Standup Zone Forum
Stand Up Paddle => Downwind and Racing => Topic started by: PonoBill on January 25, 2015, 06:52:51 PM
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We finally had a downwinder today. Yay. It's been much too long. It was nuking pretty well on the south shore from the north wind storm we're having. All the non-pro fast folks went... ...and me. I figured on getting left in the dust, but I didn't figure on being a mile behind by Sorrentos. Sheesh. We gotta get some other old slow people to go on these downwinders.
I fell four times before Sorrentos, and just about at the four Season I fell and my leash cuff pulled off. Man, what an adrenalin rush. I dropped my paddle and sprinted for the board. I was just about to give up on the sprint when the board turned sideways and stopped. I swam like a madman after it, and got the leash cuff. I wasn't all that freaked out about my safety--I was uncharacteristically close in, probably no more that a few hundred yards out. But I didn't want to lose this sweet new board and be back on my 38 pound V2.
I got up on the board and turned around, the there was my paddle, getting blown across the water. No more than twenty feet away.
I finished the run, but I was even slower after the runaway. I think my flailing swim with camelback sapped my energy. I finished the run and everyone was already loaded up, in dry clothes, shooting the breeze. Ralph and Bill H were long gone. I've got to pick up my pace, this is getting silly. I misread my GPS on the beach and thought I averaged 7MPH, it was actually six. But still-average 6MPH and finish a mile behind everyone? Fast company.
The slow learner part is the leash--more specifically calf cuffs. I've had four leash cuffs pull off this year--three surfing and now this. All calf cuffs, all from worn velcro. I think calf cuffs don't have enough velcro wrap, and maybe the hooks break off quicker. Whatever the cause, there's no reason to have a breakaway cuff on a downwind leash. We're not pulling into waves where there are circumstances when you want you leash to release. At least not on purpose. I need to make someting much more secure. Certainly no more worn out calf cuffs. That was more excitement than I need.
(http://www.ponostyle.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/slowfast.jpg)
The third downspike is where I lost the board. Didn't lose that much time, Or actually I can reverse that and say I'm much too slow to get back on the board most times, so it didn't make that much difference. Spike two is exceptionally slow because nature called.
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http://connect.garmin.com/activity/682908794
It was fast today. My Garmin shows some very fast mile splits, several over 8MPH and one mile almost 9 (8.7MPH)(!) And still, Ralf and Southbay SMOKED me. At least they were in sight at the end. Fast company indeed.
I was nervous about the end, that fat groundswell seemed to come out of nowhere. I saw a large swell coming as I was getting ready to exit and had to paddle back out, then charge in quick. It was a relief to not have any tourists or kids in the water near the beach. When it rolled in, those were, potentially, waves of consequence, as HM would say. Consequences being a likely broken board. And a pretty horrible walk of shame if you timed it wrong. It was look like a waterman or look like a complete fool at the get out.
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Those big rollers added a bit of excitement at the end. I was thinking that after Salt Creek they were well inside my wheelhouse--not pitching like the Salt Creek waves were. But they were nothing to sneeze at. I was a little surprised not see some fiberglass. That beach is a small target in big waves, and I was VERY glad not to see a bunch of clueless tourists bobbing in the whitewater. "Oh look Martha, one of those SUP people. No, don't get out of the way, we have as much right to be here as they do."
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The slow learner part is the leash--more specifically calf cuffs. I've had four leash cuffs pull off this year--three surfing and now this. All calf cuffs, all from worn velcro. I think calf cuffs don't have enough velcro wrap, and maybe the hooks break off quicker. Whatever the cause, there's no reason to have a breakaway cuff on a downwind leash. We're not pulling into waves where there are circumstances when you want you leash to release. At least not on purpose. I need to make someting much more secure. Certainly no more worn out calf cuffs. That was more excitement than I need.
PB, I have noticed that the leash I use on my SIC F16 (a RedPaddle Coiled Leash made in Spain or Portugal) has a cuff made for calf AND ankle use. When I use in "calf mode" not all the velcro is engaged, but when I put on my ankle it is (as it is less circumference (thankfully)).. So when conditions are big and scary, I ankle cuff, and when it is normal, I calf cuff, if that makes sense. Losing a board downwinding because a leash breaks is my worst nightmare... so I am glad you got back to yours before it flew off..
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Whoops, I went and resurrected the old Southside thread....anyway, as said above, terrific conditions and great company. It was my best run ever on the SUP. http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/683291986 (http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/683291986)
Ralf, Cove and I battled it out along side the skis for most of the run, but they smoked us at the end. I pushed really hard to try and keep up with Ralf, but he beat me by a few hundred yards, 10.4 miles later. Ralf never fell once, and I fell 3 times. I had a 7.9 MPH average, and 3 out of 10 miles I averaged 8.9 MPH (6min 35sec miles). I got way too far outside at the end, and had to make a 90 degree turn, and actually paddle upwind for a bit, but the waves were just too tempting, and I kept thinking I could gain on Ralf! haha....
Pono, you kick ass! I hope I can compete the way you do when I am in that bracket. Huge respect.
Oh, and yeah the surf at the end could have been a disaster. Getting caught inside with a 4 "Cove" long board is no joke!
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Oh dear, it appears we have a new unit of measurement. "Double Over Gregg" (DOG) was bad enough, but a Cove? 4.35 feet? I'm sure he's taller than that. At least 4'6". I guess that makes a DOG an eight foot wave.
I have to say Southbay that I liked you better on that old heavy board you used to have. You were also a lot kinder back then.
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I'm taking it out on Cove because I can't go today! It looks good too. Ugh. Apparently my pregnant wife wants me to pick her up at the airport. Geez....
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In all the excitement I forgot about the whales. By the time I got to Sorrentos it was four mature whales and a pup. They were all doing breaches, tail slaps and fin slaps. I was thinking how much Headmount would have enjoyed that. He loves threading through the conga line ;D :o
I considered heading out to swing around them, but I know where the double reefs lie that they seem to like, and you have to go a long way to really escape. So I put my head down and just trusted them to not want to squash the haole.
Those women are so demanding, haven't they heard of taxis?? Where's their sense of priority?
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You were lucky Bill.. Hope that never happens to me.. 8)
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I'm taking it out on Cove because I can't go today! It looks good too. Ugh. Apparently my pregnant wife wants me to pick her up at the airport. Geez....
It ended up that I couldn't go either! So, you've abused me almost as much as would be the case had I actually shown up for a run, but, I didn't even get the pleasure of surfing downwind for 10+ miles, dodging whales and hoping not to get creamed by a wave 3 Coves OH at the end! ;D
HM and Pono went, but they get almost no grief. Well, I take that back, I'm pretty hard on Pono in person. But, he likes it.
And, yeah Pono, we all liked SB better back when he went slow. He's killing every one of us now except for Ralf and he's next I think. At least we can commiserate about how young SB still is. He'll still be younger than I am now when I'm around 80.
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You were lucky Bill.. Hope that never happens to me.. 8)
It's my second time, I hope this isn't one of those things that run in threes. The first time was on a Maliko run, and yes, the cuff came off. Fortunately Boyum was nearby and caught my board. Unfortunately he refused to paddle the two boards back into the impact zone of the wave that got me, so I had to swim quite a ways, My thrashing didn't impress Bill and he started giving me swimming lessons the next day.
We don't have any handy big red buoys to climb on, not that the one you got up on looked like all that great a place.
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Nice, easy money Southside run today. The wind wasn't strong but it lined up perfectly. First half of the run was great fun, with lots of deep trenches to drop into and turn along. Boyum and I were booth just kind of goofing, trying things. But I was falling and he wasn't. Second half the going got a little tougher and I had to work for glides. Serious paddling and a lot of intense wave reading, but it worked well. I actually quit falling once I stopped farting around. We did the run to Sorrentos (6.7 miles) in 1:03. Not bad for screwing around and falling six times. Bill beat me by a minute or two.
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You were lucky Bill.. Hope that never happens to me.. 8)
It's my second time, I hope this isn't one of those things that run in threes. The first time was on a Maliko run, and yes, the cuff came off. Fortunately Boyum was nearby and caught my board. Unfortunately he refused to paddle the two boards back into the impact zone of the wave that got me, so I had to swim quite a ways, My thrashing didn't impress Bill and he started giving me swimming lessons the next day.
We don't have any handy big red buoys to climb on, not that the one you got up on looked like all that great a place.
Yellow.
(http://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd338/pharro_photos/IMG_0100_zpsvdcgef2c.jpg) (http://s529.photobucket.com/user/pharro_photos/media/IMG_0100_zpsvdcgef2c.jpg.html)
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I think Velcro quality varies so much. Year to year, brand to brand.
Right now, this season, FCS leashes have the super grabby Velcro. Grabs so hard, its almost hard to tear off.
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Of course they were yellow. No Naish guy would jump on a red buoy. Only a Fanatic would do that.
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Of course they were yellow. No Naish guy would jump on a red buoy. Only a Fanatic would do that.
I see what you did there.
I hesitate to type this because I can here the screams of "KOOK!!!!" already, but has anyone ever considered doubling up a leash for a DW? I'm sure man parts are shriveling at the mere suggestion, but is there a technical reason not to? It seems preferable to a miles+ swim in heavy swell.
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It's been done, but the tangling issue is substantial. Downwinding is often done with very flimsy leashes. My first DW leashes were boogie board coiled leashes with a section of paracord so the leash wouldn't drag if it got in the water. I have a bunch of useless KeNalu leashes that are based on that, which we decided were too dangerous to sell (the swaged part that clamped the polyurethane was made from steel that corroded). The problem is not generally that the leashes are too weak--I've never heard of a DW leash breaking. It's that they don't usually need to do much, so they get ignored--until they need to perform and don't. The cuff that pulled off my calf was so worn that it wouldn't resist a moderate tug.
For myself, the key is probably making the leash as foolproof as possible. I raise the ante of foolishness all the time, but I'm giving it a go.
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Of course they were yellow. No Naish guy would jump on a red buoy. Only a Fanatic would do that.
I believe he swam past 3 red channel marker buoys before he found a yellow one.
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Went with PBill yesterday on a southside run and he had revised his leash so that instead of attaching to anywhere on his leg, it was attached to his camelback with a carabiner. I thought it looked pretty damn good. He fell a few times and I saw his board go hard with the wind. Leash held up great. Also it had an added plus of not being on the deck at all so that any footwork was clear. He was doing well and only fell because he was taking chances with high risk banking moves with no knee bend. But in general he was gliding great which I would at least partly attribute to having a clear leashless deck. he's on to something.
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I'd bend my knees more but I couldn't get them back straight. I need another shot of juice in the left one. I'm holding the rail climbing stairs again. The shot still works great just one per year. I'm going to put off surgery until it doesn't, but I think the useful period is getting a little shorter.
It's really great to do the whackier stuff when there's not such a rush to get to the landing. I'm going to have to discipine myself to not just try to go fast and try to glide well. Fun either way, but I don't think I learn much trying to go fast, and as out time showed yesterday, it was just as fast goofing around. Average speed was 6.3 mph VS 6.1 for the Makena run the other day. Of course with the kids in the group doing 8+ it doesn't really matter what I do unless I add an Evinrude.
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I have a coil least with a carabiner and a quick release from Badfish SUP that connects with a PFD or hydration to avoid ankle or calf straps. It's made for river SUP and so the thickness of the leash is closer to a boogie board or short board leash. I wouldn't trust it with an unlimited board in strong wind. It would be good to get a downwind specific leash with a carabiner rather than a velcro ankle/calf strap.
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Take off the cuff (unscrew the cuff end of the swivel with a fin key and pull), run a piece of mucho strong thin line (vectra or the equivalent) and tie on a 'biner. I just ordered a couple of these to attach the leash to both board and camelback.
(http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/yhst-17525248830734_2268_416508)
http://www.marinepartdepot.com/new316ststca4.html
Six bucks for 316 stainless. Not bad.
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I'm going to have to discipine myself to not just try to go fast and try to glide well. Fun either way, but I don't think I learn much trying to go fast, and as out time showed yesterday, it was just as fast goofing around.
I think your right. I have been going with my friend, who is super super slow, and so I have been practicing only paddling once every 10 seconds and really working on steering only. I can actually get going pretty good by really concentrating on glide only. I think I remember Larry talking about this way back...anyway its great training.
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I'm going to have to discipine myself to not just try to go fast and try to glide well. Fun either way, but I don't think I learn much trying to go fast, and as out time showed yesterday, it was just as fast goofing around.
I think your right. I have been going with my friend, who is super super slow, and so I have been practicing only paddling once every 10 seconds and really working on steering only. I can actually get going pretty good by really concentrating on glide only. I think I remember Larry talking about this way back...anyway its great training.
You never said I was 'super slow' to me before. Or, maybe you'll say, no, no! It's my friend C___d! Not you Cove. But I know what you're doing.
And you mean you're kicking my ass by only paddling once every 10 seconds!? Now I'm just an angry old man. A slow, angry old man.
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Damn Cove, I didn't mean to embarrass you! haha...obviously I was not talking about you. It takes every bit I got to stay ahead of you. Seriously though, going slow helps you go fast. At least I hope so, because its not nearly as fun!
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No good wind now but probably in about a month I'll be chasing Cove again. Usually not this close anymore. As they say in Boston, he's wicked fast. And even faster is Southbay who's entering the big league. They are the fast company and only go with old farts like me and PBill because... I can't think of why. Anyway here's the pic to hold all while we grow green mold on our toes... or rather PBill's toes.
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Because we shuttle so well. They love the way I tie their boards on my rack. My feet are looking great by the way. Most of the big gouges have healed. I might seek employment as a foot model. Dr. Scholls is calling.
Now you know why I said we don't teach Greg nuttin'. I knew this was going to happen.
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No good wind now but probably in about a month I'll be chasing Cove again.
This steady west wind may be ideal for a run from points west to Kihie Canoe Club.
It's 5 miles from McGregor point to KCC. Another 5 from Olowalu to McGregor. Be safe. As in - don't listen to PB.
Make sure you have a safe harbor to land in, the shorebreak can be knarly on a low tide etc. Take phones etc. Good leashes please, that is a LONG swim.
I talk about safety so much in these posts because it's an international forum and who knows what dumbass tourist may read this and give it a whirl. (did I mention don't listen to PB yet?).
It may be rainy and dreary, I don't know. I'll be working anyway. But if it's blue skies and whitecaps I'd be all over it. That's a nice chunk of water. Whale's abound.
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Safety is my middle name.
Any dangerous habits I picked up were from Admin and Chan. Blame Chan -- I'm having stickers made.