February was windy!
After a mostly dissapointing autumn and winter up to January, I managed to windsurf quite a lot recently. In fact, there have been more windy days then days where I was able to windsurf!
Found a little pit in Wales. Photo by Ben Bulson
Bristol isn't that close to any good windsurf spots. The closest is Weston, which on it's day can be good fun for jumping at high tide, but in general offers mediocre conditions if you like waveriding. However, Bristol does have the advantage of having a wide range of spots in South Wales, the south coast of England, and Devon and Cornwall within a 1.5 to 3 hour drive. Beside a couple of sessions at Overcombe in an easterly, I've mainly been sailing across the Severn in Wales. Below is a video from a fun day on my 4.2 Blade at two of my favourite spots.
South Wales is, in general, pretty windy. Most spots are pretty exposed, so when you see a 30-45 knot westerly on the forecast, things can get a bit ridiculous. I had one crazy session completely overpowered on my 3.7. Somehow, local photographer Glenn Porter was able to stand upright for long enough to capture some dramatic photos! Check out his website and facebook page.
Photo gallery by Glenn Porter; my mental "storm Doris" session on the Bristol Channel.
Two days later, and the forecast was looking tasty for Gwithian. I spent two days sailing at Mexico Towans. At times it was a bit small, choppy, cross-shore, crowded, and overpowered on 4.2. The real gold was when the tide came in, giving lighter wind, less people, and super clean logo high sets peeling off into the mist. Some of the best waves of my life so far. The fact that 9 hours on the water ruined my hands and made certain aspects of life rather tricky for the next week (e.g. driving a car, gripping things, doing chemistry in the lab, washing up, having a shower), is irrelevant! It was totally worth it. I used my 4.2 all weekend, the wind was probably in the range of 15-30 knots. That sail has so much control, it's my most used sail and I have no problem with a 3 sail quiver (3.7, 4.2, 5.0) for all conditions.
Photo gallery of a sick weekend in Cornwall. Photos courtesy of Stefan Hilder and his camera volunteers Andy King and Ollie Hobson.
Before my hands had a chance to fully recover, it was back to south Wales. This time for the Student Windsurfing Association SWA Puravida Wave series hosted by Cardiff University Windsurfing Club. I should say that in the 6 years I've been at University, this year was the first time that the event had enough wind to compete! I wasn't in the running for the series title, having missed the previous event in Rhosneigr (put off by a dodgy forecast and a 5 hour drive) but was excited to sail and compete in some good conditions. We sailed at Trecco Bay in Porthcawl both days. The single elimination was run in light winds. The waves were fine, but it was a big struggle to plane, so getting a scoring jump was an even bigger struggle. I finished second behind Starboard/Severne team-mate Sara Kellett.
SWA Cardiff Wave gallery by Laura Titheridge.
On Sunday, however, we had solid wind and waves. After some really fun waveriding on the point around high tide, the double elimination got underway.
Video of some fun wave riding and jumping conditions before the contest started on Sunday.
By the time we got to my heat, I was totally stacked on 4.2, but unable to change down to 3.7 (thanks to Laura for walking off with my car keys... you are forgiven), I just had to hang on and jump higher! After fending off a charging Ruben Lansley, I managed to defeat Sara by just 0.5 points and force a super final to decide the event winner. I managed to squeeze in a stalled forward before a 40 knot squall hit and we had to sail the rest of the heat in survival mode. It was hard to sail in a straight line and tack, let alone ride waves! Anyway, I did enough to win.
Photo gallery of SWA Cardiff Wave by Tom Pidden of The Chook Journal.
Now that my hands have regrown their skin, I'm ready for more wind! I should probably also get out on my Raceboard, the first race of the season is less than a month away now.
