Surfladle

Here we go again.. High Pressure Sun on Saturday and then a touch of wind from Nigel on Sunday.  Well, it is the Weekend!  Going to be a quick hit again tonight, as am on my own for the next few days due to a Wedding in the West and there’s many things to be done before firing up the Donkey and heading
home for my Friday evening.  

Weather, it’s always on the tip of our tongues, as it is the power house for the toys we supply. ‘Whether’ it be the sunny calm days for the majority of those who enjoy SUP and Kayak or the wind driven madness, proffered by those who play with Wind, Kite and Wing toys, every day we are affected by it. This week’s Weather, brought to us by dear  ‘Lee’, held little for the Sunny and Calm but more than enough for the Windy’s and it could be a re-run next week, thanks to the Hurricane season deciding that heading West is the way to go. Next in line with a plan for us is Nigel, who is close by and could be with us on Sunday. Note.. if Nigel does not dump as much water on us as Lee I for one will be happy (Wednesday evenings ‘hose down’ when closing the shop was not enjoyable and yesterday evenings deluge in parts of Sussex was ‘epic’). 

One thing you normally expect with the tail end of a hurricane is ‘warmth’ , so todays thermometer reading of 10°C when we arrived at the shop was a bit of a shock, but not as much as a shock that Canada and the East Coast of the States may have to endure, as Lee is dragging cold air straight down from the Arctic which could cause early snowfall across a large area. Ah well,  I think 10°C is fine! Worth keeping your eye on the forecasts as Nigel’s track may change and that could alter the windspeeds ‘quite a bit’ for the coming week. Currently it’s a week of 20-30kt winds, which many including Alan, will be very happy with. Now, here’s a Short Story with a quite remarkable happy ending. 

At the start of this week a kite surfer was a fair way off Lancing during a late afternoon session when the wind did its thing and dropped suddenly, then backed offshore. Really not a good scenario when the day is ending (how many times over the years have you and I come ashore when the street lights are on!) and then to make matters worse, throw in a few other issues with the kite leash and hey presto, the kite was ‘gone’, leaving the kite surfer to get past the normal ‘oh sh.. pooh’ moment and then progress to the long paddle back in, with a twin tip beneath him. Not too bad though as he arrived back at the beach close to Lancing Yacht Club, which I thought was a good result, all things considered. And that was that but now here’s the twist, his kite came in at Camber Sands and was successfully retrieved! First time we have ever heard of a kite making such a journey and apart from being covered in a lot of glorious Camber’s Sand.. and the lines being ‘slightly tangled’.. it was OK! The return journey  to its owner was by courtesy of one of our customers, who brought it along  when he visited the shop last Wednesday to collect a new set of Wings (thank you again Michael, on both accounts,  and sorry again for the sand in your van!). which meant the story ended well and both the kite and the kite surfer may already have been back out on the water ‘together again’  but minus the offending safety leash will have been replaced!

If any of the above is wildly wrong, please do comment and correct with the actual event facts.

Now for the weekends Weather and Tidal movement times… 

Saturday we kick off the day with a light Nor’West Wind running at 7-11kts, which around midday should switch to Sou’West 10-14kt and increase to 13-18kt during the afternoon. No rain currently shown and we should have a temp of.. 16°C! Only 7°C less than last weekend’s 23°C but I think it will feel a lot less. Tide is High at 17.18hrs on a 4.8m, so the Low will be around 10.00am, but it’s a small tide, so it won’t go out far. Not a great river paddling day.. unless you own a RIVER FIN to get you past the shallows.  

Sunday the day starts with a more virulent 20 -28kt Sou’Sou’East wind and it should stay at the same strength all day but may back to a dead Southerly during the afternoon (that could make launching ‘nasty’ due to the Neap tide).Weather is once again shown as dry and the temperature should slowly increase during the day to around 19°C by early evening. Tide hits High at 19.22hrs on a 4.7m, which is one of those times when you get more than the usual 50 mins jump on the previous High time (why? To be honest I am not 100% sure but have a feeling it is something to do with the calculations).  So, two different days and both should offer something for someone.

And that’s it for tonight. Packed up again in the rain but at least this evening Mother Nature produced something nice to look at, whillst dampening me down.

We are open from 9.30am to 5.30pm tomo and then 10.00am till 4.00pm on Sunday, should you need assistance! Have a Fun’ Fun’ Fun weekend everyone and if you are off to Tiree with Stav for a little kitesurfing fun, it is looking good! 

 

More info on 'Nigel' Here