Monday, October 17, 2011

Kayak sailing round the Heads of Ayr.

 The forecast for the Firth of Clyde was for sun and wind so a little trip to Ayr seemed in order.

 We set off from Seafield at Ayr just as the SW wind was picking up.

 By the time we got to the Heads of Ayr  we were getting tired but kept going...

 ...for another 2km...

 ...until we turned and...

 ...started the down wind blast..

 ...back to Bracken Bay for a break.

This is a new prototype Flat Earth Sail. It is 0.8sqm in area and is made of a dacron, spectra scrim, mylar laminate. The cut is fuller than previous sails. Some area has been moved from low down to  the leach. The cut of the leach has been tightened, stiffened with mini battens but still allows twist at the head. I like it a lot! I also thought the Delphin would perform well with a sail in a decent breeze and I was not disappointed.

This video will give some idea of the fun that can be had when kayak sailing. We were hitting 18km/hr on the waves. This was my first trial of the new Flat Earth Code Zero 0.8 sq metre sail. I paired it with the P&H Delphin 155. The wind was averaging 15knots gusting to 21knots as measured with an anemometer.

It was only 16km but it was an adrenaline filled trip. This was also Phil's first sea kayak sailing trip, what an introduction!