Middle Bass State Park campground

Four other windsurfers camped out with me and we all had a great time sailing many hours over the weekend.   Friday and Saturday late afternoon the winds came up big and we sailed both days until dark.    The racing was canceled both Fri and Sat for the day by 10:30 in the morning due to low winds but that left us full of energy to enjoy the late afternoon winds that rolled in like an angry whale on steroids.     We windsurfed until near dark on Saturday evening knowing the RC had move the first gun up to 7:55am  which meant we would be getting up  in less than 10 hours to go racing.     That late evening fun session was surely a mistake as I was stiff and sore Sunday morning from three days of windsurfing.   

Sunday morning things were on schedule and the wind was up.  I left shore about 7:45am and it was blowing hard ..  I stuck with my 8.5 but everyone else returned to get their 7.5 sails or they already had them on.    I was kept thinking I should go  change to my 7.5 which was already rigged but I was getting around the course ok. After the third race I was pretty spent and now I believe I probably would have done better on the 7.5.     However my efforts were good enough with the 8.5 to get a third place flag.  I was like 2 seconds from getting a first place the first race but messed up twice the last minute going to the line.   When I tacked to go to the line for some reason I headed to the windward mark again – duh – I realized my mistake  after about five seconds and then had to bear off hard to head to the finish line where I actually passed USA-064 to leeward and as I headed up hard I let up thinking I had crossed the line .. but I hadn’t crossed it quite yet .. and USA-064 got the win.

My Award Flag

In all this was a great summer weekend of windsurfing.   The Middle Bass State Park campground is right on the water with a great launch that gets the westerly onshore winds that blow near every morning in early August.      

Middle Bass beach with Rattle Snake Island in the background

The campground beach there with it’s mashed up shells is a white color and if you didn’t know better you would think you were in Florida.   We had 8 windsurfers enter this 2010 event.   I hope a few more people make it out next year in August 2011 to race and or to just fun sail a few days.  It’s a blast to cross the channel and circumnavigate Gibraltar Island passing through Put-In-Bay harbor.   In early August the water temperatures are perfect being in the high 70′s.    Some days a weed fin is needed but other days it’s not and as of yet I’ve not figured out why that is.  

 The Erie Islands are a place everyone should experience at least once!   There are some strange customs like at sunset the Boardwalk Restaurant at Put-In-Bay sounds a huge horn for a few seconds, then plays a song over the PA system.   The horn is so loud they say it wakes sleeping babies.

$3.00 launch fee

Go down the drive just by the end of the Lally’s Marine building and park at the far east end away from the launch dock.    Go up the steps and pay your fee, they are closed on Mondays but other days open like 10 to 5.    

Lally's back stairs

The secret spot in the river is about two miles upstream of the Providence Dam.  The river is wide and deep here for several miles.   The direction of the river here is  west to east.   

Looking west down the river

Lally’s has a little boat launch dock but  at the bottom of the picture above in that spot about 20 foot of the shoreline is small fill stone which extends out into the water a few feet, then it drops off quick which is  perfect for launching a windsurfer or kayak.    

Far East end of Lally's parking area .. some shade and grass for rigging in.

So there you have it .. another spot to windsurf at in the Toledo area.   That said let me warn you that on hot weekend sunny summer days during July and August there is a bunch of boat traffic here.    The shoreline here is lined with cottages and boat docks.      Still the river is plenty big,  you just got to keep a sharp eye out.  I’ve found the busiest time is after noon then it quiets down around 3:00.    On week days or if the weather is just a bit off and cool you’ll have the water pretty much to yourself. The water quality is good with none of the green algae or weeds we are plagued with in Lake Erie in late summer.

I’m also very interested in windsurfing class called the RaceBoard Class see   www.raceboard.org  .   Think of the RaceBoard Class as the International Parent for Longboard and Hybrid racing style boards.    The RaceBoard Class is a member of the IWAF  International Windsurfing Association.     A very nice Rules of Racing Guide for Boards  is  put out by them! 

The international grand daddy of sailing authorities is the ISAF International SAiling Federation).  Some general Rules for the Raceboad Class were published by them way back in 1990, see the ISAF document at  http://www.sailing.org/5710.php  

The official listed Hybrid boards registered in the RaceBoard class are currently:

A Hybrid board is defined simply as a production Raceboard 320cm / 10′ 6″  or less long.   The Mistral Prodigy for example is 298cm / 9′ 10″ long, 87cm / 35″ wide, 255 in volume. 

Some exciting news I recently received is that there will be a new  X2 Hybrid/Raceboard coming in 2011 from Exocet.   If you had not noticed  there was no Pacer 300 Hybrid in the Exocet model lineup in 2010 so I’m assuming that board has been discontinued.     The USA Exocet distributor does have a few Pacers left at some good close out prices so see your dealer if you been looking to get a new  Hybrid board.    I’ve raced against a Pacer 300  a couple times now on the Prodigy and believe they are pretty close performance wise.  

Enjoy the new links under Hybrid Racing and be sure to check out the Raceboard class site.

* take track out of board
* remove end cap on pedal end
* pry up the little cookie 1/8 inch .. you might need to use a small screw driver inserting it underneath into the spring and pry on one side at a time. 
*  now flip track over and ever so gently tap the pin on the pedal side just so it goes in ..  too much and you’ll break the cap on the other side if it catches the lip on the cookie plug!
* now push the back assemble towards the middle to loosen the rope
* now tap in the front pin gently
* slide / pry a bit if need be  the front assembly out
* take care to put loose parts in a cup
* slide back assembly out
* slide car out (careful don’t lose the little wheels)

Mistral Mast Track - a bunch of parts

* take rope off car and lay flat next to new rope
* For the new line I used Robline rope  and since I know it has a bit of spring in it I cut with hot knife  about 3/8 shorter than old rope
*  hammer ends to flatten a bit, then hammer in a small  finishing nail about 5/16 inch on each end to make holes for the track car holding screws .. leave nails in rope for now
*  check the rope ends will fit on the car ok  by checking nail end goes into screw hole and rope end snugs up against channel wall. 
*  now a critical step  … you must Super Glue the rope ends up good .. I use Super T by Satellite City.  Leave nails in rope and really saturate end area with glue and let dry a couple hours then take nails out.   If you don’t glue  the rope end will unravel from the stress and pull off  the screw!
Now the fun part of putting it back together. 
* slide track car in
* slide back assembly in as far as it will go again and snug rope against back roller

* now a trick …

a small 5/8" wide metal prybar

 * to slide the front assembly in you got to pry the rope down with the right size little piece of of steel as seen in the picture above. 
* When in position, tap down the metal pin in the front assembly
*  now slide the back assembly back to the pin hole , you should have to pry it a bit with a screw driver to hold in position as you want good tension on the rope  .. then gently tap down the button on the pin to lock in place the assembly.
* the button plug in back is off center and can be turned with a coin to either loosen or tighten a bit the rope
* tap down the cookie plug  
*  you should be all set and the car should move easily in the track with your new rope installed

If  the rope is very tight ..  the car will move very hard …  
If the rope is very loose .. the car will slide too easily .. 
Hopefully you’ve got a middle setting ..  
Spray a bit of silicone stray underneath the front and back  assembly ends so it gets in the little wheels on each end.  Likewise a bit of spray on the track car wheels also.  Use one of those little red  spray nozzle straws to keep silicone spray off your board deck!

There goes the neighborhood is what they thought I bet when I arrived in my vintage trailer to compete in the first annual New London Ohio Reservoir Rendezvous regatta.    Because I was doing the scoring I asked for a camp lot closest to Windsurf Point with power.    Nellie the camp manager put me in an empty space that was surrounded by big seasonal units.    I could even see the water and the lot was close to the shower house also. 

New London Campground

 I got there on Thursday around noon and hit some good wind that Thursday afternoon.  You can drive right down to the water out onto a point that is open so there is good wind from any direction to launch in.     I enjoyed sailing on what was a private lake for near two days until the group starting arriving late Friday afternoon.

Windsurf Point

We had 14 official entries in the regatta.  However  30 some  other windsurfers  showed up to day sail on Saturday!    Did I mention we had awesome winds on Saturday!    When you counted in spouses and kids I think the windsurfer group numbered around 80 people.  I had not seen that many windsurfers at one spot in Ohio at the same time in decades.   It was fun and there were smiles on everyone’s face as they got a good wind fix on a weekend.

Windsurfers

Regatta wise I managed 2nd place in a class of three Hybrid sailors and 7th place overall in  A-Fleet.         We ran 8 races on Saturday and another 4 on Sunday morning.  We could have done more races but decided not to end on race 13.   Instead we did a  two lap race on the long course for the last race on Sunday after lunch.    That last race was basically a mini long distance race.      The award trophies and T-shirts furnished by the New London Village were very nice.  

Reservoir Rendezvous Trophy

 I’m looking forward to this regatta next year.    New London Ohio is about an equal distance  from Toledo, Cleveland and Columbus areas.     Sunday morning we viewed an eagle perched high in a dead tree top dive down to the water and scoop up a fish.  There is a great walking path around the reservoir and country roads to bike ride on.    The water is clear and weed free making it very enjoyable to windsurf there.     You can see more event pictures on my Mowind post about this event.

So what is team one design racing?   The race organzier  supplies several one design outfits.    You divide the particpants into teams evenly by weight so for example each team might have  two light weights, on middle weight and one heavy weight sailor.    Races are ran over a  short course interchanging riders every lap.    Here’s what I like about the idea,  it would split the normal cost of chartering  a board between several people.   Windsurfers who don’t have race gear can participate.     The team format makes it a very social activity.   It gets people out on a course and that might just lead to them buying some race gear of their own some day.     

Where did the shops and new windsurfer racers go?    

 In the late 80′s the shop owners and people they had working for them were racers themselves and they helped promote events as well as sell gear for racing.   So now that there are fewer shops nationwide  the sport keeps losing traction in attracting first time buyers.    What happened was many local shops closed because  mail order and online Web sales took business away.    A second issue is in the early 90′s there was a lot of used  long-boards out there for sale and first time buyers were and still are buying them today.      In the 2000′s kite boarding started taking potential people away though I’d maintain it has attracted people to try water sports which might be good in the long run.  The last couple years SUP has started taking a few people away but there too I believe it will help windsurfing more than hurt it in the long run.    In the 2000′s  longboards  were no longer in vogue and thus used boards suitable for beginners are now harder to find.    Also in the 2000′s easy to sail wide style boards were introduced as beginner and recreational boards.  Though easy to sail and learn on they are no good for course racing.

Getting Gear Today

There is more variety and better performing gear available today for a fairer price compared to the options we had in the early 90′s.    You might have to buy it online or travel a couple hours to a shop but surely it’s available.   A windsurfing outfit can last many years.  A brand new outfit that runs $1500 doesn’t seem expensive if you spread that cost over five years  figuring you will sell it used for a few hundred dollars when you are ready to move on to your next new outfit.      If you do buy used try to get a newer sail made after year 2000.    Your best bet is to talk to a sales person and deal with them and get modern gear.    Some of the best prices are found by getting a complete kit of last years model at closeout prices.     There are still plenty of good used long boards available for course racing.   A very nice old race board like a 1995 Mistral Equipe can be had for $300 to $600.   With a modern 7.5 sail those old Equipes are still winning regatta.       There are new raceboards available like the Exocet Warp 380x and Starboard Phanton 380 and we are starting to see some of them out on the race course.   

My favorite race board is the Mistral Prodigy though it’s technically known as a hybrid windsurfing board not a longboard.   The hybrid label came about as this type of board is a cross between a longboard and a formula racing board.  The Prodigy is wide and big in volume so much so that  it’s like having a small sailboat under your feet.   My opinion is that it’s  ten times easier to sail than a tippy longboard.   There are several hybrid boards available for example the Exocet Pacer is a hybrid board very similar to the Prodigy in size.   The Olympic class board the RS:X is also considered a hybrid board.

Green paint from the outboard drive of committee board.

At the Cattail regatta I managed to push the centerboard down so far I could not get it back up using my foot.   I forgot about that thinking it was a one time thing .. wrong ..  I did it twice at Grosse Pointe and it cost me big time.  I had to drop the sail and pull the centerboard bumper up by hand a bit so I could get my foot under it.   When I got home the next day I looked in the centerwell and saw the problem in that a bit of the board in the cassette well has broken away allowing the centerboard to over rotate.   Below you can see like a V indentation which isn’t suppose to be there.   

View of the chip out of the centerwell area.

To prevent the centerboard from rotating to far I’ve added a strap on the board using the cub foot strap position holes.   The strap I fashioned from an old foot strap.    Now the center board can’t over rotate!   I got to wonder now if having that center board beyond 90 degrees has been killing my upwind or not?  

new centerboard strap prevent over rotating centerboard

Another problem I had was I had not sailed my new Chinook boom in high winds.  It was gusting into the high teens most of the day and planing downwind in the chop was a bit scary at times.    My on the fly outhaul line system was too close to my harness lines and I couldn’t move the harness lines back like I needed in the stronger winds.   I was able to correct that issue at lunch break and that made a huge difference preventing arm fatigue.    

I really need to get out and practice upwind sailing on the Prodigy in brisk winds.   Overall I sailed well and never even fell once but other people were just much faster on the upwind leg.     Keeping in the lead or close to the lead pack is important because once the leaders round the upwind mark they are on the faster leg and now going double or more your upwind speed.    So the distance between the leaders and people behind still going slow on the upwind leg widens greatly in a matter of just several seconds.    About the only way to make up that time is to get a good puff or hope the lead pack sails into a lull.   The next event is the new New London Ohio Reservoir Rendezvous regatta July 17-18 and I plan to be in tune for that one!

Above Ted Schweitzer prepares his thirty year old equipment for racing. Ted is a formidable competitor and was finishing in the top three near every race. So I’d like to say to all of you windsurfers out there with older equipment (like 1980’s Superlights) that you think can’t compete with newer gear .. believe me it’s not the board .. dust that old gear off and come on out to the next Mowind event in your area! In lighter winds (like under 12) which we often have at events that old gear still rules.  I purchased my Superlight with a rig on EBAY for $110. So if you windsurf but don’t have a longboard to race with please note that you don’t need to spend much to be able to get out there and join in on the fun.

So now you know that near any old big longboard can be raced know they make good SUP (stand up paddel) boards also.    An organized SUP race  using longboards or hybrid boards would be something to fill the time if no wind shows at events.   I’ll have to query the MOWIND group on if that is something to try or been tried.   

Cattail Regatta – Sat June 5 

Sat June 5th, 2010  ..   windsurfers are meeting up at Jolly Roger Sailing Club early Sat morning around 9:30.     We plan to compete in their Cattail Regatta, the first start is scheduled for noon with party afterwards at the JRSC.    This is sailing on Maumee Bay on Lake Erie, so it’s not a  good venue for a beginner unless wind conditions are forecasted to be light.

The July New London Ohio regatta will be held at the New London Reservoir and Campground.   New London is about 75 miles east of Toledo and a nice leisurely drive down old route 20 will get you most of the way there.  The reservoir is a 220 acre lake so it’s pretty darn big.   This should be a great event and as always I would encourage non-racers to show up also and make a weekend out of it.   If you got a camper or just like tenting you can set up right by the lake.   See the MOWIND.org  site for more details and links to campground information.

The  early August  I-LYA regatta at Put-In-Bay also has  been added to the MOWIND calendar.      We’ve had as many as 11 windsurfers in recent years attend the I-LYA regatta.  This year we hope to take it to a new level.  It would be great if we could get about 25 guys and gals out there.  Put-In-Bay is just so much fun and the course setting and race committee crews are first class.    Again see the MOWIND.org  site for information including details on how to register online.

Things have changed a bunch at Amoka Wind Sports for 2010.   Early last fall I closed out all of the power kite products I had.   Also I sold my kite building business and decided to end the windsurfing lesson service I was doing.  Part of the reason for all that was to make time for the Boogie Beau keyboard thing but also to make time for more windsurfing.    Too many times I’ve spent a summer afternoon herding beginners around on the inland lake while a short distance away there was good wind on the big lake I was missing.    Also I usually don’t feel like going out windsurfing the day before or after a windsurfing lesson.  So one day of lessons often uses up three days of a week.   It wasn’t uncommon to have a couple days of lessons in one week during the season.  Thus I might go a couple weeks at time without any good personal windsurfing.   Windsurfing lessons are not easy …  they give me a bigger workout than personal windsurfing does.    That was especially so if the students weren’t doing well and I’d have to kayak my butt off downwind to catch one.  About the time I finished coaching him back up wind I would need to take off and go rescue his buddy.

This 2010 season I plan to double my windsurfing time on the water and hit all the good days!   I’m also polishing up the 94′ Mistral Equipe and ’86 Mistral Superlight and putting them on the old lesson trailer.    I’ll also be able to take along probably an extra Prodigy and one or more used short boards I have for sale.  I have at least four used short boards I need to clear out.  Oh yeah one big old Hifly Motion I used for lessons needs to go also.

Being a Prodigy rider and promoter I was very saddened on hearing about the abrupt end of this great product.  For almost a decade now the Prodigy has lived up to it’s reputation of being a board that does it all.  I surely will keep racing and riding my Prodigy and Amoka Wind Sports still has a couple new ones in stock.   Given the prices I’ve seen on 2010 boards across all brands you would be wise to purchase a new second edition Prodigy now before they are gone!    

So what happenned at Mistral?    If you haven’t heard the skinny is that Mistral’s windsurfing business has been licensed to Anders Bringdal.  As far as I’ve been able to deduce all the old shapes and product names are gone as they were owned by the former licensee Boards and More.

 What will the Mistral 2010 Hybrid Look Like? 

What will a Mistral 2010 Hybrid look like?   Well that is the $2010 dollar question and I can only speculate for now.   Recently I emailed Anders Bringdal and heard back from him the next day.     My question to Anders of course was about the future of the Prodigy.      His reply in short was that the Prodigy was shaped by the now former Mistral shaper Mark Nelson.   Replicating that shape exactly is out and Anders will be starting from scratch to create his own and  improved replacement.    Anders hopes by summer of 2010 to have three long boards available.   He mentioned he does plan to have one board that is simular to the 2001-2009 Mistral Prodigy but with improved light wind performance.      If you want to put in your suggestions (please no complaints) about a new hybrid board you can find Anders’s email address on the contact page of the Mistral web site.   The more Prodigy owner’s that relay their experiences and desire to keep the Prodigy Hybrid board alive the better the chances are that we will see an equilvalent Mistral product in 2010!

My own thoughts on a new Mistral Hybrid is that it needs to be very like the current Prodigy.  My reasoning is why mess with perfection?   My main concerns are on the marketing side.    A few good pages on the Mistral web site that really cover the board in detail, it’s one design competition rig,  along with one design racing in general would help greatly to spread the word about Hybrid racing.

The water depth on the east end of the Lake Erie varies a couple feet throughout the year.   In the Spring months it’s high then gradually recedes over the summer and fall months.   During the winter months you can easily see the bar with binoculars from shore.   Often there is a flock of birds on it or an ice jam.  With east winds you’ll see the white color of waves breaking over it. 

Something I did learn was that if you get involved in a bar ruckus and get hurt you best call the police right away at the scene.   Also you better hope you get a good detective that takes lots of notes and photographs.   In this case the victim didn’t contact the police till later and the detective only did a couple short phone interviews.  There was just one small evidence photo of the injury taken days later just after the surgery.    In his opening remarks the prosecutor noted the victim had several drinks in the hours beforehand.  However during his testimony the victim claimed he was fine at the time and was far from being lit up.   Hmmm … that’s interesting because much of the prosecutors case was hinged around the theme that the amount of force used was excessive given the victim’s helpless condition.    In the end the jury found the defendant not guilty because they believed he was going to the defense of another.   

If you haven’t heard by now the new licensee of Mistral windsurfing boards is Anders Bringdal.    For 2010 everything is new and reportedly the boards will be produced in a factory in Vietnam that has PVC sandwich technology.  That means the 2010 Mistral boards will be stronger and lighter than most other brands.    Currently the new Mistral team has their hands full launching a new company.  Anders formerly headed his own AB+ brand of boards and reportedly will be dropping that venture.   You can find information about the new Mistral at  http://windsurfing.mistral.com/ .   Also here is a very nice interview with Anders about his new endeavor.

In the picture above Prodigies litter the beachfront at the 2009 September Higgins Lake regatta. In mid-August soon after the new 2010 Mistral Web site got put up I received a few emails from people wondering what the future of the Prodigy was.   Neither the Prodigy, Equipe, new Ventura or IMCO were mentioned on the site.   The Equipe name I’ve heard was sold to Fanatic though I don’t know that’s a fact.   The future of our beloved Mistral Prodigy model is still up in the air it seems.   We can only hope that a new improved version is in the works.    I haven’t heard there won’t be a new 2010 or 2011 Prodigy and I haven’t heard there will be one either.   Anders mentioned in his BoardSeeker magazine interview they would be looking at the longboard and hybrid situation after Christmas.    I hope to get an email address for Anders,  us Prodigy owners need to put our votes in for keeping the Prodigy alive.   I still have new a couple new Prodigy in stock so don’t be concerned you can’t still get one!  If you have been thinking about getting one .. act fast ..  they could be hard to come by in the near future.

To drive to Higgins Lake from the Toledo area I start by heading west down the Turnpike I-80 to the Route 66 exit and then north to Fayette.   That’s where  I jump on US-127 which goes all the way up to Higgins Lake.   It’s a long but pleasant country drive on 127 for the most part.    Below you can see my $100K lot with Lucky Dog (my Serro Scotty trailer) on it.

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he regatta provided me with some great competition as usual with around ten Prodigy boards there to race against.   We ran 8 races and my best finish was a 2nd but most of the time it looked like there were at least 4 or 5 guys finishing ahead of me.   Hopefully I’ll get a copy of the official scores sometime.   I just know I didn’t get a trophy.   I did win a pair of cheap water shoes in the raffle.  Given all the races were ran in light winds I  improved a lot on my pumping techniques however I still can’t pump like Chris B. (OH10) does.  Chris can pump off the start line better than anyone and manages to get to clean air every race.   Some good news was I sold the demo Prodigy I brought with me to Tim H. who has been coming up there for a few years also.   He had an Equipe XR which I bought as a trade in.    Tim was very happy to be sailing the stable Prodigy and won the Novice class his first time sailing it.      

Right across the road from Higgins South State Park campground is Marl Lake.   It has a nice hiking trail along side it I did one morning.    Marl Lake would be a super place to do a bit of SUP, canoe or kayaking.    The hiking trail starts out easy enough but by mile two the tree roots are really thick.  I was tired afterwards because those roots require a lot of high stepping.  The second half of the trail back to the parking area is wider with few roots.   You make good time on the last half but you got to watch you keep turning right at any forks.   The trail combines in spots with some local ATV trails so it’s possible to take a wrong turn.   It’s best to pick up a map at the camp office before you hike the Marl Lake trail. 

Pueblo Pluto movie

• Edmond movie

The Last Supper trailer

The Girl in the Park Big Nothing dvd

The House on Sorority Row full movie

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• The Last Supper film

Straight-Jacket download hose darn ash borer beetles blew out more than a couple dozen ash trees on my lot.   To guard against a tree falling on the Amoka loft and smashing my windsurfers to smithereens I’ve called in the big boys.   Amber Tree service has a 100 foot crane that can lift them around and control where they fall at.  If you look close you’ll see a worker dangling from the crane end.

Having a wood burner I wanted the wood so now it’s time to fire up the chain saw and get busy.   I’m now shopping for a wood splitter.  In the past I just split logs up with a sledge axe but I’m not getting any younger so it’s time for hydralic power.   Below you can see the on the right the small mountain of logs awaiting me.  On the left the workers stacked all the small branches and trimmings which will be an equal challenging task to cut up.   If I don’t answer the phone this fall .. well you know where I’m at.

Four Christmases dvdrip

The secret tool is the painters extension rod with a soft car washing brush on it.   I can dip the brush in my pail and easily reach the top of the sail.    I have the sail hanging from a limb and then another line staked out to steady it on the bottom.   That let’s me put a nice bit of pressure with the brush against the sail for a bit of scrubbing action.  

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• The Autograph Hound hd

nce the first layer of dirt is off then I scrub on the soapy wax and let that soak a few minutes.  

A little rinse with the hose and she is looking good.  With a bit of protective wax on the monofilm it will stay cleaner after a dip in muddy Maumee Bay.   I’ve no idea if Zip Wax  helps with UV protection but it can’t hurt.  

A great product to use once your sail is clean is 303 AeroSpace Protectant.   It can do wonders for old looking monofilm and it’s UV protection can extend your sail’s life by years.  303 is not inexpensive, the 32oz bottle will cost you around $19.  However a 32oz bottle will do my 8.5 sail 4 times.

How I like to apply 303 protectant is to lay the sail on a tarp,  spray half a panel, then using a small soft cloth I’ll rub it in a bit with a circular motion, then with an old T-shirt I wipe it  clean.    I’ll have a couple other old shirts standing by to put the knees on.   Given the cost of new sails these days I believe it’s well worth the effort to protect monofilm any way you can.   

download She Hate Me download The Curse

Billion Dollar Brain download

• Superman/Batman: Public Enemies movies
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The June 21 Grosse Pointe Windsurfing Club regatta was a grueling one day event.   There were ten Prodigies  which was an excellent turn out and no one was a novice competitor.    Usually the winds in late June are more often calm then strong on Lake St. Clair but not this day.   It was hot and sunny and oh so gusty.    When I got out on the water I knew the racing wasn’t going to be fun and I downhauled and outhauled about half way to maximum. Still I was battling not getting back winded about 25 percent of the time during the first three morning races.  I was getting wore out arm wise and was concentrating more on just keeping upright than sailing the course.    After the start of the third race a super long gust hit that leveled me about 4 times and everyone else also.     Finally before the last race of the morning I went all the way on downhaul then some getting the top of the Comp 8.5 one design sail more floppy than I think I ever seen it.    Likewise I had a firm outhaul setting but with that amount of downhaul the sail is already flat.  I was using the Prodigy Comp One Design 510 mast.     That floppy top made a big difference and I wish I had went to that setting before the first race then backed off if need be.    I actually sailed the course nicely that last morning race but my arms were so burnt out I couldn’t really hang in there on the up wind legs.

During lunch I rigged up my Sailworks Retro 6.5 which is a no cam sail.   It’s not very competitive but there was no way my arms could battle those gusts with the 8.5 again.     As Murphy would predict the winds dropped off after lunch and I was underpowered for the first two races after lunch.  Still I was finishing ahead of a couple others that were battling what I’d call medium sized gusts with their 8.5′s.   

During the third race the winds came up big time again.   I was almost at the finish line when I notice 9 and JDX were swimming after their boards way out past the leeward mark C.    I yelled at the committee boat to go get them which they did which canceled that race.    Without a rider the Prodigy with it’s high deck is more proned to drifting away in strong winds than longboards are.  If you didn’t get that simply said, ”The Prodigy can drift faster than you can swim even without a life vest on”.      In high winds you really need to be cautious and not fall off backwards and boost the board away with your feet as you fall.  If you do fall … don’t hesitate getting back to the board … swim fast and hard before the board gets turned downwind and picks up any drifting speed.  If you come across a boardless Prodigy rider in the water usually it’s best to go to their board and drop your sail.  Setting there you’ll cut the speed of the drifting Prodigy in half.   Now if the rider has been swimming a bit and has no life vest you should go to the rider and try to get them to hang on using one hand on each back strap and then sail to their board.   If you can’t get to the board then start waving your arms in an X motion to signal another person you need help.    If your that third person go stop that runaway board!  If you have a tow rope you might even be able to pull that runaway Prodigy upwind or at least stop the downwind drifting.     

The last race of the afternoon got started about 3:15 and it was blowing hard and handling the 6.5 was work but fun.   I finished 3rd overall in the fleet and bested all the other Prodigy guys who struggled with their 8.5′s in the heavy winds.     For scoring purposes they divided the Prodigy group into light and heavy weight divisions and I ended up getting a trophy for 3rd in the heavy division.   It was one of the nicer trophies with engraving I’ve seen in a while. 

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1. Not require a machine shop to build.
2. Be constructed of off the shelf inexpensive parts.
3. Be lightweight to carry and small so it takes minimal space up in the car.
4. Have enough wheel volume so wheels can roll in loose sand.
5. Be quick to mount and unmount on the board.
6. Not damage the board by leaving marks or dents.

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There are probably more board cart qualities I could list like a matching paint job but I think you get the picture.   The good news is I’ve finally come up with a design that covers I think all the bases.   After several uses I’ll know it if works everywhere all the time but so far so good.   It’s simply a 2×4, with 1/2 thin wall conduit, a 3/8″ axle and plastic wheels from the Tyco toy company you can get online.  Also there are retaining clip washers that keep the axle from sliding out of the conduit.   A quick release pin on the axle end let’s me take the wheels on and off on one side.  Then you just slide the 2×4 through the straps.   Yes I know what you are thinking,  yes  I had to let the straps out a bit but version two will solve that by cutting the wood down a 1/2 inch .. er maybe 3/4 ..   or I could just get bigger booties. 

U The Hottie & the Nottie release pdate 06/21/2009:  after using it a several times I found it’s working great and I didn’t need to leave the straps out on my own Prodigy.  I had originally tried it on one of my lesson boards which I don’t use myself.  I wear Tega water shoes that are well padded in front and thus I have the straps openings set real big.  I found the 2×4 wood slides through just fine on my setup and with the snug fit it stays in place.   Obviously if you have straps set small you could trim the 2×4 wood to fit. The only issue I didn’t think of was for pre 2006 Prodigies that have no EVA deck foam this setup won’t work unless some padding is added.   I haven’t tried the caddy on an older Prodigy but likely it could scratch or possibly dent an unpadded deck.

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