Thursday 11th June - Windsurf ** - The Dip, Felixstowe – Mainly Cloudy.

F2 282 Ride with Tushingham Lightning 6.5m and 38 fin.

F2 Zantos 295 with 36 fin and Tushingham Lightning 7.8m.

Fin – 26.24 knot max, 23.29 knot ave ., 10.58 knot hour, 16.53 knot mile, 46.32 km., 13.12 knot alpha

The first of possibly two days of breezy days here on the East coast with wind from the NE, having knackered my old foil board and 8.5 at the weekend I was hoping that it would be windy enough for a fin today! We had the choice of two venues today although the times of the tide were not great for either, low water is best at The Dip in a ENE but that was really too early this morning at 9.30 with the wind forecast to be stronger later in the day but I didn’t fancy a trip to Bradfield decided to stay local and head down to The Dip arriving just after Andy Mexome around 9.15. There was light rain and it was gloomy so not overly enticing with the wind looking light, Andy went for 7.3 and his new 125lt. Jag while I rigged 7.8 for my old F2 Zantos 133 lt. and was first on the water just! It was the worst conditions for me, wind with tide and marginal so you had to beat both ways just to stay in the same place as the tide was now coming in! I made the mistake of going too broad on my first run and it took a few runs to get back at which I headed ashore and swopped my 36 to a 39cm fin which really improved my upwind performance and I soon made it up to kite beach. I was then heading downwind again when suddenly I was in the water aware something was wrong??? I soon discovered my fin was missing with the tread being stripped and being over 700m offshore I knew straight away it was going be difficult getting back. With no fin to stop me slipping sideways water starting was impossible in the light winds, so I just flew the sail and drifted the 930 m back to the shore swimming the last part, just missing a rock groyne near the end of the prom! I then walked back to get another bigger fin learning that Swainy had taken some fins and gone in search for me in his car, top man:) With a 44 cm fitted and with the wind up I sailed two miles out and soon made it back to my trailer! With the wind up I swopped to my 282 with a 6.5 which was better but sadly with the tide now high with not much beach left the sea was horrendous, beating up to kite beach you were heading straight into steep chop and then on the reach back it was still a mess, if this is windsurfing I wouldn’t do, just no fun at all, high water at The Dip is well worth a miss, perhaps I would have been better off going to Wrabness because Holbrook bay is good in this direction but the wind dropped in the end going more northerly so perhaps not!!! Let’s hope that’s my three things broken now, sail, board and fin! And tomorrow goes incident free! I will go to The Dip early tomorrow to make the most of the low water and hope for some wind!!!!

PS – I think I have done too much foiling of late as I seem to have forgotten completely how to gybe:(

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