Quite a large proportion of the sea sailing of my (previous) youth was off Abersoch beach. There were glorious summer holidays whilst at school when I would spend just one night at "home" in Staffordshire and the all the rest in Abersoch... Many sea miles were had there in the early '90s in my Magnum 8, making nonsense of the singlehanded class in Abersoch Dinghy Week and keeping OOD's on their toes in club racing.
The Edwards family moved our summer playground to Llanbedrog in 2004, but I had to make the pilgrimage the four or so miles to Abersoch in Limbic Candy. Having completed Abersoch Mirror Week, there was time to make the passage for lunch on 21/8/10... Now, given that I hadn't really done that much beating, it was a good excuse to "learn through necessity" in a pleasant 12kn SSW breeze. It was too nice to worry about starting from Llanbedrog in the irksome low half of the tide...
It was a good blast down, beginning to tack more predictably, although foiling tacks are a little way off! I resisted the temptation to go through the RS Feva Open Meeting fleet, but clearly had to approach the beach on a screaming beam reach from the Islands...
Lesson 1: don't leave batteries in the Velocitek for a week or they go flat. I must have shot well through the 20knot barrier on approaching the beach, but I'll never know...
George was desperate for a trip to the islands to see the seals, so we rigged the Mirror and went off in search - just a single curious one between Chapel and Lighthouse Islands.
Time to return to Llanbedrog - I was relishing the prospect as things had freshened to 16-18 knots or so.
Lesson 2: Now I know why the faster cats on the beach don't bother going through the moorings. At 20+ knots there isn't much room for error in the tightly packed moorings, especially with powerboats not expecting a flash of yellow to speed by! There was just enough time to practice my pigeon-Welsh expletives...
Lesson 3: However tempting it is to go and play with the Dragon fleet, keeping clear of 14m pleasure catamarans cruising along at 25 knots is to be recommended. The "Shearwater" was also out enjoying the Dragons close racing. Crossing the near wake was fine, but 1m high wash the other side wasn't so pretty. My first deep sphenoid sinus saline washout...
My local spies hadn't seen a foiling Moth in Abersoch until now - has anyone else been out in Abersoch?
There's been a little discussion about potential UK Nationals venues and I guess I am reasonably qualified to speak about Abersoch. I have done many champs from SCYC and the race organisation is first class. Neighbouring Pwllheli has attracted more big-fleet attention in recent years: they have the marina, a first class secure hard standing boat park, camping on site and sheltered launching. However, the conditions off Pwllheli don't rival the Foiltown Playpen for their tea-tray flatness. In contrast, Abersoch can offer sheltered waters as long as the wind stays away from the (rare) eastern sector. Once further out than the St Tudwal's Islands, there can be a fair swell, but good long courses can be set where it's flat. Launching is off the sandy beach into deep water -well, deeper than Llanbedrog - and is a doddle (apart from the sand). It's a much more pleasant spot for an evening meal and a beer - as well as a family holiday.
Not being a south-coast sailor, I, for one, would be very keen to spread exposure of the class to the North and Abersoch would be a good venue. If there was willing, I could easily organise a long weekend next year to allow those more experienced foilers than me the chance to make up their own minds. Would it be a decent venue for a training weekend?
Any thoughts?
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