GPS47
47.03 on the clock
It’s been a long time coming, but the wind has finally arrived, The last two days have been great for me, and from the forecast I’ve seen it looks to continue. Graham Dodds called me on Wednesday to say it was looking good at Southend and how about getting a few runs in on Friday. Last time I was there it was to hake the final decision on the production board, so no better place to test it out for real.
Actually we could have been there on Thursday but I just wanted to get out for a sail so headed for Clacton with the boys, it wasn’t the best conditions. But after a solid four hours on a 5.8 I felt like a spider after a kid had plucked its legs, my arms were killing it was hard to sleep.
Friday morning I met up with Graham Dodds and his son Jamie at the Ray in Southend. When we were making the final decision on the my Manta 49 Jamie came down to test it with me, he was more than keen to see the final outcome, he just wanted to get into the 40knot club.
Jamie rigged my 5.5 Vapor and took my custom Manta 43 while I took the 6.0 and the production 49. If you’ve ever been to the Ray you’ll know there is one hell of a walk to the water, so you want to get the kit right first time. Graham had injured himself a few days earlier so opted to be on camera duty for the day.
With the wind a little too westerly the entrance into the course was a bit choppy, but once in there was inch high chop on the run, jus enough to keep the board from sticking. Jamie went down first and was just shy of 40knots, I followed in with a 42.5, but it was so smooth.
We had a couple of more runs when Jamie had to walk back up and grab one of my booms; his had given up the ghost. Bad timing for me, I’d let go of my kit at the beach, not normally a problem but my GPS was strapped to the mast and it got hammered into the mussel bed and froze the screen.
The conditions had picked up so I put a couple of runs in, they felt fast and I told Graham I was sure they were my best ever, but could see the results, soon as Jamie got back I grabbed his GPS and took a run.
The wind was solid, just hook in and go, I guess it was about 500m or so and I pulled in for a peak at the time, 47.3 showed on the screen. Stoked doesn’t quite describe it, but at the same time it seamed too easy, too smooth to be true.
I banged back up the course for another go, then passed it back to Jamie for his go. We shared it for the rest of the time, Jamie more than broke the 40knot barrier, he ended the day on 43.3knots, I took a few more runs in the 45 and 46’s.
Back on the beach it was a quick pack up and headed home to join the lads for another sail on home waters. The wind had eased a bit but with speed still on my mind I took the 6.0 again to see what it could do in the rough. 35knots was my best but that felt great for the conditions, and for me showed the Manta to be what it was designed for, a board that can do it all and sailed boy everyone.
Read MoreIt’s been a long time coming, but the wind has finally arrived, The last two days have been great for me, and from the forecast I’ve seen it looks to continue. Graham Dodds called me on Wednesday to say it was looking good at Southend and how about getting a few runs in on Friday. Last time I was there it was to hake the final decision on the production board, so no better place to test it out for real.
Actually we could have been there on Thursday but I just wanted to get out for a sail so headed for Clacton with the boys, it wasn’t the best conditions. But after a solid four hours on a 5.8 I felt like a spider after a kid had plucked its legs, my arms were killing it was hard to sleep.
Friday morning I met up with Graham Dodds and his son Jamie at the Ray in Southend. When we were making the final decision on the my Manta 49 Jamie came down to test it with me, he was more than keen to see the final outcome, he just wanted to get into the 40knot club.
Jamie rigged my 5.5 Vapor and took my custom Manta 43 while I took the 6.0 and the production 49. If you’ve ever been to the Ray you’ll know there is one hell of a walk to the water, so you want to get the kit right first time. Graham had injured himself a few days earlier so opted to be on camera duty for the day.
With the wind a little too westerly the entrance into the course was a bit choppy, but once in there was inch high chop on the run, jus enough to keep the board from sticking. Jamie went down first and was just shy of 40knots, I followed in with a 42.5, but it was so smooth.
We had a couple of more runs when Jamie had to walk back up and grab one of my booms; his had given up the ghost. Bad timing for me, I’d let go of my kit at the beach, not normally a problem but my GPS was strapped to the mast and it got hammered into the mussel bed and froze the screen.
The conditions had picked up so I put a couple of runs in, they felt fast and I told Graham I was sure they were my best ever, but could see the results, soon as Jamie got back I grabbed his GPS and took a run.
The wind was solid, just hook in and go, I guess it was about 500m or so and I pulled in for a peak at the time, 47.3 showed on the screen. Stoked doesn’t quite describe it, but at the same time it seamed too easy, too smooth to be true.
I banged back up the course for another go, then passed it back to Jamie for his go. We shared it for the rest of the time, Jamie more than broke the 40knot barrier, he ended the day on 43.3knots, I took a few more runs in the 45 and 46’s.
Back on the beach it was a quick pack up and headed home to join the lads for another sail on home waters. The wind had eased a bit but with speed still on my mind I took the 6.0 again to see what it could do in the rough. 35knots was my best but that felt great for the conditions, and for me showed the Manta to be what it was designed for, a board that can do it all and sailed boy everyone.
