Not one of my finest decisions to go to Southend today as it looks as though going to West Kirby, I would have smashed all pbs....but never mind...at lease I can save it for another day and give me more to look fwd to in 2012!

It was just too windy today...not bad speeds as I couldn't sheet in properly in 50knots plus...It would have been interesting to see what speeds some of the big guns would have got in southend today...I'll let Dave White off the hook there as he was on his smallest sail 6.2! and couldn't sheet in either.

Cool to see all the seals although they did make me a bit nervious when heads keep poping up infront of me all the time!

tough day-very windy, new PB 500m, max 40.27, work to do!

too broad and choppy and west course, too light and tight and east

did 2 runs and about to get into it and 70kt+ hail squall, followed by cold NW wind so packed up

Too windy for me ! Had a different board an sail ( which i hadn't cranked down enough) but no excuses i just wasn't good enough . One gust ripped the board out of my hand and board and rig flew high in the air an away !  But returned to the van in one peice - just a broken Battern and a black big Toe -   But lovely walk out in a bloody Gale and worked off some xmas pud

I've never checked a forecast so much the day before sailing trying to decide between Kirby or Southend - I went for southend hoping the east course would be perfect in the afternoon. I chose wrong! gutted.....Ian you were right! lol

Morning session on the west course was wild and with my 5.5 it was almost dangerous being that maxed with the chop on the course. The one run I really went for it I think I was airborne 3 times and unhooked for half the run so 40kts 10 sec is maybe not so bad!

Positives from the day were lessons learned. Using the new crossfire wide 19 I realised its a tiny fin - nowhere near the power of the slingshot 20. Very hard sailing upwind and you need to be doing 30kts for the fin to properly grip. Sailing deep downwind though it felt really quick and v solid given the conditions- think I will get PB's with this fin. I would take 2-3cm off the size of a Casper as equivalent size. Second lesson was the wind after the front was perfect for the east course (westerly) and strong. I made a couple of attempted runs but  with the tide coming in it created 1ft high rolling chop, which made impossible to get high speeds.

Congrats to all the guys at WK, amazing speeds.