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Bewl Water, Kent

Letitia Hristodorescu — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 16:25:21 +0000

Set in the weald of Kent, an area of outstanding natural beauty, Bewl Water is the largest inland water in south east England: 770 acres area and a mile reach across. Surrounded by picturesque scenery it is only a short drive from Tunbridge Wells and 20 minutes from the M25. However you do have to pay a fee to sail and have an RYA Level 2 certificate.

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Beach Faces:

Weekday sailors pay £7.40 to Southern Water. Opening times are 9am to half an hour before sunset. You MUST produce a RYA Level 2 Certificate and have third party insurance. If you don’t, Bewl Windsurfing can give a Level 2 assessment for £20 but only if the wind is a force 3 (7-10knots) or above.

If the wind doesn’t corporate, Bewl Windsurfing will provide supervision for the day at £15 per 3 hours which includes the Southern Water fee.

To sail at weekends as well you have to join Bewl Valley Sailing Club Tel.01892 890930 or visit:
www.bewl-valley-sc.org.uk

Best Wind Direction:

W, SW or east.

Not Good:

Northerly

What’s On The Bottom:

Mud and shingle

Any Hazards:

Fly fishermen, give them at least fifty meters clearance

Other Water Users:

The Bewl pleasure ferry, fishing boats, dinghies, rowers, kayakers.

Suitability / Levels:

Beginners to expert blasters. We have seen some forward loops although they were done by a star visit from Nik Baker.

Instruction:: YES. Bewl Windsurfing operates RYA courses. With plenty of safety cover, it is one of the best places in the Southeast to introduce the family into the sport Tel. 01892 891000 www.bewlwindsurfing.net Email: bewl.windsurfing@virgin.net
Kit Hire:: YES. From Bewl Windsurfing (contact details as above)

Facilities:

Toilets	Yes, on site
Shower	YES, on site with changing rooms
Windsurfing Shop	Yes, run by Bewl Windsurfing stocking North, Fanatic, Mistral, Hi-fly
Food	Restaurant 5 mins walk away
Parking	Free

Local Hotshots:

Formula sailors Keith Atkinson and Greg King, Redmond and Anthony Scales, Peter Fey and Kim Jiskoot.

Extra:

Bewl Valley Sailing Club has a busy dinghy and windsurf racing calendar, clinics from the likes of Peter Hart and Guy Cribb as well as all the social that goes with a sailing club. For junior windsurfers they have an active Team15 club with inter club competitions at Bewl and elsewhere in the south.

Tel. 01892 890930 or visit www.bewl-valley-sc.org.uk

How To Get There:

From the north take the Sevenoaks junction off the M25 (Jnc5) and go southbound on the A21 towards Hastings. From the south coast go up the A21 or the A26 towards Tunbridge Wells. Either way, once you get to Lamberhurst, Bewl Water is clearly signposted. Note: try to avoid the A21 at peak times because it is so busy.

Report By:

Bob and Jill White.

Photo Credits:

Photos courtesy of Clyde Waite and Greg King

Hythe, Kent

Letitia Hristodorescu — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 16:16:02 +0000

Hythe and Saltwood Sailing club (HSSC) near Folkestone in Kent is home to one of most active windsurfing clubs in Britain. A thriving racing, freeride, social and Team 15 scene is set right on a beach and they get a whole range of conditions. If you are a commuting windsurfer, then it is less than an hour from the M25 and well worth it.

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Beach Faces:: South-east.
Best Wind Direction:: South-west which is cross-on.
Best Wind Direction For Waves:: At low tide we get a good wave with a south-west wind but it ain’t Cornwall!
Not Good:: North-east, North.
Tide:: Yes, it goes in and out but you won’t notice it once on the water!
What’s On The Bottom:: Sand at low tide, shingle at mid and high tide.
Any Hazards:: Rock groyne on the left.
Other Water Users:: Kitesurfers, swimmers, and sailors (it is a sailing club after all).
Suitability / Levels:: All levels. If you become a member of the club there is plenty of gear, storage and rescue.

Wipeout Factor:: Not so high whilst sailing, but the shorebreak can humiliate even the hardest of men.
Instruction:: Yes, for adults and kids on Thursday evenings (during the summer) and on Saturdays.
Kit Hire:: Not for hire, but supplied if you are a member of the Club.
Friendly Factor:: Very friendly, there is a bar on site and plenty of obsessed windsurfers who just love to talk kit!
No Wind Alternatives:: Very friendly, there is a bar on site and plenty of obsessed windsurfers who just love to talk kit!

Facilities:

Toilets	Yes, in the club.
Shower	Yes, in the club.
Windsurfing Shop	Active in Folkestone.
Food	Club food and a nearby very posh fish restaurant in Hythe Bay.
Parking	There is parking on the road, but it is busy during the weekend.
Pub	The Hope Pub is very good.

Accommodation:

Go to www.hythe-kent.com for info on where to stay, where to eat plus a history of the town!

Local Hotshots:

Elliot Carney, Greame Fuller, a lot of up and coming Team 15 sailors including Jack Brooks, Andrew Petts, Claudia Carney, William Lama and William Hurrell so watch out!

Local Knowledge / Secrets:

Low tide in a south-west wind gets a nice bit of shore break/wave. In a north-east go to Dimchurch, the opposite bit of headland to Camber.

Extra:

They welcome anyone at the club, just go in and get a membership form. There are really good regular social events, and the occasional “hot” head windsurfers!

Club Fees: Annual membership for an adult is £85, Family is £105, Student is £35 and U18 is £25. You can also store your kit here for £5 outside and £25 for a indoor rack.

Go to their website: www.HSSC.net

How To Get There:

Take the M20 off the M25 and head to Folkestone. Take Junction 11 and follow the signs to Hythe. Once you get to Hythe then follow the one-way system towards Folkestone. Go past a park and take your first right. This road goes to the sea. Carry on to the sea, or to go to the sailing club by taking the last left and then your first right.

Report By:

Clyde Waite

Whitstable, Kent

Letitia Hristodorescu — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 16:09:01 +0000

Whitstable is a great location for flat water. At low tide it is shallow without having too much of a walk. Anyone wanting to learn the sport, practice freestyle or just blast, will find the conditions ideal. There is a good windsurf/kitesurf shop (Whitstable Windsurfing) to the east of town run by Mark, and should be the first stop for advice on kit or sailing conditions. Most windsurfers will use the beach off Tankerton slopes, just to the east of the shop.

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Beach Faces:: North
Best Wind Direction:: West, North or North-east
Best Wind Direction For Waves:: North-east
Not Good:: Southerly
Tide:: Low to mid tide is best. High tide is normally a lumpy mess.
What’s On The Bottom:: Mud/sand.
Any Hazards:: The harbour entrance which is a working port and has strong currents. Also a shallow spit to the east called the ‘Street’ which shows at low tide. At high tide watch out for groynes.
Other Water Users:: Kitesurfers, yacht and dinghy sailors.
Suitability / Levels:: Beginners to Intermediate. Ideal for Freestyle

Wipeout Factor:: Flat water and no shore dump, so low risk.
Instruction:: Wild Times next to the yacht club teaches beginners and the NEW RYA Fast Forward scheme.
Website: Wild Times
Phone: Ian Wild on 01227 282800
Email: wycschool@tiscali.co.uk
Kit Hire:: Yes, with lessons from Wild Times.
Friendly Factor:: Very friendly, loads of blasters here who are always good for a bit of friendly banter on the beach.
No Wind Alternatives:: Very friendly, loads of blasters here who are always good for a bit of friendly banter on the beach.

Facilities:

Toilets	Yes, Public ones near Tankerton slopes
Shower	No
Windsurfing Shop	Whitstable Windsurfing
Food	‘Waterfront’ or Beach cafe for fry up’s
Parking	Pay in the summer. Free parking along the top of Tankerton slopes.
Pub	‘Waterfront’ or the Duke of Cumberland in town.

Accommodation:

Stay in style at the Hotel Continentalotherwise loads of B+B’s
Click here for Whitstable accommodation

Local Hotshots:

Pip Pardoe, 2004 Youth Freestyle Champion. Chris Calthrop, Maui Pro sailor but originally from here.

Local Knowledge / Secrets:

Kitesurfers use the beach behind the windsurf shop so best avoided. Most windsurfers go off Tankerton slopes which is half a mile to the east of the town.

Extra:

For nightlife head to Canterbury 6 miles away.
Whitstable Yacht Club is a great club that caters for all sailing and windsurfing. It also has a very good social scene.

How To Get There:

From North take the M25, J2 onto the A2 which becomes M2 to Dover/Canterbury. :- ’1′

From South M25, take J5 onto M26. Take J3 to M20. Then J7 onto A249. At J5 turn onto M2 Dover. :-’1′

’1‘….. At J7 take A299 to Margate. Approx 6 miles take left slip road into Whitstable. At roundabout take first exit downhill. Go through town untill you reach a castle on the left. Take left road and this will bring you out onto Tankerton slopes overlooking the sea. Follow until road veeres sharply right. Take left turn and park where you can.

Report By:

Paul Humphrey

UKWA / EFPKT Freestyle, Minnis Bay, Kent – Event Report

Duncan — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 10:27:49 +0000

Adam Sims

Will Rogers reports from the UKWA Freestyle Round 2 and EFPKT Round 1 at Minnis Bay, Kent – 28-30 May 2011. Photos by Julia Slack.

Sponsored By:
Nik Baker of K66 for Ion, Fanatic and North
Graeme Fuller of Surf Sales for Dakine
Dave Gollick of Windsurfing Fins

Round 2 of the UKWA Freestyle tour, encompassing the first round of the European Freestyle Pro Kids Tour (EFPKT) scored some superb conditions over the bank holiday weekend at a sunny and windy Minnis Bay.
North Kent delivered 15-20 knots on Saturday followed by 20-25 knots on Sunday allowing a stunning display of freestyle trickery by all competitors, including top World Tour Riders Andy ‘ Bubble’ Chambers and Adam ‘Ginge’ Sims. Side/offshore winds, produced relatively flat conditions on the inside, but some very challenging and confused ‘whitstable chop’ on the outside – some big moves going down close to the promenade created a great atmosphere on the beach for spectators and competitors alike!
Two complete rounds were completed on both Saturday and Sunday for all fleets, allowing 1 discard and 3 rounds to count towards the final positions.
In the Pros, Bubble (JP/Neilpryde) put on an impressive display of consistent power moves to take a convincing 1st place. Adam Sims (RRD) and John Palmer (Juice/Serverne) both put on an impressive show, with Sims narrowly beating Palmer to 2nd due to his more consistent sailing in the lighter day 1 conditions. Will Rogers (RRD/Chinook/KBAY) went into day 2 in 3rd place in front of Palmer, but couldn’t match John’s performance on day 2 finishing in 4th Overall.
The Amateurs sailed in the Pros competition rounds to give them the best experience. Nick Bentley (K3d) showed the best consistency of spocks, flakas and forwards to take the top spot, new faces to the tour Richard Van Aken and Steve Thorne (Wet’nDry Boardsports) both fought hard for 2nd place, but eventually Van Aken took the lead.
In the EFPKT fleets, Tim Russanaars and Oscar Carmicheal had a close battle for the top of the podium in the under 17’s, Both throwing some big Culos in an impressive show. In the end, Russanaars took 1^st, with Carmicheal in 2^nd. Chasing hard in 3^rd was Josh Sparks. The Under 20’s saw UKWA regulars Sam Conroy and Alex Mitchell having a close battle with Conroy taking the glory. The under 15 fleet showed incredible windsurfing talent, with 11 year old West Kirby local Ike Bradley Baker taking the win over Harry Davis. Both Sailors are defiantly ones to watch for the future!

As a bonus to the weekend, Trevor Funnell organised for the supporting girls (Julia Slack and Lara Johnston) to have a heat to get the feel of what competition is like. Both came off the water after showing the judges a display of smooth carve gybes, chop hops and duck gybes totally buzzing and hungry for more competition in the future!
Sunday closed up with an Expression Session, with best and biggest moves winning. An incredible display of some of the latest moves including Culos, Burners, Konos, and double spocks. This was won by Sims for a really high Matador in the Pros, Tim Russenaars for a great shaka in the Youths and Josh Sparks for an awesome forward in the Juniors.
Many thanks, for a brilliant weekend organised by Trevor Funnell in association with the UKWA. Thanks, for the Sponsors, Judges (Julian Da Vall, Mike Archer and Ruben Petrisie). and of course Minnis Bay for giving us some sick conditions!
Next Event is at Mumbles, Wales on 25th and 26th June – check details at ukwindsurfing.com. After this weekend, it’s NOT to be missed! If you have never competed before remember you get a discount off your first event with your 1st year of UKWA membership so why not come along, get involved and enjoy an amazing weekend on the water!

Results:

Pros
1st Andy Bubble Chambers
2nd Adam Sims
3rd John Palmer

Amateurs
1st Nick Bentley
2nd Richard Van Aken
3rd Steve Thorne

EFPKT

Under 20′s
1st Sam Conroy
2nd Alex Mitchell

Under 17′s
1st Tim Russenaars
2nd Oscar Carmicheal
3rd John Sparks

Under 15′s
1st Ike Bradley Baker
2nd Harry Davis

Pro Expression Session Winner. Adam Sims
Youths Expression Session Winner. Tim Russenaars
Junior Expression Session Winner. Josh Sparks

mb2_bentley mb2_BradleyBaker mb2_bubble mb2_bubblewins mb2_Carmichael mb2_competitors mb2_judges mb2_mensprofinalists mb2_mitchel mb2_Palmer mb2_prizegiving mb2_protop3 mb2_rogers mb2_rogers2 mb2_sims mb2_sims_thumb mb2_trevorfunnell

UKWA Minnis Bay Photo Gallery

Duncan — Tue, 31 May 2011 15:09:56 +0000

UKWA Minnis Bay freestyle men's winner Andy 'Bubble' Chambers

Last weekend saw the UKWA freestylers hit Minnis Bay in Kent for the second round of 2011 UKWA Freestyle competition. We hope to bring you a full event report very soon, meanwhile we can tell you that Bubble took first place, followed by Adam Sims, John Palmer and Will Rogers. More from their blogs at www.k540.com / www.k669.blogspot.com / www.k718.co.uk / www.windsurfingwilly.wordpress.com – but meanwhile here’s a MASSIVE pic gallery from Josh Willmot of Blacklab Films…

Minnis Bay UKWA/EFPKT Freestyle – This Weekend!

Duncan — Wed, 25 May 2011 08:10:32 +0000

EFPKT Minnis Bay poster

The European Freestyle Pro Kids Tour (EFPKT) kicks off its second year with a first event in the UK at Minnis Bay, Kent, alongside the second event of the UKWA Freestyle Tour (and UKWA Cup 2 course racing too!) this bank holiday weekend, 28-30 May.

There are EFPKT categories for youths and juniors, under-20, under-17, under-15 and under-13 and the UK Tour will also have the usual pro, amateur and ladies categories so every age group and standard is covered.

Whether you are making the highest level moves or just learning to heli-tack you should come along to this event if only for the experience and the results will of course count towards both tours.

Ex PWA Judge Julian Da Vall and EFPKT Tour organizer Ruben Petrisie will be judging the competition and with the possibility of some good wind expect the action to be fast and furious all weekend.

Don’t forget that freestyle is great to watch and takes place close to the beach so is probably the most spectator friendly windsurfing discipline, even if you’re not competing come along and take a look.

For further information contact Trevor Funnell, email t50rev@freedom255.com

More details at ukwindsurfing.com / www.efpkids-tour.com

2010 champions Velentien Boeckler and Tim Ruyssenars with Ruben Petrisie

Sam Conroy & Co in Kent

Duncan — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 08:17:05 +0000

Sam Conroy, photo courtesy of Luke Yates at Way Ahead Photography

Check out Surf Sales / XO Sails / Holiday Extras rider Sam Conroy and friends freestyling down in Hythe, by Casper Hart. Sam tells us: “The lake’s called The Pit near Hythe, this was filmed a couple of weeks ago when we got the big South Westerly front through and it was cranking so we headed down there for some freestyle action! The ‘friends’ in the video are Will (Gaastra sail) and Matt Lama (NeilPryde)…” More at www.k-117.co.uk