March is Mad, Foils keep Jes Sane, Water is Great but.. things can only get wetter!
Evening all.. and there goes another week of varied weather but.. at least the Sun is now shedding more heat and it’s also getting up earlier (when you could see it, through the fog..) so it can’t be long before things get going again! Talking of getting things going, must be time for the weekend!
March has kicked off with all types of World madness, more than most could have ever seen coming, but hopefully things will improve as we move on towards summer. People are generally happier then and we could do with a large amount of ‘happy’, for so many people in this world. Winters tend to stress people out and if you are involved with a Watersports business, you are obviously one of those people (I’m not stressed..really!) as the weather is part of your business and you have no control whatsoever over that . Where we once had a windy Autumn, a cold Winter and then a return to windy days in the Spring, which I personally think worked really very well, we now seem to have just Winter in different phases but you can never be quite sure when the last phase will end. I spoke with Jes Wooton (the chap doing the footwork to keep Foiling on the Adur) earlier today and he was saying that foiling has lured him out onto the water during many of the dark Winter days, when you would not consider it with ‘conventional kit’. Jes was, is a very keen distance SUP paddler and he still does partake in that mind focussing activity but he has found foiling, even in 2ft high waves, to be a little more rewarding and great for keeping the Winter fitness and sanity levels in their rightful places (luckily for you, we have plenty of reasonably priced foils, should you be in need of Fitness and Sanity protection! https://www.surfladle.com/wingsurf-and-foiling-kit ). Thus, my fingers are crossed and prayers have been said, that Mad March does deliver something in the way of milder and pleasantly ‘windy’ weather, to get people out on the water again, but….
There’s been a lot of talk in the shop and on the web about Water Quality for a while now and although it’s a subject we have to try and work our way around, for obvious reasons, it’s no use putting your head in the sand, not that we could unless the Tide was out. The information is available for all to see on the water companies own websites and they show that there are continuous ‘spills’ along our coastline (Littlehampton is currently not having a good time..) and although many are said to have not ‘impacted’ the environment (Southern Waters words, not mine) anybody, including Mr Musk, would have to question just why there are so many in the first place? No one will be happy that their water bill is rising by 47% but perhaps they would if they felt that the money would be put to immediate use making our waters a happier place for all organisms to be immersed in. Sadly, you get the feeling that the extra money will only end up paying Ofwat levied fines and giving Shareholders a broader smile, probably followed by another big price rise again next year. Come on Labour, do what you said you would in your manifesto …
‘Labour would give Ofwat, the water regulator, the powers to block any payment of bonuses to water bosses, while those who oversee repeated law breaking would face criminal charges. “It is time for change. The next Labour government will put the water companies under special measures and strengthen regulation to force them to clean up their act,” a Labour spokesperson said. “We will give the regulator tough new powers to make law-breaking water bosses face criminal charges and ban the payment of their multi-million-pound bonuses, until they clean up their toxic filth.”
To date, only three individuals have been criminally prosecuted by the Environment Agency since the original privatisation of the ‘Waterworks’ ( once the envy of the World) back in 1989, without appeal despite widespread illegality. Last September, ‘new powers’ were given to enable the Environment Agency to summon those responsible and I quote ‘Bring criminal charges against persistent lawbreakers, including imprisonment’ So, it seems very odd that we still have so many ‘spills’ going on. I guess the Prison must be very nice or…
And now, on a much brighter and happier note.. the weekends weather!
Saturday, Guru and the Met agree that we will have East’Sou’East winds running at 9-18kt with a daytime temp of anything up to 14°C and there’s not a chance of rain..allegedly..so perfect conditions for crossing the Channel in a rubber dinghy (is that a watersport?). Tide is High at 18.20hrs on a 4.6m, so low is around midday. Being that it’s a 4.6m, very little tidal movement where the beach is concerned, so not much in the way of sand to stick your head into.
Sunday, again Guru and Met pretty much agree, with East’Sou’East 12-20kt during the morning but then dropping back to 10-17kt during the afternoon. A top temp of 16°C (get the shorts out!) and cloudy but still a lot of SUN and no RAIN! Tide is High at 20.11hrs on a 4.7m. The tides over the weekend could be good for foils, as we will have a reasonable depth to launch into but do watch out for ‘the trough’, if the waves have been chomping away at the sand.
And that’s that for this week. Some may feel it’s been a little depressing but these things have to be looked into and spoken about, otherwise things will not get better. But to leave it on a very happy note, I noticed this on Facebook Reels.. where can we build one? Have a great weekend everyone!