Wednesday 25th May - Windsurf *** The Manor, Felixstowe – cloudy.

Fin – 26.32 knot max, 24.98 knot ave., 15.49 knot hour (year PB), 21.52 knot mile (year PB), 47.35 km., 13.25 knot alpha.

F2 282 Ride with Tushingham Thunderbird 6.5m and 36 fin.

The a strong wind form the SW forecast but with an early high water there was not too many options so I headed down to The Manor at 10.30 after giving time for the tide to drop a little, also giving me time to do my foot and back exercises. Mag came so she could get a walk with the wind on her back because of the cloudy, windy day there was loads of space to park in Squiz Lane but with the wind at this point WSW it was hard to judge its strength so I walked down the beach to see if any other windsurfers had arrived. Michael was putting his foil board on the beach and had a nice chat while he decided what sail to rig, he went for 4.2 I think. I returned and set up my 115 lt. F2 Ride 282 and took a chance with my Tushingham Thunderbird 6.5 which to be honest was a tad on the big side but I stuck with it for a couple of hours! I went for my usual hour, in fact I lasted 90 minutes covering 22 miles by doing long runs out to the shipping channel where a large dredger was working but going fast was challenging with the ship being a horrible lumpy mess, I was surprised when I got home that I got two-year PB’s on mile and hour so can’t have been as bad as I thought! You were sailing straight into some pretty steep chop but I did try bearing off a few times and just missed out on a 25-knot average! Sailing back was easier on my legs as you could run down the swell and despite it being wind with tide staying upwind was no problem! David Coles had arrived and was out foiling on his race kit with 7m while ¾ were out further down the beach, a mixture of fin and foil :) I needed a break from the battering so came ashore for a snack just as a huge container ship left port, so got some pics, the windsurfers looked tiny against the huge ship! I was a few miles short of 25 so went out for a couple more runs and, in the end, sailed nearly 30. With a few more days of wind, I am not sure where to go as I still have no foiling gear and not sure if I can face another battering at Felixstowe? Will decide in the morning!

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