El Medano 2020 day 6: Against all odds: Wind
Wave Clinic with Colin Dixon, day 5.
Thursday was going to be the worst day of the week.

Plan was to go to the wall with the most experienced surfers. So we quickly grabbed a set:
Goya Custom 3 Pro 98 with Flight Zorro 5.6
A could plane a couple of runs on my toes, then it was over. Couldn't get upwind so didn't get in the direction of the Wall at all.
Back on the beach there was the new plan: with big boards and small sails practicing on tacking and jibes.

Fanatic Viper 85 with Goya Banzai Pro 5.0
Again on a stable big board, in the waves not easy, but behind the shore break it was much easier. A lot of practicing the correct way to tack. Especially if I go deep down my knees, they're going easy and stable. Feet work needs to be smoother and faster to do it properly on a small board. Wind slowly increased, few runs even planned with the big board. Even freeride tack and jibe exercises with the door. At the end even enough wind to fully plane and a little waveriding.

RRD FreestyleWave 96 with Flight Zorro 5.6
After lunch, we get on the water during high tide. Again the Zorro 5.6, this time with the RRD FreestyleWave 96 to plan easily. Super easy sailing, a lot of pressure on the back foot, for me a too big fin, and a little too tame. So was soon bag to the beach to grab something more sutable for waveriding and more challenging, this FreestyleWave is too freeride.

Goya Custom 3 Pro 98 with Flight Zorro 5.6
With a very soft Chocofins center fin and the original MFC thrusters.
Think it was the wrong center fin, or else just not my board. Did not feel good, sailing of the front foot all the time to try to get upwind and then still coming out at the same point. The next day we found out that the fin was also too far in the front of the box. So this might bad experience might partially have been due to the fins.

Lesson 5: Short-board tacks: the more you bend your knees the more stable and easier

Unexpectedly sailed all day. Learned a lot, but it was done, all energy drained.

El Medano - Playa Sur

10:30 0.25 hour Wind: E
Board: Goya Custom 3 Pro 98
Sail: Flight Zorro 5.6 - North Platinum 160-220
  Sailed with the original thrusters and a very softe Choco fins center fin.
Too little wind to say anything useful about it. Could plan a few meters on my toes. The Zorro feels wonderfully light.
11:00 2.5 hour Wind: E
Board: Fanatic Viper 85
Sail: Goya Banzai Pro 5.0 - North Platinum 140-190
  Good set to learn new techniques. Large sturdy board with a light small sail. In some gusts, I could even plane with the huge board.
15:15 0.5 hour Wind: E
Board: RRD Freestyle Wave 96
Sail: Flight Zorro 5.6 - North Platinum 160-220
  Sailed with the original fin and an extra set of RRD/K4 thrusters: too much fin.
All the pressure on my back foot, sails like a slalom board, but slower and easier. Not quite the intention of these days.
15:45 0.75 hour Wind: E
Board: Goya Custom 3 Pro 98
Sail: Flight Zorro 5.6 - North Platinum 160-220
  Sailed with the original thrusters and a very soft Choco fins center fin.
Couldn't become friends with the board, Zorro felt good and light, but could not sail nicely with the Goya, even with all the pressure over the front foot I could not get upwind. And there were no waves to ride golf either, so no success. I suspect the Choco fin, a too soft center fin, that has never worked for me in a thruster.