It is that time of year again - strong, stiff winds push down from the North. The only piece of gear I can use effectively in these conditions is the trimaran.
Make a mistake on the kite and "Here I come Cat Island!!!".
Paddling around trying to parallel the coast (but having to paddle two miles on the same side of the board) can be a challenge.
Sailing the long SUP would be alright, but why fight it? Knowing that the predominant wind direction will be from the North for the next several months, I am starting to feel the pressure to finish getting the tri ready.
The new axles for the boat dolly should be in early this week and that will make the drag across the beach a walk in the park instead of a back breaker.
And I have finally gotten around to tweaking the hinged mast base and prepping it for installation. I had to cut off the block retaining bar for the downhaul and grind out a large portion of another bar that was preventing the mast from slipping all the way down to the base (for maximum support and no point loading). I ended up using the file ever so slightly on the mast itself. But now the hinged base fits perfectly! I still need to drill a set of 1/4" holes to install a 3.5" bolt to act as the new block retaining bar and drill out new holes at the top of the hull so I can screw down the new base.
I'll wait until I've installed the new wheels to drill out the holes - the boat will be off the trailer and I'll drill with confidence.
SO back to today - finished the prep work and drove out to do some errands. Driving by the beach, the water was flat as can be and the wind was howling!!! If I only had the upgrades done...
Oh and La ordered a Garmin 310XT wrist mounted GPS. Should make post session speed analysis really easy (wireless downloading!!!).
I should have the boat fixed by mid-week. Now if only the wind will hold up (not with my luck...).
Aloha
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