When I was younger, in the mid 90s, I did a big jump, no shit, about as big as one of Dale's jumps. I hung for quite some time with continued forward momentum. It was like slow motion. At the end of the jump I had such great control (I hadn't gotten messed up by the wind and out of position during the jump) that I dropped the nose and did a nose first landing. Not for the faint of heart. It's a great way to land if you have the balls because when you do it right the board hits the water and keeps going at high speed. If you do it wrong it can be ugly. The tail first landing is safer, but you lose a lot of speed when you do it that way. Watching Dale you'll see him drop the tail each time as he nears the landing.
Anyway, when I got to the beach after my session a few of the locals looked at me and said "that was the biggest nose first landing I've ever seen." That was good for the windsurfing ego.
It's cool to hear it from the perspective of the sailor. What a great sport to have been a part of for all these years.
I KNOW! That one time he just kind of sailed through the AIR for awhile, quite a distance before landing.
When I was younger.................
When I was younger, in the mid 90s, I did a big jump, no shit, about as big as one of Dale's jumps. I hung for quite some time with continued forward momentum. It was like slow motion. At the end of the jump I had such great control (I hadn't gotten messed up by the wind and out of position during the jump) that I dropped the nose and did a nose first landing. Not for the faint of heart. It's a great way to land if you have the balls because when you do it right the board hits the water and keeps going at high speed. If you do it wrong it can be ugly. The tail first landing is safer, but you lose a lot of speed when you do it that way. Watching Dale you'll see him drop the tail each time as he nears the landing.
Anyway, when I got to the beach after my session a few of the locals looked at me and said "that was the biggest nose first landing I've ever seen." That was good for the windsurfing ego.
Wow. Sometimes it looks like they're not gonna come back down.
How fast are they moving? 25-30 mph? Faster? That looks like a blast.
Yes. 25-30 is a pretty good guess. Dale and Bruce (the owner and designer of Sailworks sails) tend to use big sails and fast boards. They go straight line really fast and use the speed to jump really high. My style is different. I use a smaller/turnier board and smaller sails designed less for speed and more for maneuverability. I used to use similar gear to Dale and Bruce back in the 90s and could jump pretty high back then. Now my jumps aren't as big, but I can slam turns in the waves way better than their equipment will allow.
And I may get some of that today. The forecast is favorable.
This is upstate New York in the area of the country where gun control advocates are strongest and the laws most draconian. This is how most legal, responsible gun owners (if you notice, most are part of the greatest generation and have fought for our country) feel virtually everywhere in this country. This is what those who think that all guns are bad and would like to severely restrict them from the general public are up against everywhere. Good luck with that:
Then one day a strong rain came And washed all the crops away And at the age of 13 I thought I was carryin' the weight of the Whole world on my shoulders And you know, Mama knew What I was goin' through, 'cause
Ev'ry day I had to work the fields 'Cause that's the only way we got our meals You see, I was the oldest of the family And ev'rybody else depended on me Ev'ry night I heard my Mama pray Lord, give him the strength to face another day
So years have passed and all the kids are grown The angels took Mama to a brand new home Lord knows, people, I shedded tears But my daddy's voice kept me through the years
Sing Patches, I'm dependin' on you, son To pull the family through My son, it's all left up to you
Oh, I can still hear Papa's voice sayin' Patches, I'm dependin' on you, son I've tried to do my best It's up to you to do the rest
