Surfladle

 Here we are again, Friday evening and the Weekend is ahead of us!

Brrr... this Cold & Bright weather is truly lovely but I cannot help but long for warmer weather! The days however are getting longer as we are now a month after the shortest day, so that is something 'brighter' in our dark winter lives and I thank all Gods that I don't live in Iceland!

 Talking of lives, it was sad to hear that Michael Lee Aday passed away yesterday. Meat Loaf, as he was always known, may not have been to everyone's musical taste but he was a character of our times and sad to see another iconic musician brought down by Covid...we can't help but pay homage where homage is due. (Sadly No Picture as scared of getting another Copyright fine but Click Here for an apt song ). 

Talking of Covid, the rules in England change from 26th January with most restrictions from Plan B being removed, apart from self isolating which ends during March. From then on we treat Covid exactly as we have treated Flu in the past.. DO NOT COME HERE IF YOU HAVE FLU!  :)

 All good news but as the shop is a confined space and currently case rates are still high, all be it dropping  (would that be because people are not PCR testing due to the implications that come with it?) we may still be wearing masks, even if customers quite rightly wish not to. Hope that is a fair soloution and all we would ever ask of you is please don't come along if you are in contact with someone who has it or if you are feeling a tad rough yourself!

January is one of those months where 'not a lot' happens up here in the frozen North. In past years the majority of the UK's and Northern hemispheres water sports industry, including manufacturers,  reps, schools and some shops, would head South to find warmer climates to do the vital testing and research that is required to launch the kit of the following year (at local bars and the like) . Covid put that to bed in 2021 and only a few have managed to get on a plane to Cape Town this year, to enjoy it's warmth instead of chilling out the January to March stretch of a Northern Europe winter. Perhaps this will benefit us, as the pre-dominant testing in warm climates does not show up the issues with kit that cold temperatures can cause. Over the year these issues have ranged from the colourful screen printing on a range of windsurfing sail luff tubes disintegrating, kites performing poorly due to bladders losing their pressure as the air cooled (not so much a failure but it was a problem in the early days when pumps did not have gauges), wetsuit liquid seaming that became brittle and then of course we have had various failures of plastic mouldings that were fine in 25°C Hawaii but struggled in 5°C Shoreham. A little cold water testing at 'home' should improve the products no end but sadly, not the testers Tan!

New kit, we have received yet more Wing Boards (anyone looking for a 4'8" Fanatic Sky or an Ensis Rock'n'Roll 117??)   along with a couple of rare Neil Pryde Visor Beanies, which have a peak to aid water runoff.. Only £24.95! The long awaited Open Palm Mittens from ION are on the back of a truck heading our way and our apologies for the delay to all of you that have been patiently waiting. Price for 2022 is now £49.00 which was a bit of a shock.
Goya Europe have announced Clearance on their pre- 22 boards and sails, with 10% off of the RRP on boards and 20% off on sails. All stock is held in Spain so 'reach out to us' if there is something you are interested in and we will see if it's available. After months of shortages we now have the reverse, as we have more stock in here than at any point since 1986 when LadleLand opened! How things change..

And now, the weekends weather outlook and tide times!

Saturday we have a Nor 'West wind at a constant 8kts all day, which will keep the temps down to 6°C. Tide hits High at 13.43hrs on a 5.8m so River SUP is on, if you like it 'fresh and exciting'!

Sunday the winds slowly swing around to Nor 'East and drop to around 6kts. Temp is staying at 6°C. High Tide is a little later at 14.21hrs, also on a 5.8m, so if Saturdays paddle did not chill you off, you can have another go on Sunday!

 And that is it for the next two weeks you lucky people, as I am attending an important event in someone's life next Friday. We are here Saturday 9.30 - 5.30pm and then again Sunday 10 - 1.00pm should you need Retail Therapy. Have a great weekend, stay warm and play safe, this is not the time for mistakes on the water!