September is only a week away but it looks as though autumn has arrived early.
GPS Windsurfing
It was pretty windy yesterday and my windsurf session on the seafront did have an autumnal feel to it. The sun was shining but the sea felt as though it meant business. Although it was a nice easy sail there was just something a little more menacing in the air. It dropped off a bit after a while but I did manage a nice long run to Borth and back. Then last night it arrived properly The wind filled in to 30 knots, with the weather station measuring gusts to close to 40 knots. That’s Gale Force 8.
The sea now DOES mean business and I can’t wait to get out there. I knew this would happen though as I’m working at the university this week so don’t have quite so much time to play and certainly less flexibility. It is forecast to drop this afternoon, just about the time that I’m available for a windsurf – Typical.
It is however forecast to come back from a NE direction tomorrow afternoon which could give me chance to finally use my speed kit in Ynyslas estuary for an attempt at my ‘Life Begins at 40 Knots’ challenge. The tides won’t be great for it but I may be able to squeeze a bit of a session in if I’m lucky. Fingers Crossed.
We’re not having a proper holiday this year, instead we’re having several long weekends and staying at home enjoying our local surroundings more than we usually would.
Yesterday was one of these days off so I had a bit of a lie in (for me) and didn’t get up until 7.30am. One of the nice things about stay at home holidays is that I can still do a little bit of work each day as well. This means that I can stay on top of e-mails and a few other bits and pieces and not have that horrible post-holiday backlog to come back to that I always dread.
After a couple of hours work I did some computer research into which new bike to buy and then pottered around the house for a bit before jumping on the turbo trainer for my first workout of the day. It was nothing too difficult, just a 25 mile fairly easy session. This was followed by a light lunch with Anna and Morgan before I headed across to the beach with my windsurf kit for a nice windsurf session exploring the high seas between Borth and Aberdovey. I covered over 26 miles in and hour and a half so I was now up to over 50 miles of activity for the day and 2 hours 45 of exercise.
It had however only just begun because as soon as I was off the water, packed up and showered, it was time to head into Aberystwyth for an hour of circuit training followed by an hour of swim training. All of that may sound like a little too much for some people – I had a tweet from someone yesterday that said:
“Morning Al. Do you ever think about sitting down, & having a nice rest ? Wears me out just reading your tweets !”
For me it was a perfect, action packed day with a total of 5 hours of exercise, and what’s more as there was little time for eating I may even have lost some weight in the process.
I do love living here sometimes – well, all the time actually - but now and then when it all comes together it is just perfect.
Thursday and Friday this week were just great. More wind than expected, warm, and even sunny on Friday so it was off to the beach windsurfing. Anna was at work, Morgan was in holiday club, I didn’t have much work on and being a freelance website designer I can choose what time of day to work anyway.
So, I made an early start, got some work out of the way and around midday on Thursday headed over to the beach. It was a little cloudy and didn’t look that windy but Simon was down for a couple of days and was keen to get out so I thought I’d join him. I even persuaded Dave and Sarah (from next door) to come out for windsurf on the seafront, and there were a few windsurfers from Bristol out too.
The wind was fairly light (by my standards) so I went out with my 5.6m sail and my big (85 litre) Naish Hybrid Freewave board. It was only just enough, I was able to stay upwind but a little more wind would have been good. Also, my achilles tendon was sore from a run the day before and the twitchy nature of that board didn’t help, so after a while I went back home and got a bigger board (Starboard S-type 104) which would get me going quicker and would be a little more comfortable.
I used that for a while and had some good blasts out through the choppy waters on it but then the wind picked up so I changed back to the smaller board and then changed down to a 5m sail. I then spent most of the day sailing perfectly powered up with a 5m sail and big wave board which is just about perfect.
Everyone seemed to be having a good time. Simon was out kiting, the guys from Bristol were having a good sail and Dave and Sarah were pleased with their progress in the ‘waves’. In the end I covered nearly 37 miles which is a fair way in choppy conditions.
Friday turned out even better though. The wind was stronger, a little more northerly and the sun was shining. Simon joined me windsurfing rather than kiting and Dave, Sarah and the guys from Bristol were all out too. There was no messing around with bigger kit, just my 5m sail and big wave board. If I’d had my small wave board with me I would have used that but the bigger one was fine.
GPS Track
Once again it was a bit of a marathon session covering over 40 miles of sailing and with a top speed of 31.77 which in the waves and on wave kit is pretty good. Click here for the stats.
I may not have got a huge amount of work done or earned much money, but that it the whole point of me living the life I live. Being by the sea and a freelancer means that I should (in theory) be able to get out for a windsurf and make the most of good conditions whenever they arise. I certainly made the most of them on Thursday and Friday and now can’t wait for more wind!
I’m not sure if this is just a summer storm or if we’ve had summer and this is now autumn. It certainly feels fairly autumnal out there and the fact that I’ve been out for a windsurf on my wave board and 5m sail seems to confirm it.
I’m not complaining of course as it was a pretty good session, well powered up on small kit with decent winds and decent waves. It was shame there was no one else around but I guess it was mid week and fairly early in the day so that I could get in and out before the tide was on the pebbles.
I did manage to hurt my ribs / chest a little as well in a fairly violent coming together of body and boom in a big crash – All part of the fun I suppose but it’s pretty sore now.’m not the only one who’s been out either as there are plenty of people around the UK planning a session and a few are popping up in the Forces-of-Nature windsurf session diaries already – It’s good to see everyone getting out and having fun. I’m looking forward to ‘autumn proper’ now!
After an excellent day looking through the contents of my moth trap and geeking out on invertebrates on Cors Fochno (the bog behind our house), the sun was shining, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, there was no wind and we were all starving. I therefore fired up the barbeque, picked some salad leaves and chives and watched over the charcoal whilst Anna rustled up some salads, including a potato salad made with our own potatoes.
Half a hour later, just as I put the meat on the Barbeque, from out of nowhere (and later than usual) the NW seabreeze kicked in. Before long it was 25 knots so I ate my dinner pretty quickly and got out there on the sea for a sneaky little windsurf session on my Naish Hybrid Freewave and a 5m sail.
It was the Boardwise Demo day in Aberdovey and I feared that as the wind had come through so late in the day they may have packed up and missed out on it. Luckily though I could see scores of sails sailing out from Aberdovey into the sea towards the bar so everyone over there obviously did manage to get out.
I had a good sail whilst Anna and Morgan had a sleep in preparation for our Nightjar and Glow Worm walk later that evening. It wasn’t particularly fast and no records were broken in that respect but it was good to be out on smaller kit in the sunshine. There weren’t really any waves either so it was just general blasting around on blue seas. Perfect.
Windsurfing really is a silly sport! Regular readers of this blog will know that I’ve set myself a challenge of reaching 40 knots before I hit the big 4-0. To that end I’ve bought lots of new toys in order to do it, but since buying them all there hasn’t been any wind so I’ve as yet been unable to test them.
Mountain Biking is so much more sensible. You get a bike and can use it whenever you want!
Anyway, there was finally some wind today. Not a huge amount and in the wrong direction for my new speed kit but I did at least get out on the water. The wind was very gusty and the first half an hour or so was spent trying to get going and losing lots of ground downwind. If I did get going in a gust I then had to use it to gain some ground upwind so it wasn’t a great start!
After a walk of shame back up the beach, the wind did fill in a bit and i was bale to have a good 40 minutes or so well powered up in decent winds. I did take my GPS out with me even though it wasn’t a speed session. It was never going to be fast as I was on wave kit not speed kit and sailing on the sea front in the waves and chop. I thought it would be interesting to compare though.
Here’s my GPS track from the second half of the session.
WIndsurf Session March 18th
Top speed was only 22.33 knots. I guess that just shows that I really do need different kit and different conditions to get anywhere near 40 knots! GPS details of the session can be seen on sportstracklive.
As you should know by now, it the big 4-0 for me this year and I’m trying to hit 40 knots on a windsurfer.
The first stage is to get the right tools for the job so I’ve been doing my research and have come up with a list of kit.
The Boards
Mistral SL Red Dot
I couldn’t decided between a dedicated speed board and a small slalom board. The dedicated speed board is very small, narrow and the fastest thing in a straight line under the right conditions. They are also pretty challenging to sail and don’t cope well with choppy water, gusty wind or poor technique. The slalom board is still quite a small board but being a little larger and slightly more user-friendly it is the fastest thing on the water in a wider range of conditions. It copes better with some chop and gusty winds and is a little more forgiving. Both are really fast in comparison to the wave boards that I usually sail. The slalom board is likely to be the fastest in most conditions, but when the conditions are perfect the speed board would be considerably faster.
Unable to make up my mind I decided that the only option was to get one of each! The speed board I’ve picked is a Fanatic Falcon Speed (242cm long, 48cm wide and 68 litres), which Boardwise in Cannock are getting for me. The slalom board is a Mistral SL Red Dot Team Edition (240cm long, 55cm wide and 80 litres) which was delivered on Sunday night by Jim from Puravida Boardriders.
The Sails
The boards are crucial for top speeds, but the sails are just as important. The wave sails that I usually use are designed for ease of use, to feel light in the hands and be manouverable. Perfect for the jumps and gybes and general hectic sailing in waves, but lacking the power, stability and aerodynamics needed for top speeds. New sails were therefore needed too. I’d need a couple to cover a range of winds and my engines of choice ended up being a 6.3m North Warp and a 5.2m North Warp. These are stable, powerful sails that should be capable of speeds in excess of 40 knots.
North Warp 5.2
North Warp 6.3
Both arrived last night and I’ve just rigged them in the garden.
The 5.2m rigged beautifully but I wasn’t able to get the 6.3m rigged very well. Either I need a better mast for it or more strength to add more downhaul. The former is probably the case!
The Fins
Fins are probably the most crucial part of a speed-sailors equipment. Top sailors will have loads of them and will fine tune them for the board and conditions in order to get maximum speeds. The shape, stiffness, size, foil-profile and rake are all important. I don’t have the time (or money) to bother with all of that, so a couple of speed fins will have to do. So far I have fins, Fanatic Falcon fins in 28cm and 30cm.
Other bits
This windsurfing malarky isn’t cheap! New sails require new masts. All of my wave masts are RDM’s (Reduced Diameter Masts) which are stronger and therefore better able to cope with the demands of jumps and crashes in the waves. Speed sails however all have camber inducers in them which provide an aerodynamic, wing-like shape to the leading edge of the sail. These are designed to fit on Standard Diameter Masts (SDM’s) as the larger diameter mast improves the foil shape, so at least one new mast was needed (North Viper 380cm) for the smaller sail. Since rigging the new sails though it looks as though I may need one for the bigger sail as well.
Similarly the booms I have are designed for wave sails and would be a little too small and too flexible for use with such large powerful sails. A new Simmer Silver Series boom was in order!
The Cost
This really is getting expensive now, and all to eek out a few extra knots of speed, I hope its worth it!
Its the big 4-0 for me this year. How did that happen so soon?
Oh well, not a lot I can do about it so I may as well use it as an excuse to have some fun and buy some new toys! The plan / aim /dream is to hit 40 knots on a windsurfer. If I can do it before or whilst I’m 40 then all the better.
In case you don’t know, then 40 knots on a windsurf board really is VERY fast. The top guys are getting close to 50 knots, but that is just silly. I’ve managed 35 knots before now and although that doesn’t sound far off 40, I can assure you it is. 30 knots is very fast, and every little increment over that feels a whole lot faster. 35 knots on the kit I currently have is an impressive feat in itself and not one that I’m likely to repeat too often as it is the absolute maximum possible on such kit.
All of which means if I am to achieve my aim of 40 knots I’m going to need to through some money at it and get some proper speed kit. I’ll hopefully buy the kit soon. I’m looking at a couple of boards at the moment, a tiny little Fanatic Falcon Speed and a small Mistral SL Red Dot Team Edition slalom board. I’m not sure which to go for, so might just have to get both! I’ll also need a couple of speed sails and a mast and boom to rig them on. It isn’t going to be cheap, and even with the right equipment it isn’t going to be easy, but it should be fun.
I’ll be looking out for the perfect conditions and then I’ll be off. You’ll be able to track my progress here. Will I make it to 40 knots?
I’ve just got back from an adrenalin packed windsurf session here in Wales. I posted a session log on Forces-of-Nature as usual, but as it was such a mad session thought I’d share it here as well.
Woohoo, what a session. Went out with my big wave board and 4.5m sail and soon realised that it was a lot bigger out there than it looked from the beach!
The first run wasn’t too bad, some nice big jumps and then managed to sail out the back and have a good blast over the swell before gybing and sailing back in amongst some pretty big lumps of water. But then it just seemed to get bigger and bigger. I’m not sure why, but it was dead on high tide so that may have had something to do with it.
On about my 5th run out it was easily the biggest I’ve ever sailed in, way over mast high and not only were they huge but they had become snarling monsters that seemed intent on punishing me. At one point I had been sailing out, well powered for ages but still wasn’t out beyond the breaking waves. I was at least half a mile out to sea and still surrounded by big waves and walls of whitewater with nowhere to run to and nowhere to hide.
Then I thought it was all over as a huge waved reared up in front of me, pitched and exploded into a wall of white-water. I had no option but to hit it flat out and try to sail up and over it despite the fact that it was mast high. I hit the whitewater head on, sailed vertically up it and managed to pop out onto the top. By this staged I’d lost some momentum and it had me. I was travelling backwards on top of the white-water in its grip, pumping frantically to try to get going and not get sucked backwards over the falls. Somehow I made it, but there was another wave in front of me.
Still in the straps I pumped as hard as I could, pushed with my front foot and tried to get going again, back on the plane and the next wave was jacking up. Thankfully it hadn’t broken yet and I managed to sail up its face (I’ve never sailed so far uphill before) and just about managed to punch out over the top of it as the lip pitched forwards behind me. There were still more waves beyond it so once again it was back onto the plane and keep sailing out until eventually there was a break in the waves and I could gybe and head back to the beach.
By now I was miles out to sea and down towards the estuary. It was about now that I decided that maybe enough was (more than) enough. If I came off here and got parted from my kit or broke something then it was going to take me hours to get home. I was out on my own with no-one else around so maybe the sensible option was to sail back to the beach and call it a day.
I did of course ride some of the waves on the way back in just to show them that they may have beaten me into submission today but they hadn’t completely beaten me.
Only a short session, but a full on, scary, adenalin rush of a session!
One of the reasons we built a house here is that its such a good location for windsurfing. With 4 miles of sandy beach on our doorstep and plenty of Westerly winds and waves, the seafront from Borth to Ynyslas is perfect. But that isn’t all, we also have the more sheltered waters of the Dyfi Estuary which can be good when the wind is from the east. This is especially true in the Spring when Ivor, out local katabatic wind, comes howling down the valley.
On Friday, another combination of local effects allowed us to have a good windsurf session too. The wind was South-Westerly at about 18-25 knots. Plenty windy enough for most people, but us windsurfers like it windier so that we can use our smaller sails and boards. However, there had been loads of rain and lots of flooding inland. The Dyfi bridge was closed due to the flooding and the Dyfi River was in full flow. Coupled with an outgoing tide, this results in a very strong tidal flow through the channel in the Dyfi Estuary. The water flowing through here was moving at 10 knots or more and flowing out to sea – in the opposite direction to the wind. This results in an effective windspeed (for someone on the water) of 28-35 knots… Perfect.
Andy and I launched from the Ynyslas side of the estuary, sailed out through the channel, walked across the point and into the channel where we spent a couple of hours blasting around perfectly powered up with 5m sails and smallish boards in really good conditions. For a change, sailing downwind was a problem though due to the speed of the current.
Once again, West Wales provides perfect windsurfing conditions.
Here’s my diary entry and here’s Andy’s diary entry.
