Mother Nature Serves Little Wind In Baja For Thanksgiving-Nov 25
Like last season, wind in October and November has been scarce here in La Ventana. We’ve had only a few days of decent wind for full powered sailing, so people who have come down for an early season sailing vacation, have had only one or two days a week of good wind. Folks with formula sailing gear or big kites have taken advantage of a few more days of light afternoon thermal breezes. Hopefully December will finally bring the consistent El Nortes everyone is waiting for.
La Ventana Campground from the water
More people are arriving everyday and the campground is about 60% full this Thanksgiving week… there is still room for your RV or tent. With the lack of wind most people are getting out and enjoying the variety of things that make southern Baja a beautiful and special place to be. Folks who come here and just sit on the beach waiting for wind miss out big time…like turtle watching and surfing.
Sea Turtles: A Baja Treasure
A couple weeks ago we celebrated Nancy’s birthday with a two day mini vacation to San Jose del Cabo. October is the prime nesting time for sea turtles in southern Baja. We were fortunate to witness a nest as the baby turtles emerged and made their way to the Sea of Cortez. Mexican environmental groups monitor the nests and do their best to make sure the young turtles return safely to the sea. Many beaches now prohibit cars and ATV traffic on the sand which is good for more than turtles. It wasn’t many years ago that turtles were harvested for their meat here, but fortunately the turtles are now protected by Mexican law.
Val’s first ride on a surfboard; what style!
Fellow Ezzy sailors Dan and Val from California joined us for a day surfing safari to Los Cerritos on the Pacific side just south of Todos Santos. Cerritos is beautiful beach popular with the surfers about 60 miles north of Cabo San Lucas. The surf was head high on the outside reef, but still fun for boogie boards and SUP’s on the inside. The wind is coming, we’ll keep you posted. Good sailing, Gary & Nancy
Hurricane Rick Takes Aim At Southern Baja – Oct. 19
Everyone who has arrived early in La Ventana is watching Hurricane Rick as it approaches the southern tip of Baja Mexico this morning. The hurricane developed off the southern Mexican mainland coast a few days ago, and has been building in strength and tracking in a northwest direction towards La Ventana. Sunday morning the storm reached the maximum category 5 with winds of over 200 mph at the center. At the moment, the storm is predicted to come ashore near Cabo San Luca and cross the peninsula near Cabo Pulmo. The current website of choice for everyone here is: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/index.shtml?epac.
Clouds over La Ventana Bay – something is brewing
Campers at the RV Park are preparing to move to high ground and shelter from the wind. Several people left yesterday heading north in hopes of completely avoiding the storm. Arriving early in La Ventana for the winter can be a dicey proposition since hurricane season doesn’t officially end until the first week of November.
Several years ago Nancy and I were here the end of September when Hurricane Marty passed over La Paz only 30 miles to our west. At the time we were in our trailer which we had moved off the beach and placed behind an 8′ concrete wall which we thought would block the wind. We found out that when the winds are blowing over 100 mph, an RV is not the place to hide from the storm. It was a frightening way to learn a lesson about the fury of Mother Nature. The experience helped us in our decision to build a house built of steel and concrete with steel storm covers on the windows and doors.
Two days before the storm; blue skies, and great fishing. Nancy with her Dorado
Since the first of October, we’ve had a few light wind days for big sails and kites, however last Friday we did have a taste of good sailing with a day of 4.7 – 5.2 and small swells. One good thing is that the Dorado (Mahi) fishing has been outstanding. We’ll keep you updated on how the storm affects La Ventana. Good sailing, Gary & Nancy
Post Hurricane Update:
Fortunately Rick made a right turn 100 miles south of Cabo and hit mainland Mexico. The strength of the storm had diminished to a Tropical Storm before making landfall; there was no loss of life and just some minor flooding. Everyone in La Ventana is feeling relieved that we avoided the storm. Hopefully everyone who chooses to arrive in La Ventana in September and October has learned a valuable lesson from the near miss of two hurricanes this season.
Gorge Rigging Tips – Part Two: Outhaul
A properly rigged Panther will reward you with a balanced feel along with the power and range to handle the gusts and lulls. Sure, it’s fun to introduce sailors to the new Ezzy sails, but I’m also on the beach to help Ezzy sailors get the best performance possible from their sails. Setting the outhaul is important with all Ezzy sails, and setting it correctly on the Panther is a must.
David has been focusing on a draft forward design for several seasons. This results in a sail that locks the draft in place, giving it an extremely light and balanced feel. The reason behind this is simple; the draft stays where it’s designed to be. If the draft moves in a sail it causes instability that you’ll immediately feel. It’s especially noticeable in strong gusty conditions. In a non-draft forward sail, when a gust hits the sail the draft typically moves back and results in uncomfortable pull on your back hand.
Draft Forward Design
The Ezzy draft forward design begins before the panels are sewn together. Instead of sewing the straight edges together; each panel edge is carefully cut to a designed curve that when sewn together creates the desired draft shape along that panel. It’s a challenging and labor intensive way to make a sail, but David Ezzy wouldn’t do it any other way. It’s easy to see the draft forward design after setting the downhaul. But setting the outhaul correctly is critical in keeping the draft where it’s designed to be.
Rig The Boom 
Attach the boom at the desired height and lift the clew end of the boom and use the three strings at the clew to set the correct boom length for light, medium and high winds. The picture is a 5.0 Panther. Please notice that the minimum outhaul required, even for light winds, is 6 cm. I’ve heard sailors say, “I just bag the sail out for more power”…please don’t do it. The draft forward design requires at least the minimum outhaul. As shown in the picture, the difference between the minimum and maximum outhaul is 3 cm. Even at max outhaul the sail will still have noticeable draft, however from the leach forward along the battens it will be more flat than when set for full power. Always pull the clew to the inside of the boom. I’ve found that for the Gorge I set the downhaul once and then adjust the outhaul as needed as conditions change.
Another great season winds down here in the Gorge, and we’ll be heading to Baja soon. If you’ll be in La Ventana this winter stop by the campground on a windy day and take a Panther for a test ride. We’ll keep you updated on the Baja lifestyle. See ya on the beach, Gary & Nancy
La Ventana Sunset
Gorge Rigging Tips – Part One: Downhaul
Since 2001 I’ve rigged hundreds of Ezzy sails for demos, rentals, and other sailors here in the Gorge. I would like to share some personal rigging tips that I feel apply specifically to the Gorge. Most sailing sites around the world will have unique conditions that sailors will either learn by experience or by talking to local sailors. The Gorge presents sailors with conditions that will test and challenge everyone who comes here. High winds, big swells, current, and during the summer months, crowds at the popular sites (The Hatchery, Swell, and Doug’s), will stretch everyone’s skills and attitude on the water. Let me share what I’ve learned on the water, gathering feedback from sailors on the beach, and hanging with David Ezzy.
Helen from Denver decided she needed to add a Panther 3.7 for Gorge trips.
Sail Selection: Although these tips center on the Wave Panther, they also apply to other models and years of Ezzy Sails. First, before selecting a sail, know yourself (height, weight, strength, and skill level are all factors to consider before heading out). Each of us has developed a personal style of sailing that helps us enjoy and sail comfortably…sailing relaxed is much more fun than fighting the conditions or your rig. I’ve found that long time Gorge sailors have learned what sail to use and how to rig it for certain conditions. Using myself for an example, I’ve found on a full-on Gorge day, I’ll rig a smaller sail with near maximum downhaul and use the outhaul for tuning the power I want. The Gorge seldom has steady winds, and the difference between the lull and gusts is usually: lull X 2 or even greater. So when iwindsurf shows an average wind speed of 25, lulls 15 and gusts to 35, that’s not unusual. Being a lighter sailor (158 lbs) I’ve learned that sailing a little smaller sail is much more comfortable and fun. It’s also taught me to be more efficient since a smaller sail is better for me in the high winds, but not in the lulls. But other sailors rig big and pray for the lulls. Consider your personal preferences and rig accordingly.
Setting The Downhaul: If you check the downhaul numbers printed on the bottom of the sail you will notice that the difference between minimum and maximum downhaul length is only 1 cm. Always adjust the top strap or the length of your extension so that maximum downhaul brings the pulley as close to the extension pulleys as possible. David has designed the sail to be rigged in this position for best performance. Set the downhaul before attaching the boom (the exception to this rule is the Infinity) and watch the leach between the 2nd and 3rd batten from the top of the sail. The looseness will travel from the leach towards the mast as you increase the downhaul. It’s important to understand the wrinkle doesn’t travel in a perfect arc centered between the battens. Focus on the three downhaul marks in the center of the panel and watch as the wrinkle moves from and through the light, medium, and high wind marks. The correct setting is when the wrinkle touches the mark, not above or below it. The #1 question I get on the beach is, “what does correct setting look like?” It’s a fair question, and here’s the best way I have found to see it. Place the sail on a flat area with the tip of the mast and the two top battens touching the ground. Then gently lift the mast base up and down while watching the downhaul marks. Lifting up and down will let you see how far the looseness extends in as the short leach batten moves up or down through the marks. Most sailors find that setting the downhaul near the high wind mark works best for the Gorge. If you like riding a more powered sail, set it toward the middle mark.
I’ve found that setting the downhaul is a once a session proposition, I then tune the power I need with the outhaul. The outhaul setting is crucial to enjoying the balanced smooth power the Wave Panther is known for. I’ll cover that in Part 2, but here’s a tip for setting the outhaul. If the Panther ever feels heavy or unbalanced…increase the outhaul. This also applies to the ‘07 and ‘08 Special Edition Wave. See ya on the beach, Gary & Nancy
This Week At Doug’s – August 9, 2009
We welcomed the wind back to the Gorge the first week of August after suffering one of the longest windless heat spells in memory. The week started with reasonable Gorge winds in the mid 20’s, I use the word reasonable, because by Friday sailors were using words like crazy, insane, and stupid before the word “wind” to describe the conditions at Doug’s. Check the iwindsurf graph to see what all the talk was about. For over 12 hours the average wind speed was over 30 with gusts averaging over 40 to 54 mph. I consider myself a decent windsurfer, but when survival is the goal, I think it’s time to de-rig and watch the few sailors who live for days like these…I call it wisdom.
iwindsurf wind graph for August 7
I was at Doug’s for 3 of the reasonable days this past week and connected with several sailors who had heard about the new Panthers and Freewaves, or had already added them to their quivers and just wanted me to check how they had rigged their sails (I’m more than happy to do it). Monday I met Laszlo who sails the Gorge in summers and southern California the rest of the year. His go to sail for the Gorge is a 4.7 Wave Panther, which he says, “felt completely comfortable as soon as I left the beach and feels very light and balanced”. When not sailing in the Gorge he sails Topanga, Leo Carrillo, and County Line in southern California. It’s down the line wave sailing and he’s planning to get a 5.2 and 6.3 Panther Wave for the lighter conditions created by winter and spring clearing winds. Laszlo loves sailing and is serious about his time on the water.
Laszlo sails the Gorge and Southern California
I meet a lot of sailors who make the trip from Florida each summer. The Gorge is definitely the gathering place for summer windsurfers. Monday I met Hot Rod from Key Largo who sails Ezzy SE Waves and was anxious to try the Panther and compare the two sails. “It definitely has the Ezzy wave sail feel.” After making a few reaches the wind kicked up a notch, but Hot Rod stayed out and was having a blast in the building swells. Later he said, “Normally I would have changed to a smaller sail, but with the Panther they have a lot more range than the old SE.”
Hot Rod from Key Largo loves Doug’s Beach
I always enjoy talking with sailors who sail other brands and share what they like about their sails….then take out an Ezzy. Bob from San Francisco is a great sailor and has been on his current brand for 12 years. He took out a 4.2 Panther for a long test ride in the building swells and ramps. Back on the beach he shared his impressions of the Panther. “The conditions were really up and down, but the sail handled it very well. It depowers well on a wave, but still has the power for going big off the ramps…fun, fun, fun!”
Bob sails an Ezzy for the first time.
Ezzy Airtime at Doug’s Beach
See ya on the beach, Gary & Nancy
