We were looking forward to a Northerly wind at Waikanae Beach today. It looked promising when we saw it get up to 10-14 kts on the Windfinder App at about 10.30 so we packed up and headed out.
Location: Waikanae Beach
Equipment: Naish Matador 5m, Naish Hover 125L, Naish Jet 1650
Wind: 8-9 kts
We arrived at the beach to a very light 8-9kts. Not as much as we were hoping for but it was forecast to be more than that so we set up in the hope that the wind would fill in. It was high tide though and we later realised that the slack tide often causes a lull in the wind on light wind days.
My first tack out was a gentle run, and I did run off the wind slightly. I wished I had used the 6m wing (but I was expecting the wind speed to increase). The sea at Waikanae gets rougher in a Northerly so there were some dips and crests to roll over. While it was good balance practice there wasn't enough wind to get any lift onto the foil today. My arms and grip were getting tired. I wasn't sure if this was general fatigue due to the amount I have been getting out, or just that it is harder in light wind. I persevered for a few more runs then called it a day.
It was beautiful on the water and it woke me up after a somewhat lazy start to the day!
Looking forward to more wind to get practice on the foil.
