Sailing, Surfing and other things waterbased

Any of the kayakers on here paddle at Lee Valley? I did my legacy assessment (required if you just want to turn up and play) last year and have been paddling there quite a bit recently. It's awesome! Most fun you can have in London for £6 an hour I reckon....

Just back over in Aus for a while... been welcomed with nice 6ft waves, clean conditions and reasonably warm water for the winter (18ºc). What was surprising is how unfit surf wise I am! Got absolutely smashed when I tried to paddle into a big set. Getting it back though. Forecast is for 15+ ft. waves on Sunday – if they appear I'll get some pics.

If anyone wants a pair of life jackets let me know. They're on the 'bay but happy to end the listing and sell through the forum:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221899063309?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

I've tried a few different inflatable kayaks... I wouldn't bother. You can pick up a used boat on song of the paddle for cheap.

Take my money, where do I sign

v=hVxPJ9heetchttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVxPJ9heetc

Tom Dosland - Jaws freefall
https://vimeo.com/153343464

Today I mostly bought a 49er.

(second picture for illustrative purposes only)

last years coverage of the americas cup was amazing, the computer graphics and stuff they had going on made it a joy to watch, not to mention the boats and the sailing themselves.
where can i watch coverage of this years races

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06cb980

thanks

" we shouldn't have bought a boat "

this years boats look a bit funny

it's quite mesmerising
some weird hybrid of a boat, jet foil, hovercraft and a plane
just tootling along at 40 knots on three thin slices of carbon fibre
sails barely moving, nose bow pointing dangerously downwards, looking like it'll turn into a submarine at any moment

and those dude who just keep winding, wind wind wind wind, what exactly are they doing ? i've sailed and pulled in the main sail it doesn't take a huge amount of time but those guys continuosly wind, surely with these high tech boats is it entirely nessecary

heck they are even pedalling now

They are maintaining hydraulic pressure to allow them to constantly vary the foil angle of attack for optimum flight.

Boats are bows down to keep the rudder out of the water to minimise drag.

Any forumers surf? I’m keen to start.

Under An Arctic Sky on Netflix is a must watch.

Anyone have a board for sale in London. Ideally Hybrid/ mini-mal.
H

...up

Thread dredge.

My friends have bought a house in Newquay 10 minutes from Fistral beach and subsequently got me into surfing. Last Saturday evening i was sat on my (foam!) surfboard drinking a beer watching the sun come down after 2 hours surfing. Life has changed as i know it.

Hopefully this will last longer then my brief foray into MTB'ing, any forumers sitting behind there desk watching beach webcams on magic-seaweed?

I remember that feeling well. I lived right next to Cayton Bay in the NE for a few years and was introduced to surfing then. I became obsessed. It didn't take me long to realise that it was just the being outside near the sea that I loved rather than the surfing itself and that I enjoyed having a few beers and a paddle just as much....

I've literally spent the last week trawling the internet for a nice mini-mal, something between 7'6" and 8'6", either new or secondhand. I'm an admittedly rubbish surfer but I couldn't agree more on the feeling of joy to be taken from floating on a board in the sea! I can't wait to get to the end of this annus horribilis of work stress and make some time to surf again.

Oddly I always compare mountain biking to surfing for people who haven't mountain biked but who do surf. I get the same feeling being in the mountains on a bike as on a board in the sea.

As much as i wanted a mini-mal to not look like such a dork i went for a 7'6" foamy as that was the advice literally every shop gave me even though it was half the price. The great thing is that when i'm ready i can do a trade in as good foamies hold there value very well. When i was in the shop i bought mine they gave an existing customer 75% of the original price when trading against a mini-mal.

Difference between biking and surfing for me atm is exactly as @Stonehedge says, a walk/paddle or sitting on a beach with a bear is a pretty good backup for de-stressing if the weather shit/surf's crap. I really enjoy MTB's but driving from London the Wales to get pissed on and spend longer cleaning my bike after just wasn't working for me. I also love the simplicity of it, mountain biking is a nightmare for someone like me who can't stop messing around with things.

It also seems like a great bonus for travelling as my partner is giving it a go as well. Northern Spain, Portugal, Japanese islands are on the list and even Ireland seems a whole lot more appealing now!

Oh we have great surf here in Ireland! The only downside for me is that it's all on the West coast and I'm on the East. I'd definitely recommend a trip to the Northwest though.

Foamies do make a lot of sense too but I'd like to think I'm just about capable enough to warrant going for a mini-mal (hopefully :)

sitting on a beach with a bear

Snigger

Portugal

I refuse to believe there is anywhere in Europe more laid back, with better food and with nicer beaches than the west coast of Portugal. Idyllic.

I did a lolz.

Re. Portugal food, you're Vegan right?

Yeah it was pretty cool reading about Aussie's make surf pilgrimages to Ireland, i've always wanted to go so will definitely add it to the list.

I don't think you can go wrong getting a mini-mal if that's your preference. You might even want to consider getting both as one thing i kept hearing was some experienced surfers keep foamies for difficult wave days.