WindDoll

We didn’t expect any windsurfable wind Wednesday, with a forecast of gusts from the east at 50, but at 12:30 the wind suddenly came up out of the west. Anton, who sails every day after work, came down early so as to be sure he got some. The wind was really fluky—the graph below says it all with its pressure gradient readings making wild swings. It was hard to read the water. (The wind’s directional vagaries are not well depicted.)

I had quite a bit of trouble settling in, starting with a bad launch when I got my sail full of mud, a rare occurrence. The sail didn’t seem to be performing properly and twice I jumped in the water to clean it. I did manage to pull off a lousy duck jibe, but my tacks were sketchy. I couldn’t figure out where the wind was coming from.

This doesn’t stop Team Dawg. They were tricking like crazy. Then the wind changed 180 degrees to an easterly quite suddenly and they were swimming like crazy.

One thing about Berkeley: It has little current, so you can always swim home.