Tuesday 22nd February - Windsurf * River Orwell at Levington – mainly cloudy with heavy rain :(
Fin – 25.35 knot max, 21.86 knot ave ., 2.77 knot hour, 12.52 knot mile , 10.51 km ., 13.21 knot alpha.
F2 282 Ride with Tushingham X-15 5.8m and 30 fin.
After three named storms with some horrendous winds over the past week today looked at least sailable so I headed over to Levington for 11 to meet up with Robert despite high water being 3.30 so we know the river would be low! Sadly, the wind was WSW which for some reason is very gusty and again very strong in patches it did not look very inviting to foil. It looked inviting for a fin as at this point it was nice and flat so I decided to have a go on the fin for a change! After setting up my 115lt again sail selection is pot luck so I took a chance with my 4 cam Tushingham X-15 5.8, I haven’t rigged that for some time and to be honest it was never big enough, certainly not helped by the very gusty wind:( I set off by the marina wall but walked about 50m in deep mud so I could sail into the deeper water which was knackering! To be honest it was a waste of time only planing in patches with most of the wind going when you reached the far side, then when you went in as there was not enough wind to gybe you then struggled to waterstart, no fun at all! After a few runs I returned as Andy and Ian arrived to foil but after a chat thought better of it and decided not to bother, good choice! With the tide now much higher and I thought the wind had built so had another go. I had one long run across the river but it was hard work not helped by the lumpy stage of the river. I ended up well downwind of the launch and was wondering if I could get back but I found enough gusts to beat back to pack up, just managing before the heavy rain arrived, the only good thing was the hot shower and my new secondhand Spartan wetsuit which arrived this morning! With more wind tomorrow we are hoping for a better day but high water is getting late so again it will be a beat out of the marina entrance!
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