Steve Bonham's log of wind/dirt surfing outings. Tired of being skunked after driving 80-90 miles east (Tybee Island or Hilton Head) or 110 miles north (Clark Hill/Strom Thurmon Lake) I've opted for windsurfing on terra firma. We still head to the lake or beach when time allows. Dirt surfing just provides my weekday and evening (since the IM fields are well-lit) "fix."In-line Board Trial - Sun - Feb 12 Session
A, K & I took to the IM fields about 2pm yesterday. We stayed about two hours then had to break it up to do some shopping for Valentine's Day. The weather was brisk; windy and damp, temps in mid 30's. The upper fields were damp but puddle free. The lower fields were muddy.
The overall wind stats were: Gust to 36(!) - Avg of 10.4MPH - Direction(S!); All over from N to SW, close to 180 shift and it was not a gradual shift. It was simply random... N, SW,W, NE, SW, arrragh!
It was a very frustrating session for me as I was testing a new "homemade" board. It was made based on this in-line design (a "kite scooter") I saw on the web. Yeah. It's radical looking; two 10" knobby wide wheels, one fore - one aft.
I went to Agri Supply Saturday morning and 24 hours or so later K & A & I had created this monster in our attic workshop. No, this is not the final product- just a prototype at this point. We're calling it Mike 1. Here's a movie showing a few shots of Mike.
I had SOME difficulty in getting a ride. Some of that was the constant wind shifts BUT this thing is going to be a challenge. In two hours I made maybe twenty 10 to 30 foot rides. It is very tippy, left-right and the board is a bit heavy - probably 30 pounds so you have to have a good breeze to move. At this point it seems impossible to turn while underway, so I think we're a good ways from a useful design.
K & A rode the regular Outback board a lot. Both made good progress on jibes. A is learning to lean better opposite the mast tip (to windward) while toe-shifting to start the turn. Once he crosses the windline the has some difficulty with maintaining control in clew-first sailing. I don't think he's turning far enough through the windline so he's "running downwind" and the clew is pointing directly downwind so he can't hang onto the boom.
K made a number of jibes. But her hands are all over the place as she flips the sail. She practiced her footwork and the reach-across exchange action. I convinced her to move her feet early and flip the sail late and she seems to understand. Her goal is now to make two consecutive jibes.
Stay tuned!
The overall wind stats were: Gust to 36(!) - Avg of 10.4MPH - Direction(S!); All over from N to SW, close to 180 shift and it was not a gradual shift. It was simply random... N, SW,W, NE, SW, arrragh!
It was a very frustrating session for me as I was testing a new "homemade" board. It was made based on this in-line design (a "kite scooter") I saw on the web. Yeah. It's radical looking; two 10" knobby wide wheels, one fore - one aft. I went to Agri Supply Saturday morning and 24 hours or so later K & A & I had created this monster in our attic workshop. No, this is not the final product- just a prototype at this point. We're calling it Mike 1. Here's a movie showing a few shots of Mike. I had SOME difficulty in getting a ride. Some of that was the constant wind shifts BUT this thing is going to be a challenge. In two hours I made maybe twenty 10 to 30 foot rides. It is very tippy, left-right and the board is a bit heavy - probably 30 pounds so you have to have a good breeze to move. At this point it seems impossible to turn while underway, so I think we're a good ways from a useful design.
K & A rode the regular Outback board a lot. Both made good progress on jibes. A is learning to lean better opposite the mast tip (to windward) while toe-shifting to start the turn. Once he crosses the windline the has some difficulty with maintaining control in clew-first sailing. I don't think he's turning far enough through the windline so he's "running downwind" and the clew is pointing directly downwind so he can't hang onto the boom.
K made a number of jibes. But her hands are all over the place as she flips the sail. She practiced her footwork and the reach-across exchange action. I convinced her to move her feet early and flip the sail late and she seems to understand. Her goal is now to make two consecutive jibes.
Stay tuned!
posted by Steve at 10:51 AM
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