Hi all,
I got into using Strava for cycling a while back and find it adds an extra bit of interest to my rides, especially the segments where you can see how you perform against other riders over a set course / section of road.
I wondered if the Strava segments would work on a windsurf course, so I set-up a segment at Pelican Point; a figure-of-eight course that follows the Wednesday slalom course run by Windforce (at least I think it follows the course - round the boat and round the first buoy - but I've never actually competed in the Wednesday slalom myself so I'm not certain). I thought it might not work because windsurfers don't follow an exact path between two points like cyclists do on a road. But, it turns out that Strava segments allow sufficient deviation from a set segment path to register windsurf runs over a set course.
I attached some screen shots from my Strava segment, called "Wednesday Slalom". Now, there's only 3 people have recorded this course on Strava but I am certain that many more sailors have already recorded GPS data across this course, they just haven't uploaded to Strava. I am also certain that my course record, set on an old Kode 103 and Blade 6.2m, has been thoroughly beaten numerous times better sailors than I.
I use a Suunto Ambit2 watch to record all my land and water-based activities. It automatically uploads to Strava when I plug it into my computer. Any GPS data can be uploaded to Strava so all you guys using GPS to track speeds could upload historical GPS data to Strava and see how you compare.
I also tried this for sessions at Dutchies; kind of interesting but not really what I (or anyone else I suspect) am after from wave sailing. The real interest is for free ride / free racing I would say. Maybe even sett up different courses to try out - add a bit of variety to river sessions.
Anyhow, I'm just putting this out there for info as I think this could get quite fun if a few more people get into it.
