Surf Ski Perfection
When we built our house here one of the reasons for picking Ynyslas was that it was the windiest place we knew of and was therefore windsurf perfection. I spent most of my time on the beach here windsurfing so it made sense to build a house here as well. Anna could at least chill in comfort in the house rather than the back of the van while I was windsurfing and I could take my wetsuit off in the shower after a cold winter session. I started Surf Skiing about a year ago and it would seem as though Ynyslas is Surf Ski Perfection as well!
Surf Ski Perfection for Everyone
Calm days with no wind and no waves. Not a problem as they are perfect for some longer paddles along the coast to Aberystwyth and back or up the estuary with the tide. Windier days could lead to some nice downwinders along the coast followed by a run along the coast path to re-collect my van. Or, more likely, some hard intervals in the relative shelter of the estuary or the River Leri. Small waves and offshore winds seem to have been the staple lately which is just surf ski perfection. It ends up being an interval session paddling out through the waves and paddling hard to catch them but with all the fun of the surf.
Yesterday the waves were a little bigger and with a bit of a breeze things were quite lumpy out there. 3-4 foot swell meant that the waves were quite chunky but paddling out was easy enough most of the time. Once out the back I so did ¼ mile intervals towards Borth with wave rides into the beach and back and out in between the intervals. I then headed back with the wind to Ynyslas and played in the waves. The lumpy conditions made the wave rides bumpy and unpredictable which led to some inevitable swims. Thankfully my re-mounting skills are improving which is good as some super quick remounts in the impact zone were called for.
Today was just sheer surf ski perfection. Some proper sized waves with light offshore winds. The swell period was around 17 seconds so there was loads of time between waves making the paddle out quite easy. I waited for a set to come and started paddling so that I’d be able to get through the set once it had broken. All I’d need to do then was pop up over a few foamies. With plenty of time between the waves I could get plenty of paddle strokes in and cover quite a bit of distance before the next wave came. By the time the next set came I was quite a way out, well beyond where the waves were breaking so just had a few unbroken swells to paddle over.
Just being out there was lovely. Watching plumes of spray streaming off the backs of the waves forming little rainbows in the early morning sun. Dog walkers were on the beach, surfers were further down the beach but out the back where I was I was all alone in surf ski perfection.
Playing it Safe
I played it fairly safe, staying out the back and picking off the bigger set waves. I rode them towards the beach but peeled off them before they broke. The waves were just perfect, steep fast and peeling predictably along the beach which made reading and riding them pure joy. I didn’t want to push my luck too much in these bigger waves and with a sore back I didn’t want to get thrown around in the impact zone too much either. I therefore picked waves with care and called it a day before I got overly confident. It was just perfect all the same.
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All any parent wants is for their” off springs” to be happy with their life. Something tells me you are .😀