UKWA Inlands Round 1, Pitsford Reservoir, UK

I had made the decision earlier this year that i wanted to do a few longboard events this year so when my father wanted me to go across to England to collect a motor bike for him i jumped at the chance as it meant i was able to get across for the first round of the UKWA Inlands at Northampton Sailing Club, Pitsford Reservoir, Brixworth, Northants, England.

It was also the first time i had raced a longboard in 20 years so the goal for me for the weekend was to get out there and have fun and start to get my old longboard skills back. After travelling for 16 hours i got to Pitsford late on Friday evening and set up my tent and unpacked the car to get ready for the weekend and then headed off to the local pub for some food and a few pints. I got up early on Saturday after a cold night in the tent, it got down to -1 so it was pretty cold, and rigged some sails. I rigged up my 9.0m KA Race and 8.3m KA Koncept and made sure my F2 Lightning was race ready.

I registered in the Raceboard Unlimited fleet which meant i was not limited to a 9.5m sail and could use any sail size i wanted. It is also fleet more suited to my weight as most of the guys in the 9.5m class are 75-80kg so i would be at a disadvantage as i am 20kg heavier than most of them. Unfortunatly there wasn't enough wind all day so we packed up and had a meal in the club house with a few drinks and headed to bed around 12.

After the temperature getting down to -1 again on Saturday night the sun was a welcome sight on Sunday morning and we were also greated with some wind (2-8knots). The course was laid and we got in 3 races before the wind dissapeared for the day. I used my 9.0m KA Race on my F2 Lightning and with each race i was getting used to my longboard again and i finished the event in 2nd place in the Raceboard unlimited fleet and 5th master.

I was happy with my result after not doing any longboard racing for so long and i can't wait to get to compete at another event so hopefully i can get back across this year for another one