dave-blog

Windsurfing in Ynyslas

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 17:10:22 +0100

Went windsurfing off the beach at Ynyslas this morning. The winds were good, but I had to use a 6.0 and Sarah a 5.2. Al was also out there with a 5.6.

The winds were SSW gusting to 20 knots, but the waves were big, compared to the wind, making it difficult to stay on whilst ploughing through the white water. Needless to say I spent a lot of time in the water.

Sarah was managing better that I was (not unusual) and I saw her manage a couple of nice jumps off the waves on her way out.

I was doing ok, but evetually got trashed by a big wave that I unfortunately didn't see coming. I had come off on a big one and was able to get myself into a reasonable waterstart position, so went for it. This meant that I was looking the wrong way when the next big wave washed over and tumbled me and the kit. I wasn't able to hang on so had to swim hard after my kit. When I got there I discovered that I had broken two battens on my sail. Oh well - Just got to figure out whether it's worth repairing, or should I buy a new sail...

Windsurfing in Ynyslas

Sat, 14 Aug 2010 15:52:07 +0100

Sarah and I had some good windsurfing this week, encouraged by Al. There was a deep low pressure sitting off the north-east of the British Isles, which induced strong north-west winds in Cardigan Bay.

On Thursday, I on a 6.0 and Sarah a 5.2. There were 4 other windsurfers out there with us, and Sarah says she was glad that there was a girl amongst them.

The seas were fairly big, by my reckoning, and scary. After the first couple of reaches I was going to give up but Al helped to keep us going. Once I relaxed and started to feel less tense I was better. It also helped not to try too hard to get waterstarting, and just do my normal things (accepting that I'd get washed over every now and then). We stayed out for a long time and every reach improved our sailing and I started feeling a lot more comfortable.

On Friday we both used a 5.2. Going back for more of the same on Friday was just as scary, but I felt more relaxed and sailed better. It was just as hard work. All the sailing we did in Margarita has stood us in good stead, even though the water is flat there.

It is still surprising to discover that you have the skills needed to plough up and over big waves and stay on, and then to even start to enjoy jumping from some of them (once I was comfortable waterstarting).

My Slalom board started to look and fell like a tanker out there and it's not big - a 114Litre board, I can see myself having to buy a wave board soon....

It will still remain scary, but I think that is part of the attraction. I guess I'll just have to take a deep breath and run for the beach next time the wind blows :D

Windsurf session in Ynyslas Estuary

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 13:10:15 +0100

Just back from a lovely little windsurf session in the Estuary.

I was on my new Fanatic Eagle 126 with a 6.4, and Sarah on the 114 Eagle with a 6.0. The wind was steady from the North East, and the water was very flat, so we got some good speed.

I was a little rusty with my gybes at the start and had to do a fiar bit of adjusting my kit until I got it right, but after that I was pleased with my gybes, but Sarah was gybing like a pro. She didn't get much water start practice, whereas I did. I saw her make about 20-30 gybes in a row, brilliant.

Aberdyfi Regatta - 11th July 2010

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 12:06:07 +0100

This was a big day for Borth; for the first time in our 10 year history we fielded crews in each event; Seniors, Ladies, Juniors and Mixed.

The weather was difficult for Aberdyfi Rowing Club, but they managed to organise some good racing. The racing was changed to a timed event as we couldn't row out to sea, because of the rough seas, and they also changed the course for each race as the weather conditions changed. Thankyou Aberdyfi for a good day's racing.

The ladies raced first, and produced a very good performance. They came 8th out of 13 teams. This was a particularly good result for a novice crew, as it was Rachel's first race, Kath's second and Pip's third.

The Men raced well too. Although they only came 15th out of 16 their time was pretty good as the racing produced some good times for all the crews.

The mixed crew put in a gutsy performance. They came 14th out of 14, although they were only 20 seconds behind the next crew. The mixed crew were all very tired, having all rowed earlier and again it was an inexperienced crew.

The best performance of the day was provided by the Juniors. Although the race was a very small field, they came 2nd out of 3, the girls rowed to their potential and produced a very good time. They received the U18 Girls Trophy for their efforts, but they were within a very respectable distance to the U18 Boys boat that beat them.

Ladies Crew: Kath(Bow), Rachel M, Pip, Sarah R(stroke), Dave R(Cox).

Mens Crew: Rob(Bow), Tim, Martyn, Dave R(stroke), Sarah R(Cox).

Juniors Crew: Catrin(Aberdyfi)(Bow), Chloe, Meg, Rachel(Mochras)(stroke), Dave R(Cox).

Mixed Crew: Kath(Bow), Rachel, Martyn, Rob(stroke), Dave R(Cox).

Beach Clean

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 10:42:42 +0100

Sarah and I took part in the latest Borth & Ynyslas Beach Clean on Sunday. I left early to watch the football, but should have stayed, as picking up litter was much more fun.

Met young Ralph yesterday

Mon, 17 May 2010 11:29:57 +0100

Sarah and I travelled to Newcastle yesterday to meet young Ralph.

Ralph is the newest addition to our family, and he seems a happy little chappy.

Beach Clean - Saturday 8th May

Tue, 11 May 2010 10:33:29 +0100

We had a good turn out for our beach clean at Ynyslas.
We managed to collect 14 bags of rubbish, thanks to all those helpers.

There was a North East wind blowing, which is the coolest wind direction, so those of us that stayed on for the picnic actually went back to Kirsten's house and ate it on a rug in here lounge...

Walking in Shropshire

Tue, 11 May 2010 10:29:10 +0100

Went for a nice walk up Caer Caradoc yesterday. The weather was nice and the views from there are slendid. It's quite a big hill and there isn't a run up, so you have a steep climb right from the off. A nice day out.
Found evidence of Bigfoot up there as well!!!

And saw some nice Bluebells on the way down...

Borth Rowing Club Blog

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 00:22:38 +0100

I've added a site for writing a blog on the Celtic Challenge for Borth Rowing Club.

Follow that blog here

Race updates and positions will be provided on Twitter

Celtic Challenge

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:29:32 +0100

We had another good weekend training for the challenge. This is our last big effort, as we travel to Ireland on Thursday, to Row on Saturday.

All is looking good. From the organisation perspective we still have one or two things to do, but they should be sorted by Wedesday. All the Rowers are looking good, and eveyone seems to still be looking forward to it. I personally can't wait now for the event to start.

We are still raising money for Mind and doing reasonably well at that as well.

Thanks to all who have supported us, it will really make a difference.
You should be able to follow us on the Celtic Challenge Website, as they will get positional updates and have promised to publish them. So if you are in Aberystwyth when we arrive it would really help if you could cheer us in over the finish line. We may need that help as we'll all be very tired.