I knew the best part of today would be early. Being on the water just after sunrise would have been ideal, but that was never going to happen driving down from London.
I arrived just after 10am and it was howling. There were three or four guys on the water so I took a few photos, before rigging up a 3.7m. The lifeboats were out, hopefully just training, I wouldnt want to have been in need of rescue in those conditions.
It was high tide so getting through the shorebreak was the first challenge, but I managed that without major event. However, once on the board, the strength of the wind really hit me. I was massively overpowered in the gusts. Still I managed a few runs, nearly made a gybe or two and had a couple of okish wave rides. Didn't take long before I was shattered. So I came in (somewhat downwind but avoiding the groynes), pulled on the outhaul, dragged myself and kit back up wind, had a brief break then went for it again.
By now the wind had dropped considerably so it was almost pleasant planing out. However, the wind was still dropping so rather than risk having to swim in, I decided to head for the beach. I just about made it in a safe distance from a groyne when the wind died and I got a thorough rinsing in the shorebreak. Luckily, kit and I escaped undamaged - from the groyne and the shorebreak - and I scrambled back onto solid ground.
From then on, the wind continued to dropped. From gale force 7 down to virtually nothing in ten minutes or so. A few guys tried getting out on bigger boards and 5m sails, but spent most of the time swimming. By the time I left, paddleboards and surf boards were coming out.
It's a long way when it's all over so quickly.
