Owner:
squiz
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Member#: 6644 Location: Registered: 27-05-2007 Diary Entries: 3092
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23rd May 2020
Windsurfing: Point Clear Wind Direction: W Wind Stength: Surf / Sea State: river chop, flattish,ok swell Air Temperature: Sea Temperature: Weather: sunny periods Max Speed: 28.49 (knots - unless stated otherwise) Distance Covered: 25.84 (Nautical Miles - unless stated otherwise)
Saturday 23rd May - Windsurf **** - Point Clear – sunny periods!
F2 282 Ride with Tushingham Lightning 6.5m and 36 fin.
Fin – 28.49 knot max, 26.46 knot ave., 14.93 knot hour, 23 knot mile,
47.90 km., 17.80 knot alpha
With a westerly wind forecast to gust to over 40 knots there was only one
venue today especially as my local spot, Levington is still closed to
windsurfers and that is Point Clear over the border in Essex, trouble was
every windsurfer and kitesurfer in East Anglia had the same idea:( Mag and
I arrived at The Green at around ten with it already filling up mainly with
Felixstowe sailors! The tide was still really low so time for a catch up
and then we had a great video call from our Grandson Arlo, who we really
miss and was on top form:) Then it was time to rig and I wanted an easy
sailing day so rigged my 2 cam lightning 6.5 over my X-15,s and planned to
start off with my 115 lt. F2 Ride. The sail is defiantly on its last legs,
the monofilm has gone well crispy and it is difficult to get the mast to
end of the sleeve but I managed in the end! There is another problem here
now at PC, loads of sand has been washed away over the winter meaning no
beach and a concrete wall at high tide but I would worry about that later!
Mag zips me into my new Gull wetsuit which is a little tight and hard to
get into but again with my rucksack of spares I am actually first on the
water and sail straight into the lagoon. It was a nightmare with weed
everywhere meaning you had to clear your fin after nearly every run and
there was not really enough water yet and the wind was patchy so I forgot
about chasing 30 knots and headed out to sea where I was much happier
having it nearly all to myself:) I beat 2 miles out to sea running parallel
to the shingle beach during when I had clear view of the Jaywick windfarm.
I then usually sail really broad back but the sea was fairly big so I ended
up beating 5 miles back ending up the River Colne by Fingringhoe bird hides
much earlier than I usually sail up here and it was shallow at the end and
lumpy especially passing East Mersea. It was well worth it as I had a huge
stretch of water all to myself and had a couple of mega broad reaches
including a leg burning 4 mile one back to PC. After an hour and an hour,
it was time to head back to she Mag for lunch and the water was now right
against the sea wall leaving very little area to land. I found more beach
down by the huge shell and had my yummy salad. By this time the car park
was parked to the gunnels, even the kite launching area was covered much to
the annoyance of the kitesurfers who had difficulty launching and landing
their kites! When I got home, I saw on Facebook that several sailors from
Grafham which is still closed had a day out by the sea and perhaps they had
parked there not knowing the score? Looking into the small lagoon you just
couldn’t believe the huge numbers in there, Simon Chippington apparently
counted 50 windsurfers and 20 kites making it next to impossible to enjoy
sailing in there! After a few sail repairs, time to look for another 6.5 my
thinks I decided to have a try in the lagoon despite the vast crowds. The
weed had spread out so wasn’t so much of a problem but it is far from
relaxing and it is only a matter of time before there is a serious accident
here with the kiters doing huge jumps while rarely looking behind them to
see if it is clear! So, I head back out to sea for so quieter and much more
relaxing runs. With a big dark cloud approaching it was time to land and
with the wind turning west I decided to pack up. So, no great speeds just
blasting fun especially up the Colne where I look forward to foiling on a
little lighter wind day. If this is a sign of things to come with such a
large number crammed into a small area my day of coming here might be
limited??? With dropping winds tomorrow and then nothing it looks like it
might be worth a trip to the Stour tomorrow?
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