Thursday 11th August - Windsurf **** - The Dip at Felixstowe – sunny and hot.

 Foil – 18.95 knot max, 18.01 knot ave.,(spot PB) 12.79 knot hour, 16.91 knot mile, 36.21 km., 13.85 knot alpha. (spot PB)

Starboard Freeride 150 and Evolution Freeride foil with a Sailworks Retro 7.5.

The afternoon wind Gods keep on giving with a good foiling breeze for the fourth day in a row with one more day tomorrow possibly! After doing my exercises in the very hot back garden I was going to head down to The Dip around 2, giving time for the tide to drop and for the wind to build but I was checking the Felixstowe webcam and spotted the two USA Navy parachute pick-up boats heading towards Bawdsey so after lunch I decided to head down earlier to see if I could see the navy divers jump into the sea from a low flying Hercules! I arrived at the beach about 1.20 with Chris Stephens already rigged and waiting for the breeze to arrive but it was very light and did not look very promising. In the end we had Neil, Andy, Robert, Paul and Ian all waiting for the wind to arrive. We were entertained for awhile having ago with one of Andy’s new winging wings on the grass, that new sport is definitely not for me but it has become very popular! Then the Hercules appeared and dropped two small groups of parachutists into the water, certainly a great day for that with wall to wall sunshine with the sea 20 degrees, I have seen this same exercise taking place in January! Then another aircraft arrived the vertical take off Osprey which spent an hour or two hovering over the sea picking up the divers. The wind was no closer to arriving as I sat by my trailer taking pics of the planes and many people enjoying a day by the sea, Chris had even packed up his sail and gone for a swim instead but no one dared go home just in case the wind arrived! Then just after four as if by magic the breeze arrived and there was a mad scramble to rig, sails varied between 8 and 6.4m with me going for my 7.5 again. We then had the best part of two hours enjoying a good breeze, gusting to 15 knots with some super flat water. Most enjoyed the flat water close in but I did have a few longer runs out and was surprised to get 18 knots out in the rougher water and end with a spot PB average, the first time over 18 knots and a PB alpha which I was surprised as my turning in still all over the place, preferring a smaller sail. All I have to do is go into the gybe with speed and work out when to let go of the sail. Still, I am not going to beat myself up about my several dips in the water, hopefully it will come in the end! With the wind going patchy it was time to head in and pack up as one kiter appeared in the River Deben going OK. Then home for 6.30, shower then a yummy mince and potatoes:)

https://www.facebook.com/media/set?vanity=stephen.squirrell.1&set=a.10223974970974772