4 categories

Saturday 27^th May – Windsurf **** The Dip, Felixstowe – sunny and warm + thunder storm and rain for an hour! Wind started SE turning SSW.

With the forecast saying breezy early I was up at 5.30 talking to Al Wiz on Facebook checking the wind, he said it was windy enough to sail and good as low water. I had breakfast, hitched the trailer arriving at The Dip with Mag at 6.36 and the sea looked nice with small rolling waves and the wind dead onshore. We were soon joined by Nick and Ed Swain, one to windsurf and one to kite and with 15 mph on the gauge I rigged 8.5 on the big Xantos. I was on the water at just past 7 and set off beating out as Mag walked home along the prom. The wind had dropped and I struggled to get going, kiter Nick and his mate had a good half hour at golf beach but I only planed in short bursts and lost the wind completely towards The Fludgers where the cliffs killed the wind:( It then dropped to next to nothing as I wobbled back to The Dip where Mark Swain had rigged 8.2. We chatted for a while as the sky darkened as a storm front approached. The wind did seem to pick up so I tried again but not enough and then the lightning started so I headed ashore while. Nathan had arrived but didn’t sail as it started to rain and I was left by myself in the carpark.

I had an hour dozing and reading while the storm passed over and the sun returned and the beach soon filled up but the wind was very light. With high water, there was a lot of boats coming and going in the River Deben, I nearly packed up even taking my board back to the trailer. The wind then returned from the SSW so I had to put my wet wetsuit on again and try again. Nathan had returned with his big kit so we headed out. It was now wind with tide meaning you had to beat both ways just to stay in the same spot, not ideal but at least there was some wind. It was nice being out in the sunshine with not a cloud in the sky, the sea was the usual Felixstowe lumpy mess but there were some interesting waves in the river mouth caused by the outgoing tide!

Going fast was hard in the big sea and very time you went broad it was hard to make it back to The Dip. Mag had biked down at 3 with my lunch so I took a break with her as Cambridge Alistair arrived and rigged 6.9 and headed out. Refreshed from chicken rolls I headed out again as Mag biked home. Mark Smalling had arrived and rigged big but on launching sadly his mast just snapped, luckily it was right by the beach. It meant he then had to rig 7.8 and that was not enough.

Although completely knackered I had one more go to get over 60 km and record my fastest speed of the day 24 kts, not too bad on big kit in a lumpy sea.

So although there was quite a bit of struggling, the good breeze at the end upped the session to 4 stars finally making it home at 6.45 shot to pieces, that’s hope the wind doesn’t blow tomorrow!

[url=https://www.facebook.com/stephen.squirrell.1/media_set?set=a.10210178760278127.1073741885.1012660562&type=3&pnref=story]Photo Gallery Here[/url]

6 categories

Nice gust in the middle of the session.

Brogborough, United Kingdom
RRD X-Fire LTD V8 108, 2016
Neilpryde RS Racing EVO 9 7.0, 2017
F-Hot RS-3 38