A couple of days in paradise

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

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!

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Alan Cole

Alan is a Freelance Website Designer, Sports & Exercise Science Lab Technician and full time Dad & husband with far too many hobbies: Triathlete, Swimming, Cycling, Running, MTBing, Surfing, Windsurfing, SUPing, Gardening, Photography.... The list goes on.

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