Surfladle

Yes, Prince Charles was hooked on the windsurfing ‘trip’ back in the early days of the sport and the RYA have pictured him on his board as part of their Coronation weekend regalia. (Click here to see link and picture, scroll  down to no. 4 ) We think it might have been a Sea Panther that Charles had on Royal loan from the Way brothers, who were the Importers for the boards at that time  (by Royal Appointment I guess). If anyone knows otherwise, please do let us know. 

We on the other hand have no regalia or bunting, which was not by choice but we just left it too late and nothing locally to be found.. I guess it’s off to the Tower for us! Anyhow, it’s the thought that counts and we do hope King Charles 3rd has a great weekend and long may he Reign. 

 

New Kit.. here’s a few items that have rolled into the shop this week.

ION has released two new Watersports Helmets, which have been manufactured in conjunction with the Swiss Safety equipment brand WIP, to produce high quality head protection. 

The ‘Slash’ comes in at £69.00 and has a bike style adjustment strap to allow one shell to offer a

good fit for the head sizes within the range. It has a very nice feature which is the ratcheting chin strap catch which is similar to that used with motorcycle helmets and it allows quick adjustment by the wearer without removing the helmet. The helmet comes with ear protectors and has a reasonable amount of padding.

The ‘Mission’ is in the ‘top notch’ league. It’s lightweight but has three layers of protection to absorb the impacts. Once again, it has ear protection and the bike style adjuster but it’s also supplied with a 2nd padded insert to allow the wearer to add more padding, if required. The chin strap catch is ION’s magnetic version, which has proved to be both easy and effective. The helmet is also fitted with a securing strap at the rear, to keep your eye protection attached during those inevitable wipe-outs.  Price for the Mission is £99.00. 

We have both in stock if you wish to come along and have a look!

 

Now for protection of the other end.. we have all sizes of the Sola Active Shoe back in stock and this year they have the Black/Melange colour, for those that don’t want colour! A perfect shoe for SUP use or for general beach fun, as the sole is thick enough to protect you from sharp shells in the mud or brambles on the bank and make the pebbles on the beach a breeze to walk over. They have managed to keep the price the same for 2023, so only £20.00 a pair (they got rid of the cardboard boxes and now are supplied on a swing tag.. simples!). Ahh.. just remembered that we now also have the 3mm gloves that retail at £14.00, in Small and Medium, for those of you who are still suffering from cold hands when out for a swim.. and we have the Swim Buoys back in, as well!

 

As I mentioned last week (but had the date wrong..) Duotone are running a Kite Demo Day over at Goring (Worthing) on Saturday (tomorrow) from 9.30am through too late afternoon, should you wish to go along and see / touch and hopefully test the latest offerings, weather permitting. 

Talking of weather, time for the three-day outlook and tide times.

 

Saturday is typically wet, with rain lurking around throughout the day. What else would you expect from the UK weather in 2023 and on a day when DRY would be so much nicer. Winds are from the ‘Devils Tack’, which is Sou’East / Port Tack but it may even come close to Southerly at times. Windspeeds are shown at 12-17kts pretty much all day, which at least should be enough to get larger kites out at Goring. Tide is High at 12.28hrs on a 6.1m which means plenty of water in the estuary and river (SUP will be good but not sure if the wind direction will work for the Wings).

 

Sunday is looking a bit better rain wise with only a brief shower or two shown for the morning. The winds are coming around to Sou’West and are forecast to be 14-20kt mid-afternoon on and should increase early evening, which will suit Shoreham as the tide will be on the way out. High Tide is at 13.05hrs on a 6.2m, so Wings on the river should fare better.

 

Monday is typical Bank Holiday weather, as rainfall currently shown as ‘in for the day’.

The wind will back to Sou’Sou’West 11-14kt during the morning and increase to 15 -23kt during mid-afternoon, when the rain is shown to be at its worst. Tide is High at 13.43hrs on a 6.1m so launching will be difficult until at least 16.00hrs, if the wind is fairly onshore.

 

So, that’s what they say at the moment but it can all change, as they rarely get it right for 24hrs ahead. 

 

As for our opening times this Coronation weekend, they are ..

Saturday 9.30 – 5.00pm

Sunday and Monday 10-00am – 4.00pm.

 

And that is that for this Friday evening. We do hope that the Coronation celebrations are not ruined by the weather and if the one person who won’t be phased by a bit of water is the King, then what do us loyal ‘serfs’ have to worry about.  

Have a great weekend everyone!