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...

Monday 27th April

Splash and dash at Sea Lane Cafe Goring. Well powered on 4.7 and 71 with some Ok backside waves considering there was no groundswell. Had to rush off for tooth extraction but wind died when I had to leave anyway. Wind at last!!!! 6 or 7 weeks without a decent blast on the waveboard at this time of year is dreadful.

Hopefully the European Summer Monsoon will be a good one to make up for it this year!

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...

3rd March 2009

First session for weeks. Noone about at Pagham so went to Goring. Had forgotten to fix my Guerrilla 78 despite the lay-off so had to take the 71. When I got to the beach, it wasn't windy enough so went to the local shop Worthing Watersports in search of footstrap screws.

When I got back to the Caff the wind had come up to a SSW F5/6 and after a bit of chat and faffing rigged up and went out and had a good fun 90 minutes in pretty onshore conditions but with some decent waist-boom high peaks to do backside aeriels off.

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

22nd January 2009

Wind blew through again overnight, then picked up a bit tempting me to beach but I got there just as the front went over and the wind dropped to just about a F4. AAAAAAGHH!!!

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.

January 12th 2009

First sail of the year after a terrible December and it was a really cold one at Pagham. Sea at 3-4C :( Having clocked how cold the sea had become during a cold December was hoping to have gloves and thermal vest sorted from LAR in time but for various reasons didn't. Paid the prices and now have them. Waves were pretty good, overhead on the sets and clean, sailing on the 4.7 on the 71, but once the tide turned was getting bogged by the current in the lee of the spit where they were cleanest and steepest. Wind was a bit onshore making it difficult to string to together long fast rides, but by going frontside/backside you could get some good smacks in.

Realised it had been a lot of fun once I thawed out.

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 ;-)

Recent Sessions

Now I am self-employed I no longer have to give a shit about bosses snooping round my blog to see if I have been working rather than sailing...

And with Winter coming up, I am looking forward to some waves on the S Coast.

Here are my recent sessions:

Aug-19 Niton 5
Not as good as the previous week but not bad - don’t go at high tide on a big spring…
01-Sep Shoreham 5
chop, few loops
04-Sep Lancing 5.4
Very gusty, small wave, 2 loops when it got up to F7 but too powered, did get some rotation on one go
05-Sep Pagham 4.2
Very onshore, nice waist-boom waves - great for backside aeriels
01-Oct Bracks 5
Strong Sideshore wind, but waves a bit disappointing for a WNW
05-Oct Pagham 5.4
Wind dropped as I got there, but some Ok float and ride in small clean waves
08-Oct Pagham 4.7
Wind dropped again! Only had 4.7 and the 71 and floated out, then sank. No wind at all...
20-Oct Pagham 4.7
Small waves
08-Nov Pagham 4.7
Chop in front of the bungalow
09-Nov Pagham 4.2
Small waves in mental wind at the spit, excellent fun
11-Nov LA 5
First decent winter wave session - head-high WSW, some really long rides
23-Nov Bracks 5.4
Great fun cross-off waveriding session, waist-boom, lots of mini-aeriels

There has been a new addition to the family - I now have a Guerrila 71 to got with the 78, £325 in perfect nick, only to have someone ride straight into me first decent session on it. Nice long dent, but hopefully it is just cosmetic. Had one really heavy duty F8/9 sail on it since and everything seems OK. A fantastic board - perfect combination of old and new waveboard design and much more get up and go than I thought something that small and heavily rockered would have.

August 12th

Oh dear been completely slack on the blogging front. It's all been a bit too much like work. However this year has seen a fair bit of sailing and I owe 25 or so session reports. Anyway, couldn't let this one go - fantastic session at Niton on IOW. Easier to post a few pix than describe it, but it was heavy with lots of swimming.






















































£25 for a half day return on Wightlink if you get the boat after 11:25 (ie first boat you can catch is 1130) and return on the 1830 or later. That isnt much more than a foot ticket plus parking on the hover, and you can take all your kit with much less aggravation. Best £25 of the year!!

EDIT: And here's some video

Saturday 29th December

Great fun sunny session at Littlehampton with sideshore wind and some decent overhead waves on the Guerrilla and 5.4. Managed to pick a few out the back with J and Rich and bottom turn around each other in true festive spirit. A great way to end the year.

27 sessions all but one on the waveboard, and all on 5.4 or smaller - not bad :)

Friday 28th December

Arrived at Pagham at high tide to find everyone packing up. The wind wasn't forecast to drop so figured it was just a high tide lull and rigged my 5.0 anyway (as that was the biggest sail I had taken).

Once I worked out the wind was a bit more onshore than I thought planed away quite happily and then had a really good hour on my own in shoulder to head-high waves, mostly backside riding, but with the occasional trip down the line if a wave cleaned up or there was a more sideshore gust. Great fun.

Thursday 6th December

Wicked down the line session at Pagham, got there a little too late after high tide for the biggest waves but head wave after wave after wave of shoulder to head-high clean long lines. The wind was very WSW so side-off and this meant the bigger waves could be ridden from the spit to the third big rock groyne. A real bottom turn bullshit bonanza with more than a few 10+ turn waves. Fan-bloody-tastic!!

Used the 4.7 on the Gheyrilla 78, the waves were holding up really nicely and well powered with a cross-off wind was able to get a few aeriels but was unable to land any back on the face. Will have to get the hang of that in 2008!

Later in the week the boys all went over to the Isle of Wight for a party at J's house and got a big, meaty session in at Chilten.:

You can just about make Rich out on the far left heading towards a big set...

December 3rd 2007

Took a half day and went to Bracklesham Bay with Pete. 5.4 on the Guerrilla 78. Some Ok waves about and Weathercam (creator of the beach guides I link to) even got a bit of video of us attempting to ride the onshore waves. I am not sure of his taste in music, but he is a top bloke and his online weather station is a useful resource

Of course after he had gone, the wind went from WSW to W (more cross-shore) and we started to pull together a few decent rides ;-)

First outing for the new wetsuit a Gul Delta - brilliant - warmest I've been winter sailing for years. Got it for bargain £124 from jwvwatersports.

Friday 30th November

Took the afternoon off on a good forecast, which never really came off. Went out from Rich's house, and sailed up to the spit where the wind was gusty and eventually died off, there was a hint of some waves, but nothing like I thought there might be.

Ended up missing Saturday and Sunday as a result. Pics below :(

(Sunday was actually too windy most of the day, but it seems there was a sailable hour when it was only F7 mid-afternoon).

Saturday...

Sunday - Pagham at its best

Wednesday 28th Nov

Sneaky lunchtime session with 5.0 and 95 FSW at Pagham, OK at best, but just good to be out on the water.

Thursday 8th November

Windy but flat (hence the moody gv pic rather than an action shot) session at Littlehampton on the 4.7 Session and Guerrilla 78. Getting cold now and came in for booties after 15 minutes. That' s it for bare feet til Easter! Will have to get a new winter suit soon, some seams came apart the legs of my summer suit and it was letting water in.

Persuaded my brother to come along and had a go on his Delta Euphoria, unconventional and fun, and stonks upwind on the thrusters - will be great to try it when (if ever) the winter swells start showing up.

Had a coffee in the East Beach Cafe afterwards, very chichi, far more Brighton than LA :)