Owner:
justal
Administrator
Member#: 1 Location: Registered: 21-07-2002 Diary Entries: 2989
Mood: Just Chillin Dude
|
22nd February 2003
Windsurfing: Ynyslas Estuary Wind Direction: ENE Wind Stength: 25-30 knots Surf / Sea State: Choppy Air Temperature: 8C Sea Temperature: 6C Weather: Sunny Max Speed: Distance Covered:
An excellent day with a solid 4 hours of sailing for me.
I got to the beach at Ynyslas just after 8am and found a decent 25 knots NE
wind...Once again the estuary was doing its thing. Despite the SE winds
forecast, the cold air was funneling down the Dovey Valley and sandblasting
Ynyslas with a ENE.
There wasn't enough water in the estuary though, so after phoning Olly,
Steve and Darren I slowly rigged my wave board and 4.5m sail. I got on the
water just after 9am and had a good hour or so in completely mad
conditions, short sharp chop and ridiculous winds. The wind picked up for a
while and I thought about changing down to my 3.4m as I was comlpetely
overpowered. I stuck with my 4.5m though and just let off a bit of outhaul
and started enjoying things a little more as the chop subsided.
Everyone else (Steve, Darren, Ben, Derek and Olly) turned up around
10.30am, so I came off the water and had a little rest whilst they rigged.
I then got back on the water before they finsihed rigging and the wind had
picked up again. Ben had started rigged a 5.3m but once he saw how well I
was going changed down to a 4.5m before getting on the water. Steve came
out with a 5.3m sail and Darren was on something similar with a Goya wave
board. Derek went out kite-surfing and Olly joined us all after a while.
We then had a perfect session blasting back and forth across the choppy
waters of the estuary, with a few little chop hops and some good gybes. At
one point I went of towards Aberdovey with Steve and Ben following me, but
just as we got to the main channel beyond the point, we got into the shadow
of the hill and there wasn't enough wind to make it to Aberdovey. Derek was
doing well with his kite and going for some BIG jumps. And Olly coped well
with his first attempts at sailing in strong winds and less than flat
water. He was thinking of getting some Formula kit, but has now been
persuaded to get smaller kit instead!!
Ben didn't stay on the water long, but the rest of us stayed out until
about 2.00pm and were joined by someone on a Techno too. Just as I was
about to come in, I could see Olly on the shore waving to me. When I got to
him I found Darren lying on the floor almost crying after having badly
twisted his ankle running aground mid-gybe. Olly and I helped him back up
the beach and then packed up his kit for him. We had to cut his boot off
too, but as far as I know he was able to drive home on his own. Looks as
though Darren will be hobbling for a few days.
Olly, Steve and I then packed up and after negotiating the sand dune
blocking the exit from the beach which people had been getting stuck in all
day, we went around to the sea front where there was enough wind for
another sail and a tiny little clean wave breaking on the beach. It was
tempting, but not quite tempting enough to re-rig, climb back into a wet
wetsuit and give my muscles another hammering.
All in all an excellent day.
|
Toys Used:
Statsbar:
About MY Statsbar
|