Wednesday 23rd September - Windsurf **** - The Manor at Felixstowe – mainly cloudy.

Foil – 16.17 knot max, 15.04 knot ave ., 9.23 knot hour, 13.62 knot mile, 32 km ., 9.08 knot alpha.

Exocet RF 91 AST with Slingshot Hover Glide 76 with Tushingham Vulcan 6m.

Fin – 24.37 knot max, 22.50 knot ave ., 13.66 knot hour, 21.91 knot mile, 26 km ., 15.44 knot alpha.

F2 282 Ride with Tushingham Lightning 7m and 38 fin.

September wind Gods just keep giving and we have got a couple of days of good SW before it turns NW with the temperature dropping but with poor tides for the rivers it looks like Friday and Saturday’s wind will go to waste so we wanted to make the most of today and tomorrow. So, I headed down to The Manor at ten and super keen foiler Andy Mexome was already there rigging his 6.2. Then more foilers arrived Michael, Ian and Rob all rigging sails around the 5m mark. After last weeks nightmare where I knackered my much loved and very well used Tushingham Lightning 6.5 and 4.30 I haven’t got so many rigging options. I thought I had found another old 4.30 in my garage but on starting to rig my Vulcan 6m I saw that there was a crack in this mast so I quickly headed over to a local caravan site where mate Neil Hurrell had left me one out to borrow, many thanks Neil:) Andy was first out but it didn’t look overly windy but it didn’t stop Andy disappearing miles up the coast nearly to Shingle Street and I hoped I had rigged big enough, it is only the second time I have rigged a sail this small to go foiling! I need not have worried as the 6m was fine, in fact it was hard to sheet in especially when sailing downwind! Even with the tide fairly low the sea soon picked up big as I set about sailing up the coast. With the sea big and the wind strong I was only going up to The Dip which was a challenge enough as you had to concentrate while riding the waves downwind as it was easy to put the nose of the board into the wave in front! The water at The Dip was nice and smooth mainly due to the fact it was a fraction off here. I then started the beat back which was the best part of todays foiling session, I am getting better at flying upwind in a big sea and it was great fun especially when the sun made brief appearance’s:)  I found the small sail a little twitchy but made it back OK and after a couple of runs out to Wadgate I came ashore to swop to my fin board.

I quickly rigged my 7m for the 115 and headed out for a quick hour even if my legs where tired! Again, there was the lovely smooth section out just before the Wadgate Post which is great to sail in. If anything, I was a fraction under and you needed to not sail too broad as you were losing ground. I did beat up a few groynes along Landguard beach and went for a back leg burning mile run and managed my months best mile, a fraction under 22 knots, not bad for lumpy Felixstowe:) With rain threatening I decided to call it a day as well knackered and actually managed to pack up before the rain arrived just! There were two sailors here today I have never seen before and I can do it all again tomorrow but probably just on the fin!

https://www.facebook.com/stephen.squirrell.1/media_set?set=a.10219909841869085&type=3

http://mkwindsurfing.co.uk/booms/

https://www.77sports.co.uk/