Camber Sands and Rye Tennis Club 29 July-1 August

It's the annual Rye Grass Court Tennis Tournament and an excuse to get down to the Kitesurf Centre at Camber where it is windy!

I've visited Rye Tennis Club for a number of years now to support friends competing. It's a fun weekend with plenty of liquid refreshment.

Friday I'm on the water for a lesson with Marie. The traffic was bad on the way down and Google had me avoiding the north circular and taking the A21, it took 3 hrs making me late!

On the water and more of the same from me I'm afraid. I get on the board with ease with too much power leaving me wobbling on top and out of control. I need to turn the board down wind (front foot forward) and get weight on my back foot so the edge of the board digs in and I can lean against the kite through the harness. I know this but find it impossible to execute. All went for a curry in the evening. This is me on the water, clearly not the board!

Saturday I spent time on the water myself. My setup, launch, landing and packdown are improving all the time and I don't feel out of place or a danger to others on the water. I'm regularly getting on the board, just sometimes rotating round the board as I try getting my second foot in the board strap.

Back at Rye the Tennis Club put on a great BBQ, excellent salads and meats with home-made ice cream as dessert. This was the best I've experienced, well done to all the members who helped. Getting into the swing of the disco it seems I got carried away on the refreshment front and felt absolutely awful on Sunday. Still managed a game of Paddle Tennis and another lesson on the water. With the wind scheduled to drop and still feeling rough I headed for home.

I'm afraid the photos here are not 22, (I may not have taken any), but 2019.