Wednesday June 16th

Desperate times...

Drove all the way to St. Mary's Bay in E Kent as NElys blow a good bit stronger there in the Summer. Took about 1 hour 40 minutes, which is not too bad really.

Conditions were South Coast - but with a nice sandy beach and wind from the left.

It was 4.7m weather really but a friend's new sail enthusiasm for his 4.0 5 Oceans got the better of him - and me so I rigged 4.2

2 forward attempts over the back of waves on the way back in - wierd plus a bonus .5 which I changed my mind on at the last minute and just did a hop when i landed stuck my fin in the sand and catapulted spectacularly - that was the end of the loop attempt...

Wednesday 31st March

Feeling exceptionally lazy about writing sessions up, but it hardly matters as there haven't been any.

One at Paggers on Dec 6th, then nothing til end of Feb when had a decent 4.2 session at Shoreham power station.

Then finally got to sail K-Bay! And it was really quite good and firmly overhead. Hurrah! It may be a shit year but at least one objective achieved. Now for looping...

Like I said feeling lazy and Gregg has already done a decent write-up here.

Thursday 26th November

Great session at Lancing in WSW wind (just ever so slightly cross-off). Wind was a bit up and down at first but it was nice to get out on the 78 and a 'huge' 5.0. Although the waves were reasonable size (shoulder-head) with a gusty wind and a rip I thought the extra float and looseness of the 78 was a better choice. And so it was. Had a few tips from Guy about linking the two sections of the wave and got some sweet rides, chucked quite a bit of spray and some very satisfying late re-entries bumping and sliding around in the whitewater.

Absolultely cream-crackered now, putting the kit in the shed for a few days.

Thursday 12th November

After a week in the Alpes-Maritime cycling and eating cheese and drinking wine I returned to find October style low pressure in charge of the weather and the forecast looking mild and windy FOR WEEKS :)

This session was a quick warm-up at Shoreham on 5.0 and 78, bit of a rip running and SSW very onshore there, but some fun backside riding.

Forecast for loads of wind and accompanying swell.

Bring it on!!

Saturday 24th October

What a rubbish Autumn it's been - six weeks without a sail. It has been possible to sail on a few days which have coincided with me doing other things, and if you were prepared to drive 3 hours to Kent to sail in a NEly. But those days are long behind me.

Hit the water feeling very rusty, but was reasonably powered on 5.0 and 78 and was psyched enough to go for a forward first ramp I hit. It was probably the worst attempt I have done :) I was really scratching around for ramps and gusts to coincide but managed another 4 attempts. The first three were equally as bad as the first, but for the final one I scissored the board quite well and then just failed to sheet, or sheeter so feebly it didnt add anything to the rotation.

I really have to work out a way of sailing where I can hit a ramp with my hand far enough back down the boom that I can sheet hard enough to get some rotation.

The next time I go sailing, whenever that is :( high pressure now back in charge.

Friday 4th September

After getting put off making the trip to K-Bay then spent most of the morning driving along the S Coast looking for somewhere worth launching.

Eventually ended up at Hove, downwind of Hot Pipes, at the beach referred to as Buff Point. Was mid-tide and flat but windy and it looked like a small wave might form as the tide dropped. Sure enough it did, so had a fun couple of hours blasting around then committing crimes against wavesailing.

Gareth of the Shorekipa Chronicles took some pics, fortunately I managed to avoid shorebreak humiliation.

Thursday 11th June

Flat grooveriding session at Avon. My last session for a month as next day i came off my bike and knocked myself out cold for 10 minutes and separated my shoulder. Got back on the bike quick enough, but only now have I got my sailing mojo back.

Broke my helmet in 2 places, glad I was wearing it!!

Thursday August 13th

Flat, warm blasting and gybing session at Avon. Decided to give the artificial reef a miss - not a good wind/wave angle and v shallow.

Thurs 3rd Sept

Goodbye Summer - hello Autumn. First proper windy-wavey session for ages. Decent rideable windswell at LA - boom to headhigh. Maxed on 4.7 and 78. Wicked fun. Ant and Nik Baker showed up as well as Jamie Hawkins and Mat Pearch. Nik Baker in particular was ripping the shorebreak to bits, one-handed airs, 360s and all sorts of classy moves all much faster and more critical than anyone else. Although Jamie landed only the second fully planing hair dry killer loop i have ever seen.

Some pics:





(the backy is my brother Chris)

Here's a quick video Chris filmed on a coffee break:

Weds 2nd Sept

More chop bothering at Goring this time. Windier and sunnier and less rainy than expected so good. Went for a couple of forwards, sheeted in hard enough for once but had taken off to close to wind so ripped out of straps. At least I have some idea why it is going wrong now when it inevitably does.

Starting to get excited about going sailing again now..

(Got a set of the old non-absorbent Da Kine Core Contours on the Guerrilla 78 from Worthing Watersports - first real outing for them after a serious nose repair on the Guerilla - lovely - why cant all footstraps be that comfy, light, simple?)

Friday 22nd May

Second instalment of the looping coaching with Ant.

Went back to my Mach 10 blasting habits, but was finding it difficult to jolly along as the wind was a bit marginal for 5.4 and waveboard so was having to hang off the rig to get going, and that really puts in the wrong body position for looping. Which (apparently) is much easier from an upright front-footed stance.

Spent a bit more time practising the sheeting in - which i finally get - back hand has to go waaaaaay down the boom - right at the end of the main arm for me and then you really have to yank it - it is not like being sheeted in when sailing along. If you do that then you get a nice floaty catapult and dont hit the water nearly so hard as if you had been a bit half-arsed sheeting in.

Managed two observed attempts before the wind dropped, got everything right, but didnt sheet in on one so a bit of a splat, the other fully rotated, but left board behind as took off too close to the wind.

Next time...

(Didnt I say that last time?)

Friday 15th May

Drove to Goring in nice sunny F5/6, one run out, wind dies, hang around a bit. pack up. Blows its nuts off!!!

How many times this year. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.

Wednesday 6th May

Dropped in at Avon on the way home from uni. Looked 5.8-6.0 windy but didnt have anything bigger than my 5.4 but it was sunny so went out anyway. Bit gusty and couldnt make any ground upwind but went for a few wymaroo/loopy things.

Eventually rod turned up and with the improvements in his looping articulated a way of throwing the rig that meant I finally got how to do it one move rather than a sequence of 3 that I never quite get right.

Went for a few and finally feel like I have got the idea - also at Avon it is much easier to hit a ramp, even a tiddler broad and this makes it so much easier/less scary.

Had to come in after dinging the nose of my board but psyched for it now and want to find some slightly bigger ramps with a decent bit of wind...

Saturday 25th April

Turned up at Pagham to find nice 5.4 weather, rigged up, wind dropped. GRRRRRR. Really bad current coming out the harbour mouth in the hour or two immediately following high tide now. Needs the tide to drop sufficiently for the bar to be exposed for the waves to be any good on the drop. Fine on the push.

Monday 9th March

Sailed at West Wittering for first time for years. WNW wind with tide on the way out, got one decent wave before the tide coming out of Chichester harbour made sailing frustrating, plenty of turns but nothing really satisfying and quite a big of bogging and not planing despite plenty of wind. Forced myself into a couple of loop attempts and at least its getting warmer :)

Basically reminded myself why Bracklesham is better then West Witts once the tide has turned...

23rd January 2009

After recent frustrating sessions it was great to get out in a solid F6/7 WNW. Some reasonable small waves, but they were a bit slow or coming in at a funny angle so even though the wind was pretty sideshore for Bracks they were still a way behind you as you turned. In the end worked out that your first top turn had to be quite shallow so you could took a high line on your next ones to keep your speed. Good fun, still a bit chilly, glad I had the gloves and hood!

Lee from LAR

19th January 2009

Pagham this time, same story as the 18th. I got there in time for one decent wave in a dying Wly which is too offshore to be sailing on your tod in this cold. They guys there had a really good hour in a F5-6 SWly with boom-high waves. Curses!!

18th January 2009

A decent blow went through overnight and left some reasonable windswell with a lame F4/5 WSWly. We went to Littlehampton and got there after the best of the wind had blown through. As it was sunny went out for a bit of float and ride, but with no real guts to the waves, it wasn't a lot of fun. As the tide came in, the combination of rip, light wind and overhead shorebreak made launching and beaching amusing, and I got spat up the beach in front of a gaggle of grannies.

Thursday 4th December

Fairly meaty wind-driven swell up to half-mast + on the sets and a cold gusty but reasonable F5 WSW at Bracklesham. Swell was from a more Sly direction than usual which meant the riding was a bit less onshore. Some cross-chop but if you picked the right wave in the set the previous wave would clear everything up for you. Good fun with some dark pits and solid looking lips - for the S Coast ;-)