Chasing the wind  by Dan Copper

Most would agree that 2007 was not a great year for wind, but that doesn't mean that there weren't some really great sailing days.  The year started out impressing people and filling them with hope for a windy year but come May or June the opinions were changing.  My one trip this year to Lopez Lake was terrific and I sailed nine days straight (the locals said that Lopez was having a better than average year with wind).

Some of our friends and members have left the area and they are missed but 2007 brought new members and new friends into our midst of which we are all thankful.  Some that left have even stayed in touch and we thank them and await a return visit.

The racing events went well, and again I humbly say, Wow!  Every time I think I learn something, these guys show me how much more there is to learn.  Some of our racers have participated in events out of the area, and some have attained some notoriety at several of the events and plan to continue that push.  My heart goes with you guys, you are terrific sailors and belong in the thick of competition.

24-26 August 2007  Finland, Kalajoki Beach, National Championship of Finland  by Lasse

- When I packed my gear for this trip it was pretty clear to me that the racing in Finland would be much easier than in San Francisco where super tide was flowing in and out at the speed of 4 knots (4.6 mph) and correct sail size would be 5.5 most of the time, little wrong was my assumption.

- Kalajoki beach has slow  moving tide, nice shallow beach and beautiful sand dunes. It is one of the nicest beach in Finland and only Yyteri is better and the main reason is they have great windsurfing center with a storage area,  barbecue equipment, shower and sauna facilities. The rigging area in Kalajoki was Hilton like grassy area next to the sand dunes and beach. Little bit less sunny, though.

- I was armed with one 11.6 meter Windwing sail, reasonable well fitting 550cm Tushingham mast, KA sails formula boom, F2 FXIV formula board with famous tubes and flappers and two brand new Deboichet fins (R17 Soft minus minus +8 and R19 soft minus minus +8). Anders was friendly enough to promise I could use his 10.7 and 9.5 sails if wind would pick up stronger than forecasted.

- One of the biggest challenge for slow guys like me was to get to the starting line on time. Skippers meeting usually took 10 minutes and we had only 20 minutes left of promised 30 mins to get from beach to the starting line. Once I was so much late that they closed the line, I think time limit was 3 minutes. Even begging on myknees (still holding sail up) did not help. So I got DNS (Did Not Start). As races were back to back I stayed on the starting area some 20-30 minutes waiting guys to complete their first race. That would be Ok is San Diego but  slight challenge when it is raining and temperature is around 10 Celsius.

- That beach was very shallow and walking through the beach break took lot's of time, and then after catching some weed I needed  to stop and clean the fin. Then I  finally started sailing while keeping an eye of nearby rocks which some were visible and some hiding below the surface. I found one of the rocks on the last day of racing and it shortened my R19 quite much. No blood involved, just bad language.

- Deboichet R17 70cm Soft minus minus fin was excellent and as long as 11.6 sail was not overpowered I was kicking some ass. In my own category of course. Top guys had their own  party and finished quite much earlier than me and other slow pokes. On the last day I tested R19 70cm but wind was too strong and that fin sooo much too powerful. I just could not keep the board down and find a comfortable stance. It was real survival game.

- Saturday and 2nd race day. Some rain and low or no wind in the morning. First time we had enough time to have lunch which was part of the paid program. Soon after wind picked up and race committee sent us out with the information that wind was around 6-7 m/s (~16mph). This time I got to the starting line faster as only reaching was required and strong wind was giving me enough power. Almost too much, what happened to 16mph wind..

- Just before our start my sail already felt little heavy and difficult to keep even luffing. Then 3 minutes flag came up and went down, one minute to start signal. Here we go. I got pretty good start and free air and rushed up to my first tack and then headed to the upwind mark. It was nice to see I was in front of some of my fellow competitors.  So I tacked one more time and rounded the upwind mark and started downwind leg. And then it happened.

- There was a gust strong enough to push sailor after another down, it was like domino effect. Almost looked funny.  I rushing down towards to leeward mark but just could not hold my stance, me feet were torn out of straps and  my body followed the lead of very heavy rig and harness lines.  Some of you may have tried this same trick which is called "over the handle bars" in bike community(right Dave). No smiley board, nice.

- Committee boat measured that gust being 19 m/s (42mph), which was roughly 3 times higher than wind at the  time of skippers meeting. Wind stayed really high after that killer gust and it took me 45 minutes to get back to  the beach as I could not uphaul my sail. Only chance was just stand on the board and lift the sail little bit with  uphaul rope to get some direction to the rig and board package. Luckily it was blowing towards to the beach.

- Race committee switched immediately to slalom and everyone rushed to rig their slalom gear. To make this story short, wind died when race course was changed and smaller sails were rigged. No more sailing at that day,  not even formula as it  was little late to move buoys again.

- All in all my 2^nd Nationals was great experience and very enjoyable. I got overall 11th position within 20 guys and was 2nd  master after my friend Anders Smeds.  The location of this race made it suitable only for real fanatics as the latitude of Kalajoki (+64.25 (64°15'00"N)) is quite much more North of the latitude of Anchorage, Alaska.

FIN-196

A message from Lasse

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

The San Diego Windsurfing Association is dedicated to representing windsurfing enthusiasts throughout San Diego County.  SDWA facilitates communications and camaraderie at a regional level.  Our goals include promoting the sport through sailing events and addressing relevant safety issues such as site access, water quality and safety.   SDWA is an affiliate member and supports US windsurfing.