I love windsurfing. It is just the most fantastic, challenging, exhilarating sport. Love it.

The windy season has definitely come to an end here in Coffs Harbour. Been crap lately. But Looking back over the 12 months since I started learning I am quite proud of the progress I have made. I have also dragged my brother and step sons into the fold as well and we have all gone from relative beginners to planing, foot straps, water starts etc (almost in the case of Mr 14 year old).

I have gone from Uphauling and falling in repeatedly on my funster 145 to blasting in the harness and footstraps on 130 Lt RS6. I have learned to water start. I have been forced to sail in waves and swell and to ignore dark shapes in water; Thanks to PhilSWR :)

I have learned how to hang on for dear life in crazy wind and survive near out of control disaster and laugh about it later. I have tried to hang on for dear life in crazy wind and catapulted and laughed about it later :)

I love that I have found a passion and something that drives me to exercise, to test my self against the elements, and improve.

Answer yer phone !

Can I buy your board ?

Now comes the fun part, I need a better board, I need a quiver of sails, I need a skinny mast and carbon boom, in fact I need two new boards, a light wind one , and a heavy wind one.
It's only started, money now becomes a very serious part of the equation.
Welcome to the world of wind junkies.

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Carantoc said..

Answer yer phone !

Can I buy your board ?

Was that you ? Woops

You want the Funster?

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Mastbender said..

Now comes the fun part, I need a better board, I need a quiver of sails, I need a skinny mast and carbon boom, in fact I need two new boards, a light wind one , and a heavy wind one.
It's only started, money now becomes a very serious part of the equation.
Welcome to the world of wind junkies.

Oh yes, I have that problem. I had been planning (and saving) for the lighter wind months and got a secondhand 9 mt sail and 490 mast at a good price. I then simultaneously get dumped in wave and snap my most used 460 mast. P O O F!!! $400 gone

Just as an aside. I now have much more respect for those guys that do formula sailing. I thought it looked really easy mode but I don't know how you sail / uphaul 10,11,12 mt sails. The 9 mt is seriously heavy and almost impossible to get out of the water if you fall in. I thought I was relatively strong but you would need to be very fit to sail them things.

gregob welcome to windsurfing to carry on the fantastic, challenging, exhilarating sport you now need to try a winter sport Mountain biking , nothing better than riding single track through the bush.
Dont know the biking trails in NSW but here in WA we are spoilt with marked trails ..

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xtreme1 said..

gregob welcome to windsurfing to carry on the fantastic, challenging, exhilarating sport you now need to try a winter sport Mountain biking , nothing better than riding single track through the bush.
Dont know the biking trails in NSW but here in WA we are spoilt with marked trails ..

How does one aclimatise one's toosh to the jolting tracks?

Good one Greg! I've seen you progress heaps from that first time you sailed Trail Bay with me very early last year. The Key things Greg, is go out as much as humanly possible in ANY wind, constantly try stuff that seems impossible and just think everytime you fall off you're getting a little fitter, stronger and more skilled. Keep it up mate, because this time next year you'll be hammering out planing gybes and jumping 2 meters plus.

This pic is a classic. Here's Greg chugging along on the inside, wondering why windsurfing is so extremely hard, whilst a fellow with 15 years experience soars through the air with ease. The way your are going, this time next year this will be you!

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PhilSWR said..

Good one Greg! I've seen you progress heaps from that first time you sailed Trail Bay with me very early last year. The Key things Greg, is go out as much as humanly possible in ANY wind, constantly try stuff that seems impossible and just think everytime you fall off you're getting a little fitter, stronger and more skilled. Keep it up mate, because this time next year you'll be hammering out planing gybes and jumping 2 meters plus.

Nicely put Greg and what Phil says is right. Sailing in light wind teaches you extra skills and handling less than ideal conditions does the same. Its character building and makes you a more skilful sailor. I started to be too picky about when to go out and its a trait of the old and soft, so enjoy challenging yourself and progressing.

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PhilSWR said..

Good one Greg! I've seen you progress heaps from that first time you sailed Trail Bay with me very early last year. The Key things Greg, is go out as much as humanly possible in ANY wind, constantly try stuff that seems impossible and just think everytime you fall off you're getting a little fitter, stronger and more skilled. Keep it up mate, because this time next year you'll be hammering out planing gybes and jumping 2 meters plus.

This pic is a classic. Here's Greg chugging along on the inside, wondering why windsurfing is so extremely hard, whilst a fellow with 15 years experience soars through the air with ease. The way your are going, this time next year this will be you!

Great Pic. thanks for that Phil. No really. I snapped the nose on the board that day too.

love it - more converts

seriously if everyone could experience planing just once, the whole world would be hooked

PS ** wind (aka no wind) in Melbourne either