I went last year for the 3 day freeride course, I published some feedback in a thread, I remember you also contributed. I was the only one from Sydney. It is a bit of a logistics problem to carry or rent all the equipment. For me it was a great experience, Guy is a great instructor and person, it was good to meet a lot of other windsurfers , and sailing in safety bay is great. For my level (planing in the straps, but not much else) it was the best thing I could ever have done to improve. As a result this year I have had a lot more control over the board, been able to sail in stronger winds and chop, I can waterstart and i have almost nailed the elusive carve jibe.
In summary, if it wasn't for the distance I would go every time Guy turns up.We should petition him to come to Sydney, in summer the conditions are good.

powersloshin said...

In summary, if it wasn't for the distance I would go every time Guy turns up.We should petition him to come to Sydney, in summer the conditions are good.

I have been going back to Safety Bay for the last 8 years I think (yeah I know, not much variety hey?), because the conditions there are much better than you can get in Sydney. Over here I think you are lucky to get a few days of noreasters in a row, whereas there in a good year you can get a whole week of a perfect seabreeze.

Safety Bay is a nice easy place to sail too.

Logistics from the east coast can be a pain, but if there are enough people interested and he does run the course, I can help organise accommodation and transport. I have been there enough times that I might be able to make it easier.

Did you take your gear from here or hire it over there? There are a few places that hire gear over there, but I thought they might have a week minimum rental.

Yeah, I fly there. I have considered driving, but it is too far, and takes too long to make it worthwhile for me. I go with 1 or 2 others and we rent a van to get around and to store the gear in.

We have rented new places each year, and one year we house sat for some friends there. Between 3 people the accommodation is not too bad.

We stay somewhere around Safety Bay. The Rockingham visitor centre is good for accommodation, in that you can make the booking through them, and they can offer an opinion of whether they think the place is what you are after. We rented one place privately last time and it wasn't as good as we had hoped. The visitors centre gets feedback from places, so I think we could have avoided this problem if we had gone through them.

I am very lucky at the moment that I have some gracious friends there that allow me to leave some of my gear there all year, so I don't have to take too much over.

Taking gear over, is not as bad if you have someone to help you. A 'piece-based' luggage system means you can get more than a weight based system. I have had friends tie 3 or 4 sails together to count as one item. I myself tend to roll three together as it also protects them more.

My other 2 friends take all their gear each time, and usually have 3 sails, 1 board, 2 masts and a boom, and seem to get it all into 3 items. It also helps if you can groups the booms and masts together amongst multiple people.

I agree, it is more difficult if it is just yourself, especially at the airport!

sboardcrazy said...
Pity we don't have reliable wind over here as I'd love to go to one of his courses in Sydney..

I know you have said before that you couldn't be on a plane for that long, but a week or two in Safety Bay (and possibly a training course) would have you absolutely stoked!

You are right, the wind over here, would mean running a clinic would be a hit and miss affair, something you can't afford if your job is windsurfing instructor

FormulaNova said...

sboardcrazy said...
Pity we don't have reliable wind over here as I'd love to go to one of his courses in Sydney..

I know you have said before that you couldn't be on a plane for that long, but a week or two in Safety Bay (and possibly a training course) would have you absolutely stoked!

You are right, the wind over here, would mean running a clinic would be a hit and miss affair, something you can't afford if your job is windsurfing instructor

You've got a good memory!
$ is more of the issue at the moment.Too many bills..How long is a plane trip from Sydney to WA?

FormulaNova said...
Going from memory, its 4 or 4.5 hours. Slightly more one way than the other.

I could check, but I am too lazy The first trip over was exciting, but after that, they all now seem to blend into each other, and it feels like I have only got onto the plane by the time I need to get off.

Having access to inflight entertainment has a lot to do with that I think, and noise cancelling headphones should now make the flight even better. (Going completely off track, I bought a set of those in the US and flew back from Venezuela to the US, and the US to here, and I think I spent most of that time listening to music! They're awesome!)

So what ..they get rid of background noise?

I did Cribby's Safety Bay Freeride (3days) then Geraldton Freewave (2 days) course in WA last summer, and have just got back from the Brandon Bay, Ireland (6 days) surf gods course. I'm coming into my 3rd season of windsurfing and my skills and confidence are streaks ahead, all due to Cribby's amazing coaching. On the first day of the freeride course I added at least 25% speed to my blasting and felt sooo much more in control of the gear. I didn't quite have the right gear to practice the gybes in the available conditions, but was getting through 50% of my attempts within weeks of the course, all the instruction and step-by-step breakdown sat clearly in my head until i could execute on the water with a bit of practice.

I just fell into his courses by chance, and I am sure other international or ex pro coaches are good, but he is a truly fantastic coach and has a well thought out answer to any and all questions, well organised and plenty of laughs. Certainly in areas like Ireland that he knows intimately, we always made good of any weather condition.

He did say he was a little uncertain about running the course in Aus this Jan, but with enough pressure he might relent! I'll be there for sure if it happens.

Hi , latest news from the intuition courses, please note question 4...

Hi everyone- HUGE thanks in expressing interest for me to return to Western Australia to help you all progress heaps with your windsurfing- free riding or wave sailing. Your response has been immense so I am definitely heading south!


Please answer the 3 questions below so I can finalise the details, and please forward to any of your friends who might be interested, with many thanks for supporting INtuition-


1.
Will you attend the Freeride course?
INtuition Freeride Course, Safety Bay January 19-22 (four full days)
AUD$ 595 per person

2.
Will you attend the Freewave course in Geraldton or Lancellin?
INtuition Freeride Course, Jan 24-27 (four full days)
AUD$ 650 per person (discounted to AUD$ 495 if you join both Freeride and Freewave)

3.
If the Freewave course was roaming, heading to where ever had the best forecast between Esperence and Gnarloo, and was one week long, would you join it at cost AUD$900? (Discounted to AUD$700 for joining both Freeride and Freewave)

4.
If I also held a course in Melbourne are you keen to receive details for Freeride or Freewave courses Tuesday Jan 29- Feb 3?