Friday 16th September - Windsurf *** - River Stour at Wrabness – sunny periods with blustery showers.

 Fin – 21.52 knot max, 14.99 knot ave., 0.94 knot hour, 0.00 knot mile, 35.08 km., 15.67 knot alpha.

F2 Zantos 295 with Tushingham Thunderbird 6.5m and 36 fin.

Foil – 19.48 knot max, 17.84 knot ave ., 0.00 knot hour, 16.55 knot mile, 23.05 km ., 14.28 knot alpha.

Maggies Birthday:)

As it was going to be breezy today with winds from the N to NW I know it was going to be a River Stour day even So as it was Mags Birthday today I spent a few hours last night making an album of nearly 200 pics from last year which I made public at 6.30 this morning which proved popular, we took ages looking at then this morning guessing where each was taken, although we haven’t been away in our little campervan we have had loads of fun staying local, mainly out and about on our bikes with the odd walk thrown in too! With high water at 4.30 we were not in any hurry so I even manged to do my exercises and make a yummy chicken sandwich for lunch! We left Felixstowe around 11 making a detour to the Tesco at Ipswich for diesel, then went a different way for a change along the A 12, turning off at East Bergholt in lovely sunny weather. We parked easily at Wrabness and I took my foil board to the small launch beach to check the conditions? Loads of water and loads of wind, 20 knots plus so I went to get my fin board and rig my 6.5. Launching at midday I had a few runs close to the shore but it was never windy enough to fin, vey gusty too so I headed back to swop to the foil. Mag was out walking in the Nature Reserve collecting blackberries, I should have rigged a smaller sail but decided to take a chance with the 6.5, to be honest whatever sail you rigged today would not have been right with the wind all over the place not helped by the passing showers causing some mega gust, well over 25 knots at times, I am sure! I started off OK with some runs down past Bradfield but the river was very lumpy and then the vicious gusts started to come through which made foiling vey challenging with a 6.5 when you needed probably 5.2! I made up to Mistley before having a 4 mile reach past Wrabness where the river state was better, more of a rolling swell:) The return upriver was going well, I got my fastest speed here before pushing too hard and breached ending in the water, I water started aright then as the shower cleared the wind dropped and I had to flounder back, then to call it a day, shame really as it was approaching high water with plenty of water in the river but it was nice to get out of the wetsuit as it was a td on the chilly side today and sit in the van with the diesel heater on having lunch and hearing about Mags day:) I then packed up helped by Mag before having cake and a cuppa before heading for home spotting a nice rainbow on the way!

https://www.facebook.com/media/set?vanity=stephen.squirrell.1&set=a.10224094620605938