Wednesday 21st April - Windsurf **** - The Dip at Felixstowe – sunny.

Fin – 27.36 knot max, 25.58 knot ave., 14.86 knot hour (year PB), 23.44 knot mile (year PB), 55.60 km.,16.20 knot alpha.

F2 282 Ride with Tushingham Lightning 7m and 36 fin.

This was forecast for a while so we had our fingers crossed that the NE wind would arrive, always a top direction for The Dip here in Felixstowe:) With low water around 12.30 we hoped there would be enough wind to head down at ten but it was still too north and light. Then as if by magic it switched NE and built to 20 knots and after quickly messaging fellow local windsurfer Ian Clarke we agreed to meet up at 10.30 just as the sun came out too:) I was first to arrive and conditions looked ideal, wall to wall sunshine even if a tad nippy meaning you still really need hat and gloves. It is the first time I have sailed from here since November 6th last year as The Manor is usually a better foiling venue. With no 6.5 at the moment, I took a chance with my 7m Lightning and the 115lt, the first times that’s been out of the trailer for a while, I was really keen for get out on a fin board today after a long run of foiling! By now Ian had arrived rigging 5.6 for his wave board, then Paul Smith rigging the same for a foil followed a little later by Mark and Robert with Andy M coming for an afternoon foil, so not too bad a turn out, I might have expected a few more to make the most of the good conditions! As always, my plan was to try for an hour but when I first set off, I thought it would have been more comfortable with a 6.5, will have to keep my eyes open for another lightning. By sailing upwind torwards kite beach hoping to find some smoother water, sadly it is not as flat as it used to be but OK none the less, it did get big out past the red and white bouy but there were good runs to be had by sailing really broad which you could do easily with the tide still going out! In the end I was out well over an hour and a half covering 30 miles getting some nice gybes in before I started to get tired and started to drop in! The top incident of the day was when I spun out coming to the beach and fell on the gybe, reached out to my fin to clear what I thought was weed and felt something slippery, grabbed it and ended up with an 18” garfish on the back of my board, in 40 years of windsurfing that has never happened before! I went for a fast mile and with the tide now turned it took a few runs to get back so I decided to come ashore for a rest. I had my yummy chicken sandwich kindly made by Mag in the shelter of the large groyne taking pics and having a catch up:) I thought I had had enough but with Ian still going well I decided to have a few more runs, staying upwind OK, never a problem if you are powered up! So, a good day out on the water, great to be out again on the fin, in fact just for a change to fins outnumbered the foils today. That could be it for wind for a few days, time to get the bikes out again!

https://www.facebook.com/media/set?vanity=stephen.squirrell.1&set=a.10221429430297846

http://mkwindsurfing.co.uk/booms