I rigged a little too big ... went on a 10 Bularoo and my directional, when I probably could have been on a 7. But there were times when I was definitely glad to have the power to pull me away from the giants.
The scariest part for me was the start ... with the wind so onshore, using my directional with big fins, I kept getting pushed into the sand (you can't just power through and ride the sand with such big fins, like you can do with a twintip), ending up way downwind of the start. I could see all the "lucky" people who had made it out beyond the shorebreak and were ready to start the race. I kept having to run back up the beach to try to get out, and I was panicked and dehydrated. Finally, at 8:57, I eeked through some whitewater and was on my way out, although far south of the starting line, but in one tack with my board, I was back where I needed to be, in the nick of time.
Another scary part was right before the Lake Worth Pier when I didn't give myself a wide enough berth, then got munched by a wave and almost got pushed into it. I was happy to have my directional, which I needed to make a hard upwind cut, and just managed to squeak between the pylons and make it through. Very sketchy. However, I'm not so sure I did any better this year on a directional than I did last year on a TT. Last year, I broke a footstrap and lost some time there having it repaired by some innocent bystander. This year, I was only about 18 minutes faster than last year, but I didn't have to stop for equipment repairs. (For the Naples Race, which was completely downwind, yes, directional much better ... this race, not so sure.)
On account of the issues I had in Naples, I kept saying, "Don't drop the kite," but because I was so overpowered and riding with my kite at 12 the whole time, it wasn't really an issue, and even when I got eaten by some waves, the kite was at 12 and lifting me up. Luckily I had a board leash for the 2 times I lost my board, and wearing a seat harness helped ... otherwise, my harness would have been around my neck.
Last year, I could stop paying attention to the waves soon after the Delray checkpoint, but this time, I was constantly running from waves until I got to Ft. Lauderdale, where it was just choppy. There were times when I had no choice but to go as fast as I could ... overpowered, hanging on, and trying not to explode ... but when it got closer to Ft. Lauderdale and I was really tired, I had to tell myself to just keep going ... half an hour more ... etc. That last stretch seemed like a never-ending journey in hell ... kept thinking, "Water, water ... I need water."
I was SO happy when I finished. Shannon owes a couple of people some money.
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