Launch Site – Brighton beach, near Hove Lawns

The team are starting to study weather forecasts, tide charts and wind direction to identify ideal conditions.

The forecast for 30th March looked spot on for a decent session on the sea at Brighton around 6pm with the sun forecast to shine, and the wind to drop completely.  This was an ad-hoc, rather than pre-planned, get together driven by the forecast and called out only 2 days before. Because of that, both work and social commitments prevented the whole gang getting together.

When the evening arrived it didn’t disappoint as the day turned out to be the hottest March day for circa 50 years. Neil took to the sea mid afternoon and confirmed that the conditions were favourable but unfortunately due to prior commitments couldn’t hang around for the evening sesh.

The wind was light and dropping as Giles, Mick, Jeff and Ant took to the water somewhere between 5 & 6pm and it nigh on disappeared completely as they paddled east from Hove lawns and past the ruins of the old West Pier & the British Airways i360.

Weirdly even though this was clearly the flattest conditions the four of them had faced they all said they felt more unsteady on their feet than they had in slightly more challenging conditions… though the feeling soon passed as the sea became glassy and they continued their journey eastwards towards the Palace Pier with the sun on their backs.

It was serene out on the water, a stark contrast to the beaches which were bustling with people. There were a number of other paddle boarders, also making the most of the freak early summer like conditions and the odd Jet Skiers and speedboat sped by creating a ripple on the otherwise mirror like sea.

The guys paddled through and around the rusty, mollusc covered girders that support the palace pier, with flocks of seagulls taking to the wing as they approached. They headed back towards the West Pier as the sun was getting low in the sky. In the still conditions, with no apparent underlying current, the boards cut through the water much quicker than they had in any previous session.

As they got out the water, the smiles said it all. Another great session, in different conditions and a few more lessons learnt.

Here’s a few pics from the session