Friday 31st – Windsurf **** - River Orwell, Levington – cloudy.

Starboard Foil Freeride 150 and Slingshot Hover Glide F/Wind with Tushingham Lightning 7.

Foil – 17.49 knot max., 15.95 knot ave., 6.90 knot hour, 12.44 knot mile, 21.60 km., 7.16 knot Alpha.

With a few days of mild and breezy weather forecast I was keen to get out today for what is my 8th session in January, twice as many as last year, covering 319 km:) I had an open mind as whether to fin or foil today as high water was late in the afternoon I was not sure I would have enough water to foil? With windsurfing mate Andy Mexome away in El Medano he had very kindly lent me his brand-new Starboard Foil Freeride 150, brave man and I was keen to give it a try but was very nervous as I didn’t want to damage it as it’s the lightweight version! The wind was light first thing so I was in no hurry to head over to Levington Marina but with the breeze filling in I left Felixstowe arriving at the marina at midday and after a chat with Jamie I went to check the conditions. There was plenty of water but the wind looked pretty patchy and not enough for a fin so I got out the spanky new Starboard in midnight blue which really matches our VW van perfectly:) I carefully fitted my Slingshot foil which was a little tight but it went in OK and next problem was rig chose??? With onshore gusts to 20 mph I again went for my 7m and broke the battern I just repaired while rigging so not a great start! The shorter and much lighter board is a dream to carry to the water, much better than my heavy board. Once in deep enough water to up haul I climbed aboard being very careful with my harness hook and sailed slowly out the channel into deep water before bearing off. I was quickly up and flying all be it a little nervous! At only 2.10m in length it takes a bit of getting used too but with loads of volume in the tail it is OK to tack and fly’s with minimum effort. I did lose the front a couple of times under the water when slogging about waiting for a gust but you just have to make sure you keep your weight back. I spent most of the session just using the front strap but did manage to get in both straps on some of the runs. Again, the wind was particularly up and down but I did manage to sail though some of the lulls. Towards the end of the session the wind increased but I was too nervous to really push the board, hence the slightly slower speeds! Despite being cloudy the temperature was 11 degrees so I didn’t need the gloves on today and also, I had plenty of water especially with the tide coming in! So, after a couple of hours out I decided to call it a day and made it ashore with the board intact!!! So a foil board is defiantly the way forward but considering all my other boards are 20 years out and cost £40 off ebay the thought of spending big money on a lightweight foil board is very scary!!! We are going away to the mountains soon so will look harder for a foil board when we get back, that’s if we get back after Brexit!!!!

Tomorrow is looking very promising for my first session in February but I don’t know if my nerves can face another session on the Foil Freeride 150 – once again thanks Andy for the loan of your lovely board:)

PS – I am looking for a reasonably priced second-hand GT-31, can anyone help?

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