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wearnhaw
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« on: November 10, 2005, 10:18:00 PM » |
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Hi folks,
Greetings from a not so windy Penghu! And guess what... they pushed the event back a week! So, we got a bunch of foreigners here in Penghu (George Warren, a bunch of Russians, Robbie Radis, Hong Kongers and the Singapore crew) mucking around here!
Well, would have been nice if we had been informed of the change in event date! I think Pieter Bijl was told in time for him to stay in Hong Kong! And last I heard, he won't be making the trip.
The rest of us will try to get some sailing in this weekend, when the forecast is for some breeze (hopefully 20 knots) and perhaps head to the elusive Peng Peng speed strip!
Spent last night in Taipei, was led on a gourmet tour round the city by stuntman Jackson (Norman's buddy!) and local sailor Hank! Pretty cool... then the 6 of us (Loh, Phong, Charles, my better half and myself) crashed at TC's $400 a night pad in Sherwood! Courtesy of his business connections!
Well, other than the lack of wind and the non-event... ummm... sheesh, does kind of make you wonder what the heck we came here for!!! Well, it ain't that bad! Zipping around on the little scooters and stuffing ourselves silly with the local delicacies...
I believe Charles is uplodaing the pics of the trip and will post the link once it is up!
regards,
wearn haw
SIN 2
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smu530540
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« Reply #1 on: November 10, 2005, 11:32:00 PM » |
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Hi Wernhaw,
So how do you exactly get to Penghu from Taipei?
I am going in mid Dec, will the hotels and equipment rentals still be open?
Saw on the website that during the NE, most operations on the island will come to a stop...
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<K-21>
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« Reply #2 on: November 12, 2005, 05:03:00 PM » |
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Well, it finally arrived today.
Proabbly about force 5 or something like that
I used a 5.5 Neutron and an RS60 and they were spot on.
I'm wondering what to do when the real wind arrives !!
Anyway, the very large Russians were also happy to be out on the ocean (and planing)
Alex has turned the shop into a restaurant with goood sized portions of proper grub..
However, the beer fridge is just too small to cope with me and the Russians.
SO once the fridge is empty, we adjourn to Freud Pub.
Faith (in the wind) restored....
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wearnhaw
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« Reply #3 on: November 12, 2005, 06:49:00 PM » |
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Hi folks! Yep, the wind did fill in today! Firstly, excuse me for skipping a day's update... reason being that we were having too much fun scootering around and exploring the island yesterday... and after a very very delicious dinner followed by some more dessert... man, I was simply too stuffed and tired to switch on my laptop!  Anyway, today was lovely, the winds filled in as forecasted from 10am onwards... and blew the whole day! Still blowing now! By 1pm, the local guys were out on the 5m and 4.5m sails! K21 had quite a blast once he got going on his 5.5m Neutron (yep, you got that right! 5.5m!). I shared gear with TC (his 6.2m Saber and my F2 SX106). Loh and Phong shared RRD and Saber 6.2m as well. My better half even had some luck planning (about 20min or so) before the winds got too strong for her! So, a bunch of 20 or so guys zipping around in the 18-20 knot breeze. Not that strong, but I reckon the air might be a bit denser and we all get powered up on smaller sails. The local young guns and Ho Chi Ho were attempting spocks and forwards. Much to the delight of our floating photographer, Charles. Togged in a wetsuit, snorkel and flippers, he caught quite a fair bit of the action! He should be uploading today's on water action as I type. You can view them here: http://anybodycanbeme.blogspot.com/Well, forecast looks even better for tomorrow! Hopefully we will get to go to Peng Peng tomorrow or Mon. Well, and now we all wonder... why the heck did the race get postponed??? I suppose 5m conditions would be considered a tad too light perhaps (going by local standards)??? So, i guess no race unless it is above 45 knots... oh well, in any case, we are hell-bent on having fun this weekend!  And now... dinner time! regards, wearn haw SIN 2 |
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wearnhaw
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« Reply #4 on: November 12, 2005, 06:57:00 PM » |
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NEM, With regards to your question on getting here, I believe it was already answered: http://www.bluefinz.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=000995As for everything being closed, I am not sure. If everything's closed, then I suppose everyone is probably out windsurfing! In any case, Dec will be chilly (maybe a 3mm wetsuit will do) but in 50-60 knots (which I have yet to experience), I would imagine there to be just a little bit of a windchill... wouldn't actually recommend this place as the winds might be abit too much to handle for most people in Dec. And do note that there is no rescue. But then again, it is a bay afterall, so you will definitely find land which ever way you go. regards, WEARN HAW |
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wearnhaw
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« Reply #5 on: November 13, 2005, 09:50:00 PM » |
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Hi folks, Well, quiet day at the beach... only 8-10 knots and only 1 person got any on-water action...  Well, Hsin Ee was zipping back and forth, fully powered up on a 6.2m sail! Not bad at all! For those not in the ultra-feather weight division (which is everyone else!), it was lazing around and zipping around on the scooters as well... Think Hsin Ee had a good 3hrs worth of sailing while we waited around. TC was digging for worms (fishing bait) in the receeding tide but ended up with a bowl full of shell fish! In any case, we had a good meal (late lunch and dinner) at a small C & G (cheap and good) corner shop which we frequented last year... and which we found out to be 50 years old! Forecast for tomorrow looks good... 20++ knots... early night in anticipation of a good blast! Pics should be uploaded at Charles' website: http://anybodycanbeme.blogspot.com/and http://www.seastories.sg/feedme/cilents/slideshow/470.htmlregards, wearn haw SIN 2 |
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wearnhaw
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« Reply #6 on: November 14, 2005, 11:27:00 PM » |
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Hi folks,
Well, another great day here in Penghu. There was wind from 8am onwards and it kept building and building...
I had at least 2hrs of good fun on a 6.2m which soon became quite a handful... obviously, since Phong and Loh were fully powered up on their 4.5m combats! Had some good fun gybing and trying to bunny hop abit.
K21 had a blast too... at first on his 55m and later on a 4.8m simmer sail that is way before my time!
By 2pm, it was a good 25-30 knots out there. Had guys out on all sorts of gear, wave, freestyle, slalom and even the beginner on a wide board!
And we even had a sumptuous free meal by the local organisers! Since they felt bad that all the foreigners (6 Russians, 2 Japanese, 3 Hongkongers, an Aussie and 4 Singaporeans) came here a week early...
Oh well, at least we got some 4.5m conditions (which I think we very seldom get back home) which lasted for a good 8hrs and counting! The next week will be strong... hopefully not too strong for the races!
Anyway, Charles should have more pics uplodaded soon...
And so, it is bye bye Penghu for us... except for Loh, who will be adjourning to Chunan (wave spot north of Taipei) for another week's blast!
regards,
wearn haw
SIN 2
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<db>
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« Reply #7 on: November 16, 2005, 10:28:00 AM » |
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I see it is going to be a solid 28-32 for a week. Have any of you made it over to Peng Peng beach for a speed run?
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<K-21>
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« Reply #8 on: November 16, 2005, 11:47:00 AM » |
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I just knew that one day that 1995 (??) SC3 4.8 race sail would come in handy one day....Just think if I'd had a Sunset Slalom, I could go to the Bay and sail with LeeD !!
However, yeaterday the real wind arrived and both board and rig were too big.
The 95 kg Canadian was on a 4.0 Saber. It was a fairly steady 45-50 knots.
The rising local star (14 years old) nonchalantly dropped in after school, did some loops, speed runs, freestyle, RSX training and went home without taking a second breath.
50 knots, fourteen.......a walk in the park !!!
Today, it looks like its dropped down to a more manageable 35 knots.
My invalid carriage is fully charged so I'm off to the beach to try and find an old COBLA 220 RADICAL.
Happy Days
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<Nick Teo>
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« Reply #9 on: November 16, 2005, 04:25:00 PM » |
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Greetings from Holland!
While reading this thread, a question came to mind. Isn't China across the straits on the other side of the sea ? If it was blowing 45 - 50knts in Taiwan, does anybody know what was the wind strength like in that part of China? So why must the Olympics be held in a light wind location? Or is the wind at Penghu just as light during the time of the year when the Olympics is going to be held?
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wearnhaw
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« Reply #10 on: November 16, 2005, 06:41:00 PM » |
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Hi Nick!
I think other Taiwan Island west of Penghu (and closer to China) called Jinmen also has good winds... I am sure the Chinese coast has good winds too. Just that the coastline may be too undeveloped for sailing. Would be quite an adventure to explore the coast during NE period I am sure.
Hainan island would also be good during NE season and the Chinese teams are always based there for training uring the winter.
As for why Olympics has to be in Qingdao. I think it is political in nature. The 1990 Asian Games was held further north in Qinghuangdao (where I trained during my Optimist days as well... say, about 15 years ago???) and the Chinese had their sailing base there. After that, Qingdao became more influential in the Chinese sailing circles and the base was shifted there. More races were held there as well, as early as 1993.
In any case, winds are generally light in Aug (time of Olympics) unless a freak typhoon comes along (which will be early for the usual typhoon season... but then again, 3 more years of global warming and only god knows what the weather will be like in 2008!). From Qingdao locals, what they do know is that you won't be getting 20-30 knot days in Aug. But while the stats from various sources have been pessimistic, apparrently a normal day would be 8-10 knot breezes in very strong current!
In any case, the wind patterns never fails to change once a big event is underway! 96 Olympics in Savanah (for sailing) was supposed to be light, but it turned out to be hurricane and thunderstorm season! 2002 Asian Games in Busan also had a whole week of light winds when the race started... so much for going a month early and training in 30knots and 5m swells everyday!
We shall see what the Olympics brings!
P.S. the sailing people (outside of China) did lobby for the sailing event to be shifted away from Qingdao last year. But looks like the local politics proved to be too strong for such a move... afterall, which city is willing to give up a few tens of millions?
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<K-21>
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« Reply #11 on: November 18, 2005, 12:17:00 AM » |
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Dan Ellis arrived yesterday and spent the afternoon on a 5.0 Naish Stealth and 90 ltr Fanatic board.
He said the board was too big.
My new weapon of choice is a Mistral Razor with the trusty 4.8 Simmer downhauled by a fork lift truck.
We rescued one of the Russians from the rocks but luckily no serious injuries.
Robby Radis is still warming up and has some tough competition if he is to regain the AWT crown.
Meanwhile, the local sailors have rigged their 2.9's and are waiting for the real wind !!
Last night we adjourned to "Unfaithful" Pub...
I remember a police car, waking up at 10 this morning (in MY bed) but for the rest....dont ask.
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<K-21>
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« Reply #12 on: November 18, 2005, 04:27:00 PM » |
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One round of slalom done today...Anders won, the rest lost.
Robbie not sailing due to injured shoulder.
It was 40 knots steady (ish)
I trashed completely my lovely yellow Simmer 4.8.
Its in the dustbin....
I replaced it with a NP 4.5 Combat(brand new!) which was ideal today.
The long distance was cancelled until tomorrow.
Conditions are epic with the locals and some very large Pros showing the way.
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