Local Strong Wind Sailors

[<Jinx>]

hi,

have always been impressed by the couple of sailors who dash out when the sumatra squalls hit. these are when winds hit in excess of 25 knots.

would want to talk to them to learn some tricks of the trade.

can you all help to chip in some names for me to follow-up. i dont mind whether they sail at PA or PF.

[<Notjinxed>]

Aiyah local storms chicken feed, its flat water. I think the real high wind guys in Singapore are the one who can catch the Thais and Rob Radis in Manamana and Kuantan in scary wave and chop. So far that is only Andrew Foo, MY11 Sukdev and TCChua. Midnight cowboy (Vincent) also not bad and Jonathan Ho from Manamana and Peter as well. These ppl hold 7 point something sail in almost 30 knots.

[<Jinx>]

Ya, sure. Before you can get to the Kuantan, ManaMana racing stage, you have to start at home where to spend most of your time rite ??

Also storm sailing seems a different ballgame from racing.

[<storm sailor>]

Not jinxed
Guess you have missed all the big storms when the sea cuts up very rough. The flat water is only for the first 5 mins or so, maybe you are back on the beach by then.

Jinx
For the big storms, be ready with a small sail rigged with strong downhaul, better to go small and have control than go big and spend your time swimming.

[<Jinx>]

quote:
For the big storms, be ready with a small sail rigged with strong downhaul, better to go small and have control than go big and spend your time swimming.
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Mr Storm Sailor,

Thanks for your advice. It's a technical answer. I was hoping to get names so that I can talk to the sailors.

Windsurfing is a real sport and it's best to get the human touch on the finer points of sailing. It's not an e-sport. If I wanted technical answers, I can also go to the NP/Starboard or Gaastra forums.

[<aWinDchasor>]

hi jinx,

i would suggest you hang around the clubs and catch the sailors whom you wanna meet. besides, it can be quite a view when the wind really hits.

[<Helper>]

Isn't it chicken and egg ???

If he/she doesn't know who to approach, how to talk ? Wait for a storm to occur, see who are the happening sailors and after that talk to them ?

and if there's no storm, what does he/she do ?? may become a great grandfather or great grand mother by then....

try Ian or Andrew Decha of PA or TC and Aik Haw of PF. Good luck.

[sukhdev]

Here's my take, forget the storms, too short lived to do anything or really try one move consistently. Take a week or 2 off in mid january, go to either Kuantan or Manamana, or if you can, take some time off and go to Jibe's in Vietnam (Pascal's place). Sail. Sail some more. Ask anyone around who sails better than you for tips. copy other's setup. sail some more. sleep. sail some more (repeat till legs turn to jelly and hands need duct tape). borrow and beg and try other's gear to test their set up. get sunburnt. sail some more. bring lots of aloe vera gel. sail some more. eat alot. sail some more.

If you sail for 3 hours a day for 2 weeks (ouch) you will have sailed the equivalent of 84 storms (each storm seems to be about 30mins on average?). How many days do you wait to sail 84 storms?  

no amount of vicarious experience will substitute time on the water ever.

The toughest high wind sailing i have ever done is not maui or the gorge, but manamana on a wild day outside the bay. Even the pros complain. Kuantan on a good day is quite an experience too. Hope to try Jibe's soon. Our choppiest storm days are still  relatively small.

The biggest barrier is actually mental,thats why so few venture to places like MM & K'tan. Do whatever you need to feel secure, floatation vest, helmet etc all help but most of all just try. The people i think you should talk to are the ones i consider the gutsiest locally, & this is the dolphin gang and the local ladies (Kat,CWG,Deb etc) all bravely going out to race in conditions in manamana that the best sailors were getting worried about. Sure racing is not like storms, its much tougher thats all.

face your fears, live your dreams.

[<Jinxed>]

Thank you all for the advice.

One or two posts I found useful because my question was answered straight and simple. Others provided info. but kinda of skirted my question. No worries, it’s not the destination but the journey.

Like I said, I’m a realist – if there’s wind, I'll sail – whatever locale I'm in and make the best of it. Places like Maui or the Gorge or even Kuantan or Mana Mana - I can only dream about. They’re out of my reach. I’m destined to be stuck in local conditions and hence jinxed.

My fear is storms, not racing, I’m facing up to it and hopefully with people Andrew Foo, Vincent, Andrew D, TC and Aik Haw etc,  they can help me to live my dream.

[<StormRider>]

One of the way to overcome yr fear of storm is bring yr biggest rig out when most guys standby on their small rig. I meant getting ready befoe the storm hit. Most of the time the storm is fake and last rarely more than 4-6 runs. Maybe for a few times you will be in the water as gybe mark or being laugh at. But that's the fastest way to learn

Most storm sailors brave the SW are using comfortable small size sails . If u r comfortable on big rigs on storm and overcome the mental barriers you will be OK.

Imagine if yu can hold a 9.0 when the local holds 6m, Sure you will be better when you goes 6m.

[hiwindjunkie]

hi jinxed

for names, try sukhdev @ pf or check out the gallery.  there are some pix of guys who look like they're goin pretty faaaast with their names!

i tend to agree with stormrider.  it depends on ur luck, but most of the storms rarely last long and you tend to get more sailing time on bigger rigs @ the beginning & @ the end.  in the middle, when it's peaking, u'll have some practice sailing overpowered.  i prefer sailing overpowered than underpowered.

as for manamana, it's really not that much out of reach.  if u go for a day trip, the only major cost is the ferry & equipment rental (if u haul ur own gear there, it's even cheaper).  if u can handle manamana during the ne monsoon, u should b pretty ok for almost all of the conditions here (wind & chop).

good luck on your storm chasin'!

[<f2>]

"sail some more (repeat till legs turn to jelly and hands need duct tape). borrow and beg and try other's gear to test their set up. get sunburnt. sail some more. bring lots of aloe vera gel. sail some more. eat alot. sail some more."

Man these words bring back memories, using duct tape, sunburn, eat and eat. Submitting to pain and adversity to rise to another dimension of windsurfing. When I look back I can’t believe how crazy we were, we were wind addicts. Those days it was Kuantan, we would stay in the cheapest accommodation for a least a week during the NE monsoon, sail, eat, sail, eat, skin tare still sail. Sometimes when the wind starts as early as 630am, you see just the glow of the sun at the horizon we would head out, man the feeling is awesome, calm seas, black water with reflections of red lights like flames on the water, its like sailing in another planet. Wow! Must do it again.

[<thye@hotmail.com>]

Truly agree it's a mental game, fear of the unknown is the worst thing esp. racing oversea but by changing your mental mood to suit the condition, Like 'Fear' becomes 'exciting', 'risk' becomes 'challenging' you’ll find that it’s not that bad after completing a runs.

Kuantan was great fun eveyone seem friendly, bunch together and helps out when in need.

[<Ben>]

Hi All !

Im just wondering.. r u guys only sailing in fairly light winds??
Im from northern europe, and me n the guys im surfing with realy only think of getting out ripping when wind exeeds 15knots..
When winterstorms shoots in, we usally get out there in winds from 25-35 knots.
and u guys in this klimate must have a blast in this kind of winds !    
Hang Loose
Ben

[sukhdev]

Ben, you are right, winds here are fairly light. Outside of the monsoon it rarely gets above 20knots. On top of that we have very high humidity so 15knots here would seem like 10-12 to you (water vapor is lighter than air).

To put it in perspective I've not used smaller than a 7.x in slalom for nearly 5 years. Even in the high 20s its fairly easy to hold down a 7.x due to the "light punch" of the wind.

The plus side is bathtub warm water, no wetsuits    and some of the loveliest beaches around (eg manamana).