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Sunday, January 13, 2008

Windsurf at Elwood today

Oh lordy that was good. Steady southerly, The Don, The Tone, Benny D, Rocket Roddie and a few others.

After the triumph that was Sandy Point, I had my dander up somewhat and was starting to believe that 37.5 knots on flat water might translate to 30+ on the bay.

WRONG!

Though we did not get the wind strength like Sandy Point- 25k tops today vs. 35k at the Point, it was still strong enough. Heading off the wind beyond 120 degrees and the sail died in your arms like a war buddy (yes that was an appalling metaphor). Another 5-10 knots would have helped to boost speeds above 30, but would have made going upwind, messing about, jumping and whatnot a right nightmare. That's speed sailing for you though- tread softly and carry a big stick.

So, without any further guff, here's the data track for Google Earth.

The .kmz file contains the following note:

I don't call it cheating to go upwind and then bare away onto 120 degrees just to get a bigger top speed. In this case 27.9 knots or 51.67 km/h or if you like 32.1mph

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posted by thr at 8:50 pm 0 comments

Friday, January 11, 2008

Turbo SIMs


Turbo SIMs, originally uploaded by thomasrdotorg.

posted by thr at 1:01 pm 0 comments

Thursday, January 10, 2008

That damn scooter.

So riding around the Formula 1 GP circuit on the way to work (how many people can say that?), the scooter stepped out and got up a nice ol' wobble as she went round a corner. i knew straight away what the problem was. On inspection, I was right:


So here's how I was situated. Stuck in the relative middle of nowhere. What to do?

Call Donny and get him to bring Holden's BLOODY MARVELLOUSLY CONVENIENT VE Ute and pick me up:


He's taken the little bugger to Brighton Kawasaki and hey presto it will be solved.

This is only my second ever flat tyre on a motorised bike. Weirdly enough, when Rachel and I went around Australia, we didn't get one flat. 20,000 k's no flats. The scooter? less than 600 k's and we're off for a repair. Don't let this become a pattern.

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posted by thr at 10:03 am 3 comments

Monday, January 07, 2008

Clinton Grybas, 1975-2008.

L-R Blake Leigh-Smith, Dwayne Russell, Clinton Grybas, Tom Reynolds. Photo Jay Mueller

I first met Clinton in 2005, when I was asked by the Powers That Be to go to Phillip Island for MotoGP and offer up a few race preview comments and keep Clinton and Dwayne informed. It was supposed to be a background role and I was excited.

After I previewed the early races (and seemingly/amazingly impressed) Clinton asked that I hang around and offer up "expert comments" for the main race. For me, this was a dream come true. I felt like Robert Walls, Murray Walker and Roy Higgins rolled into one. During the race, the pre race briefing I gave the boys worked perfectly. Clinton may not been a MotoGP regular, but boy he knew how to broadcast it. He wove perfect opportunities for me to use my knowledge and for the listener to feel like they were there in the booth with us.

Post-race, Clinton asked me to head out in the paddock and find some racers to interview. My interview with Chris Vermuelen remains one of my favourite radio memories and without Clinton's encouragement; nay, insistence that I do said interviews I doubt I would be a 3AW regular.

In 2007 I "repaid" the favour by suggesting to the Grand Prix corporation that Clinton be included in the Celebrity Grand Prix. This was a great idea on paper, except for one teeny problem; he had never driven a manual. To any one else this might have been a reason to say "thanks, but no thanks". Clinton was not easily put off and despite a rocky start he not only learned to drive a manual, but learned to drive it hard. He stayed back after school like a good student and picked the brains of Allan Moffat and the other trainers, looking for an improvement here and there. He may have been a commentator, but he had the drive, preparation and determination of a pro athlete.

His passing is not only a shock, but a huge loss. It seems insane that I will not be working with him again, nor listening to him on the radio. He has set the bar near unfeasibly high for young broadcasters and the sports broadcasting industry is better for it.

My deepest sympathies go out to his family and friends.

Jay Mueller's comments
I took this photo (Top) during the 2006 Moto GP at Phillip Island. Dwayne Russell, Clinton and Tom Reynolds are interviewing teenage rider Blake Leigh-Smith. Dwayne looks of mildly amused, as if he’s thinking about what he was doing when he was 16. Tom just looks happy to be there. Clinton looks interested. That was the thing about him, he was. Whether it was AFL, Australian Open tennis, boxing or some obscure overseas sporting event, Clinton cared. I had the privilege to work with Clinton during the 2006 Commonwealth Games and I always enjoyed talking to him when our paths crossed at AW. He was a terrific guy and a thrill to work with.

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posted by thr at 11:20 am 0 comments

Thursday, January 03, 2008

Sandy Point New Years holiday.

A few beers, the lads and 35knots of Easterly.



www.flickr.com








thomasrdotorg's Sandy Point- New Years 2008 photosetthomasrdotorg's Sandy Point- New Years 2008 photoset





Also I got 37.5 knots on my 9 year old Torquay freeride 272. With a wavesail. That's gotta be a some kinda record...?

See the GPS data track in Google earth here. I think with a speey fin, a wet n' dry and maybe a race sail I could actually get 40 knots out of the old girl.

And still pull these off:



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posted by thr at 9:13 pm 0 comments

 
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