Sailing, Surfing and other things waterbased

is it possible to kiteboard without a car near london?

everytime I've been at the sea side lately I've seen kite surfers (winds permitting). Anywhere a train takes you to the coast?

Used to surf all the time before I moved here, I traded it for riding a bike through london traffic.
I left all my gear behind for my brother when I went back to NZ couple of months back.
Looking at going for waves in europe over xmass/ny, I think i will end up just ridding around nyc instead.

scuba, I used to have my diving instructor certificate. Haven't dived in 6 years now though.

is it possible to kiteboard without a car near london?

http://www.braylake.com/home/index.asp

I used to kayak rivers a lot, unfortunately I haven't been too much lately. If anyone paddles the Thames locks at all let me know and I'll come out for a paddle with them.

Scuba anyone?

Yep Scuba dooba noob. BSAC AD/OWI... Fancy a quick dip?

Also have a RYA lvl 2 advanced powerboat and access to a couple of boats if anyone is in need of a safety boat.

YouTube - Surfing by the Cliffs of Moher

Come visit us in Ireland ;)

And finally I'm going back to rowing to get fit.
its awesome and the Thames is the ideal venue.

That is all.

Such a casual decision about a sport filled with pain, erg test fear, social life crippling early starts at weekends, and training sessions that mainly include how close you can get to making your lungs jump out of your mouth. It isn't always awesome when you are hacking up the Thames on a shit day as the wash from a twat in a launch breaks over your rigger and into the boat to make you cold and grumpy!

Cracking sport mind. It is glorious to be out on the river when it is quiet and side by side racing in the summer is great.

Surely gig racing is the fixed version of rowing?

Yep Scuba dooba noob. BSAC AD/OWI... Fancy a quick dip?

Also have a RYA lvl 2 advanced powerboat and access to a couple of boats if anyone is in need of a safety boat.

Haven't dived for a couple of years, but have BSAC something or other and PADI advanced open water. Probably going out to Malaysia at Easter to get some diving in.

YouTube - Surfing by the Cliffs of Moher

Come visit us in Ireland ;)

I've dived further up the coast from there at Connemara

Far too cold round these parts for ANY outdoor water sports. If you likey the water, move somewhere hot - its so much more enjoyable.

Htfu.

me and a friend keep 3 windsurfers (90l fsw, 115l bump and jump and 135litre freeride) down at queen marys and he keeps a bladerider moth (hydrofoil) great club with great wind compared to a lot of the reservoirs around london as its raised up. obviously not a patch on the sea but for poor people with no car it makes for a very decent sailing/ windsurf destination on a bike.

Now here's something I've been meaning to get back into, it's just boats eat your money even faster than bikes.

I was a very keen sailor, all kinds of boats in all kinds of places, I'm even a (poorly) qualified naval architect with a degree and everything. Haven't been sailing for nearly 15 years tho.

@ Huge, I used to sail on the Wesh Harp when I was at school, if you fancy taking me out for a drift sometime would be much appreciated.

Welsh Harp can be a bit gusty due to the trees. datchet or QMS are bigger and can handle much faster craft. We used to keep a 49er down there with enough room to get it up to pace...

Datchet has the advantage of being raised 60 odd feet above the already fairly flat land, the wind often screams over it, I sailed my little cat there for a few years, made for some very exciting blasting about. The Welsh Harp however made you learn how to get everything possible out of whatever wind there was, except for the occasional strong westerly which brought the place to life.

Heading down to Penzance with ZaneChaos and WAGS this weekend for a surf. Haven't really done much at all in the 10 years I've been out of NorCal so should be interesting. Looking forward to getting in the water again.

not looking like a promising weekend. thats the problem with surfing from london - you have to wait till the last minute to decide whether its worth the trip. then you get there and its blown out.

Anyone tried skimboarding? Have you seen what is capable with these things:

hey used to sail dinghies and yachts competitively (but not in england) I'm 1.68m tall and around 53kilos - so i might be a little short for crew but...if you are not fussed then cool...what boats are you wanting to sail?
i never tried rowing but would love to try (btw i'm a girl with no huge upper strength so...)

not looking like a promising weekend. thats the problem with surfing from london - you have to wait till the last minute to decide whether its worth the trip. then you get there and its blown out.

Hmm. It doesn't look great does it. Might have to bring the bikes...or find a pub and drink a bunch of spingo...or both.

Also, skimboarding ftw /. Good times slamming into the shorebreak.

here's a link to the place it is epcially awesome, consistant wind and massive:
http://www.queenmary.org.uk/

I did most of my RYA courses there when i was a young un - great place

this is where the real rides are at..

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The surf is looking promising this weekend in Cornwall. Heading off tonight after rush hour, anyone here going?

thanks for the revive.
am going to QM next weekend.
silver, if i could I would.
have an epic weekend.

Wish I could go Cornwall this weekend... Was in Devon the beginning of September.. Good breaks at Westward Ho and Puttsborough.. If anyone feels like it again before it gets proper freezing I'm in....
Also looking at doing a long weekend yacht Charter at some point. If anyone has a dayskipper qualification that would come in handy... I can crew as can a few other I know

Winter is always the best time for surf, there is nothing like surfing while it's haling.

Real men surf in Alaska.

YouTube - Glacier Surfing Alaska