RRD FSW 110L

Nearly two months without a sail so I decided to chance a marginal forecast and head to Hayling for the afternoon. It wasnt the best day, being marginal 7m+ weather for most of the afternoon, but the wind did pick up towards the middle of the afternoon and we had a fantasic hour or so of full on planing conditions. I managed my first full speed duck gybe surprising myself at getting round. Didn't quite plane out, but I was happy with staying dry and getting round in one piece.

A good forecast with a little swell so Avon Beach was the spot of choice for me today. What a stupid idea. First day of the school half term and the M3 was an absolute nightmare. A journey that normally takes abotu 1hr 45mins took just under three hours... Worst of all, when I finally arrived at the beach, everyone was coming off the water giving me the impression I'd missed the best of the conditions. I rigged up anyway, after all I wasnt going to turn around and head straight back to London. Then the wind filled back in and I was happy. A good couple of hours with the sandbank to myself messing around in waist high waves. I stayed out until I could no longer hold the sail up.

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I didn't realise there was an American Classic Car Show at Hayling Beach to stay so was a little surprised when I turned up to see hot rods and class cars all around the beach. As the wind wasnt up to much I went for a wander around with the camera before hitting the water.
The windsurfing itself wasnt much to write home about, the gusts were fun and the lulls tedious but that was about it. I did help a fellow sailor suffering from a snapped UJ by sailing a new one out to him but other than that quite a forgetable session.

Not much to report but we were in Bournemouth enjoying the sun when the sea breeze tried to pick up. Annoyingly it hovered around the f3/f4 mark and never really got going. Ankle feeling better

There comes a time when recovering from injury that you have accept it's good enough and you can get back on the horse, so to speak. The sea may still be eight degrees and the air similiar, but today was the day. I briefly debated whether boots were required, before acknowledging my feet would probably go numb without them. The conditions weren't great but 140 days after I sprained my ankle, I made back on to a windsurfing board. In the sea, not on dry land. Obviously.

All in all it was better than I'd expected. Sure, there's some stiffness but I now have pretty much full movement. The wind was a little up and down all afternoon, and the small Hayling waves were best before the wind kicked in, but two hours of blasting in the sun during April was very satisfying to say the least. Roll on next time.

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Stitched together from Ash's shots last weekend

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The windy July continues and this weekend ash and I headed down to hayling to enjoy the good weather by the sea. Ash acted as chief photographer and got some great shots.
Saturday was the better day windwise. We got down late afternoon and I was amazed to have the sea front all to myself! The tide was up but the shore break was being gentle and launching wasn't the challenge it can be. There's a tack and a gybe sequence in the gallery - the fact I can make both more than not on the 110L is becoming less of a surprise to me now :) of course there's also a gybe sequence I didn't make...
After the afternoon in the sun we 'checked in' to fleet farm campsite, spent the evening in a local pub enjoying good food and drink before retiring to the van.
Sunday was also windy but it never really got going. A few planing runs early on dissipated as the clouds moved in. Back to heli-tack practice. I'm getting there. Slowly but surely. My current tip is massively stepping forward through the rig rotation to counterbalance the weight of the rig. This all makes perfect sense on dry land but somehow you have to feel on the water it to work out a new move.
Four weeks to go before Mexico with Jem and i'm looking forward to it. Must remember to buy some tape for the inevitable shredded hands.

Good day's planing at avon today. Was good to be back on the water after an extended break and with the sun shining it was a great day out.

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An average forecast together with early afternoon low-tide meant everywhere would be flat water so I lazily opted for my closest spot, Hayling. Got there late morning and met up with Dave. We were greeted by a steady force 3 and decided to go out anyway, hoping the conditions would improve. Dave rigged big with a 7.5m while I went for my trusty 5.8m on the 110 FreeStyleWave (yes Jem, it was a good call). The next hour or so was light wind freestyle for me while Dave was mostly planing. I'm getting round more and more heli-tacks now which is really satisfying. Fortunately, after about an hour the wind picked up and the rest of the afternoon we were planing. Dave even took some photos of me.

I've often wondered where to sail in a north-westerly so today I tried Braklesham near the Witterings. Turned out to be a very pleasant spot with plenty of space for rigging, a cafe and even the parking wasnt too pricey.
Unfortunately, after a few blasting runs in the sun, the sky hazed over and with it the wind died. Still, it's getting warm enough to not mind falling in now so it was onto practicing heli-tacks and duck-gybes.