Lovely afternoon at sea
Very good wind predicted in the afternoon, no appointments, then work on Sunday when there is no wind.
Paul was sailing with 5.0, the lightweights with 3.7. Doubted between 4.2 and 4.7. Still opted for 4.2 with the Slate 96 I should have enough volume.

Banzai 4.2 on the Wave Slate 96 with 18/12cm fins
High tide, but no tricky shore-break. Jump on the board and planing. Sail was actually right from the start. Set got upwind really well, so I was soon able to go wave riding back to the beach. Waves were still a bit low in the beginning, they slowly got higher, even half an hour really beautiful waves: long lines. After that, it became more chaos chop. There were always waves to be found for back-side waveriding. When the waves were good I could sometimes do 3 hits on a wave: delicious. Certainly the volume of the board makes it quite easy. It is harder to make the board turn tight. Board also has a wide tail, so it also needs more effort to turn the corner. Made a few attempts to drive front-side, succeeds 2x reasonably well, could not really find a steep wave. Switch-stance down-the-line with the Slate 96 is pretty easy.
Jumping was good, as long as I did not push to hard on the back foot during take-off.
Later the wind subsided a bit, after bobbing for a while, I stopped. More wind tomorrow. Save a little energy.

It was delicious. Clear blue sky, even if it was only 12 degrees, it didn't feel cold at all. Wind was a bit gusty, but because of the range of the Banzai I didn't have to change. Great day!

Blokkendam

Present: Gert-Jan, Paul

15:15 2.25 hour Wind: SW
Board: JP Wave Slate 96 Pro - MFC TF RTM 18cm/MFC TF 2x12cm
Sail: Goya Banzai X Pro 4.2 - Goya Ninety Pro 370 - AL360 E3 Carbon 140-200
  First time well powered with the 4.2 on the Slate 96. Sailed with the 18cm at the very back of the mast track. Mast base in the middle, maybe above in front of it. Control was not very bad, set got upwind well. Board never felt overpowered, but in the trickiest chop you do notice that it's quite a large board. Board easily hops over chop and also jumps quite nicely, but be careful with the take off with only an 18cm center fin. Waveriding is not difficult, but could not really make the board turn tight, next time the center fin slightly forward or the mast foot slightly backward. Back side hits are fun, some attempts made in front side. Switch-stance looking for a lip is pretty easy. Only you have to be able to find a nice lip.