October 5- County line

jp5 · Joined: 19 May 1998 Posts: 3394 Location: OnUr6

working... by the time some of us got there it was just about over.
Some of the boys had to swim back to shore. Others (Mitch) performed amazing feats of balance and determination while slogging back to shore on equipment that was suddenly too small for the prevailing conditions.

nealpar · Joined: 25 Oct 1998 Posts: 624

Hey Mitch, good pix. Had I known you were shooting, I would've "posed" a little, like arch or something...I have no ass in that shot. Next time, bring a bullhorn and just yell "ACTION".

I just "love" it, when we don't have wind for 2 weeks, then have a day like yesterday! Definitely a boom for the massage business. Finlandia Baths - North Hollywood! Reasonable and good! Olga, the Russian lady is really good. (no joke)

jtsb · Joined: 18 Jan 1999 Posts: 8

Drove to Santa Barbara yesterday. Sailed IV in the AM on 4.7 but flat. Drovre down to C Street at 2pm and sailed till dark fully wound on a 4.2 and overhead surf. Sensor showed gusts over 40.

laci · Joined: 22 May 1996 Posts: 180 Location: SoCal&the Gorge

Hey Capetonian, I have to differ on your comment about the waves at Topanga. I sailed from about 1pm until 4, and for the first hour and a half I was alone! During that time I scored many waves that were shoulder to head high and were makeable from the point all the way in to the cove. When you and the other sailor joined me there were still some good waves, although admittedly they had gotten a bit more sloppy.

From the graph it looked like Leo was very gusty, with a 20 mph difference between peaks and lulls, can someone who was there confirm if it was really that way? Topanga was steady and filled in, although on the outside my 5.2 felt pretty big, especially early in the session. I have no regrets, as they say "never leave wind to look for wind".

sharkasm · Joined: 10 Apr 2000 Posts: 149

capetonian · Joined: 11 Aug 2006 Posts: 1197 Location: Florida

nealpar · Joined: 25 Oct 1998 Posts: 624

When Laci said he sailed in head high waves, I think he was referring to a different "head". Hoppa!

gregorvass · Joined: 21 Nov 1996 Posts: 1113 Location: Behind You

blah..blah...blah......

What a bunch of KOOKS!

tony · Joined: 05 May 1994 Posts: 77

Ok. Since Mitch outed me, I guess I'd better file a report on Friday at Leo. Basically I had my butt kicked.

I almost had the sense to declare the season over and stay home. And I was tempted to turn back as I drove past Zuma where the water mostly just looked white. I saw someone rigging up there, but couldn't tell who it was - maybe whoever it was could tell us how it went. When I arrived at Leo there was no one out but it looked a little less rugged than Zuma. While I was getting ready Simon drove up and told me there was no way I was going to have the place to myself.

So I rigged the 5.0 (my smallest!) and went out. I was under-powered until about half way to the rock, then for a glorious 200 yards or so it was perfect. Then I hit "the wall". Beyond that point the wind was so strong that I could barely keep the board on the water - I've never flown so high or so often without trying or, more accurately, while trying not to. I think I did one successful jibe on the outside all afternoon. Mostly I just sailed out until I crashed into the wall, turned my rig around, water started and sailed back in. Sometimes I did enough of a jibe that at least the rig was pointing the right way to ease the process. I didn't complete many inside jibes either.

I'm not sure whether there was a wave train augmenting some of the wind swells or whether the wind was merely piling some of the crests higher than others, but there were some nice big swells coming in such that you could ride them from way outside all the way to the beach. If I hadn't been seriously overpowered I'm sure I could have had even more fun on them than I did. It felt more like skiing down a long slope than wavesailing.

At one point it seemed that the wind had increased, then I realized that my outhaul had slipped quite a lot. I tightened it back and thought to myself "That's why I've been having problems. Now I'll be able to sail under control." Wrong! It didn't make any noticeable difference. Apparently the wind really had increased.

The water was surprisingly warm, so frequent crashes were not really a problem although in the evening I did find blood and a lump on my forehead, and bruises on my shin and chest.

The session came to a crashing end when I didn't notice that I was sailing over the little rock inside and upwind of the big rock. My fin, however, did notice. I heard a surprisingly ceramic-sounding clink and was pitched forward. The skeg-saver let go instantly and the fin swung back and dug itself into the board. Now I need a new fin and have to fix a neat 1-inch slit behind the fin box. The two pieces of good news were 1) the fact that the fin dug itself into the board left it rigid enough to sail back to the beach without too much difficulty and 2) I reached the beach just barely before the wind shut off inside leaving the others to swim in. Later I found that when I was launched it broke both ends of my starboard harness line.

One of my memories of the afternoon was looking up from a ride on a great wave to see Simon execute a long horizontal jump off the wave in front of me, looking like a pro.

So both my board and I were bruised and battered yet this soft-bellied fifty-something is glad he went out. But I think it is time to buy a smaller sail.