Cracked

So, the monopalme finally came on Saturday. I was so happy when the postman rang my doorbell and gave me the fin.

However my excitement was short lived, as it soon turned to horror. I ripped open my package which was so 'robustly' wrapped in cloth and thin foam to find that the fin had cracked in 2 places. SON OF A BITCH!

I kept saying to myself, why why why did this happen to me? Such bad luck.

It was obvious why the fin came cracked. First off, the fin wasn't protected well enough. Obviouosly with some rough handling it would have cracked. Second, the fin isn't a traditional shape. It has a 'tail' that sticks out in the centre, and is below the rest of the fin. If you rest the fin on that edge, it will be stressed more than the rest of the fin and crack.

I wrote to the manufacturer about the fin and am awaiting his response. I also called Singpost and lodged a complain. They will contact me on Monday to launch an investigation as to how my fin came damaged.

In the meantime I'm placing an order for a surfing repair kit. It comes with fiberglass cloth and also putty with fiberglass strands in it. In case the manufacturer won't replace my fin or Singpost won't reimburse me or both, this is my only option.

On the lighter side of things, the fin is actually very pretty. I really like it alot. It's heavy, but it floats, which is a common feature on all hyperfins. One thing, it's FAST! Very fast. It's also more stiff than I expected, so my stroke needs to be corrected again, bummer. I need to develop more strength.

The footpockets were very snug, even a little tight. My big toe is always crushed, and the left inside of the left footpocket sticks into my foot. The footpocket is so tight I could not use it for more than half an hour the first time. I hope the footpocket expands somewhat, or I get used to it, or both, or I will be very limited in practices.

Strangely, even with this giperfin, the angle is not enough for me! I realise I have a very big angle from my shin through my feet. I will need to stretch my ankles more and also work on my calf muscles so that I can keep my ankles pointed during the upstroke.

Some photos of the fin can be viewed at my flickr page:http://www.flickr.com/photos/24228903@N04/

Today I used the nasal drop prescribed to me a while back. Man, it's horrible! It works really well, but it tastes bad, and it hurts my throat, a lot! I had a sore throat for half the day. Damn, why am I so sensitive to such things.

Some news: Dani Pedrossa won the Spanish GP, which is also his home race. Congratulations. Rossi was second, and Stoner third. Rossi has changed his suit and helmet and bike, and now it looks very ugly. I do not like his colours.

Nadal has won the French Open, beating (annihilated) Federer in 3 straight sets. Ivanovic won the ladies side. Congratulations.

Today is World Ocean Day. People, remember the ocean and respect it. The ocean has provided us with food and life for eons. What we are doing is harming the ocean, and that's no way to pay back our benefactor. Do we really want to see half the ocean's species wiped out before we pass on? If not, switch your habits. Find out what you can do at: http://community.oceana.org/.