The weather in Holland went crazy. It was bloody cold with an air temperature of 3 degrees. Ben van der Steen and me went to Herkingen to have a sail behind the speed ditch. The water level was really high and the ditch was flooding. A small but nasty chop and an angle which was too tight hampered the speeds.

Ben took his 5,4 RS5 and I rigged the Stealth 4,6. The training showed that a smaller size can be beneficial. It was too cold to rig another size so it wasn't a fair race. The gusty wind and the nasty chop with flat patches was favorable for the smaller size. We both agreed that on the canal a lot can be won by the ability to use smaller sailsizes. Even the big guys like Finian and Bjorn could benefit from it.

The 4,6 felt very well balanced, not at all like the former small sizes which were very restless in your hands. It's good the makor brands start offering the small sizes possibilities. Now we have to wait for the same windstrength, flat water and the right angle to see if speeds improve as much as we think.