Friday 22nd October - Windsurf ***** River Orwell at Levington – sunny periods but cooler.

Foil – 19.11 knot max, 18.00 knot ave ., 12.06 knot hour, 17.08 knot mile , 45.98 km ., 13.69 knot alpha.

Exocet RF AST 91 with Slingshot Hover Glide 76 with Tushingham Vulcan 6m.

After missing yesterday’s session, I was keen to get out today and with the wind forecast to be west turning WNW my first choice was the River Orwell at Levington Marina. With this being the second day of chilly weather, I was in no hurry to get to the water but after breakfast I put my full winter wetsuit on at home as it has a shoulder zip which I can’t do by myself. So, Mag zipped me in and decided against biking down later due to the strong wind and cool temperature. I arrived at the marina just before ten with plenty of water and a good breeze blowing down the river so I set up my foil board and then it was the sail choice lottery? With white water down the middle of the river I quickly decided against my 6.5 and rigged my old Tushingham Vulcan 6m which proved OK most of the time even when the 30 knots gusts hit when I wished I had rigged my 5.2! I had hat and gloves on for the first time this winter but the sun was out for most of the time so did not get cold even when I went after the foil breaching after a big gust hit! On the recommendation from Neil Hurrell to wear a neck buff I was toasty even when it got wet! With the wind from the west and solid all the way down to Felixstowe docks I quickly sailed down to the container ships, as the tugs were berthing I stopped to take some pics and was spotted by fellow windsurfer Simon Chippington while working on the quayside and he actually got some pics of me with a huge container ship in the foreground:) I then had well over two hours sailing having some fantastic long runs going fast from Felixstowe back to Levington, some runs being two miles and then on the return I had loads of fun playing with the swell, sneaking up on the many yachts out, even getting a round of applause as I flew past one large yacht! I did the Felixstowe dock run 8 times covering nearly 30 miles, the highlight seeing a large bird of prey fly slowly overhead from the nature reserve at Trimley Marshes and I swear it was an Osprey but I could be wrong, it definitely did not look like a Marsh Harrier or Bluzzard so who knows???? Nothing too fast as got a little scary, some OK gybes managing a couple flying so getting closer now, really helps using a small sail! With the tide getting high and the wind turning a fraction more north the river chopped up so I decided to call it a day. So a top session in the sunshine mostly, enjoying the beautiful surroundings, playing with the yachts and enjoying the wildlife and not another windsurfer in sight! The nice thing about sailing here is the hot shower and its only 6 miles from home so got back for homemade soup quickly:)

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