Surfladle

So, what is going on in this World.. there is so much strife being caused by ‘us’ Humans. After all of the wonderful things we can achieve, we still think it’s OK to destroy other people’s lives? 

Then you have  dear old Mother Nature firing off, by winding a Cat 5 Hurricane called Otis into Acapulco! It’s very sad on all accounts and you have to feel for all of those who are paying a severe penalty for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sorry to mention this at the start but it hurts… as may the weather we get this weekend.

 

Last weekend it was Scotland that got the wind and rain, this weekend we are in the path but hopefully not on the same scale. A Yellow Warning for rain kicks in at midnight and lasts through until midnight Sunday, so I guess we can expect a lora rain during the next two days! Today was really wet and soggy when I left home but it became that typical story of the Downs dividing the weather. While the North side was suffering downpours with ‘sound and light’ effects, we were outside cleaning sails and looking at kite repairs in the sunshine (rain did eventually arrive but on the whole, very nice). 

So where was the wind that we all saw forecast for the week? That went by the by and for those like ‘Tim’, who have to book their stay and travel a long way to come and play.. a duff forecast is a right pain in the pocket! Hopefully he will not have wasted two days and my fingers are crossed that Saturdays current 20-26kt Sou’West will materialize.  I see next Thursday is currently shown as another 50kt Mega Blow, as this coming Sunday was at the start of the week. Well, whatever we get it does look to be another windy and wet week ahead. One thing is for sure though, it will be dark by 5.15pm!

 

Yes, this is it, the weekend I dread. We are falling back into winter as the clocks change to BWT, so don’t forget to alter those clocks on Saturday evening (it is put them BACK at 2am Sunday morning, if you want to be correct) to avoid confusion on Sunday. This also means that we change our Sunday hours from 10am – 4.00pm to 10am to 1pm. We will hang around this weekend as people don’t realise or just plain forget about the change but do try and place this info in the memory bank for the next 5 months.. of darkness! 

And not only is this weekend heralding in the return of the Prince of Darkness, it’s also bound to be the kick off for Halloween, which I won’t say anything against as many do love it but do we have to have so much plastic ‘stuff’ made,  that will all end up in the bin (what was wrong with ‘Samhain’.. If turnip sculpting was good enough for Children past then...maybe not). Officially we wait until Tuesday for the T and T’s, as the 31st is actually ‘the Night’. So, what other ghoulish things have happened this week..

 

Quite a shock to see that the two largest Bike online specialists, Wiggle and Chain Reaction have entered Administration. They are actually one and the same, after a buy-out by Signa, who I think are Austrian based. Signa have also closed their USA operation, so things have gone seriously wrong somewhere along the line.  I guess some will see it as ‘what comes around goes around’,  as they were held responsible by many for causing the death of many ‘local’ cycling shops in the who could not compete with the buying and selling power of these Mega companies UK (we all know of good shops locally that went)  . I do wonder what sort of hole it will leave, as they have been the main source of all bike spares and accessories for many a year now… the companies supplying them must be worried and that could include Red Paddle, who supplied them with SUP when things were going ‘well’.

 

Last item for this week, is a Used Ezzy sail that has been traded in. If anyone is in need of a 6.3m Ezzy Wave from 2022 to power their wave or free wave board, we have one! The sail is generally in very good con, with only a few light marks in the lower panel but the clew panel has been creased, probably due to the sail being butted up against something. It’s not going to cause any issues or failure but we do like to say if something is not quite right. Price has been adjusted so £385.00 would seem fair to us. Ok, the weekend’s wetness next…

 

Saturday, some forecasts are expecting a Sou’West wind at around 20 -26kts but I have just noticed that the Met are now saying 11-23kts in the morning with a spike of 18-28kt around midday and then going Sou to Sou’East 19-37kt during the afternoon, which could be ‘good’, as the High tide is at 11.35hrs on a big 6.6m, so launching into a Southerly would be OK at around 15.30hrs. Rain is shown as heaviest in the morning and then sunny intervals in the afternoon, with a sprinkling of ‘sound and light’ effects, so do watch out for serious wind drops and shifts, as these disruptive storm clouds move through. 

 

Sunday, looks to be a drier affair with sunny spells (not sure why there is a Yellow Warning as it looks quite ‘happy’). The Met have the wind forecasted at 15 – 24kts Sou’West pretty much all day but Guru is going for Gold with 20 – 32kt.. who will be right? Tide is High at 12.16hrs on a big Big BIG 6.7m so I expect Shoreham will be on a flood warning for the whole weekend, with so much water coming down the river.. oh joy. Let’s hope it brings a little fun eh. 

 

And that’s it for this week. It may be the weekend of darkness for us but I do hope that a little light will shine on everyone caught up in the dreadful hostilities that are taking place and for those in Mexico and so many other areas of our little planet, who are suffering due to the destructive power of Nature. What a wonderful World it is. 

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