Thursday 25th – windsurf **** Levington – cloudy start then sunny:)

Starboard Formula 155 with Neil Pryde Foil and Tushingham Lightning 7.8.

F2 Xantos 295 and 39 cm with Tushingham Lightning 7.8.

Foil – 20.02 knot max, 18.70 knot ave ., 8.09 knot hour, 17.18  knot mile, 29.50 km., 0.00 knot alpha.

Fin – 24.82 knot max., 23.38 knot ave., 9.99 k not hour, 16.85 knot mile, 20.40 km., 15.08 knot alpha.

It was looking like my third day of windsurfing in a row and 9 for the month and Andy and I were going to meet at The Dip at 10. I arrived at the beach at 9.50 to a chilly cloudy day with only a marginal onshore wind with the sea again a lumpy mess far from inviting:( Paul Smith arrived but the rain started again making it even less appealing so we decided to give it a miss and headed for home as Andy had not arrived. Then with the wind showing southerly 15 knots and the tide well on the way in I decided to got to Levington to see if I could get out on the foil? There was plenty of water in the river so I took the formula board off and set up the Lightning 7.8 but the wind seemed to have filled in so I quickly set up the Xantos 295. It was back to the winter suit today which was much more comfortable as it was still cloudy and cool. After only a few runs with the fin I realised it was not windy enough so I came back in to swap to the foil for my 4th foiling session and it was definitely my best to date:) With the wind cross on from the left and the river fairly flat making good conditions. The wind at this point was perhaps 10 to 15 mph and to be honest I was only getting going when the wind was at its strongest as I am not keen on pumping as it is exhausting! I started off with the front foot in the strap and my back foot right over the foil. By adding weight to the back, I was getting the board fly a lot, the most I have ever been flying but to get sustained flight is hard and exhausting as you really have to concentrate! I was dumped in the water a few times but it was the windiest I have foiled in so things can go wrong very quickly but I am definitely getting some longer flights and was landing more smoothly and the formula board didn’t catch so I think I can save a fortune on a foil board even if it might take more effort to get it flying? As the gusts increased in strength I was in both straps and hooked in doing 18 knots and was trying to get to board flying which is exciting while going really broad. The upwind potential is amazing on the odd time I headed upwind but getting longer flying runs is now the aim. The wind must have been 20 knots now and I had a few runs getting a 20.02 knot peak for the first time. As I was now knackered, trying to lock out your back leg is very tiring so it was time to call it a day so I gingerly headed back to the van well pleased with my progress but it is defiantly much harder than it looks!!!

After a quick banana break, I decided to take the Xantos out to try for a 20-knot average. With the wind now closer to SW and the sun out I had over another hour flying about the Orwell. The wind was a bit gusty, overpowered at times and light at others but that’s river sailing for you! So after a quick 20 km with a top speed of nearly 25 knots it turned out to be an excellent afternoons windsurfing covering over 30 miles and perhaps I can do it all again tomorrow before we are hit by Storm Hannah when I might go for a day off as the tides are not great for Point Clear and I can’t face a trip to Southend!

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