Surfladle

 Friday evening and for the non-locals who maybe reading this blog, our weather this week has felt as though Spring has arrived early. What a change compared to last Fridays chilly Winter freeze but whatever the weather, the Weekend is once again here!

Keeping it nice and short this evening, as I’m staring the ramble late but don’t want to leave late! So, what’s new this week..

 

Severne have today announced the new 2024 version of their NCX no cam Freeride sail and it will go Live on the Severne International website later today (or at least I hope it has or I am in trouble for leaking info..). There have been a lot of changes to the 24 version of the NCX and James Connor of Severne UK (who many of you will have met whilst sailing at Shoreham and Worthing)  has this to say about it.   

 

“The 2024 NCX has seen huge changes, that have enhanced both its wind range ( an extended range) and top end speed and stability performance. After testing the early prototypes last year, I was blown away by the performance of this no cam sail”.

 

 The sails are due to arrive UK at some point in February (Suez problems permitting) . Sizes range from 5.0m to 8.2m and pricing ranges from £699.00 to £839.00. I will say no more, just in case the launch has been delayed. Website link is  https://www.severnesails.com/sails/ncx/

 

 

 

We, and you, may have noticed a bit of a Google Glinch with our new website. Google appears to be good at caching the pages of items which have been sold and are listing us on page 1 when people have searched for kit that matches with the sold items, even though we have removed the pages from the web site. Ok, so it’s not a major problem and we hope that they do finally clear their cache but I do get annoyed when you find something online and then go to the site, only to find that it’s not available..  but what is really annoying is that we are not currently appearing on page 1 for any of the kit we do have! That’s probably because our site is still relatively new and possibly as we are not paying for the ‘position’.  I am sure Google will correct this, on both points, at some point.

 

Ensis have launched a new foil board and it has been on display at the Boot Exhibition in Dusseldorf (their version of the Boat Show… so impressed that they still have a Fan Pool in use!).The board is called the Waltz (so you can dance on the water..) and it’s a downwind design, i.e. narrow hull, to enable the board to be easily paddled up to the speed required to make the foil fly. This design shape is rapidly becoming apparent to those who wish to light wind Wing, as whether you paddle power it or wing power it, the narrow boards drag factor is a lot less than conventional shapes and therefore you should ‘fly’ earlier than a conventional wider board (Sven from Starboard has been harping on about this since the start, hence why many of their boards have been long and thin). That said, starting out on one of these boards may detract from your experience when wing foiling, as the wider boards do offer a more forgiving platform for those knees, then toes, to perch on. The Waltz is available in four sizes from 6’0” (maybe it would also work as a Prone board?) to 7’6” and will be available in the UK from some point in March, all being well in the Suez! Price is yet to be announced but we suspect it will be around the £1800.00 mark. You can find out more on the Ensis website, as I have yet to post it on ours.. (I see Andy Biggs has been efficient). https://ensis.surf/product/waltz/

 

Please note that the attached Pictures are small but perfectly formed (WhatsApp’ed by a dodgy character mooching around the Boot) and do show the true colours of the board.

 

OK, now for the weekend weather and Tide times.

 

Saturday we have a Southerly airflow 8-16kts (Met Office) with an air temp of 8°C. They expect the wind to swing to the Sou’East late afternoon and increase to 10-20kt (Windguru say lower). Tide is High at 12.21hrs on a 5.9m, so SUP and possibly ‘short run’ Wing Foiling will be OK on the estuary. There should be small waves to play on during the early morning and late afternoon at the ‘sea side’ of Shoreham, which could be fun on SUP, Wing or Kite but might be a tad too light for windsurfing, unless you are going on big kit or it is a higher windspeed than currently forecast.

 

Sunday is pretty much a re-run of Saturday, although it could be a degree warmer at 9°C and the wind speed could be slightly less.. I would suggest to check it on Saturday evening in case it has changed. Tide is High at 12.52hrs on a 5.8m. No rain shown on either of the days!

Next week we have Sou’West winds returning on Tuesday and then Thursday on (looks very much like you will be out to play at Playas again Jenny!).  

 

And that is it for this week. We are almost at the point of saying goodbye to January 2024 and every day the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter. Sunset for Shoreham is now officially 4.36pm but as we all know; twilight can last for anything up to an hour after (currently it’s about 30 mins) so it won’t be long before the light still shines at 5.30pm… It’s good to close up shop in daylight!

 

Have a great weekend, one and all.