2008 Wet Spring Regatta

Well I participated in the WET Spring Regatta this weekend and I competed in the sport formula class! This was great because I actually got to see what formula racing is all about. Dave Kashy let me barrow one of his formula boards for the two day long race. The wind on Saturday was marginal but just enough to plane for most of the time. Sunday on the other hand was pretty dead and i only planned on the last leg of the first race. It was really cool though because there was a pod of porpoises swimming in Willoughby bay and they actually swam up pretty close to my board. I will admit i didn't want them to come to close because A. I didn't want to run them over with my 70cm formula fin and B. I didn't want to fall in with them, call me a wuss lol. I was also wondering what they were doing so far up in the Chesapeake bay especially in Willoughby bay, they much have a food shortage or something, soon to be Dr. James Douglass would be able to answer that question.



As for racing the first day (saturday) we raced 5 races. The course was a typical triangle shaped course with an upwind marker a downwind marker and then a reach to the finish. The first race i smoked everyone and got 1st place. The second race was pretty much the same outcome. As for the third race the wind was light and i wasn't able to plane as much. It ended up being a photo finish between Dr. Bob, Fan pat, and I. Dr. bob slid by with first fan with second and myself 3rd. Fan Pat is a girl who weigh probably about 90 pounds and she was out there racing on a 7.5 sail on a bar owed formula board. to me that is pretty impressive and she was defiantly the competition i was worried about most.The next two races that day i was able to finish first in. I was really happy with these results because i never have raced formula before and i had only been on a formula board one other time.




The second day was pretty lame. The wind was offshore which sucked and the wind was right at or below 8 mph, so it was pretty hard to plane especially since i was only using an 8.5 sail, which is nothing considering most people racing formula don't go below a 10.0. I was excited because i was able to plane a little bit heading out to the start, but by the time the race started i wasn't able to plane (go figure). I ended up getting 3rd in that race, and it was so crappy that i said screw it and didn't race the next and final race. I didn't really need to race in the last race because they drop your lowest score and i had a pretty solid lead anyway.

After this weekend I am defiantly getting a formula board. Racing formula is so much more exciting and fun than longboard racing (when the wind is above 10 mph). You plane around the course before the longboards can even get threw the starting line (at least when there is relatively low wind). In fact i already have one lined up and i am just waiting to make the transaction with a fellow WET member Chad Perkins. It helped that over all i won the sport formula group and got a sweet plaque (picture comming soon). Dr. Bob got second place and fan pat got 3rd. It was great competition and a lot of fun. IM HOOKED. Bruce Powers, another guy (sorry didn't catch his name), and Marcy Kennedy all sailed great as well. Marcy only raced one race because she was the one who organized the event and she was busy.

100l board or formula?

This question has been hindering me for a few months now. Ideally i'd want to have both, but limited space and green george washingtons won't allow that. So i'v recently been thinking of the pros and cons to each in my head.

Formula



Pros

-would probably get the most use out of formula gear

-light wind planing ability

-increased number of sailing days

-eventual racing potential

-making other sailors jelous on marginal days

-its a work out!

Cons

-EXPENSIVE

-huge sails to carry

-board takes up alot of space

-gear breaks alot

-I will never beable to win a race up against Dave Kashy (designer of the best formula fins to date)

100l Board






Pros

-Would beable to sail comfortably on those high wind days

-would be easier to work on my jumping

-would be good to learn wave sailing

-Cheaper option than formula



Cons

-would probably only beable to use it a handful of times a year

-my waterstarting still sucks and i don't want to drift out to sea


With the pros and cons both taken into consideration i am leaning towards formula because i think i would get more satisfaction. Id rather have a board that i can sail 3-4 times a week than 3-4 times a year. Also, the cost of formula can be off set by buying used gear from all the hardcore racers in hampton roads. They turn over thier gear almost every year.



I have heard from a lot of people that going formula is a bad idea, and no one seems to enjoy it. I have found more people trying to talk me out of it than talk me into it. Mostly the guys trying to talk me into it are the formula racers who are probably just looking for more people to dump there gear onto when they turn it over. I should probably take this as a hint not to go formula, but i really feel that i would enjoy it given my hard riding style. I also have riden a formula board before and loved it.



By the end of this summer my guess is ill have a formula board, and im really looking forward to it.

Only Cool Kids Blog

Well, I finally bit the bullet and decided to start my own blog. Apparently it's the cool thing to do these days. I find myself reading other people's blogs a lot, so what the hell, I need something to do while I'm sitting in class bored out of my mind. Just a warning my grammar and spelling isn't that great so don't call me out to much, I guess this will be good practice.

I mostly blame James for this new endeavor of mine because like him I love to windsurf and a lot of things about society piss me off so whats more appropriate than to write about it on a blog! plus everyone always knows James at social events, and I want to be cool like him lol.

So, here I am writing my first blog post I hope you all enjoy it and i promise my posts will be more animated the more I learn to use this stuff.