It hasn't been raining quite so much over here and......

..................unlike other unfortunates our water would be clean in any case, so I've been out on a mat for the last 4 days in varying onshore conditions as there have been decent sized waves due to days of SE winds pushing up an easterly sea which in cohort with the actual swell provides the goods.
I cannot quite believe how excited I get when I see that the conditions are onshore and there is a bit of a swell. That is such a turnaround from the last 9 summers when I dreaded the SE winds as it would stop me getting in the water as I insisted on only riding waves standing up!
Now that I am riding the mat with softer inflation levels and finally understanding the degree to which one can change the shape of the mat, and more importantly how and when to do so, I am enjoying even more satisfying and often longer rides. This is particularly so on the take off and when gliding along in front of a broken wave that still has a little push. A big squeeze to drive the air to the back of the mat to give the wave plenty of mat to push on works wonders and is probably what Deb needs to be doing in the pic should she ever get a bit more air out of her mat.
I am appreciating more than ever a craft that allows you to change it's shape in real-time to suit the immediate conditions. Brilliant and so much more to look forward to learning.
For instance, I am still a little confused as to why the Roundtail sometimes drifts and yet, in what seems a more critical situation, sticks to the face like it is on rails.
Looking forward to working out why!