Back to the Old Days

With wind forecast last weekend I thought I’d message Steve and invite him down for a sunny, summer windsurf session, just like the old days! Steve used to come here almost every weekend to windsurf and certainly came when there was some decent wind forecast. I don’t think he’s been windsurfing here for about 4 years though. It may even be 5 years ago as I’m not sure if he’s been here for a windsurf since he got married! I don’t windsurf anywhere near as much as I used to either. I have too many other things to fit into my life these days but I do still get out now and then.

With things looking good I thought it would be good to get Steve out again as well.

Wind and Sunshine

Sure enough, once Saturday dawned things were looking perfect. The sun was shining, there was just enough wind and it was forecast to pick up. Steve arrived in the morning and we had a coffee and chat whilst waiting for the tide to drop. We watched a few windsurfing videos on YouTube for motivation as well. Again, just like the old days except we were now streaming the movies rather than watching them on DVD / VHS!

Once the tide had dropped a little we headed over to the beach and rigged up. I went with my 86ltr wave board and 5.7m sail. Steve, having not been out for a while, rigged a little too cautiously with a 5.3m sail and 90ltr board. It turned out to be a really good session for me. I was nicely powered up to start with and then as the wind filled in and the tide dropped I was verging on being overpowered at times but hung on for a thrilling ride through the waves. Steve struggled to get going at first but did eventually have enough power. He was feeling a little rusty and a little intimidated by the bigger waves out the back though so played it safe in amongst the white-water. Maybe a bigger sail would have suited him better really but he still had fun.

It was good to have someone else to sail with for a change. Let’s hope it’s not another 4-5 years before the next such session as we’ll both be getting a little too old for anything too exciting by then!

Unfortunately my GoPro steamed up so I didn’t really get any good footage, so here’s a photos from the good old days when such sessions were a regular occurrence.

Me, Windsurfing at Ynyslas

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Alan Cole

Alan is a Freelance Website Designer, Sports & Exercise Science Lab Technician and full time Dad & husband with far too many hobbies: Triathlete, Swimming, Cycling, Running, MTBing, Surfing, Windsurfing, SUPing, Gardening, Photography.... The list goes on.

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