Life and Windsurfers Return to BrogLake

        Finally, the lake opens to admit visitors and sailors. By the time I arrived, there was plenty of activity, on shore and on the water. I headed for the jetty and set up the tripod, camera and my long zoom, the Sigma 60-600mm, which allows me to capture from the shore to the distant banks to my left and right. The first observation, was that Sam was no longer the lone Kite Surfer, nor was this an exclusively male activity.
        The light was good, and on occasions the clouds provided me with a few more images to my stock of sky scenes, as they make good backgrounds when creating cards to celebrate birthdays and other memorable dates. The wind and the recent introduction of inflatable wing sails was adding variety to the actions I was able to capture. This afternoon was a day that was a celebration of differing skill and experience levels, a day for enjoyment, and for me a real chance to use my new mirrorless camera body, and gain experience of the differences to getting sequences. I welcomed the fast action that kept me on my toes.
        There is a downside — my file sizes are large, and this gives me more images to sort through, and in some instances whilst keeping my finger on the release in anticipation of say, a jump, I consume so much time later, that I do not cull as many shots, as this delays getting the pictures up whilst there is the interest from those participating. I hope that the very long delay on this occasion does not spoil the enjoyment of recalling the activity of that weekend.
        I thoroughly enjoyed doing my best to capture the activity, and I hope there is more to come now that restrictions are beginning to be relaxed; I really hope that we can get back to some form of normality in what remains of this year. I hope that all those taking part in the action can enjoy reliving some of what I captured.

Windsurfing and Other Activities on the Lake

Sorry for the overlong delay in getting any photos up on the blog this time around, but the reason is that the sunshine resulted in my making the most of the time I was down at the Lake, and the sheer volume I had then to work through has meant that even now,  I have decided to get the first half of what I recorded up, so that the pressure is relieved somewhat.

What has also not helped is that my several hard drives have filled, and my new 8TB drive has yet to be optimised for speed! So I hope that the first tranche of shots, at least gave some indication of what caught my eye, whilst I try to get get my house tidied a tad, and then offload a separate set of even more recent shots, before going back to part two of the Brog pics.

Meantime, enjoy these. Sam, Although you caught me a bit off guard, I surprised my self by capturing a higher percentage than I had thought — but I am sorry that you all had to wait quite a while for the results in part two. I feel sure that you’ll not be disappointed! My speed currently is not as fast as I wold hope, but I am running on empty currently and it shows, and my right knee cartilage is causing grief as well; and I am only walking, not crashing the waves! I hope that the wait was worth your patience. Enjoy these as much as I did in capturing them at the time, I hope I did not miss out too much of the less energetic of the folk on the water.

Thanks for providing me with so much to capture — I hope you all feel I have done justice to all that took place that afternoon.

A Windy Thursday at Brogborough & a Digression

It was initially my intention to use a sturdier tripod to take a shot of an ex-Country House, now exclusive residential flats. They are 2.66 kilometres from where I was standing when I first took a shot of the building a few evenings back.

But since wind is a prerequisite for exciting windsurfing images, I dropped into the Brogborough Windsurfing Car Park first, and found that although there were a couple of sailors out on the water, they seemed to be making the most of the wind to travel the length of the lake and gybe, whereas I had been hoping for the more invigorating and exciting; jumping.

I stayed awhile in case I was wrong, and had a brief chat with Sam, before considering revisiting the location on the outskirts of Stewartby from which I had earlier taken shots of this distant building, which nestles beneath trees that form the boundary of Ampthill Park.

My interest in this building is akin to HMS Belfast, which used to be a longterm Lens Test subject for Amateur Photographer, well-known to ‘Smudgers’ of a certain age (‘Smudgers’ being a term once used to describe early photographers).

         I wanted to check out just how good a distant detail could be when using the Sigma Sports lens with their 2x Converter. Although, I did take some images with greater detail, the wind and much lower light value proved to be the limiting factor! I did manage to get a few shots, but sadly the cloud cover meant there were not the crisp shadows of my earlier shots. But I did my best to limit the camera movement by using a shutter release cable. The long lens and lens hood were almost as efficient as a Windsurfer’s sail, as it seemed to be blowing a gale here!

This is the detail of the front door!

And this is the full uncropped frame from which it was taken:

           That you can recognise individual bricks which were over two and a half kilometres away, is remarkable!  This distance I have since verified from Google Earth!

Having taken these shots, I returned to Brogborough, and now there were a few more Windsurfers on the Lake. I saved myself some time by only removing the camera and lens from the tripod, so that on arrival, I took out a far more robust tripod, and was soon capturing shots with far more action, where a certain amount of blur only adds to the images.

One set of images, which is of Phil Ashton is a sequence from Frame 71 to 77, really impressed me – had I stopped after a couple of frames I would have missed the very successful continuation of the move, because, at first glance it looked unrecoverable, but his skill became apparent from the outcome! That sequence really made my day, In an earlier posting, I had not known his name, but have since put that right, as it definitely deserved a mention.

         This was not one of my lengthier visits, but provided me with some interesting images, and I worked out a far better assembly of tripod and head for the future, so the time was well spent.

Click here to take you to the Gallery of Windsurfing  images

        I stayed just long enough to know that there were to be no more Jumps for me to capture and I headed back to sort through the images and prepare this entry, having had a worthwhile day's shooting.

Brogborough — a Few Heroic Windsurfers!

Is it a surprise that Brogborough Lake was not inundated with sailors taking advantage of the wind? Hardly. Despite a reasonable degree of sunshine, the wind that blew was bitter, and on my arrival only one sail was to be seen on the water. However, as I put my tripod up, and added the gimbal head, the numbers increased one hundred percent! On this occasion my longest practical lens was the Canon 100-400mm, augmented by the Sigma 1.4 Converter. This combo brought about due to my wait for the 60-600 Sigma Sports, due I am assured this coming week.

I was not daunted by this prospect, as  I have checked out this pairing in the last few days, and it proves reasonably workable. Overall, I was reasonably satisfied, but I did face one issue that meant I did miss some shots; the reason being that it was all too easy to find my focus point being taken way off, unintentionally. I shall have to work out a better way to keep my focus point static until I decide I wish to relocate it. So, there is further work needed for me to feel confident in the procedures I adopt when using this EOS R body.

On at least three occasions I missed some of the action, in part because the last burst was being processed, and this frame was now in the viewfinder because of my having lifted my finger from the shutter release. I am unsure how to remedy this at this time — more burrowing in the PDF Instructions!

Later this week, I should be taking delivery of a lens that will avoid any converters, the Sigma Sports 60-600mm lens,  I parted with my 150-600mm Sigma Sports in order to obtain and fund the purchase of the longer range lens. l hope that it will allow me to use this one far more at events like Goodwood for motor racing, Stewartby for powerboats, taking shots of wildlife such as kingfishers, and this location for windsurfing. On this afternoon I was able to capture swans and cormorants, though due to the focussing issue I encountered on this occasion, I failed to record a grey wagtail that hopped around the foreshore at one stage. I was pleasantly surprised by what I managed at this afternoon’s visit with the MkI Canon 100-400mm lens using the 1.4x Sigma extender. It is noticeable just how much sharper this lens is when used on the EOS R body compared to either the 5D or 7D with the same lens — so I am really looking forward to using the 60-600mm on this body.

Through all the testing of this new mirrorless body, I have had to adopt a very different way of working which has already impacted the handling of my earlier DSLR bodies, which cause me to find them confusing when I return to using them!

Brogborough Lake — a Short Spell of Wind

 

          I did not harbour high hopes of high winds or sunshine; just a keen desire that I might be lucky enough to get a decent breeze to encourage some sailors to choose this time for some outdoor exercise on the lake, and upon arrival there were certainly a fair number of windsurfers out on the lake, and there was certainly more wind here than I had experienced at Marston Moretaine, just up the road.

          At this point it did not look particularly promising, so for a short while, I just stood and watched, however, the wind improved, and the sun at least was attempting to break cover from the clouds, so that made me get back to the car and breakout the Benbo tripod, attach the gimbal head and take the 7D MkII with its Sigma 150-600mm Sports lens and lock that in place. I spread the legs, set the central column vertical, and locked the tripod and set the lens balance in the long Arca Swiss shoe, and hefted it on my shoulder after closing the boot, and locking the car, headed for the jetty.

          The legs were not perfectly aligned with the slats; but two out of three was not too bad! Holding the camera and lens firmly, I loosened the bolt, put the last leg in place, aligned the central column vertically, then locked everything firmly. I loosened the gimbal head’s two nuts, did a quick check of ISO speed and exposure, and was ready for action — just in time for the very first jump of the afternoon. The omens were good!

           The sun even brightened a tad and although while setting up I had spotted Sam on his hydrofoil and without having to pump his board to begin planing, I was too late to capture any shots of his activity. However, I did manage to capture some more jumps by Richard and Geoff, and also a newcomer from the North, so I felt rewarded for my decision to head out to the lake. The spell of reasonable wind did not last for too long, so for a change, I was left with a good time to get the gallery of images up on the blog before the end of the same day as the action. This was a great way to end the year on a high.

December Wintry Sun at Brogborough Lake

  

  

  

There was a slight breeze in Marston Moretaine, but that was no definite indication it would be equally windy at Brogborough Lake, but no wind here definitely meant No Wind at the lake, so it was worth a trip to see whether any windsurfers had turned up.

I packed both cameras and set off in hope, and was rewarded; as I turned into the entrance, I spotted two sails out on the lake, though there were not too many vehicles parked, but with the anemometer spinning the omens were good, but, until I was sure, I did not tempt fate by unloading the boot so locked the car and wandered to see who was around and Sam was togged up, so I chatted to another windsurfer and it seemed I was in luck, so returned to the car and started to set up the tripod. On this occasion I was going to use the 5D MkIII rather than the 7D MKII body, and the Sigma 150-600mm lens to see how I fared with this combination as at least I then had the full frame even though not the fast burst rate.

Sam decided he would risk a run with the hydrofoil despite the gustiness of the wind, so initially I concentrated on that, but it was apparent the wind was too gusty and although he did get it up, it was not sustained, so he came back out with a conventional board, so I then took shot of the others on the lake, the wind dropped after a short spell, and came came back in for another attempt and on this occasion at least for a short spell he was airborne, so I managed a few shots, before he returned to swap again to a conventional board.

I was also lucky as I was treated to a couple of jumps, even though I gathered the wind direction was less than ideal, I also managed some shots of three sailors in a group which is always handy.

I stayed as long as I could, as standing at the water’s edge in a high cold wind the windchill soon began to get though my light clothes as I held onto a cold camera and lens, with only minimal movement unlike those on the water who by expending much more energy were able to keep reasonably warm.

I did notice that using the full frame body the distant images seem small, but upon examination were just fine, but when close to, it was noticeably easier to frame, knowing that the quality was there. In the past I was always more concerned with the burst rate, but in the situation here this was far less of an issue compared to trying to capture birds and insects in flight, where the speed of the cropped frame sensor body was a definite benefit. I shall use this body slightly more often in the future.

Brogborough – A Very Windy Friday!

         Brogborough Lake on the Friday beckons with a strong breeze, and it is a welcome invitation to all the windsurfing community, that is not ignored.

         I arrive early and sense the air of expectancy, and capture some of the preparations, so since the number of shots takes some time to create the galleries, I have split them up so that my task is made manageable.

Here is the first Gallery Link – the preparation:

http://www.fntn.co.uk/rodwp/BrogboroughPrepsForBreeze

         I found myself capturing some of the other aspects on offer, a cormorant passing close to one of the sailors, gulls fishing, a distant heron landing, and billowing clouds in a blue sky, as well as the waves breaking on the foreshore in front of where I was located with my tripod. I was using the 150-600mm Sigma Sports lens on the EOS 7D MkII, and the 24-70mm on the 5D MkIII — the long lens on the sturdy Benbo, and the other handheld.

         The gusts we’re often strong enough to make even this weighty beast to threaten my stability! Also, I altered where I shot from, but this was a mistake on this occasion as I missed some of the action; in particular one series of jumps made by a windsurfer as I re-established my tripod.

It was quite an afternoon, Here is the next gallery: 

http://www.fntn.co.uk/rodwp/BrogLakeFriday–FirstShots

            So, if you wish to keep the correct chronology, rather than hit the Headline text first, you could click the links within the narrative then the Headline Text – just to keep you on your toes!

Doris Blows in at Brogborough

Waking to warnings of high winds, meant that after a long wait for winds of sufficient strength to encourage Windsurfers to make or find the time to leave work on a Thursday, at last that day was here. I phoned Sam to check whether he had heard from any sailors, and learned three were scheduled — that was promising! I checked when they might arrive and gathered early afternoon, so I let him know I might see him later — that was hardly the full truth, I had made up my mind to definitely make it!

I then assembled the camera and lenses I planned to take along, but put the 70-200mm on the 5D MkIII and the 150-600mm was already on the 7D MkII, taking along a 300mm and a couple of other primes to cover the distances that I might need to cover, but as it turned out my first choice proved to be those I used — the 7D on the Gitzo tripod, and the 5D MkIII slung around my neck, for handheld closer shots.

The wind at home was fairly blustery, and fairly strong, but later on the road to Brogborough Lake it was considerably stronger, I presume to it being less built-up than within Marston Moretaine. When I met up with Sam, he reckoned it was the worst he had ever seen it, and he was not exaggerating! I drove over and on arrival opened the boot to assemble the tripod and gimbal head, and Doris blew the boot lid down on me!

I spotted Sam and he told me three were getting knitted up and one was already on the water, so picked up the gear and headed towards the bank, but since the wind was directly on the shore and the larger breakers were sending the slime inland, I put the tripod down a fair way back! It was not long before there were generally at least two out on the lake, and for a change I operated on the basis of shooting as often as I could because with the best will in the world shooting was very hit and miss, because I had to keep one shoulder against the tripod as the wind threatened to blow it over. Also, I had to keep resetting the levelling head as one or more tripod legs dug into the muddy, water- sodden ground — it certainly was not easy keeping the surfers in shot.

Every now and then a squall would come up, and I had to break off to keep my kit safe, but as one passed, I'd be back out and shooting again, also,if my subjects came in close, I would forego the camera on the tripod and shoot handheld, which as I find it hard to accurately synch the two bodies some of the true chronology is awry. I did get a few jumps and sequences, and was reasonably satisfied with what I did capture, but at least half of what I shot was binned, but I am really glad I made the effort, so I hope they give those who had braved the weather some pleasure.

Brogborough Wednesday – Wind Fitful

The day looked promising for windsurfers from the weather forecast; the wind appeared to be from a good direction and the speeds were encouraging for those who either worked for themselves or had tolerant bosses to allow them to get to the lake, don wetsuits and get out there.

That was certainly my premise, and since the sun direction might well favour a walk through the hawthorn woods  to set up above the high bank, I took the car so I could heft my Gitzo, rather than the lightweight carbon fibre Giottos one.

On arrival there was one person out on the water, and three or so others rigging, so this was a promising sign. So I put the gimbal head on above the Manfrotto levelling and attached the 7D MkII with the the Tamron 150-600mm and headed for the woods. I looked at three different spots before settling on one that gave me the widest view, and was in the general direction for the best chance of the my subjects approaching head on. I was really fortunate that at least one leg of the tripod was able to slot into a root close to the edge of the steep bank. Earlier I had looked at a spot down by the water’s edge which was approached by a very steep and narrow path. I decided on checking it out whilst leaving the camera and tripod at the top this turned out to be a very sensible precaution as in going down unencumbered by any gear I slipped and only just managed to stop myself from falling all the way to the water’s edge! I retraced my steps and made a far more sensible decision to live with being above the foreshore!

I was lucky that I was soon spotted and many of the more experienced sailors headed my way, the wind though played fast and loose with the sailors, sometimes blowing strongly only to die away to nothing on a whim. This meant at one stage several of them found themselves becalmed right beneath me, this did mean that I was engaged in conversations with them for a change.

I did manage to capture some jumps which was a benefit, but I missed some as there were so many on the water at once, but I thoroughly enjoyed my afternoon and despite the sun, I was shaded by some tall trees near at hand.

Brogborough Yet Again – Stronger Winds Than Were Forecast

I had hoped that Sunday would bring some wind, and I was not disappointed, but whereas I seemed just a fair amount here at Marston Moretaine, when I reached the lake at Brogborough it was blowing heartily and had attracted the energetic sailors, those that would jump at such an opportunity to give their skills a workout. They would be using their store of energy to generate plenty of body heat, such that they would not feel the chill, and to be fair, it was a warmer wind than of late, but keeping oneself concentrating on what I am tracking through the viewfinder, whilst being constantly battered by the wind, the chill effect soon becomes apparent. I am not compensating with much input of energy, just concentration, so really should have worn more, and this I failed to do.

I have been wanting to shoot from a lower viewpoint to emphasise the height of any jump sequences I might capture, so initially I went as close to the water’s edge as I could, but I then met with another problem and that was that my heaviest and therefore most stable tripod was not allowing me to get my eye to the right height for the camera and every third wave soaked me, so I had to move back to higher, level ground and stand rather than sit. During this transition I therefore missed some of the action.

Once re-sited, I then began to spot which characters were going to provide me with action, and I concentrated on following them trying to anticipate when they might take to the air. I learned later that the conditions that prevailed this day did not provide a great deal of height to the jumps. I also tried to back up the action with shots that covered the entry and exit of the water and therefore telling a fuller story.

Foolishly, I decided to break off and grab a cup of tea when the numbers on the water dropped, but I was not able to continue as before, because I had been unable to warm up sufficiently and so soon curtailed my shooting after a very short time, but I was very happy in the main with what I had captured and I knew the more I took the longer would be my time spent in front of a computer screen, so it was not too difficult a decision to pack up and retire to the warmth of my office! I do long for the joy of the sun along with the wind.

Brrr! Brogborough – Bitter Winds Favour the Brave

I made time to head for the lake at Brogborough in the hope that the wind might tempt the hardier sailors to venture there to make the most of what windsurfers need most – a stiff breeze. On my arrival however the lake was entirely free of humans, and knowing my time was likely to be spent experiencing windchill at its extreme for a long period, I stayed within my car keeping my body at a reasonable temperature and simply watched, waited and enjoyed the music from Classic FM. Travelling only from Marston Moretaine, meant the engine was barely reaching its operating temperature so I did not kill the engine till there was warm air within.

There were soon signs of activity, so then I gathered the tripod and cameras and put everything together, choosing the 7D MkII and the Tamron 150-600mm lens and mounted it atop the Lensmaster Gimbal head and the Novoflex levelling head on the heavy Gitzo tripod, having learned that the lighter tripods were buffeted by the wind meaning that they were not reliably stable platforms from which to shoot, in particular my carbon fibre tripod had to be weighted down for fear of being literally blown away!

I then grabbed the 5D MkIII and the 35mm f/1.4 to get some shots of the preparations as at this point there was even the occasional sunshine between scudding clouds, but fortunately no rain forecast as the ground was already treacherously sodden and slippery.

The presence of a camera has a beneficial effect here, as it does mean that those hardy souls who are honing their gybing and turn skills and their jumping tend to be within shooting range of the photographer, however, as I have learned, several are unaware that they can often come too close and it becomes well nigh impossible to capture unless you also have a shorter focal length lens within easy reach. Fortunately most of the time I have the coverage at both ends of the range when using either the 100-400mm on the full frame 5D MkIII or the 150-600mm on the 7D MkII.

I consider I was really lucky on this occasion as for most of the time there was a reasonable amount of light and plenty of on-water action to keep me on my toes, though when I was on the jetty, the water several times came up through the slats soaking my jeans and giving me soggy socks, perhaps I should have considered wellies and thick socks rather than my hardwearing shoes.

By the end of the day I was very satisfied with what I had captured; several sequences, the downside being the amount of time that I would be at the computer before being able to post a gallery on my blog.

Brogborough - Seriously High December Wind!

I only had a couple of hours at the most to get my fix of Windsurfing activity at the lake at Brogborough as in the afternoon I was due in Fairford Leys to enjoy hearing and watching my daughter playing Sax with the Aylesbury Community Band at a Carol Concert. On this occasion I would not be carrying a camera to the event, so needed this fix!

I wrapped up warm and setup my heavy tripod to give me some sort of stability, to have considered the carbon fibre one would have been lunacy, if I had a quick release mechanism for it I would have been best served by bringing along my Gitzo! In the future I think I will give it serous consideration in such blustery conditions; I must look into the possibility.

I found myself holding as tightly onto the camera to keep the tripod firm as contemplating  simply keeping light pressure on the shutter release whilst shooting. A tripod is supposed to be stable, well not this particular day! I was rewarded by some seriously skilled people braving the conditions to enjoy their sport and giving me some shots of which I was proud; there were several sequences where I came close to anticipating the start of the manoeuvres, but aligning the shots I would definitely be relying in sorting after the event in post processing as I might just as well have been in a bobbing dinghy as being on sloping dry land in that wind!

I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and stayed only long enough to survive a very stiff neck and my painful and weak back which went just a few days before. I left the shots in chronological order and so some sequences will span some galleries I am afraid, but I had no more time.

Goodwood Festival of Speed 2015 Sunday

Saturday proved to be a very long day, in part due to my trying to make the most of my time at the Festival, but also because the journey home was full of slow moving traffic. Having been very warm during the day, showering and shaving before retiring was also de rigeur, so it was well after midnight when I hit the sack.

In the morning, awoke with the alarm and despite having cut short the time I had allowed before heading for Martin’s house in Berkhamsted, I did manage to have a fair breakfast. I arrived at his place just before the allotted six o’clock, only to find that he had had a third day of restless sleep and was decidedly under the weather and felt he could not manage the day, so reluctantly I had to collect the tickets and a copy of his latest Lightroom book and journey on alone. Although I always enjoy driving, I prefer the company of others and sadly at this time of morning it is hard to find someone around to receive a call from me especially with the lack of a second car park ticket to consider.

I arrived once again at the House where I enquired again about meeting with Jo Willitt and learned she would be around at lunchtime. When that time came around Valentino Rossi was due in, so that schedule slipped somewhat as Suzi Perry interviewed him on the balcony in front of a large flag-waving crowd amassed on the circular lawn beneath the Mazda twin car installation. Long before that however, I headed up the hill to the Forest Rally section where I met up with and had a long chat with the ambulance man. He gave me a few hints as to where the track weaved through the trees as there was still a good bit of time before the cars came through. I got in some nice shots as they came through a couple of corners before I made my way further up to where there was a jump, but some of the best vantage points were either obscured by tall nettles, or in one case by one of the Press boys standing directly in the best line of sight; this despite his being able to get far more dramatic shots had he been lower – but the paying public began to address him and suggest he squat which he obligingly did!

The ambulance man also mentioned I might well be able to get a a VIP ride back down to the house, which proved correct, and was very welcome as the uphill trudge in the humid heat had been quite exhausting. I revisited the end of the Sponsors’ enclosure to take shots from that viewpoint before heading for the House for lunch, it was during the enforced wait that I managed to catch up with Lord March and let him know Martin had been unable to make the journey, he asked me to let him know he would be welcome to join him at the Revival Meeting.

Lunch was in a long marquee at the back of the House, and I found myself on a table with Dame Donna, the title given to matrons at Lord March’s son William’s school, and her brother Robin, who it turned out owned the Bayeux Colour Laboratory and knew several of my colleagues and friends! I did wonder since one of those colleagues was Mike Huideburg owner of Tapestry whether it was that that had influenced the naming of his Lab?

Sunday was yet another day to remember and cherish, and to give me a not inconsiderable time sorting images to go in a gallery or galleries here on the blog, and it would just happen to be the hottest UK weather ever!

Brisk and Blustery Brogborough

Having watched my delayed recordings of the Malaysian Grand Prix, seen the promise of real competition for the Mercedes Team by Ferrari, and the impressive performances of Kimi Raikonen; the Toro Rosso Rookies, Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen and the excellent win by Sebastian Vettel, I felt enervated by the desire to take advantage of the high, but blustery wind that beckoned from beyond my windows. I knew it was a chance, but I reckoned that such a wind would entice the Windsurfers likely to jump to get to the lake.

As I came along the road from Brogborough village I saw no one had ventured onto the lake, and I did wonder whether I had made a mistake. I pulled into the car park, got out of the car and battled against the onshore wind and spotted a lone windsurfer just setting off. This did not seem a promising start! Especially as the few breaks in the cloud cover I had seen on my journey up the M1, had disappeared completely, and the rain had restarted. I watched a while before going to the car and getting the camera and tripod set up, if just one man went out I might yet get some pictures.

I readied my gear, set the ISO to 640 and using Aperture Priority set f/8 to give me a chance to stop the action and a bit of leeway for me to keep the subjects in focus! I took a groundsheet  to sit on and set the tripod at its lowest, but with the legs a little wide to give me some stability, and attempted to get the groundsheet down without it getting blown away, and sat down to set it all up. I did get a few shots off, before the wave of rain headed ominously towards me in a white haze, I hastily packed the tripod back up and headed for the Portakabin and rest area. I had no hands free, so was very grateful when one of the windsurfers generously opened the door for me.

The small group within all gathered at the windows to watch the squally rain lash against the panes, we also watched one of their number assemble his sail outside in his normal clothes get a drenching such that he was going to have to step into wet clothes when he finished surfing! Fortunately after about ten minutes the rain abated, so I went back out.

The sun did appear very occasionally and I was rewarded by one man doing several jumps, so my journey was far from a waste. When I left there was just one back out on the lake, but the cold had penetrated my body and my cough had returned, so packed the car and set off back home.