Making the most of the Wind

You can’t beat sunny days with a decent wind. Not if you’re a windsurfer — and since I’ve been out a few times lately, I think I can once again call myself one.

Friday was a little more full-on than expected, with a solid 30-knot wind gusting up to 40 knots at times. There wasn’t much in the way of swell, but plenty of chunky wind-blown waves and a lot of sunshine. I was out on my new 89-litre wave board and a 5.0 m sail — quite a handful, really. In those conditions, a 4.5 m and my smaller 78-litre board would have been plenty. I could probably have got away with a 4.0 m. Still, it was great fun — and a serious workout.

Saturday was looking lighter, and greyer, but Steve was coming over from Telford, so after a coffee and a quick look at the conditions, we headed to the beach again. I rigged my 5.7 m and the bigger 104-litre wave board. Steve went with his 108-litre board and an old 7.0 m sail.

At first, it looked like he’d made the right call — I was struggling to get going. I managed, but it wasn’t exactly smooth sailing. Luckily, the wind picked up not long after, and the 5.7 m started to feel like a handful. Again, I could probably have gone down to a 5.0 m or used the smaller board. I stuck with what I had, though — easier than re-rigging.

Steve wasn’t so lucky. He’d split a seam in his sail earlier, so his 7.0 m was already slightly smaller than intended — but he kept using it! Eventually, he got caught in the whitewater and completely shredded the top panels. That was it for him — game over. Next stop: some online sail shopping.

I packed up too. Annoyingly, I’d managed to snap my camera mount, so only got footage from earlier in the session — before it got good. Luckily I’d tethered the camera, so I didn’t lose it completely.

Monday looked promising again, but by the time I got back from work the wind had dropped off. No session for me — and judging by the forecast, that might be it for a while.

Tags: Windsurfing