Long Distance Short Break

No movement for a few days as we let big seas calm down. Before that I had a very satisfying trio of days.

The first of these (July 12) was upwind with some enjoyable breeze to begin with. Though I was up on the rail and charging along, progress was slower than hoped for as wind and current swept me in the wrong direction. Once beyond a protective reef, the ocean swell carried me shoreward with each roll, and it was an effort to stay clear of rocks that bled white with foam as the bigger waves broke upon them. All this section required pumping the sail as the wind in the pits between waves was so weak. At a kink in the coastline the wind angle improved such that it was just possible to scrape to my target headland in one high-mode "pumpathon". This saved my nerves, as zigzags would have delivered such slow progress that I would have run out of light. The headland itself was extremely lumpy and it was difficult to balance in such light breeze, but once the current at the tip was beaten I knew the job was done.

That previous effort set me up nicely for a crossing from Kansai region (Mie-ken) to Chubu region (Aichi-ken). I sailed about 23 nm with a side wind and didn't need the stop on an island that I had planned for. Yumiko's day was far more arduous as she made the 250 km journey by road.

This next section of coast is long, straight and low. The wind gets in well, but the waves hit square on, and the stopping options are few and far between. My next stop (an uncomfortable entrance to a basin with a heavy outflow of current) was at 20 nm, and the next port was 16 nm beyond that. I had one day of decent weather with a cross-on headwind that would allow sailing close-hauled along the coast. Sensing this opportunity, I made a last moment decision to switch to the spare sail. The new sail would be stronger (because it is unused), which is reassuring; but is also one size bigger, and therefore more powerful. In the expected marginal "railing" conditions this might deliver a jump in board speed. It was a good call. While I would have been wallowing on the 7.8, with the 8.5 the board lifted nicely and sliced through the water. I passed the 20 nm with time to spare, and completed the full 36 nm just as the day was clouding over and a menacing swell had arrived and was building larger with every set.

There is one hop to go now along this exposed section. Next stop is Omaezaki which is Japan's most famous windsurfing location, where the World Cup visits. We are now taking a few days off as we wait for suitable conditions for a Raceboard to round the Cape.

Pictures are from the last sail with the orange 7.8, and the first sail with the green 8.5. Thank you to Loftsails and Unifiber for keeping me powered up!