Formula One Windsurfer Sails South Pool

I had a treat today while windsurfing the South Pool.  Kirk, a Formula One windsurfer from East Texas, tested our West Texas winds.  Formula One is a racing class of sailboards.  Boards are wider and fins longer than One Design racing gear (the era of my sailboard racing).

Kirk kicked off his racing duds for an afternoon of play.  Kirk sailed a 6.2 square meter North Sail, while I had a 5.5 Neil Pryde.  As West Texas winds go, we had the right sail size, at least part of the time.

We both had roughly 100 liter boards but mine looked like an antique .  Kirk's fin was double mine.  A few gusts rattled just about everything on my rig.  Several lulls tested my board balance, shoulder strength and grip endurance.  It's actually harder to sail underpowered on high wind gear.

While the day started rough with a harness line snapping, it finished in fine form. Near the end of the day, Kirk blew by me.  He had a hold of a cantankerous West Texas wind gust.  I recognized it, having ridden a few myself.  I had a blast on the water.  Sleep, it'll come easy tonight. 

P.S.  My apologies, I didn't think about taking any pictures today.  The image above is from October 2011.  The South Pool is probably 3-4 feet higher today.