Carl
| Venues | Board size | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 74 | 78 | 90 | 93 | 98 | 101 | 102 | 110 | ||
| Pagham | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| Cornwall | 2 | 1 | 4 | 7 | ||||||
| Weymouth | 4 | 2 | 2 | 8 | ||||||
| Rhosneigr | 1 | 3 | 4 | |||||||
| North Devon | 2 | 2 | ||||||||
| Poole | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | ||||||
| Christchurch | 1 | 13 | 45 | 34 | 16 | 19 | 121 | 1 | 250 | |
| Lepe & Calshot | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 9 | |||||
| Lee on Solent, Hillhead & Stokes Bay | 2 | 4 | 6 | |||||||
| Hayling Island | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||
| Brandon Bay | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 | ||||||
| The Gower and Pembrokeshire | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||
| Total | 1 | 15 | 51 | 44 | 17 | 22 | 5 | 146 | 1 | 302 |
Each cell shows number of sessions, click on a cell for more details.
Christchurch on 21/01/12
| Rating: |  |
| Board: | 98 litres |
| Sail: | 5.4 |
Great lunch time session in the harbour, quite a few out and surprisingly warm. Only problem was I had left it a bit late so had to come in after an hour and a half as the water had just about gone by then but good while it lasted.
Christchurch on 05/01/12
| Rating: |  |
| Board: | 98 litres |
| Sail: | 4.0 |
After missing the first two really windy days due to the direction being offshore at the beach and no water all day in the pond I was desperate to make use of the third and last day of really strong wind. It was howling when I got to the pond just after breakfast and despite being only an hour or so after sunrise the air temp was a balmy 13 degrees and there was even a bit of sun. The 4.0m was a bit overpowered to start with and I pretty soon gave up any hope of vulcans etc after a few attempts ended badly. Then the wind picked up some more making even ordinary jumps almost impossible, my massive freestyle board just getting ripped from me each time I got airborne, so I gave that up too. Then it picked up more, quite a lot more. It was now quite difficult to see, let alone sail as the air was thick with white spray all around us. At one point we could barely hold on to our kit and had to take refuge in a hollow behind a tree over on Heingistbury head. Only two of us made it out and probably for little more than an hour. By the time we got back to the dingy park it was a scene of carnage with dingies that had broken free from their ropes lying on top of others and ripped tarps flapping everywhere. I later found out the anemometer along the bay was showing it peaking just over 55 knots at that time which is in between force 10 and 11, but despite this the average it showed was just gale force . It would have been nice to know what the wind strength was where we were but the sailing club anemometer seems to have broken. Its not often that I complain about it being too windy but I think I could have done with a bit less today. A good start to the year though.
Added by Bernie on 05/01/12
Carl, that sounds awesome. Loved to have been there too but couldn's escape from work at any stage this week. But I did manage to nip down to Kimmeridge during my lunch hour today, and saw the likes of Timo Mullen and some other hot shots out on 3.9s and struggling in mast high stuff at Benches. It wasn't for the faint-hearted! I intend to sail at K-Bay sometime soon, but I'll wait for something less suicidal.
Bernie
Added by sleekpony on 11/01/12
For once, I am glad that I missed it. Markie and I were somewhere on the Sella Ronda and had Tyrolean dumplings for lunch!
Christchurch on 29/12/11
| Rating: | |
| Board: | 98 litres |
| Sail: | 5.0 |
Offshore wind but high tide so went to the pond. Can't believe how many were out and how warm it was for late December. After a couple of hours the 5.0m wasn't enough and it was more like 6.0m weather so I called it a day. Good session while it lasted though.
Christchurch on 11/12/11
| Rating: | |
| Board: | 74 litres |
| Sail: | 5.0 |
A great session with some decent 6 foot ramps for some proper floaty airs for an hour or two after high tide. Then the wind swung a bit onshore and increased quite a bit to about 4.0m weather. As mine is still at the menders I decided to call it a day. Looks like a pretty windy forecast for the rest of the week and also the possibility of a 7m swell due to hit us at some point. Maybe I should forget the sail and go buy sand bags instead.
Christchurch on 08/12/11
| Rating: |  |
| Board: | 74 litres |
| Sail: | 4.0 |
Met up with Bernie at Avon in the morning and as we rigged 4.0's we were a bit worried the sails might just be too small. We needn't have worried, on the water we were ovepowered a bit on the inside, but completely flattened in the gusts out to sea. After what was a poor effort at best I came in for a much needed rest to wait for the wind to settle. Had the 3.7m with me in the van but the gusts were so ridiculous I doubt it would have made much difference to change down so didn't bother. Stupidly, in my rush to the beach I had left my coffee and food on the kitchen side, so didn't even have anything to eat while I waited around getting cold. Thanks very much to Bernie for coming to the recscue with hot drinks and nibbles, top dude! After some time I had another go but it just seemed even stronger (some gusts were well over 50 knots I later found out). Then later on in the afternoon, much later in fact, after an extremely long wait in the cold I had one last attempt. Suddenly it all seemed quite different. The sea had flattened a little bit, I was still well overpowered, but somehow much more calm and relaxed now. My jumps were mostly controlled and my gybes weren't pretty but I was at last making most of them dry. All the getting trashed and waiting around in the cold earlier started to seem worthwhile now, the sailing was begining to feel great, I couldn't believe my luck, today was going to be a good day after all.................and just at that point, I put my knee right through the sail!
Added by Bernie on 08/12/11
Glad things got better for you later Carl, sorry to hear that you used your sail as a hoopla!
Christchurch on 30/11/11
| Rating: | |
| Board: | 98 litres |
| Sail: | 5.4 |
A bit less wind than yesterday but still some decent near vertical waves rolling right into the beach and perfect conditions for jumping. Decided to concentrate on my forwards as this was probably the best day for it in ages and I've had a bit too much theory and not enough practise this year. I seem to be capable of all the elements of a good forward like high enough jump, tucking up, looking back, getting the rig across before sheeting in etc. For some reason, I just don't seem to be capable of doing this all at the same time. As soon as I concentrate on one element, something else seems to suffer. I'm sure it will all come together eventually I just didn't expect it to take quite so long.
Saturday might be windy but the forecast seems to be deteriorating as time goes on. Looks like it could be another early session now.
Christchurch on 29/11/11
| Rating: | |
| Board: | 74 litres |
| Sail: | 4.0 |
Amazing day, best swell in ages, massive out to sea and on the outer bar, clean 5 to 6 foot surf just off the beach, perfect 3.5 - 4.m weather, its nearly December and still warm. Lots of people were still "held up on way to work by bad weather" when I got there just before 11. Had a great couple of hours, excellent jumping, a few more failed forward attempts and a good few rinsings here and there. Thought I'd lost it completely at one point when I ended up washed onto the rocks, but somehow managed to get back out without damage, glad I was wearing boots though. Then in the afternoon the wind picked up a notch and I was completely overpowered. Didn't really have the strength left to change down so derigged and went home a happy man.
Christchurch on 27/11/11
| Rating: | |
| Board: | 98 litres |
| Sail: | 5.0 |
Got up a bit late to find I'd missed the early morning session at the beach. The guys there had all gone to bed early the night before and were out on the water before 7:30 and rewarded with waves and a cross shore wind averaging 35 knots. When I arrived it had gone offshore so went back to the harbour where people were flying about on 5.0's. It dropped almost as soon as I got out, I was planing for a couple of hours but only just and pumping to keep going a lot of the time. Should have come in and changed up but I was too lazy. Not the best day, but it would have been fine if I'd only gone at the right time or on the right kit but sometimes windsurfing's a bit like that. Looks like more wind on the way for next week 
Christchurch on 26/11/11
| Rating: | |
| Board: | 98 litres |
| Sail: | 5.4 |
A few of us met up at the beach early to catch high tide, but it was looking hopeless. The waves were about waist high but the wind almost dead offshore and flukey despite showing 30 knots on the anemometer. After much procrastination I went out at the harbour and ended up having a great sail there instead. After a bit of encouragement from a mate I even tried a few flat water forwards, didn't make it past half way round but at least the nose of my new board still remains intact. An excellent sail and an even better evening thanks to the great hospitality of Bernie and Helen, cheers, guys.
Christchurch on 24/11/11
| Rating: | |
| Board: | 98 litres |
| Sail: | 5.8 |
After a 2 week absence due to an old back problem I was pleased to be back on the mend and pick up a "wind at the beach" text at breakfast. Not massively windy when I got there, but probably just as well and a 5.8m was perfect. A small swell running into the bay and strong tides were creating a standing wave in the run. A pretty relaxed session, warm and sunny, cross shore a few waves at high tide, some ripple rides at low, I sailed longer than I should, probably 4 or 5 hours it was just so good to get back on the water.
