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| Owner:
mas Member Member#: 7693 Location: Registered: 29-06-2008 Diary Entries: 381 |
12th September 2015 Windsurfing: Felixstowe Dip Wind Direction: S Wind Stength: F3/4 Surf / Sea State: rough Air Temperature: cool Sea Temperature: cool Weather: cloudy rainy Max Speed: no gps Distance Covered: dip to Man Getting up at 8.00am to go windsurfing reminded me of the old longbd race days along the East Region, I was keen then but not now. Arrive at the dip rainy, some wind with high tide and a cool Southerly. Jono Dunnett the only windsurfer to sail around Britain on a windsurfer without support, used the Felixstowe dip as a staged stop - so had to be there. Jono used to sail the Alton windsurfing race series in the winters back in the day. He looked remarkably well, and his board was the old 2009 Starboard Phantom / 9.5 sail, with a small barrel fixed to the skeg area with his worldy goods. Amazing, he said he used the sail a tent to sleep (whilst its rigged!). We gave him a good send off with Squiz, Lord Swain and family, who support Jono with accommodation etc Rog, Ian Chris and some others. I had to be pursued to get my Phantom ready to sail with him along the coast. I hat rough seas and longboards, as I normally wreck something. Rig the same Phantom as Jono with a Tushy 9.5 XR Race and headed out with Squiz and others. The wind was on the nose so a tight beat line was required. I was straight up on the plate on the first tack holding a steady beat to the dock, whilst Squiz went for a lower faster line, putting the extra tack in, which I dread in rough water. Jono had lost none of his long board skills, because he was pinching higher and quicker than me with all the extra gear on. He even had time to hold his rig with one hand and take pics of me chasing him with the other for Christ sakes!! I enjoyed sailing with the Guinness record holder Jono and will be a tale to tell when I retire. I was still debating whether cross the shipping lane from Felixstowe Suffolk to Essex with Jono behind by 50mtres or so and Squiz tacking. I then made a disastrous decision to tack close to the beach at the Martello tower not realising the waves were breaking big on the shore. I got mullered after falling in on the tack, the board roll over 2 or 3 times as it crashed on the beach with the rig, and I was clueless where I was. I was lucky to drag the kit out of the crashing waves, and its a miracle the mast / boom didn't break. However the bottom 4 battens shattered and the board had a crack/fracture. The sail clew ripped out of the outhaul roller so it was game over. I watched Jono and Squiz sail off towards the shipping lane and made the crossing. . (Jono was smart enough to tack be4 he got my area :) The run back was a nightmare from the Martello. The board track and dagger boards was jammed with gravel / stones, and couldn't move either. With the sail clewless and no batten control it sailed like a pig and I kept falling, as the track was too far back for the light wind. I def hate windsurfing in these conditions. Saw Andy M trying to uphaul for ages near the Fludgyers and yep I fell in the waves there also. The sail wouldn't water start so I must have uphauled 12 times on that reach. After making it back to the beach I laid on the beach over an hour just to recover and the days sailing was over for me. 5 star day for meeting Jono Dunnett by minus 5 stars for my effort on the longboard. Yep this repair bill will be expensive as the sail now has 3 panel and 4 battens that needs replacing |
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