Wednesday 8th December - Windsurf *** River Orwell at Levington – mainly cloudy with showers.
Foil – 17.90 knot max, 16.34 knot ave., 7.41 knot hour, 13.31 knot mile, 19.64 km., 13.47 knot alpha.
Exocet RF AST 91 with Slingshot Hover Glide 76 with Naish Nalu 4.7m.
Was not sure about going today to make the most of the tail end of Storm Barra but when super keen Robert messaged to say he was going to Levington I decided to join him despite it being a tad on the chilly side, around 7 degrees. With high water around 2.28 we arranged to meet at the marina at midday, I got there a little earlier when the sun was still out but it was looking pretty black inland and the water level was still fairly low so were in no hurry to get out of the van! In the end we decided to man up and set up our foil boards as the River Orwell looked good, pretty flat with the wind gusting to 30 knots! Robert rigged his 4m while I went for my 4.7, the smallest sail I have ever foiled with! The sun had now disappeared as I set out onto the water with the 4.7 being ideal but the river had lumped up like it usually does with the wind from the SW. I was heading up rive towards Pin Mill when I spotted windsurfing mate Mark Swain taking his yacht to Ipswich and he managed to get a pic and a cool short video of my flying, my Naish 4.7 looks cool, only the second time I have used it this year. I was joined on the water by Rob and we sailed up river looking for some smoother water and had a bit of fun sailing across the river, I must say it is really good foiling with such a small sail which makes gybing way easier as long as the wind stays up. The trouble with sailing on river venues is the wind is up and down so you need a good gust to get going! It was a tad on the chilly side but it was only my hands that suffered but we were out well over an hour only heading in when the wind dropped as the tide turned! The cold weather continues for a few days but hopefully there is a couple of mild days coming next Sun/Mon, fingers crossed for a little breeze?
https://www.facebook.com/media/set?vanity=stephen.squirrell.1&set=a.10222809927129404