Great but overcast day
Forecast looked like very strong winds, really a storm. The morning itself the wind was a lot less. 30 knots instead of 40+.
During the drive to the beach, drizzle and sometimes even rain. On arrival it had just stopped raining.
Surfers had sailed with 4.2 and 4.7. 4.7 seemed like the right size.

Banzai 4.7 on the Slate 96 with MFC 16/10 quad fins
Still low tide, less wind close to the dunes, but a bit of the shore planing quickly. The best wind direction for the Blokkendam. Beautiful waves for jumping, and wave riding. Sometimes really 2 or 3 back-side hits and then on to the next wave for a few more hits. Number of attempts to go front-side. They almost always went well, but never really hit a nice lip. The Slate makes it all so easy and fun. One high wave I went downwind to avoid the whitewater, just after the breaking part I he lip perfectly at speed: Very high jump, first could only see air, while going down saw the horizon again. Not yet landed, reduced my grip on the boom to let go immediately upon landing, really took a while before I landed. Unfortunately, the waves seemed to subside as the wind eased slightly and the tide got higher. With the less wind, getting upwind with the quad fins became more difficult. After a few runs, only bobbing back to the beach for a sip. On the beach a foot strap turned out to be broken, time to grab another board: the One 95.

Banzai 4.7 on the One 95 with MFC 22.5/11cm
First run fully planing, then bobbing. Less trim in the sail. I was able to plane again, the wind was a bit variable at first, but came back well. Wind a bit more west, so could now jump over both sides. Waves seemed to be getting less. I was already getting tired, horizon turned dark: A heavy shower was coming. I had to stop within half an hour to get home on time, so I stopped before the rain came.

Demolished a DaKine Core Contour of both boards. My foot straps are getting old, time to buy new ones. Quite a few have been destryed in recent years. They really do last 10+ years, but there comes a point where the plastic core becomes too tough and starts to crack.

Except for a few small showers, it was completely dry. Wind direction was good, wind was good for the 4.7 and pretty stable. Especially the first hour was great, wind was the best and the waves too: top afternoon.

Blokkendam

Present: Gert-Jan, Henk (Ouwe), Ronny

11:00 1.25 hour Wind: SW
Board: JP Wave Slate 96 Pro - MFC QS 2x160/MFC TF 2x10cm
Sail: Goya Banzai Pro 4.7 - Goya Eightyfive Pro 400 - AL360 E3 Carbon 160-220
  Set worked very well. Control really good. Upwind good. Planing through jibes and wave riding was a breeze. Jumping pretty good too. Wave riding wonderful. Only in the wind holes a bit more difficult to get upwind.
12:30 1.5 hour Wind: SW
Board: Goya One 3 Pro 95 - MFC Freewave 22,5cm/MFC TF 2x11cm
Sail: Goya Banzai Pro 4.7 - Goya Eightyfive Pro 400 - AL360 E3 Carbon 160-220
  Set worked very well, especially now that the wind was a bit less the One 95 worked very well, planing early, easier upwind, especially with the 22.5cm center fin. Waveriding less than with the Slate, but still fun for wave riding, jumping is easier. With a little less trim in the Banzai I could always plane.