Friday 22nd May - Windsurf **** - The Manor - Felixstowe – mainly cloudy until I went home then sunny and hot!

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

Foil – 16.69 knot max, 14.83 knot ave., 9.83 knot hour, 12.80 knot mile, 19.20 km., 9.80 knot alpha.

This is the first of three breezy days and several mates were going to West Mersea but I decided to stay local today. With the wind WSW and 20 knots The Manor was always worth a try and I arrived down on the beach at 8.30 after dropping Mag off at the end of the prom so she could walk home. There was a couple of fishermen in the groyne by the steps and had been there all night, so I claimed the one to the right. With the wind slightly cross off it is a job to gauge the wind strength although the sea still looked fairly smooth. So I rigged 7m and took my F2 Zantos 295 to the beach, I already had my wetsuit and I was set to go with a small rucksack of spares and my rescue beacon but the wind didn’t look enough for the fin so I quickly set-up my foil and headed out. With the wind in this direction getting off is easy and I soon found the wind line and was flying out to Wadgate Post about a mile and half. It is a different ball game on the sea to keep the board flying, downwind is fine as you seem to smooth out the sea sailing broad but heading back upwind in some decent waves is much more challenging. Sometimes I just hook in get in both straps and sail conventionally don’t trying too hard to fly as it can be tiring. It is always great when you get up flying creaming upwind, we have been a bit full on during the last couple of months with lots of exercise and bike rides and it is taking its toll on the poor old body. So, after a good hour of foiling and with the sea getting messy as the wind increased it was time to head in and switch to the fin.

F2 Zantos 295 with 38 fin and Tushingham Lightning 7m.

Fin – 25.48 knot max, 23.71 knot ave., 13.61 knot hour, 19.84 knot mile, 25.20 km., 15.69 knot alpha

Again, I sailed for another hour but it was tiring as the sea got bigger as it approached high water but at least I had wind against tide which means I had no problem keeping upwind. The fin is much fast than the foil but going fast in a lumpy sea was next to impossible especially with tired legs:( I was sailing runs a little to the right of the foiling session and was turning by the shipping lane bouy about a mile offshore where the sea was particularly lumpy, probably the tide running harder here? With little beach left I decided to call it a day and packed up as one of the fishermen caught a small skate, there are a lot about apparently! Another windy day and am thinking of going to Point Clear but not overly keen on travelling and would have probably gone to Levington if the marina was open for windsurfing:(

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