quick mission to test a whole bunch of stuff, oh yeah and to have some fun too . Was hoping for more wind, but in hindsight my body wasnt up for it. New wetsuit- NPX 3-2 sounds pretty thin for those conditions but was unreal. I was toasty until I carried my gear into the water and felt the wind... brrrr. So I did the sensible thing and put my old leaky kayaking cag on top to stop the wind. From then there was no issue with the cold. Shelby- thanks for the tip about remembering to release the ankle straps before you try to pull the wetty off your legs. I forgot. Its rather cold when that happens in the dark, rain and wind with parts exposed trying to find your numb feet to undo it.

First run on the Nude Streaker 46 (finished on monday) got a 43.9 on the dial. Also first run on the 5.5m NP RSR Evo III proto with a new boom and a new harness. Everything felt great apart from being a bit underpowered. Did I also mention the fin was newly recut. Wind switched off after that. Got halfway back upwind and walked the rest. Then I put the 6.2m on and the wind picked up again. Did a few runs trying to find the balance but suspect the new fin was not working so well. Its pretty small and flexible for that sail in the cold wind so was pushing it a bit too hard at times. Tacked back to try the weight jacket. 9kg.

The squall came through and I hit a good bit of it. I reckon it was gusting close to 40kts, so it should have been screaming... but my arms had not the strength for the extra power of shoulder lead so I was not in an efficient position on the board. By the end of that one run I could barely hang on. I had to stop to get my breath. Tacked back upwind and decided for another quick go since the wind stayed in after the squall at a nice 25-33kts. 43 was all I could get just trying to stay on. Arms had given up so I couldnt sheet in. Time to lose the weight jacket. Started to sail back but forgot to do up the outhaul and got slammed by a 35kt gust. Then my hamstrings started cramping. uhoh... Got back to the bank and started walking. Didnt want to risk more hammy cramps. Took 30 minutes to get back, watching Matt and ***** screaming past a few times looking really steady. Swapped the boom to 5.5m but the wind dropped off again so I waited. Another squall came through and I waited hoping that it would build closer to the end, but I waited a tad too long and missed the meatiest part of it, and ended up getting a really southerly shift making it quite square. The 5.5m with no weight was heaps easier and surprisingly fast on the tight part of the run- I hit 42kts quite high on the run. Easy to get back. One more try but it was even more southerly and lighter, so I sailed back to the carpark in a gust and called it a day. The wind switched back to WSW after that and it looked like the guys got a few more runs in.

All up it was a good mission. I got a great little squall which gave me some insight into rig tuning and fitness requirements. Glad to finally get to use the 5.5m- what a sweet sail. I probably should have stayed on it, or gotten back on it earlier, but we live and learn. The board works great, and it turns really tightly even in chop, and doesnt throw any spray or catch your feet in the chop.

Was great to catch up with the usual suspects down there, and I have to say I'm stoked to see how much everyone is improving. These guys are really fast! Cant wait for next time! Matt R is a champ- thanks for the great hospitality mate. Also need to thank ***** "who wasnt there".