Blog

It's a been a good week. Monday Dan and co found some really flat water on a westerly the otherside of 'hopes nose' for a really nice wakeboard session, topped off with a nice windsurf session at Preston today. Wakeboarding's coming along but any tips on getting more air would be appreciated. Not being one to hold back I've picked up a wakeskate at Harbour sports to throw that into the melting pot.

So I've got the second hand board and kit ready to go. Take myself down to Preston beach on Sunday afternoon, looks a bit choppy for me but no pain, no gain.

Tackled getting the sail and board all together, not too bad I thought. Now dragg it all into the sea.......ah ha, bloody knackered already. Right, up on the board, bend zee knees, pull.........oops fall off. Straight back up on, pull up the mast and grab the....wave.....splash...try again, wave....splash......and so it goes on. Did manage to get hold of the 'boom' a few times for a fraction of a second before....wave....splash.........unbalance.....splash...get the picture?

After an hour and a half, knees bleeding and bloody knackered, but still laughing we got up, we got the boom in hand and ...............we balanced, actually got some wind in the sail and moved forward for about 15 seconds......until............wave..........splash, off again.

Ha ha, absolutely knackered and loved it can't wait for the 2nd attempt, going for a full minute next time!

ciao.

Danny and I had a great Wakeboard session today in light wind flat water from Torquay along to Paignton. The learning curve is plateauing as I'm trying to jump the wakes. But I've got more questions than answers.

What is the best length of line?

How do we get a better wake off the boat?

How to get more line tension to whip into jumps?

Is our boat speed too high? Do we need to trim up?

Do I need to be in a more crouched position before the pop 'up?

Or edge in more perpendicular to the wake?

etc etc.

One thing is for sure... I sailed a week ago and the wakeboarding is really helping the windsurfing... Wakeboard wipe outs are far more violent so the FEAR of windsurfing wipeouts has been tamed 'a bit'!

BRING THE WIND!

As many of you probably know. The council, despite having over 2000 people against the idea of parking meters on Eastern Esplanade road on Paignton beach are going ahead with the idea. This really frustrates me that they didnt even consider the people that use the current free parking as a means to enjoy their local watersport of windsurfing, surfing, kayaking etc. It is quite possible that Paignton Beach will be ignored when coming to these sports. The people that need to carry a large amount of equipment from car to sea may find themselves finding it easier to go somewhere else to enjoy their hobby. We dont just sail, surf, skim or kayak for 30 mins at a time, we may sometimes be there for hours, it will cost us all a fortune in parking costs!

Torbay Council mayor Nick Bye and whoever else is responsible for these meters will definately NOT be getting my vote or my family and friends vote come the next election.  The council have potentially destroyed one of the best locations for watersports in the bay.

Nick, a couple of mates and myself took the boat for a blast today. Much easier to take it out with the mooring, however as expected we found 1 minor issue..... bird poo! within 2 days, darn seagulls have managed to excrete at least 30 or so well landed shots on our bow and stern covers.

Also Nick's wakeboarding skills have progressed alot within the last few sessions. He is able to endure a vast distance without letting go, he made it from Paignton Beach all the way over to Elberry Cove in fairly choppy conditions. He is also starting to pull off some well executed jumps and shows far greater control. I'm sure fairly soon he will be attempting backflips!

A full on force 7 4.0/4.5 weather cross on portside jumps, ...took a couple of pics at the end of the rocks whould of liked to of taken some in the water but couldnt feel my fingers after 2hrs of sailing..tims there and two others shame it was so cold roll on summer...jt

Managed to secure a Torquay inner harbour mooring. This is gonna be great as this summer it will be far easier to get out and enjoy the boat.

The only concerns I have with is fouling and cleaning the boat.  Nick and I must have a strict schedule for cleaning it.  Otherwise we will start growing our own underwater garden!

I tried my home made paddle board today consisting of a Tiga Swift Longboard reclaimed from Newton Abbot recycling centre for £10, A Kayak paddle and me. It was BRILLIANT! By the end of the session I was stand up paddling out to sea and back.

In case of choppy conditions it made a brilliant kayak in the seated position gliding far more efficiently than any kayak I've used. In addition I've fibre glassed, screwed and aradite glued in a new mast track for summer sailing.

It took getting used to as my board is only 26inch wide and 169 litres. Most stand up allround boards are in the 220 litres and 30 inch wide for stability. Mine has a slight 'v' to the bottom that also did not help when at rest. I might make another trip to the tip a buy the biggest battleship I can find. The key in getting it going is speed. Speed equals stability. Once you pop up into a standing position you need to immediately paddle from the nose along the side of the board in smooth strokes, changing side every few strokes. Keeping up momentum keeps up stability. Oh.. and bend the knees into every stroke pumping with the feet. Feet stance is facing dead forward for flat water paddling and normal surfing/board riding stance if you catch a wave. It's a great work out!

You can spend £500 - £1000 on a larger new SUP board from shops like Reactive Water Sport Plymouth or Edge Water Sports at Exmouth. That would be my first choice if I won the lottery, but I didn't want to outlay so much without giving it a go first.

Ofcourse this was my first time but it only took 30 minutes to get some god runs on glassy flat water. I'm gonna invest in a proper paddle as this will help further, and use as leash as the board glides away from you when you go in.

SUP is taking off so for next season there may be some cheaper second hand gear around. But for now if you want a taste of Sup get out the old windsurf longboards and a kayak paddle and give it a go.

Next I want small waves and no wind....

Brilliant sunny session today at Paigton on a northerly cross shore.. maxed out on a 7.5 with big freeride board. Even though it was about 5-6 degrees it seemed like summer! 4th March 2008.