Lone Windsurfer at Brogborough

The wind was just below gale force in gusts, which I was certain would attract windsurfers to gravitate towards Brogborough Lake to take advantage of the dry conditions; the missing factors were sunshine and warmth! I gathered the serious kit as well as the mirrorless LUMIX, and as I approached the entrance I wondered whether the gate was open, and it was, which is always a good sign.

I pulled into the spot I generally used; and looking around, found I was only the third car into the car park. As yet, it looked as if only one person was considering taking to the lake — Geoff, and he seemed to be in no particular hurry to be putting on his wet suit.

The wind was brisk, and I soon realised that I was not as well-prepared as I had assumed. I had presumed that a coat was in the boot should I need extra protection, but when I opened it, I was soon disabused of that! So, my time was going to be spent exactly as I was dressed presently, as it was far too much trouble to go back for extra clothing.

For the first time for quite some time, I lost several images, and I think it was due to my using the same memory card in two different cameras. From now on having formatted a card for my Canon camera, I will avoid using it in a different manufacturer’s unless not only it is re-formatted, but specifically it was reformatted in the specific manufacturer’s camera. There were several shots of Geoff that I took on a card that had the remnants of a previous visit to Brogborough taken on my Canon EOS R, that became unreachable later when, I came to download them.

I will now designate specific cards to my Canon gear, and try to remember to Always reformat a card in camera after download has been completed, rather than just Occasionally. Also designate a Single, Specific card for the LUMIX. I was aware that many users format every time, but having never before faced this issue, possibly because all my gear was Canon till now, this situation had never occurred. So, my apologies to Geoff for so few shots.

An Afternoon at Brogborough Lakeside

In the recent warmth I had begun to see a few hoverflies and dragonflies, so on this afternoon I set out with an intention to try once again to capture either species, preferably in flight. The gates to the windsurfing club being locked shut, I parked opposite the anglers’ gate, and initially put the 100mm Macro on the 5D MkIII body and slipped through the side of the gate and strolled to the water’s edge, almost immediately disturbing a dragonfly which flew over my head and over by the gate I had just passed! I thought this was a good start, but it soon simply disappeared.

There was a fair breeze between the gaps in the hedge that gave access to the water’s edge, and damselflies were flitting hither and thither either side, some already paired up with their buff-coloured females – there was no shortage of the blue males, and I only caught sight of a couple of singleton females for the rest of the time I was there. I think the wind was keeping  both damselflies and dragonflies from the open areas of the shore which was a shame as here the background was less fussy. I also caught glimpses of small brown butterflies and moths.

I spent some time here before spotting a build-up of vehicles by the entrance to the windsurfing gates, and wandered along and after the gates were opened, I brought my car inside and for a while changed lenses to the 100-400mm Canon lens and started taking shots of a lone female windsurfer who took to the water and a couple of paddleboarders, one of whom was to take a dachshund on a lead aboard for a spell on the water. 

So, though the majority of shots were of damselflies, and other small insects and bees, the gallery of images contained humans and their activities, but only one dragonfly almost hidden in the tall grass, but it was a pleasant way to enjoy the afternoon.

André and Home Brew Hydrofoil Board, Brogborough

I heard that André was back out on the lake at Brogborough with his latest update to his own design of hydrofoil, and despite it being both dull and cold, I got a message to him that I would dash round to get some some shots of the board in flight. 

The wind was fitful, and apparently had been stronger before my arrival, but since he was prepared to go out once more, I hastily set myself up using the Benbo tripod with the legs in the water, and when I was happy with its stability, I attached the camera to the gimbal head, which was the EOS 7D MkII and the 150-600mm Sigma Sports lens, and was ready by the time he had launched.

I took some incidental shots of one other windsurfer to set myself up, then kept André in sight following him out to the distance and then back in again, capturing a few occasions when he was airborne; each occasion was short lived, but what I noticed was he was successfully level once up.

The session did not last long, and once he had brought himself ashore, he Sam and I chatted about what appeared to be the limiting factors, André was very honest in his assessment of his level of hydrofoil experience and confidence being a factor, but we all agreed we were impressed by his board and his control, and seemed to conclude that it was the shape of the tail wing that might well be the weak point in the design, so he will be making this flatter in the next iteration, rather than being entirely curved throughout. This would seem borne out by the study of a commercial design.

I look forward to the next version, and we all hope that occasion will be blessed a more constant wind, and sunshine!

Late Lake Arrival – Yet See Homemade Hydrofoil

By the time I reached Brogborough, the wind was dropping and most of the sailors had already left the water, but I first spotted Richard McKeating going out and recorded him practising various manouevres, but before I put any shots I took of these up I need to learn from Richard what is actually happening. In the meantime I learned of some interesting news about another windsurfer, André who has built his own hydrofoil, and he was also out on the lake, trying to understand its behaviour as it is very much still in the development stage, but despite some naysayers it does work, though needs further refinement.

I have no images of it in action, but during André’s chats with Richard and Sam afterwards I captured some shots of the device, and was most impressed with how much thought and effort has gone into its development and construction, and I listened intently to the discussions taking place around it. Hence this small gallery. I shall be watching this with interest in the coming months, and wish André every success in his endeavours.