Friday however the registration is open on the Saturday morning as well. We are based in a field adjoing two potential speed strips, on to the west and one to the east. Both only 100m away. The rigging area is next to the camping area in the field and it is no surprise given the Germans history of travelling through Europe that they have pitched up in there camper vans.

World Speed Tour

2010-08-07T05:59:00.000-07:00

Ok we are off!!

Confirmed dates as follows

German Championships - 4th - 11th September - Fermarn island Germany
Swedish Championships - 2nd-3rd October - Torkelstorp Sweden
British Championships - 18nd - 24th October - Weymouth, England
Worlds Championships - 8th - 14th November - Port St Louis France

Thats how it lines up for the 2010 World Tour and I am really excited!

I have had some great sessions on the new Starboard 58, which is a dream to sail from 8m down to 6.6m. The 2010 Hotsails GPS sails are really quick. New fins from Black Project that hold you in soooooo well.

On top of that I'm feelin great. Bring it on.

It will be the first time I have sailed in Germany and Sweden so I don't know what the course will be like but I am confortable on anything.

I keep you informed.

Missed oportunities

2010-07-18T03:47:00.000-07:00

First real wind of the summer and Guernsey missed it. The wind blew through the night on Thursday and Friday dying off on both days.

Plenty of sailing but no epic conditions as promised.

Thursday morning I had an hour and half up at Pembroke bay with my 8.8 GPS Hot Sail and Starboard Isonic 101. It was the first time I sailed that combination and it worked great, the board has enough volume to carry the big sail, my Isonic 94 was too small. The tide was too high for great speeds but a good session.

Second session was at Vazon low tide n the 8.8 and 121 Isonic. Lighter winds but faster times, I maxed just under 35 knots which was pleasing on such big kit. Theforecast was for force 6-7, we were lucky to get force 4.

Friday an the wind was slightly stronger. Grande Havre bay with a 7.3 on the 101. Gusty as hell and rough. A good work out but soooooo fustrating! England and Holland are aving cassic conditions and Guernsey has missed it. Friday evening back at Pembroke 8.8 and 121. Low tide and some nice flat water but gusty winds from the West meant it was too broad.

Easy to say I should have made atrip to England but the forcast wasn't conclusive.

Next time!

Load of sailing and good tuning of the big kit, new fins etc.

Fuerteventura OFF!

2010-06-15T05:25:00.000-07:00

Fuerteventura has been cancelled.

I don't know where this leaves the Speed Tour. The European Championships are due to be held in France October November time, this should go ahead the French have a huge following. Weymouth will take place, Sweden and Germany are saying they are good to go at the moment.

The economic melt down has reached speed sailing. Doom and Gloom doesn't stop there, we haven't had strong winds in Guernsey all year.

Time to turn it around a bit.

Guernsey has had sailing conditions, mostly 8m and 8.8m on large slalom boards. It's still windsurfing and great to be out.

I had a photo session this morning with Pierre to get some shots of my sails logo'd up with Flying Object stickers. Great conditions, sun out and 15 knots of wind.

I'll keep you posted on the competition news. If contest comes up I'll have to take a trip to Tarifa to get some GPS speeds nailed.

Fuerteventura World Championships

2010-06-01T00:29:00.000-07:00

Fuerteventura world championships are coming up.

The Speed World Cup has changed its ranking system for 2010 to your best three events to count for the overall title. Something I agree with 100% however in doing this it means that my 2009 ranking would of given me automatic entry into the World Champs easily but now my ranking is based on Karpathos last year and Weymouth where although I placed fourth was judged as a non counting event due to the small number of sailors who sailed fast enough in those conditions.

Other sailors have jumped over me with entering non events in Holland and Belgium and sailing in what must be the smallest event of the year in Ireland.

I'm still inside the the 40 places allocated however that will change if more people enter.

I hope I get in, I've put too much into it to miss out.

Pembroke Bay speed session

2010-06-01T00:17:00.000-07:00

Good wind angle at Pembroke on Saturday but by the time the wind picked up the tide was way too high. Pembroke has a 25' drop from the car park to the beach level, at low tide you are 350m away fro the wall but at high it could be as close as 10m. When I sailed it was about 25m away and hence a great big wind shadow as you came in close. Pleased with the speeds though, they keep creeping up. This sail will easily do 34knots max and average well over 30 in its correct wind range.

Sail size and predicted speed for each sail listed below

Hotsails GPS 8.8 34 knots
Hotsails GPS 8.0 37 knots
Hotsails GPS 7.3 40 knots
Hotsails GPS 6.6 43 knots
Hotsails GPS 6.0 46 knots
Hotsails GPS 5.5 BALLISTIC KNOTS

These are what I predict for each sail.

Guernsey is a fantastic place to sail and train but for flat out speed we are limited. Pembroke bay is our best spot, a sandy bay measuring 650m from one side to the other. It's only good at low tide in a SE to SW wind direction. You could count the number of SW winds we have had in 2010 on one hand yet it is our prominent wind direction.

Sponsorship news

2010-05-27T03:28:00.001-07:00

It's official, I am now sponsored by FLYING OBJECTS through the UK importer Seasprite.

Check out their website www.flyingobjects.com

Really good quality boards bags and accessories which will ease my travelling this year.

Press release to follow once I have my sails stickered up and some pics taken.

Great news for my existing sponsors as well with more exposure coming our way.

Stay tuned there is one more in the pipeline which should make the second half of the year very productive.

May 24th

2010-05-24T05:36:00.000-07:00

Still waiting for wind over here, slight chance tomorrow and also on Saturday but no storms moving through. Training is going from strngth to strength, 11 mile bike ride Thursday with my son, 11 mile run Friday, Sat off, 3 mile run & 1 mile swim on Sunday. Today I'll have a rest day and hope for sailing tomorrow.

May 17th

2010-05-17T08:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterdays forcast didn't come through as well as planned.

We eneded up with 13knots SW wind. Lovely and warm and a fun sail but no where near powered up. I had to pump to get on the plain and pump out of every gybe. Ended up with a max speed of 29.66 knots with the 8.8m2 and 121 Starboard Isonic. Super efficient sails with a great deal more to give.

Fuerteventura is going to be very interesting. Fitness levels are way better than last year, things feel really good. I just need some strong SW winds, it doesn't look good for the next week but I'll keep you informed.

May Update

2010-05-15T08:45:00.000-07:00

For as long as I can remember we have been having NE winds blowing down from Iceland.

Tomorrows forcast is for WSW force 4 - 5 which will be warmer and great for a coast sail up the west side of Guernsey.

I have had so many days out with the 8.8m and 8.0m on the 122 ltr Starboard, I am dying for a proper speed sailing day. It won't happen tomorrow but I am still looking forward to it.

Ran 3 miles this morning, 12 miles last Wednesday and 3 on Monday. I am running less days but a lot more miles, feel great.

The World Championships can't come quick enough for me. The new Hot Sails GPS are super fast, a new Starboard Isonic 58 for 8.0m and 7.3m weather will be fantastic in Fuerteventura for the worlds. I am going to travel with three speed boards, no slalom. The Isonic speed 49, 53 and 58. The 53 is going to love the Fuerteventura strip with 6.0 and 6.6 sails, I'll take the 49 just in case conditions get epict but it will have to be super flat and 5.5 -6.0m weather.

There are a couple of interesting sponsorship deals in the pipeline as well but I can't let on anything till its been signed but stay tuned.

North winds

2010-05-03T23:25:00.000-07:00

When will these North winds change. Plenty of sailing with the big kit but so cold. Its time we had a Southerly gale come through.

April sailing

2010-04-22T12:26:00.000-07:00

At last some sort of wind.

I sailed this morning with my Hot Sail GPS 8m and Starboard 122 up the road at Grande Havre Bay, it wan't the greatest session and the walk back to my van was probably the most exhausting part after I drifted down wind. The wind was measured at 18mph at Guernsey airport. Keeping an eye on the weather I notice it had picked up to 21mph during the afternoon (I know woopy doo dar 21 mph but beggers can't be choosers) I went in just after 5 with a 8.8 on the 122, it's the first time I have rigged my 8.8 let alone sailed it and the first time I have sailed with a sail that big. Great session 30 .880 knots max speed and a 29.64 average on 5 runs over 10 seconds. That could of gone up easily, the down side was not having enough room to have a flat run.

Again I am amazed by the feel and and power of the Hot Sail GPS's. I can't wait to have a good run and a go on the smaller sizes. Guernsey's great for sailing but it hasn't got a great flat water area for speed. SW winds and a low tide are the only conditions that could produce a fast time.

April sailing in Guernsey has been very poor. The worst I can remember for a long time, cold NE winds for as long as I can remember.

I will be over in the UK early May conditions depending and hope to sail Weymouth, Southend or maybe West Kirby if it's looking fantastic. Then it's all go with Sotevento World Speed Sailing Championships, Karpaths World Production Championships, Sweden, Weymouth, France European Championships.

Hope May see's better wind.

GOOD NEWS / BAD NEWS

2010-03-29T00:08:00.000-07:00

The good news is I am off to Egypt today. The bad news is I had a stomach bug all last week and have had a fever all weekend, feel weak, cold and sweaty.

On top of that sailing conditions in Guernsey have been terrible for the past two weeks, it all looked good and has gone down hill again, windsurfing don't you just love it, fantastic forecasts then no wind.

I should have got used to it by know!

Sunday photo's

2010-03-08T07:53:00.001-08:00

Sunday sailing photo link.

www.gsyphoto.com

MARCH SAILING

2010-03-05T07:23:00.000-08:00

During the last 10 days I have sailed 5 days and had my workout run/gym on 6 days.

3 wave sessions, 1 x Slalom session and 1 speed.

Two great days forcast for speed coming up.

VANTASTIC

2010-03-05T07:01:00.000-08:00

The new speed van ready for action!!!

Sailing at last

2010-02-24T11:26:00.000-08:00

It seems like forever since my last sail. Today we had force five winds blowing south / southeast with a forecast to swing to the southwest and pick up. Now that the days are drawing out over here I rigged up and was in by 3.30. Force five dead cross shore and 7' face sets coming through. I had one hour of beautiful down the line sailing all by myself. I got caught on the last one and ended up with my board hitting me just behind the right ear. It's a scary moment when your alone in the sea, it's 8 degrees air temp 8 degrees water temp and your hit and everything goes fuzzy! It past within a couple of seconds but my head was pounding. I wore my neoprene hood today which I usually don't but with a good chance of going through the rinse it seemed a good idea. Good job I did it may of been the difference of being knocked out or not. A couple of pain killers later and things are feeling a bit better but the bruise is coming out already should be a cracker tomorrow.

Tomorrow has the same forecast but with the swell picking up then "at the moment" the forecast for Friday is 35 knots NW swinging W. If it stays NW Friday am will be perfect for speed on a perfectly flat spot next to Grande Havre bay. Its a big at the moment forecast. Fingers crossed.

Had a telling off from Pierre for not telling him I was going in. Hopefully the next couple of days will be epic.

Slalom session

2010-02-02T23:48:00.000-08:00

A great slalom session this week using the new Hotsails GPS 6.6. My first time out with the 6.6 and it was like holding on to a Horse that wanted to bolt. Very stable and light in the hands. Unfortunately the sea conditions were horrendous, far to onshore a wind causing high chop everywhere. The forecast was for the wind to swing to the North which would have flattened out the sea but it never happened.

Check out the photos at www.pierrebisson.com/perelle

Pierre was using his new Canon sporty something camera for the first time, the pictures are so sharp they almost look unreal.

FITNESS

2010-02-02T23:45:00.000-08:00

I went to the local Chest & Heart clinic last week for a check up.

Results

Pulse rate 47, blood pressure 130 over 60, chloresteral 3.5, visceral fat rating 10.

Conclusion:

If I was any fitter I'd be a race horse, if I was a race horse I'd be put to stud!!

EVENTS 2010

2010-01-25T23:48:00.001-08:00

Wave session

2010-01-16T05:48:00.000-08:00

Well all good plans don't always work out.

Just back from sailing. Pierre had his carpenter turn up for some work on his house which he couldn't leave and the winds which were forecast to be 25-30 knots southerly and turned out to be 10-15 knots south east.

On the positives there were 5-8ft wave faces peeling into Vazon bay this morning with the wind cross off shore.

So out went the photo speed shoot and onto the gusty wobble out wave session. Getting out wasn't fun but the rides were to die for. Big aerials, shame the surfers had to be out as well but live and let live, no good getting too greedy.

SPEED 2010

2010-01-16T05:40:00.000-08:00

January 14th and I am well on the way with preparations for the forthcoming speed sailing season.

What’s been happening since Weymouth 2009?

Weymouth was great and really showed how competitive the Hotsails 2010 sails are going to be. I had a prototype 7.3 and 8.0 for the contest. Very light winds and a tight course, just the conditions that I am NOT competitive in, yet with a board I had never sailed before the first day of competition a fourth place was great. I did say at the start of 2009 I was looking for podium finish’s but in retrospect after my first year back I’ll take the fourth.

After Weymouth I had a family holiday to Cyprus. No sailing over there but training didn’t stop, I ran my 3 miles a day to keep in shape. November was very windy but cursed with Flu. I say flu, man flu as my wife would just say a cold, obviously not bad enough to stop a woman from working on through.

Before I knew it November was drawing to an end with very few decent sessions yet probably the windiest month of the year. December was very solid with wind and waves. 18 -25 knots and plenty of great wave sailing sessions and a couple of slalom sessions. No speed sessions but that looks to change this week.

January has come and brought the cold. We have had freezing to 2 degree temperatures for the past 2 weeks. It has ruled out sailing completely. I sail in a lot colder weather than I did 15 years ago, 6 degrees is about the minimum now but noway am I going in at 2. I got kitted out with a new Billabong 5/4/3 winter suit at the end of the year and the difference is unbelievable, toasty warm. If it wasn’t for the fact that I can’t sail with gloves I could probably sail in even colder conditions, wetsuits have certainly moved on.

The temperature has risen since yesterday and there is a forecast for 25-30 knots southerly winds on Saturday. The tides are good for speed and I have Pierre Bisson ready with his new Canon for a photo shoot.

My new 2010 sails arrived this week and I logo’d them up last night with my Starboard stickers ready for a photo shoot.

Equipment 2010

Sails

As I mentioned I will be using the 2010 Hotsails GPS sails this season. 5.5m2 to 8.8m2 this year which is a bigger quiver than last year, in 2009 my biggest size was a 8.0m2.

Boards

Starboard boards again for 2010 but again a bigger quiver. I have the 122 Isonic from Weymouth and have the new Isonic speed 58 coming in March. The 58 is a dedicated 84 ltr speed board. It will be perfect for me with the 8.0 and 8.8 or in gusty conditions with a 7.3.

Board quiver

Starboard Isonic speed W49
Starboard Isonic speed W53
Starboard Isonic speed W58
Starboard Isonic 94
Starboard Isonic 122

Booms

Areon carbon booms

Fins

C3 fins

Training

My training regime is made up firstly of sailing whenever possible, this is the most important because you can’t do any off the water training that replicates windsurfing. Keeping fit in between sailing sessions really took off again at the beginning of December. Up until then it was very sporadic but December was when I knew I had to step it up once again. It’s a month earlier than I started for the 2009 season and with Christmas coming up it felt right. During December I ran 3 miles at least 4 times a week. January 1st and it was time to step it up again. With the cold weather and no chance of sailing it’s been a 3 mile run every day and fifty sit ups. This will carry on to February and then I’ll start adding the weight training again to build up for the first competition which should be at the end of March.

I hope to have some picture on Saturday which I’ll post as soon as poss.

WEYMOUTH RESULTS

2009-12-21T08:27:00.000-08:00

November waves

2009-11-30T03:44:00.000-08:00

November has been pumping. Waves and wind almost every day it seems. I added a couple of pics, more to come.

2010 HOTSAILS GPS

2009-11-03T08:38:00.000-08:00

WEYMOUTH

2009-10-17T05:18:00.000-07:00

I have just got back from Weymouth International Speed Week, the oldest speed contest there is and the place where Fred Hayward first took a windsurf board over 30 knots. It's incredible to think we are now waiting for the 50 knot barrier to be broken by a windsurfer.

I jumped on the overnight ferry from Guernsey to Portsmouth on Friday arriving 6.30 Saturday morning and drove down to Weymouth. The forecast for the week is one of the worst I have ever seen. We may have some wind on the Sunday however the rest of the week shows no wind at all.

I arrived in Weymouth at 9.30 and made my way to Portland harbour where the speed strip is. Portland Harbour is the main sailing area for the 2012 Olympics and you can certainly see where all the Lottery funding is going. It is a fantastic set up for every type of sailor. The speed camp was in front of the main sailing academy in the car park / boat enclosure. We rigged on the brick car park and could launch down a carpeted slipway. No sand between the toes at this event and hot showers and restaurant when you come out of the water.

Sunday morning and we have approx 15knots on the course gusting a little more. Most sailors are sailing with sails in the range of 7.6 - 8.4. I rigged my biggest sail a 8m and borrowed an Isonic 122 with a standard Drake fin form the Starboard importer. I have never sailed the board before and it was strange to be on such a big board.

In the professional fleet we had Anders Brignal (already 2010 world champion) using a 8.4 then a 7.8 sail on a Mistral 110ltr board, Dan Ellis (back from a year of training in Maui) on a 7.6 Maui Sails and a Mistral 110, Patrick Van Hoof (world speed tour veteran) was on a Gaastra 7.6, Ant Baker (former world cup sailor and now coach) on a North 8m and Fanatic board and Dave White (former world champion and world record holder) using a 8m Neil Pryde sail. The new Hot GPS was a dream. All these guys are a lighter than me and got going on smaller boards. The Isonic I borrowed I had never sailed on before the heat and to push it as fast as the smaller boards was great. The sail gets on the plain early and when on it just goes. The course was tight and with so little wind I am gobsmacked how competitive I was.

I finished the day in 4th place just behind the world champion Anders Brignal 3rd, Dan Ellis 2nd and Patrick Van Hoof 1st. Ant Baker was fifth and Dave White in sixth.

The pro fleet was timed on GPS GT31 devices and gave a very accurate measurement of speed.

No fast world breaking speeds but a good contest all the same. There is no point being fast in just one specific condition, you have to be fast in all conditions.

Photos to follow.

Regards

Martyn

WAVES & WEYMOUTH

2009-09-18T03:38:00.000-07:00

We have had three days of North East winds, rolling a swell down the English Channel and into Pembroke Bay.

Cross on shore, starboard tack jumping, force six winds.

I have had three days of fantastic wavesailing. The HotSails Smack wavesails are so light and powerful and my new Evo 100 is just the boat needed for a 110kg bloke in onshore winds.

I have just the right amount of aches to remind me how good it was. It is a long time since I have thrown myself over the handle bars into a forward on Starboard tack but the new kit certainly made it easier taken I was anticipating.

Our prevailing wind direction is South West with the best conditions at Perelle or Vazon Bay on Port Tack.

Weymouth speed week is just around the corner now and I can't wait. I have the new race sails coming over for the event and it will be great to put them through their paces.

I get some photos published of the new sails as soon as I have them.

Regards

Martyn

Rankings

2009-08-17T23:02:00.000-07:00

I am up to 26th in the world rankings. 80 000 points behind 15th however there are a lot of point to be won before the years out and a lot of sailors above me will be loosing big points from 2008 results. Top ten isn't out of the question, top 15 would still be a great come back.

I'll keep you informed.

Regards

Martyn

KARPATHOS Speed world cup

2009-08-08T05:21:00.000-07:00

Day 1 July 29th

My kit had been freighted to Gatwick the week earlier so all I had was hand luggage for the short flight from Guernsey to London Gatwick.

I met up with my good friend Pierre Bisson at Guernsey airport to check in at 7.30am. Pierre is a professional photographer who I have known for well over 20 years, he was coming to cover the event and maybe have the odd lager shandy. We travelled together during the 90's on the speed tour and were curious to see if it would be the same almost 20 years later.

8.30 Touch down in Gatwick and a short walk to departures to meet up with one of my sponsors the Beachcomber Hot Tub importers SCP who had taken delivery of my gear the week before. On schedule they were there and we had the gear, now off to Easy Jet to check in for our flight to Rhodes.

We can't check in until 11.55 however on seeing the length of queue's we decide to upgrade to the easy boarding option that Easy Jet have introduced. I would highly recommend it. £ 7.50 each way and you can miss all the queue's and you board the plane before anybody allowing you to grab the seats with extra leg room, being 6'7" tall it is a must for me.

We check in at 11.55 on the dot, I am a bit of a pessimist when it comes to checking in 3 boards, sail bag, mast bag and boom bag. Everything is going smoothly however the check in girl has been smiling, she has seen the amount of equipment we have so what could go wrong?

On reaching the desk the girl asks if we have anything to check in, surely she has notice 3 trolley loads of gear. We explain that we have the boards and I have prepaid for them etc however nothing is straight forward when travelling with windsurfing gear. To cut a long story short she called her supervisor who then called his administrator who then advised us that we would have to pay a little extra. We had over 90 kg extra luggage above the allowance that we had prepaid. I have to take my hat off to Easy Jet they were always trying to help and very understanding. We had to pay £90.00 extra for the gear. The check in girl then told me that if her supervisor had gone by the book it would have been £ 480.00.

Hats off to Easy Jet.

A slight delay on leaving but all booked on, comfy chairs on the plane here we go.

10.00pm and touch down in Rhodes, Manoli Kritsiotis the Karpathos organiser has arranged for us to be picked up and put up over night until the ferry leaves the next day. We are joined by Marion Raisi from France who in competing in the woman's event. Her trip didn't start very well with her boards not arriving.

The next day we bump into the new Mr Mistral, Anders Bringdal then Finain Maynard and have lunch on the beach front with them. What the two of them don't know about windsurfing and the industry is not worth knowing, it was a very informative and entertaining lunch.

The boat should leave at 6.00pm however we have been informed that it is late and will leave at 8.00pm, we will be picked up at 5 and taken to the port.

On loading the all the gear into the trucks the driver lets us know the ferry won't be in until 12.00pm. This is great news for Marion as her boards are due to arrive on that night's 9.00pm flight. She stays behind to pick up her boards and the rest of us make our way to the port, a little confused as to why we are going so early when the boat isn't due to leave for 7 hours.

We are dropped off just outside the ferry compound and told that the ticket office would open 1 hour before the boat was supposed to leave, I say ticket office what I mean is ticket box. There isn't any terminal just a car park full of trucks. It is just about at this time that Finian is starting to get a little tetchy with being dropped off so early, it won't be the last time tonight he gets a little heated.

There is a small hot dog caravan serving what can be loosely described as food so it's Hot Dogs all round. It was a very apt description of what we ate, it was hot and I wouldn't be at all surprised to find out it was dog.

The ticket box opened at 11.00pm, the boat arrived and then all hell broke loose, there were trucks driving in and out in all directions, police blowing whistles at everybody, complete pandemonium. We had approximately 20 minutes before the boat was going to leave and a walk of 1/2 mile from where we were dropped of to the boat, an average of 7 bags per head to carry (don't panic). Finian asked the ports police for a trolley or van to help, he didn't want to know which threw Finian's tetchy mood into full rage. I can assure you you don't want to upset him, 110kg of muscle with attitude verbally going full force.

(I have to also say that Finian is one of the nicest blokes you will meet, says it how it is and willing to help anyone however if you don't agree with him you better have a very good reason why! I like him.)

As all this is kicking off and I don't know whether we will all be spending the night in a Greek prison sharing a 6' x 4' cell with Nikoli the nutter Marion arrives in a pick up with her boards. Unbelievable timing, saved by the French who would have believed it. 5 back and to journeys and everything is loaded on the boat, we have cabins for a quick sleep and await arrival in Karpathos.

6.00am Friday and we arrive looking a bit worse for wear. The sun is just rising and it is blowing its socks off. Manoli is at the harbour to greet us and let us know the Greek event the week earlier had force nine winds. Chris Lockwood won with 42 knots.

Later that day we have registration and a chance to get out on the water. It's blowing 28 knots and most of the competitors get out with their GPS's checking their speeds and the course.

It's a 250m course in Karpathos and a very specialised track. Finian was filling us in on the way over about how much of a lottery the course is, someone always gets one really quick run per leg out of the blue.

You sail upwind between a small island and the shore into the next bay where you gybe, sail back tight to the headland in between the bays beat up to the start and bear away down the course. Once you make through the finish there is approximately 75m to slow down or gybe before hitting the rocks. It is unbelievably how quickly 75m runs out when you are full tilt 40 knots. After my second run I had to abandon ship causing a collision with myself and the board. A small hole in the base of the board and a leg that hurts like hell was the outcome.

Saturday was the first day of competition. The fleet is divided into a Gold and silver fleet. The top 18 in world rankings are in the gold, the rest in silver. Silver sails first and the top five then join the Gold fleet, Gold sails next and the bottom five from that will join the Silver fleet in the next round and so on. This means that there could be a situation that you sail in every round of Gold and Silver.

The silver fleet heads out for round one and I have to confess I am all over the place. The round is 40 minutes long and I am changing sail settings, changing sails and getting no where. As the week carries on I realise that you have to pick the right setup from the start and sail around and around without stopping to increase the chances of being in the right place at the right time for a good run. The wind is very gusty, full of holes. Every ten minutes you will have a run that is flat out all the way down the course.

The top five go up to the Gold fleet and that starts 30 mins after the end of the Silver.

Finian won the first round from Antoine Albeau with Hans Kreisel in third. Bjorn Dunkerbeck back in 15th. The level of speeds is incredible compared to 15 years ago, everyone is so close.

1/2 a knot would bring you up ten places.

The next round saw Finian drop to 4th, Dirk Van Knol for Holland in 1st, Antoine 2nd and Anders 3rd.

Finian was to win 4 out of the next five rounds with 2nd being traded between Antoine, Anders and Bjorn with the overall results finishing in that order.

Finian was totally tuned to the spot. He had special boards made with a bit more V than normal and more volume to counteract the gusty winds and choppy course. He sailed his 7.0 Pryde sail in every heat and was dominant. He has a real presence on and off the water.

Antoine was consistent but with new speed boards from JP wasn't quite as tuned, he also sailed his Pryde 7.0 the whole week.

Anders didn't really know what to expect coming into this event and being away during his wife giving birth to baby boy Axle half way through the event must have been tough on him. As I said before what Anders doesn't know about windsurfing isn't worth knowing and it will be really interesting to see what changes are made to the Mistral range for 2010. Congratulations Anders on so many fronts.

Bjorn managed to scrape up to 4th. He had all sorts of problems with his prototype sails and
breaking 2 masts, out on the course didn't help. He did show his incredible determination by coming back from 15th in the first round.

The woman's competition was dominated by Valerie Ghibaudo winning all 8 rounds. Second place went to Marion Raisi who finished every round in second place and third went to Birgit Hoefer.

All in all it was a great event and a great spot. It never blew as strong as in the Greek event however it did blow all week. Seven rounds were completed allowing for 2 discards.

Speed strips are coming hard to find, Sotavento's sand banks have moved making it impossible to have an event there and none of the tops guys are keen on Namibia believing the organisers only want the windsurfers there to help subsidise the kite sailors.

I would highly recommend a visit to Karpathos. Be warned however it's not the easiest of destinations to get to. On the way back the ferry was delayed again and I had to leave my gear to be freighted back so that we could catch the inter island plane and connect on time to my flight back to Gatwick. Very stressful.

The best way of having a holiday there would be to book through Club Mistral. Alexandra in the Mistral office is one of the nicest people you will meet, In fact everybody we met on the island was incredibly helpful.

My sailing week was another learning curve. I will be up into mid twenties in the world rankings after Karpathos and have two more events at Weymouth and in Ireland before the years end. I am hoping this will bring me up well inside the top twenty and end the year highest ranked British sailor.

After ten years out of competition sailing this would be more than I could have asked for at the start of the year and give me a good starting point for next year.

Thanks to Manoli, Alexandra, Club Mistral, Pierre Bisson

During the event I developed blisters on my hands, I'll add a photo soon, on returning to Guernsey I had a check up with the doctor mainly about my leg that I knocked on the first day. He looked at my hands and advised that I should have had one blister on my right hand stitched and the one on my left was big enough to have a skin graft. My leg had internal bleeding with nerve damage which may heal, time will tell. Sailing 3 hours a day for a week takes it toll!

PS; Obviously what goes on tour stays on tour but what a trip. It's still the same buzz if you are twenty or forty. Pierre you were great company

I'll never forget the Monday night with Anders, Finian, Peter and Ben wetting the babies head (obviously just with 1/2 a lager shandy) yeah right believe that you'll believe anything!

My sponsors are: Hot Sails Maui - Starboard - Beachcomber Hot Tubs

Useful links: karpathos@club-mistral.com
http://www.gsyphoto.com/

Regards
Martyn

SPEED WORLD CHAMPS 2009 KARPATHOS

2009-07-22T08:25:00.000-07:00

Living on Guernsey has a lot of advantages and I wouldn't live anywhere else however getting off the rock isn't easy.

There are ships to St Malo France and Portsmouth England but when you have to fly out of Gatwick to any destination with windsurf gear the trouble starts.

If I catch the boat then you have to allow even more time away fro the family travelling, then you have the problem of parking the car somewhere at the airport.

Flying off the island obviously tackles the time away problem however more problem creep out.

I booked my flight from Guernsey to Gatwick, checked if the plane could take windsurf boards, they could it was under a winter sports section £ 25.00 per board. To double check I went to the airport and was told it would probably be £ 25.00 per bag, OK I have 5 sail bags and board bags but at least I will be able to fly.

After all this I thought I might as well email the airline and ask if there was any chance of a discount on the excess baggage since I am flying out to represent Guernsey and GB in the world champs.

Their reply was,

Setting aside the question of cost, we are somewhat concerned at the practicality of carrying 3 surfboards and 4 rigs on a busy summer flight. Additional baggage is only accepted on a 'subject to space' basis.

Then,

I have to advise you that our Station Manager in Guernsey is of the opinion that we would be unable to accommodate all the equipment that you need to take with you. I have therefore been instructed to offer you a full refund of your flight ticket. Please let me know if you wish to cancel your flights with us and I will authorise the refund of your ticket.

Good of them to offer a refund I guess.

Next step. I phoned the Beachcomber Hot Tub importer, one of my sponsors, to ask if I can ship the equipment to their Gatwick stores and then have them deliver it to the airport. A bit cheeky to say the least but if you don't ask you don't get. They said no problem.

On to TNT to ship it, next problem Guernsey is VAT exempt, any goods sent to England are liable to VAT. Hopefully we have got over that by putting a low value on the gear.

Next problem, the cost of shipping the gear should be priced on volume not weight which will come to approx £ 400.00 one way! TNT did a deal and only charged me £ 160.00.

The gear has now left and should be in Gatwick on Friday. I wanted to make sure there was a bit of time to get things sorted if it goes pear shaped.

My flight is on Wednesday the 29th fro Guernsey to Gatwick then out to Rhodes with Easyjet. the gear is booked on Easyjet so hopefully there won't be any more problems however it is never easy travelling with windsurf equipment.

My good friend Pierre Bisson is travelling with me to take photos of the event. You'll be able to view the pics on www.gsyphoto.com

I'll keep you posted.

No wonder my hair has fallen out!

July update

2009-07-07T05:19:00.000-07:00

I have been a bit slack with the updates.

I have received confirmation that I have a spot in the world championships in Karpathos Greece. It's a big relief to get in and I've booked the flights.

July 29th Guernsey to Gatwick 8.40 arrive 9.40
July 29th Gatwick to Rhodes 13.55 arrive 20.00
July 30th Rhodes to Karpathos ferry 7.00 arrive 14.00

July 31st Registration
August 1st - 5th Competition

Augsut 6th Karpathos to Rhodes ferry 14.00 arrive 19.15
August 6th Rhodes to Gatwick 21.40 arrives 23.45
August 7th Gatwick to Guernsey 8.40 arrives 9.40

I have had some good light wind training in the few weeks, a session on the 7.4m sail yesterday which was very productive. The sea was rough however I still clocked up 32.96 knots, the nice thing is the sails are accelerating with every gust and the boards and fins are so stable you can push them through the chop with no spin out at all.

From what I can make out Karpathos is a broad 250m choppy course with wind blowing force 5-8. If that is the case then I will be using 6.6, 7.3, 8.0 sails on the Staboard Isonic 94 and W53. I will take a 6.0 square meter sail just in case.

In the past I was always very competitive on broad courses like Tarifa and Fuerteventura. 6.0 and 6.6 square meter sails were always my best sails. I am still not as sail fit as I used to be but I working on that as much as mother nature allows. On Monday I ran 8 miles which tells me I am in good a shape. Greece should be good, I am really looking forward to it.

I'll keep you posted.

Martyn

June Update

2009-06-10T00:15:00.000-07:00

We have had plenty of 8.0m sailing weather over the last few weeks but nothing to get your teeth into and start posting some speeds.

The world championships are coming up soon and I am in training to looses a few more pounds for that event. The event is in Karpathos Greece, link below. The event is slightly different to usual as it is timed over a 250m long course instead of 500m. This also means that the event is only open to 45 competitors.

http://www.karpathosspeedsurf.com/

The entry eligibility list is as per D1 of the Speed World Cup Rule book below. The world cup last year didn't take place due to lack of wind so that frees up a few places however the world rankings are on a roll over basis so for me to get in is going to be tight. I reckon I am in about 35th position an the entry list to get in, entry closes on the 26th June. I'll keep you posted.

Regards

Martyn

D1. Entry Eligibility and Reserved Entry
Anyone wishing to compete in Speed:World:Cup World and Continental Championship events
may only do so with the approval of the Speed:World:Cup and his national authority.
All entries into the main section of an Speed:World:Cup World or Continental Championship
event shall be handled by the Speed:World:Cup Office.
The maximum total number of entries including men, women and wildcards may not exceed 60
competitors on a 500m course, and 45 competitors on a 250m course. Entries will be separated
into two or more fleets if necessary. If possible, only one fleet racing shall be used.
Even though all Speed:World:Cup events are in an open entry format, the following entries for
World and Continental Championship events are qualified by right:
Personal Qualification:
Top 5 last World Championship
Top 5 last Production World Championship
All continental champions
Slot qualification
Top 5 current GPSSS 500m ranking
Unlimited number of women
Wildcards:
5 Wildcards Speed:World:Cup
5 Wildcards Organiser
1 Wildcard per corporate member (manufacturers)
Remaining Places are granted strictly by current ISWC ranking. All entries need to be confirmed
by their respective national authority.
Exceptions to these limits may be made by the ISWC Management Board.
There might be a minimum qualifying speed to ensure high level competition.
If more entrants request starting eligibility than slots available, seeding shall be done with the
help of the current ISWC ranking to the discretion of the race committee.

16/05/2009

2009-05-16T06:28:00.000-07:00

We have waited so long for good wind conditions in Guernsey but it's here now. Yesterday was another great session on the Starboard w53 and Hot Sails GPS 6.6.

Cross onshore winds and choppy but a good session. That combination of board and sail just works so well, it can be pushed really hard. What I need is some flat water now!

Todays wind is about 20 knots and I'll be out later when the tide falls a little. Tomorrow the forcast is 25 knots and dead crossshore which should flatten out the water at low tide.

I'll keep you informed.

MAY 11TH 2009 SPEED SESSION

2009-05-12T08:09:00.000-07:00

Awesome session out at Perelle yesterday.

Perelle is literally on my doorstep and offers some of the best speed sailing you can find. The best wind direction is Northerly or Southwest. I can rig up, leave the kit on my front lawn and sail when the the tide is at it's optimum height, come in and store the equipment in my shed rigged for the next day.

Yesterday it was blowing North East force 6-7 which meant the strip was at a tight angle ie no good speeds but a lot of fun.

I rigged my Hot Sails GPS 6.6 and rode the Starboard W53. What a combination!!

I was on the limit with the 6.6. The acceleration as you bore away was phenomenal, unfortunately with the wind North East you only had a run of 120 degrees off the wind for about 100m. By the time you were hitting top speeds the rocks were looming large.

The session was one of the best I have had for tuning and tweaking the kit.

Check out the pics!

Port St Louis 2009

2009-03-31T09:22:00.000-07:00

Monday 23/03/2009

We’re off!!

Finally it’s time to drive down to the competition. I have been waiting for this for 4 months since I made the decision to compete again. I have put in the hours to get back into shape and now there is no more I can do to prepare.

The tour bus went on a ferry from Guernsey to St Malo, France on Saturday and I jumped on an Aurigny Trilander this morning to Dinard airport, caught a taxi to the docks and picked up the van. On the road at 10.30 well ahead of schedule.

I have to pick up some sails from Surf Avenue Surf shop just outside of St Malo which is where I have started writing. The shop doesn’t open till 12 which will put me behind schedule. I have an estimated 13 hour drive down to Port St Louis and I want to break the back of it today. The forecast looks really good for a windy contest.

It’s been quite a journey just getting to where I am. 6 day weeks in the gym and sailing whenever there has been wind (not a lot). I have shed 28 pounds in the process and feel in good shape. The lack of water time is an issue and I will only find out how much when we start competing. I’m surprised how the butterflies have kicked in already this morning, it’s been 10 years since I last competed and I don’t really know what to expect. I asked my children this morning what they thought would be a good result, Jacques my oldest reckoned 25th would be good however he predicts last spot ( nice to know he has confidence in me ) Luke is looking for anywhere in the prize money. I think my wife is just glad to see me 2 stone lighter. I have been out too long to predict what position I could make, this trip is more about learning what I need to do to get back to the top however I can say that it will have 110 percent commitment.

The sun is out, my sunnies on and we’re back on tour. It don’t get much better!!

Tuesday 24/02/2009

I arrived late last night and had a couple of hours sleep in the back of the van, it was too late to book into the Hotel however by the morning I have learnt something already, I am past the age of sleeping in the back of a van.

It has been blowing approximately 30 knots today with forecast to drop slightly then pick up even stronger for Sunday.

Down on the beach the competitors have started to arrive, Anders Bringdal, Fabien Pendle, Pascal Boulanger, Olivier Auge, the Moussilmani brothers, it was good to catch up with some old friends after all this time. They also live in the area so it’s good to get the local knowledge on the spot.
Anders Bringdal has a big team down here sailing his AB+ boards, although he says it’s just the boys. They all live around this area and sail in the Mistral winds all year round.

The French sailors are always difficult to beat on their own patch and their history in speed sailing is second to none with Pascal Maka. Thierry Bielek and Antoine Albeau dominating the speed circuit and world records for the past 25 years. To the best of my knowledge there has only been Finian Maynard and Eric Beale who have held world records and not been French in that time, Eric sailed for Great Britain but is half French.

The course is how I expected it, quite choppy. The wind blows about 110 degrees to the shore line and today was swinging to 120 for small 5 minute periods. If you catch it at the right time your speed will soar compared to the rest.

There is a rigging area with large truck containers to leave your kit in however with everyone cramming their gear in with no regard for yours I think it will be easier to rig 3 sails a day, probably 6, 6.6 & 7.3 every day and if the wind blows as forecast sail with my Starboard Isonic W54 at first to get some times in then start experimenting with the W49.

First impressions of my accommodation Hotel Tarmaris is that it will be adequate but as the week goes on it proves to be more than adequate. The owners are very friendly and the restaurant serves beautiful food, the Salade Nicoise and Moules Frites were fantastic.

It would have been nice to have a long soak in the bath after sailing however my room’s bath is one of the smallest I have ever seen. I am 6’7” tall, the bath is 3’6” long!!

Registration is at 8am tomorrow with a possible start at 10am.

No more news today, it all kicks off tomorrow.

Wednesday 25/03/2009

Registration was from 8am – 10 am, at 8.45 you start to wonder if you have the correct spot, 9 am registration starts. The French haven’t changed since last time I competed. Why start registration when you are supposed to when the wind hasn’t picked up enough to race anyway.

The wind is almost straight off shore blowing about 12 knots. People are sailing but it’s not a good wind strength for the course and its starting to swing to the west then back to the east i.e. 1 run you would be sailing on port tack the next starboard tack. Obviously this couldn’t work. The start times are being pushed back and back. 2 pm and at the skippers meeting it is announced that the wind has stabilised to the west and strengthened slightly. They will have to change the course around but we may be able to start at 3.15.

It’s light winds, most competitors are sailing with 7.0m sails on slalom boards, I opt for my 8.0m Hotsails and my Starboard Isonic 94.

The course is extremely bumpy. This is a day for the dedicated slalom guys. I have seen it plenty of times before, they sail slalom boards and big sails all the time and have them tuned to perfection.

The course had to be run in the opposite direction to how it was set up due to the wind swinging to the west which means that we won’t have the score board at the end of the run to see how we are doing with speed time and position. They decide to have a time keeper writing down the speeds so that you can come ashore and check times. In theory this sound good however with so many sailors coming through it ends up all too much. When I checked my speed was 31.5 knots. I new that I had a fastest run in the bag and seeing the top speeds going through at mostly 32 knots, added to this my GPS telling me I had a top speed of 35.31 knots and a 10 second average of 33.82, it made me think I was in contention.

The results aren’t out until tomorrow so it will be a long agonising wait to see if we have done well or more adjustments need to be done.

Thursday 26/03/2009

The results are out and it’s a bit of a shocker for me 25th place. During the session I was thinking about changing to the 7.3m sail but thinking my times were in contention I carried on with the 8.0m. It may of helped however there is no point crying over spilt mik.

We have woken up to 10 knots of Mistral wind blowing straight off shore. The problem with the Mistral is it could anything. I tweaked a muscle in my back yesterday while rigging up so I could do with a day off.

The wind has strengthened and we’re reading to go. The course is to be sailed on starboard tack which means we will be able to see the results at the end of the run. It’s blowing great 7.3m weather on the Isonic speed 53. First run down the course and I’m in 10th place, happy days we’re back on track and something to build on. As I am sailing back up wind I can feel the wind decreasing and sure enough I can’t make another run on the speed 53. I change to my Isonic 94 with the 7.3 and make another run but the wind is dying all the time, back out with the 8.0m and make a couple more runs but its not looking good, we have guys out who weigh between 80 – 85 kg and are cruising around on 49cm wide speed boards and 7.0m sails, I’m 112kg and just about getting in runs on a mid size slalom board and 8.0m. As soon as I am on my 53cm speed board and 7.3 it seems I can compete but at the moment it’s too light. The results won’t be out until tomorrow as they have had a problem with the timing, I don’t hold out much hope of a good result.

Friday 27/03/2009

The results are out and I have moved up to 23rd position.
No wind today. The forecast is to have a Mistral wind on Sunday, the last day, and stronger than we have had so far. The lack of water time for me has proved a major factor however there wasn’t much I could do about that given that the wind didn’t blow at home. The pulled muscle stiffens up when I am sat down for any lengthof time, I keep popping the pain killers which seem to help.

If we have three rounds of competition we have a discard day. What I have to hope for is two good rounds on Sunday and pull myself up into the top 20. I think a top 20 given the extremely light conditions would be a success at this stage.

The day finishes with no sailing and a forecast of light to medium onshore winds tomorrow.

Saturday 28/03/2009

Woken up early by the sound of the wind.

Down at the beach it’s blowing approximately 20 knots straight onshore. The sea has confused waves all the way down the course.

I have sailed a speed contest in onshore winds before in St Marie de la Mer however there we had a path through and in-between the waves, today we haven’t. Also with a forecast of rain I don’t see how they can run the leg with the speed cameras pointing into the wind being pelted with rain.

If I was a betting man I would probably bet that they will run the leg. Nightmare!!

The day’s sailing has been cancelled. The forecast for tomorrow is so good they hope to run two legs in the one day.

Sunday 29/03/2009

Not good.

Down at the beach early and its overcast and blowing approximately 10 knots. The forecast is for a strong Mistral wind but it’s not happening yet. Everybody is saying that the Mistral won’t blow strong until the clouds depart and the sun comes out. At the moment it is drizzling

Last possible start is at 3.30. All day we are looking at the water saying yes it’s picked up, no it’s dropped.

At 3.15 the race director blows the starting horn. We’re off.

Its light winds again 8.0m and slalom board for me. I have added as much down haul as I can for this leg and it seems to be working, two runs down the course and I am in second place. I know I am on borrowed time here however, not having had a great “water time” preparation for the event I will probably get 10 runs in at the most, where as sailors such as the Moussilmani brothers will make 20. The law of averages tells me they will get a better chance of good runs in that time.

As the leg runs on slowly I am falling back in the pack, 13th place now. The wind has strengthened and I swap to my 7.3m sail and 53cm wide speed board, there must only be about 15 minutes left. It’s a lot more comfortable making the run but it’s not fast, I have slipped to 16th which is understandable with the time involved with changing equipment.

As I set off back up wind the mast pops through the top of the sail. The sail tip has broken. I didn’t check that the sail tip insert was properly located in the top of the mast and that means at least a 1.5 km walk with gear to the rigging area. That is the end of my sailing there will not be time to fix and get back out.

The leg finishes and I am 18th, bringing me up to 22nd overall.

Conclusion

It is only when you start to compete that you learn so much about what you have to do to go faster. The amount I have learnt is incredible and it will only put me in a better position for the next event.

I couldn’t have wished for a more warm welcome from the French. As usual they made me feel at home and were great company. Particular thanks goes out to Anders for translating a lot of the skippers meeting for me, he must have thought I was a pain in the arse for asking all the time.

I ended up with a GPS max speed of 36.69 knots using an 8.0m sail on a slalom board and a mountain of knowledge.

I have written an event report for Windsurf Magazine and got some good pictures of the event.

I know what needs to be done for the next event. I am still too heavy and need to loose another 7kg. When I look at the results it is clear to see that in the light winds the 85kg guys make it through the lulls to secure good times, being 112kg when a lull comes along if I am on a small board I sink which is as much of a problem going back up the course as making a run. The outcome is that you are struggling all the time which in turn tires you out more.

Anders is just over 100kg and just about kept up with the lighter sailors. During the speed tour you have to be able to sail in all conditions.

In stronger winds the percentage that the wind dies in the lulls is far smaller. i.e. If I am racing in 18 knots of wind and the it dies to 13 knots I stop and sink, if I am racing in 30 knots of wind and it dies to 25 knots you keep sailing through the lulls.

It looks like it’s back on the tread mill when I get back and time to get on the water a lot more.

I will keep you informed.

Regards

Martyn

SPEED SESSION 08/03/2009

2009-03-11T03:51:00.000-07:00

The wind was light to start this morning (force 4) with a forecast to come around from the NW to SW and increase. With a low tide and flat water at 10.50 it was always going to be a juggle to get out with flat water but have enough wind. The tide had changed and was coming up quick. I decided to get out there with the GPS 8.0m on the Starboard Isonic 94 with a 34cm Drake fin. The sail was the right one for the wind strength however the water was really choppy, it was full on even with a 8.0. The board was flying, 42 knots over 500m with a 6.0 years ago felt just as fast as the 8.0 and Starboard 94. I came in and put more down haul on before my last run which was the best in the worst conditions 34 knots. I don't see any problem getting 38-40 knots out of this sail especially on flat water and maybe the W53.

SPEED SESSION 09/03/2009

2009-03-11T03:45:00.000-07:00

I had another good session today with the 7.3 Hot Sails GPS and the Starboard W53 then the Starboard 94. No times however it was more open water sailing (no flat water) The W53 is such a user friendly board and handles the 7.3 fine. I was a bit sceptical when I was told it could handle a 7.3. Also used the C3 venom 30cm fin on the 53 and a 32cm on the 94 both were great, no spin outs at all.

All in all a really good session with a lot of answers. Only two weeks till the competition of the year and everything is going to plan or better than plan.

SPEED UPDATE

2009-02-19T07:56:00.000-08:00

We were expecting 28mph wind speed for this Sunday up to two days ago now it is forecasting 14mph. No chance of cracking out some GPS speeds this week. The long range forecasts do look like the high pressures that are constantly hanging over us are going and we will get some low pressures tracking through.

I have been checking out another potential speed spot at Perelle Bay in Guernsey. At mid to low tide it will work from SSW to NW wind direction.

When I was last competitively into speed sailing most of my windsurfing training in Guernsey was wave sailing now that I'm back I am totally focused on speed, I don't even have any wave sails.

Driving around the coast I always looking out for new speed spots for different wind directions.

I just ordered a new set of fins from C3 in New Zealand. Their Venom G10 speed fins, 5 fins from 24cm to 32 cm. These fins are widely used in speed circles and have had some great times recorded.

I made a lot of mistakes the first time around with speed fins and don't want to make them again. I figure start with the best and move on from there with design input.

My entry for the speed contest in Port St Louis France went off today. It runs from the 25th March - 29th March. I have sailed at St Marie de la Mer just down the road but I haven't sailed at Port St Louis yet.

I hope to have better news with the wind situation over here soon and post some speeds.

Regards

Martyn

SPEED SESSION 10/02/2009

2009-02-10T08:25:00.000-08:00

The wind was blowing force 8 - 9 all night. I was set up at 10 am on the North shore of Guernsey at a new spot that looks great at low tide for speed, approx 700m run, on shore winds but sheltered by reefs at low tide. I took a 6 and 6.6 and my Starboard 49, rigged the 6.6. The wind was slowly dying and the session never really got going. I should have taken my Starboard isonic 94 which would have got me out to the speed strip quicker. The wind was blowing NW force 6 maybe 7 by the time I got in. To get out to the speed spot was a beat straight out from the beach. On a speed board and 6.6 in a small bay it wasn't happening, by the time you bore off to get on the plane and tried to get up wind you were at the other end of the bay. It was productive however, the boards straps are difficult to get big enough to use with boots (did I mention it was 7 degrees air temp, water 6 degrees). I will change the straps tonight. Pierre Bisson took some snaps although the sails aren't labeled up yet. The session was not what I had been thinking about all night but the site has potential and NW is the right direction. I shall definitely sail it again.

WINTER BLUES

2009-02-06T05:10:00.000-08:00

Am I a windsurfer who runs or a runner who windsurfs?

The weather in Guernsey is horrendous. We have just had 3 days of the worst snow in twenty years, we only get snow once every 6 or 7 years. Now we are experiencing torrential rain!!

Checking out the blogs from Maui don't help.

Look on the bright side.

I have been flat out in the gym for 5 weeks now and am really feeling the benifits. My Sartboards have arrived and look great. My new Hotsails GPS's are in Guernsey ( held by customs! )but I should have them soon and the forcast can't get any worse.

25 miles on the tread mill this week and wound like a curled spring ready to go.

Watch Out!!

Talk soon

Martyn

SPEED 2009

2009-01-27T23:55:00.000-08:00

Its been a long time but I'm back for speed this year.

During the 90's I was ranked in the top ten every year, a best of equal 4th with Thierry Bielak in 94.

A lot gone on since then, marriage, two boys now 11 & 9, a successful business.

There is something missing however and that is speed.

It was the wife that really got the ball rolling, I talked about coming back at the start of last year and when I brought up the subject again over Christmas she said " go for it ". As all us shackled blokes now, if the little lady says to do something who's going to argue.

I'm absolutely stoked to be teaming up with Jeff and Tom of HOT SAILS MAUI. I had my best results when I sailed for them in the 90's and apart from that have you seen the GPS sails!!

The plan is to get a top GPS speed time on the new kit and then compete on the speed circuit and see some top results.

Talk soon

Martyn