Tuesday 5th April - Windsurf *** Levington – mainly cloudy.

Foil – 18.97 knot max, 17.47 knot ave., 8.68 knot hour, 14.48 knot mile, 53.74 km., 14.17 knot alpha.

Exocet RF AST 91 with Slingshot Hover Glide 76 with Tushingham Storm 5.2 and Lightning 6.5m.

Back at Levington for the second day running to make the most of a good wnw breeze, mild too, with high water at 3.12 I had time to do my exercises arriving at the marina at 11.30. There was plenty of water to launch but with the wind wnw, a fraction off it was difficult to judge the strength but with loads of water in the middle I was lured into rigging my 5.2 and with Robert and Michael about to rig 4.5 I set off as Guinee pig to see how windy it really was? I know straight away I had rigged too small, which kind of sums up my day. The others saw me struggling so both upped their sail choices to 5.2 being lighter than me were flying more. My sail was fine when the bigger gusts came through and I managed 12 miles with some nice runs down to Felixstowe docks but it was very up and down and with the wind in this direction it does seem to chop up the river! Feed up of floundering I came ashore for a snack and to rig a bigger sail, I choice 6.5 which was OK but felt heavy in the hands and I had a bad day for gybing, I was getting a few but ended up in the water much more than recent sessions, definitely felt like a backward step, I think the 5.2 was too small and the 6.5 too big so if I had rigged 6m from the start I would have had a better day but I stuck at it for hours covering 33 miles so can’t have been too bad, shame the sun did not come out much! Another windy day tomorrow but have a family lunch here at Felixstowe for fish and chips :), maybe just as well I am missing it as knackered, all that uphauling took its toll today, fingers crossed I get the sail right next time out!

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