Wild Welsh Windsurfing

by Alan Cole · Monday, June 2nd, 2025

After a busy day in the hills on Friday, I had a relatively relaxed Saturday. Sunday, however, was far from relaxed! It started with a run in very blustery conditions—along the beach, through the dunes and around the boatyard.

I then waited for the tide to drop before going windsurfing. By that time, the sun had come out too, so it was hard to resist a session on the sea. It was pretty wild out there, though, with 30-knot winds and some huge seas. Despite the great conditions and the sun shining, there was no one around. I was not only the sole person on the water but pretty much the only person on the entire beach.

The order of the day, therefore, was to play it safe—no big jumps or fancy manoeuvres, just keeping things under control and staying safe. Sometimes that actually takes more skill than going for tricks. It requires a fair bit of technique and experience to keep the board under control, read the waves, pick your line to stay out of trouble, and nail every gybe to stay on the board and keep planing.

It may not have looked impressive from the beach—as I probably seemed to be sailing serenely along in amongst the whitewater and waves—but in reality, it was completely hectic out there. I was smoothing out the crazy chop, compressing over waves to keep the board on the water, and staying in full-concentration mode to avoid any particularly nasty-looking patches of sea.

Still, it was all good fun, with some really nice runs in amongst the mayhem.