FRAISTHORPE
11 a.m.: We pull into Fraisthorpe, one of the strongholds of windsurfing on the east coast and there’s already a decent local crew scoring half-mast, down-the-line, out on the wild seas. Fraisthorpe faces east and works all the way from north winds, to west (for speed sailing) right round to south easterly – and can provide excellent conditions to suit all levels. The water’s relatively shallow for a decent distance out to sea and the bottom mostly sandy. Fraisthorpe is a recognised windy spot helped by the low-level cliffs that cast less of a wind shadow than surrounding beaches close by. Not that we have to worry about the strength of the wind today. We struck lucky on a hard-core forecast with wind howling from the north, shedloads of waves and a strong current headed towards the south. Enough exploring, we need to score some sailing while the sun’s still shining and this wind is full power. Just as we pull in we spot the unmistakable Whippy Dixon customized wagon roll into the car park. He’s also onto this forecast and hungry to score an east coast session. We soon find out Phil Horrocks, Mike Archer, Aleksy Gayda and Steve Thorp are already sailing down at a spot called Barmston, hopefully we can hook up with them later.
En-route to the water, half submerged relics of the battlements from World War 2 line this brash coastline – defences once placed at the top of these cliff tops to thwart a German invasion. Out to sea, there’s another kind of encounter to be won or lost – 30-40 knot gusts, along with choppy, half-mast-high waves, make for some pretty tough sailing conditions. The outgoing tide’s probably not the best for the swell to build, but later this afternoon we should tap onto the prime conditions. Anyways, its time to ride!