Hurricane Gonzalo (Tuesday October 21 October)




Is it something to with the ability of weather forecasting supercomputers to better track weather systems that more and more windy days are given names? The UK was hit on Tuesday by the remnants of Hurricane Gonzalo, but I'm sure when I was a kid it would just have been a windy day, with no stated link with a destructive tropical storm halfway around the world nearly a week earlier.
Gonzalo was headline news, especially as some poor unfortunate lady was driving along a road in London as a tree blew down onto her car and killed her. A UK victim to add to the many in Bermuda.


Actually when I was a kid it would have been a "fucking windy day" since very strong winds were an occasion when it was ok to swear, and because it really was fucking windy. Too windy to sheet in with a 4m windy. Which on the one hand was a bit of a shame, since you can't do much more than sail along and marvel at it when it's that extreme, but one the other hand OK as sometimes it's nice to simply sail along and marvel at it all.

To avoid feelings of guilt, and the irrational urge to try and check emails on a phone I took the day off work, and we headed over with egg sarnies, cake and coffee.


We had hoped to sail the Bench, as I've long had an ambition to catch it with swell on a NW wind, when it's supposed to be a world class wave. Sadly it falls within a military firing range, and was off limits. It didn't look like it mattered as it was so windy out there that most people kept with the relative shelter of the bay. A couple of people did venture over, but didn't stay too long.


Pics are taken by Jono, who had to come off the water after breaking a mast landing a back loop out in the middle. Second mast in as many sails (the other one going to a chunky set in Horton, Swansea). He seemed pretty cheerful about it, and I guess a full week of surfing, paddleboarding and windsurfing will do that to you.


I have a feeling we missed the best of it, since just as we were leaving everyone headed over to the Ledges where the waves were looking much better than in the bay. 





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