I've been to Coolangatta this Saturday.
At first they were predicting some 30000m waves for the weekend and i was ready to head north to the safe port of Noosa, then it became clear that the swell was passing by out far. So I went south confident to find small and easy conditions for my test.
But when I arrived at Rainbow Bay I was stunned to see some head high set in front of me.
I said: I'm fucked. Now I'll work my ass to get out to the line up, I will be beaten fighting with a slippery board, I will catch a too big one and slip down and die like a perfect kook.
But in truth the sets were big but unreliable. There were minutes of gaps in between, so after some watching for a bit I timed my paddling right and went out safely.
As soon as I lied down I had this weird sensation of no control. When I sat I was a bit uneasy. And then when I did the first paddle I understood what was happening:
the VersaTraction has not grip on a wetsuit! (I cleaned the wetsuit off wax beforehand)
The situation was not alarming anyway. I still had to catch a wave and I could feel the grip on my hands. The feet should work the same way, right?
I sat wide on the shoulder, as my habit when it's crowded, and waited a bit. In ten minutes along came my wave: a shoulder high one. I paddled with my body sliding sideways at every stroke and then I jumped up. And nothing happened. I already had forgotten all and was focused on my ride, which was good but had to abort due to a lady paddling out in exactly collision path with me.
In then more minutes came the "wave of the season" (hopefully not of the year!) and I had one of my best ride so far.
Then wave condition and crowd factor affected me and I only managed a few good one later on, just before calling it quit. (I was a cold, dark, rainy and windy day and after two hours and too many people around me I had enough)
My VersaTraction test was done!
So the verdict?
Well.. once you are up and running it's just as fine as wax. But because the waves were big and fast I didn't need walk on the board that much. I believe I need some Noosa like waves to see if at any point I loose grip and slip down.
Then there's the wetsuit problem. Paddling is unsettling because you don't stay put where you want to. And sitting is fine but only as long as you don't sit on the tail with the board up, otherwise the board will slip up off you!
I suspect that with normal shorts this won't be a problem, because of the treads of the fabric. But it's cold now.
Also I cut the stickers keeping them on the deck and not going down on the rails. Main reason was for proper placement without folding problems. So I knew the rails were going to be slippery but still, after some white wash I managed to loose grip with my hand and almost going face down on the deck! Just once, but not funny.
So my verdict is: it works, but I need some more trying to re-evaluate the wetsuit problem and the walking on deck aspect.
Meanwhile I think I will put the leftover cuts on the rails to help there. Just on some strategic spots.
I'll write more on this.
Stay tuned.
Fatto. Provato.
Dovevano esserci onde della madonna poi invece venerdi si e' capito che lo swell stava passando oltre. Cosi' invece di andare al riparo di Noosa, sono andato a Coolangatta avendo visto venerdi le camere che davano le solite onde da 2/3ft che amo.
Quando sono arrivato a Rainbow Bay pero' mi sono spaventato vedendo invece passare sets di onde facilmente intorno ai 2 metri. Ho stretto il culo perche' uscire a Rainbow con un longboard quando e' grosso e' un casino, e avendo appena messo il VersaTraction invece che la cera mi sono sentito fottuto.
Invece poi in effetti i set erano abbastanza distanziati e c'erano momenti di piatta. In effetti era una giornata strana. Poi tirava vento, pioveva a tratti, era buio tutto il tempo.. insomma il contrario di quello che mi immaginavo.
In ogni caso sono uscito senza drammi ed in dieci minuti ho preso la prima onda che ho poi dovuto abortire per via del traffico. E dieci minuti dopo ne ho preso una enorme che ricordero' per molto tempo. Poi ho passato molto tempo ad aspettare, a negoziare posizioni con gli altri, ed infine ne ho preso un altro po' prima di uscire, dopo due ore abbondanti, stufo della gente, dei momenti di piatta, e del freddo.
Ma il punto e': funziona?
La risposta immediata e' si. Una volta che sei su non ti accorgi della differenza.
Ma ci sono delle considerazione che meritano altre prove.
Prima di tutto, per vie delle onde grosse e potenti non ho praticamente avuto bisogno di camminare sul deck, quindi non ho messo la tavola e i piedi in posizioni strane dove avrei potuto scivolare.
Secondo, la wetsuit scivola! Credo che con un normale costume non ci sia problema, ma la muta e' liscia (e io l'avevo ripulita dalla cera) e non tiene. Se ti siedi sulla coda alzando la tavola questa tende a scapparti via da sotto, mentre quando remi la forza delle braccia trascina il busto a dx e sx ed un poco anche in avanti ed e' abbastanza fastidioso.
Quindi funziona ma non sono convinto. E' questione di abitudine o e' un problema?
Per ora non cambio e sono determinato a fare qualche altra uscita. Anche perche' l'assenza della cera si rivela una figata per quanto concerne tutto il resto.
State sintonizzati.
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