Tales from a down-shifted family
- Making the most of modest means
We live where we do because it’s one of the windiest places we know of – perfect for windsurfing.
Over the past 20+ years, various trusty wheelbarrows have served me well for getting my windsurf kit to the beach. Loaded up with two boards, 2–3 sails, two masts, two booms, a whole host of fins, extensions, tools and accessories — not to mention a harness, helmet and some spare parts — they’ve done the...
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...
I finally got to try out one of my new windsurf boards on Sunday. The forecast looked perfect — warm temperatures, a warm sea, and a solid wind that would gradually build throughout the day. The really hot days were behind us, and the sun was shy, but that didn’t matter. The wind was set...
Windsurfing kit doesn’t come cheap. I rarely — if ever — buy brand-new gear, and some of my boards, sails, and accessories are probably more than 20 years old. But it’s still nice to keep up with the times where I can. The relatively new 2021 Severne Nano 87 that I bought a few years...
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...
Well, that was a fun long weekend. After scrambling up Moel Siabod on Friday, the weather did indeed change. The sun disappeared on Saturday, but it was replaced by a significant amount of wind—so it was off to the beach for me with my windsurf kit. Saturday saw me windsurfing in a decent south-westerly breeze...
Anna keeps telling me that I need to just accept that I’m getting older and embrace it – but where’s the fun in that? It’s much more fun to don a rubber suit, strap myself to several thousand pounds’ worth of carbon fibre and monofilm, and draw some lines on the water!! It’s been blowing...
Various factors had conspired to keep me off the water lately. A lack of wind—or, on occasion, too much wind—weekends away, and work were the usual culprits. Adding to the delay, the construction of a new shed, which is now almost finished, had left my windsurfing kit inaccessible for over a month. One Last Hoorah...
It’s been a while since I last hit the water, so I figured it was time to dust off my windsurfing skills and see if I could still hold my own out there. Plus, getting out on the water means I can keep legitimately calling myself a ‘windsurfer’! The conditions were perfect—warm waters, a decent...
I hadn’t been windsurfing for a while, and it wasn’t just because of unsuitable conditions. A mix of the occasional illness, a few injuries, and a desire to avoid further injuries kept me off the water. The main reason, though, was always having something else planned when the wind was perfect. Windsurfing is also the...
Fitness / Technology / Triathlon
Fixing the Altimeter on my Garmin Forerunner 910XT
Monday, March 17th, 2014
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