Windsurfing Mates

After my post about paddling (and swimming) buddies, I thought I’d better not miss out my windsurfing mates too. This is especially the case as I finally got back out windsurfing in the waves yesterday.

Since my heart attack, such antics have been off limits as they aren’t the easiest of activities and are also very unpredictable. From a strength and fitness point of view my heart and the rest of my body might be able to cope with windsurfing along on choppy water taking it reasonably easy, but there’s no guarantee that a max effort won’t be required! Sometimes the elements of wind and waves might have other ideas and before you know it you are hanging on for dear life in survival mode. This was all part of the fun in the past, but maybe not ideal for a heart attack patient!

The medications I’m on limit my maximal abilities somewhat which isn’t ideal if you need that extra boost to get out of a sticky situation either. On top of all this, if something happens at sea then stopping, sitting down and taking a breather just isn’t possible. I would have to at least find my own way back to shore.

So, with all that in mind I had only recently got back on the water. First it was a couple of easy sea kayaking paddles in Sardinia. Then it was a couple of easy surf ski paddles with Aber kayakers at the gravel pits. There was an easy, flatwater estuary windsurf session with plenty of people around who knew my situation. I ventured out into some small waves for a surf ski session with Morgan. I had a swim with Richard and then paddled across to Aberdovey with Will.

Into the Waves

Tuesday was looking like a good day for windsurfing though. Nothing too crazy, but there would be wind and waves on the seafront. It was finally time to get out properly. Alistair came along and fortunately I’ve recently been contacted by Diane and Chris who want to do more windsurfing. Chris was injured but Diane joined us on the water too. That made three windsurfers which is the most I’ve seen at Ynyslas for a while. Once Chris is injury free there should be four of us. There were a few kite-surfers around too.

The wind was good at around 20 knots, the waves weren’t too big but there were still plenty of ramps, some nice lumps out the back to gybe on and some waves to be ridden on the way back in. I was on my 85 ltr wave board and a 5.7m sail which was perfect. What’s more, the sky was blue and the sun was shining. Gorgeous conditions to ease me back into it.

It was certainly harder work than I remember. That’s to be expected I guess when operating with a somewhat disfunctional heart. Even so, it’s hard not to go for just one more run! What I did forget was just how much energy is needed to de-rig, carry my kit home and pack it all away. By then, even getting out of my wetsuit in the shower was quite a chore. I was a little tired later in the afternoon, but I’d done it. I could call myself a windsurfer once again!

Looking forward to more of the same now, with hopefully more windsurfers on the water again.

Tags: Windsurf