If the Naples Race is a no go. I am in!

Tanguy

yeah, if Naplea is on, we will be attending for sure. Looks like the forecast is kind of suspect. i hope it happens though. fingers crossed.

Kent,
Naples race is cancelled. I am in for a ride Saturday AM if this is still a go.

Let me know.
Tanguy

This is what NWS forecasts, what do you think for tomorrow Kent?


Tonight...South southeast winds 6 to 9 knots near shore to southeast 10 to 13 knots well offshore. Seas 2 to 3 feet. Dominant period 6 seconds. Intracoastal waters a light chop.

Saturday...South winds 10 to 13 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet. Dominant period 7 seconds. Intracoastal waters a light chop.

Saturday Night...South winds 9 to 12 knots. Seas 2 feet. Intracoastal waters a light chop.
http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick...fl&zmx=1&zmy=1

That's more than enough for our gear. It's kind of funny that 10+ is a great forecast now. Garry, Patrick, and I will be out for sure and we may be able to get Josh Noe to stop by. I'm sure that one of the young guys from the shop will also hop on a board as we have finally received some race ready fins for the Cabrinha race board. I'd say that we will have 5+ on the startline. We will do 5 races with one through out. They will all be windward / leewards. Even if you have a good surfboard, you can learn quite a bit. Tacking and jibing come quickly with a few pointers.

Our plan is to be at Matheson by 10 a.m. and we will go from there. If something changes we will post here.

great wind forecast for Matheson today. we will be there on course boards. Probably won't make it until 10:30. we will try to set a mark and race a bit. very informal. Pray for no weeds!

huh... just talked to Pat and Garry, better make it 11:15. they are finishing Pat's new board, "Turkey Hawk"

How was it? I wanted to come down but was looking after BG. Did get out for a sting-free session up here with a gazillion portuguese. I would think you had them at Matheson as well?

We got out on Saturday and Tony came down. We rigged 16's to start, but ended pretty over powered. I think Tony had a 15 and then Garry came out with at 13.

so.... it was Garry, Patrick, Tony, and myself to start. A 49er Olympic class racer came down with his race board to ride and Todd, who just landed at 2 p.m. back from a Cabrinha design conference in Maui even make it out.

We just used a few channel markers and did a few windward leeward runs. It was more of a training session than a race, but we learned quite a bit.

Three of us were riding with some cool new GPS units that map your progress. Each is time stamped so when we got home we could see each of us racing around together. It showed speed, angle, and even VMG. I can't believe that we tested so long with out these units. I'm sure it will help us to tune in our kites and fins a bit more, not to mention our kites. Maybe we can have patrick toss up a video of the GPS tracks.

Gebi makes the New York Times ...

"Olympic Sailing Looks to Go Extreme

By CHRIS MUSELER
Published: February 9, 2011

The world’s top Olympic sailors were in South Florida reading wind and waves aboard two-person dinghies, keelboats and windsurfers at the recent Rolex Miami Olympic Classes Regatta. The sailing lineup has not really been altered much in the last 20 years.

But that is about to change, and this regatta provided a sneak peek into the sport’s future.

While Olympic medalists were being towed to their courses, kiteboarders skimmed along at twice their speed attached to inflatable kites at the end of 80 feet of razor-thin lines.

A new Olympic slate of classes for 2016, proposed last fall by the International Sailing Federation, or I.S.A.F., has turned the traditional sailing fleet on its head in the hope of attracting young viewers and higher television ratings, creating a sort of X Games for sailing. If men’s and women’s kiteboarding is selected, it will replace windsurfing.

“The Olympics want to promote the most advanced levels of sailing,” said Mike Gebhardt, a two-time Olympic medalist in windsurfing who raced his kiteboard in Miami. “This is high speed, visibly athletic, there are crashes, and you can tell who’s winning. That’s what sells.” "

Continued at: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/10/sports/10sailing.html

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