6 categories

nice session...always could be better..dead square, felt the power drop off mid run alot of times - wind seemed to be on both corners..should of rigged the 5.7 i think 

koncept speed 5.2 / CA SP44 / gasoil ELS L20

6 categories

 Saturday 9^th February – windsurf ***** Point Clear – sunny periods.

F2 Ride 282 with Tushingham X 15 – 7.0 and 36 cm fin.

Fanatic Falcon 80 with Tushingham X 15 – 5.8 and 28 cm fin.

31.78 knot max, 29.20 knot ave ., 15.94 knot hour, 21.25  knot mile, 64.50 km., 20.28 knot alpha.

For the second time in two days Mag and I headed over the border into Essex to do battle this time with Storm Erik which has been battering the UK overnight. With high tide at 14.48 we arrived in good time at 11.30 and there were already kiters there! After a cuppa I had loads of time to rig two lots of kit and with the westerly wind only gusting to 25 mph on the beach I went for the 5.8 and 7.0 slalom sails with my Falcon 80 and Ride 282. For the first time this year I was able to sail with more windsurfers as Peter Edmunds, Stuart Fawke and a few locals arrived plus lots of kiters, at least a dozen! The wind seemed OK for my small set-up. 5.8 with the Falcon 80 and I was first on the water at 12.30 and soon whizzed into the lagoon which was only just deep enough to sail and was super flat, getting 30 knots on the first run bearing off down the far end close to the mud bank. Sadly the flat water was not matched with the strongest wind, so after a few runs I headed back to change to my big kit, 282 with 7m which proved nearly perfect for the rest of the session, it was a bit hairy at times with the wind gusting to 35 knots but it handled the conditions very well:) It is always my aim to try for an hour as this session was proving to not be very fast, I think the westerly wind is not the fastest direction as when bearing off at the far end it was very choppy. You could sail into a small creek at the end which was flat but I was not sure of the depth so wasn’t fully committed! After about an hour and a half my hands were cold so I headed back to the van to warm them up, sitting by the diesel heater I was soon toasty and enjoyed a cheese sandwich and cuppa:) I had done a 15 knot hour which was not too bad and 18 miles so with the lagoon looking flat with the tide dropping I headed out again, I though about trying a smaller sail but stuck with the big gear and had another really great hour plus flying close to the shingle bank watching out for the kiters doing super high jumps and flying out of control broad across the lagoon, sadly I think its only a matter of time before there is a serious collision between a kiter and windsurfer as the kiters don’t seem to look before jumping or turning:( With the wind easing the numbers out on the water dropped as most were using really small kit with 5m sails and I could keep going longer with the 7m:) I got another 15 knot hour, it might have been faster but weed was a bit of a problem and I had to stop a few times to get it off the fin:( With the sun setting and the wind dropping light it was time to bring to a end another 5 star session at my favourite local venue. I had so much fun gybing and was flying about planing on loads of turns, it must have been one of my best gybing sessions ever with the top ten all over 18 knots. Also, it was OK for mile runs with the top ten all over 20 knots, not bad considering the lagoon is under 1000m long. Back at the van I was surprised to see I had done 36 n/miles, not bad for a winter session. Another cuppa while warming up with diesel heater at full blast, we love our little VW and then with everyone gone all I had to do was de-rig two sets of gear, but it doesn’t take long and am loving my new trailer! Then it was a 40-mile trip back to Felixstowe including a small detour into Ipswich to meet our son Daniel to pick up a dresser for his new flat which hopefully they will move into in a month:) I think that is it for windsurfing for over a month as we are off to the mountains in search of some snow, it’s been a great year so far:)

PS. Just an update, we are not millionaires and Erne (Premium Bonds) only paid us another £25, still it is better than a pock in the eye with a sharp stick!

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