I'm hoping to have the means and opportunity to travel to an overseas location in 2020 to do nothing but windsurf for 7-10 days. My dream locations based on what I've read are Mauritius or Jeri, but leaning towards Mauritius on the assumption that it will be a lot cheaper. Mind you, Jeri is so appealing to finally experience some waves which we don't get locally, apparently gentle waves ideally suited to first timers.

The idea of participating in a clinic at either location (eg. Hart, Cribb, etc.) is appealing to get the most out of the trip but wondering whether the extra cost would be worth it. I'm thinking that I might be able to achieve the same improvement to my sailing if I went there with a focus to improve certain aspects of my sailing. The clinic costs are significant, appear to be around $2-3-4K on top.

I did a Cribb clinic a few years ago in Qld and got a lot out of it despite the wind conditions being crap for the three days. I reckon I've progressed more though lately by really focussing on improving one aspect of my sailing each time I go out as well as making a big point of pre-planning to increase the number of times I get to sail.

Any thoughts?

Once you're in Jeri, it can be quite inexpensive. Getting there might cost you more, though. The point break can get quite crowded during the season, but I think the clinics are done at a different spot, away from the crowds. The wind is great there.

I'm a big fan of clinics, and have done more than a dozen. They are all with ABK Boardsports in the US or Bonaire, though, and they are a lot cheaper (around $500-600 US). They are great clinics, but at flatwater places. Bonaire is great, but more expensive than Jeri, and has no/very limited waves, so probably not a good choice. From what I've seen in the camps, anyone working on new things usually got the most out of camps. Relative newbies progressed really quickly, and ended up with great technique. Guys like me who had been hacking away at stuff without instruction for many years often have to unlearn bad habits, and progress more slowly (but usually still a lot faster than when trying to learn on their own).

Given that you've had a good experience with the Cribb clinic, and that waves are new to you, I think spending money on a clinic is worth it.

Mauritius can be fickle. I was there for a week in early September 2 years ago and only sailed 3 days. 2 of those days were great. The main break, Manawa is 2 km off shore, crowded with windsurfers and kiters, subject to strong currents, but is brilliant. The lagoon and inner break is also crowded but less intimidating. The hire gear is good quality. The sup surfing is also great.

Out of curiosity I checked out the wind stats. I am surprised at how well my local stacks up against the classics.

Le Morne



Jeri



Maui



The Local


Probably smarter to holiday at home, spend the money on gear and just keep dreaming about wave riding.

You have to take these wind statistics with a grain of salt. They may be based on a wind meter that has a bad fetch (often at the airport), or include nights when calculating averages, or... They are good for telling you what the windiest months are, but comparisons between spots are likely to be inaccurate.

I was in Jeri at the beginning of July for a couple of weeks in 2015. That's the very beginning of the season, but we sailed every single day. My typical sail size was 5.3, the range 5.0-5.8. The 5.8 was the biggest sail the rental place had, and I needed it just a couple of days. I need about 20 knots for the 5.8, so it was probably around 22 knots most afternoons for a few hours. It gets windier later in the season. The much higher averages that the graph shows for September probably just mean that the wind starts earlier in the day, and stays until after sunset.

Maui early summer is similar, the given wind probabilities seem low for most years. I used a 4.5 about 1/3rd of the days I spent there, which means blowing sand (wind in the mid-20s and higher). The wind meter for Maui definitely reads low compared to other wind meters. But in recent years, Maui has had some summers where there was little wind for a few weeks.

Might consider Punta San Carlos on central west Baja.
Best spring, summer, early fall and really soft, 3/4 breaking waves.

Dont forget Maui !!!!!!

Does it matter to you what tack you will be wave riding on?

Haha, never given that a thought. Starboard tack feels more natural to me. It's funny though, I feel my technique when I'm free riding is probably better on port because I have to concentrate more to get it right.

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TerryA said..
Dont forget Maui !!!!!!

Yeah Maui is probably a cheaper option than Jeri or Mauritius but the thought of it is intimidating for some reason.

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Orange Whip said..

Yeah Maui is probably a cheaper option

Might be cheap to get to Maui but it's anything but once you are there.

Of the destinations mentioned above I have only been to Maui. Back story: I am a bay sailing free rider increasingly enjoying the odd bit of jumping. Did a wavesailing course with Guy Cribb a few years ago and have been "having a go" in the waves on FSW gear since then. Went to Maui in March this year to get the full wavesailing immersion experience, rented pure wavesailing gear (and a van) went to Kanaha.... and had the windsurfing experience of my life! The swell was really ranking when I was there so most days started at Honolua bay ( on the leeward side of Maui) with a surf. By 12-1 pm the wind kicks in: 5.3 and changing down to 4.7 some days. By day 3 though you are sailing at Kanaha until you're knackered then heading up the road to watch the big guns at Hookipa. No guessing where I slept so it was cheap too!!

I favor starboard riding ,Maui and PSC . Both have clinics : Levi Sever, Matt Prichard ++ at both locations . I have done Matt's for W/S and Mitu's for KItesurfing .Cheap for what you get in the big picture. Would like to get on Ben Profit's in Cape Town ..looks like a hoot. Jeri is a bit crowded for me .

Maui will be less crowded than Jeri at Kanaha and Spreckelsville. Sprecks can have some decent waves for newbies even in the summer, when Kanaha does not break. There are apartments right next to the launch. Matt Pritchard is great, I took a couple of privates with him just to get comfortable sailing there when it's blowing 30 knots (boardsurfr.blogspot.com/2011/07/lessons-from-matt-pritchard.html). For the price of a camp that you listed, you should be able to do a bunch of privates - just check with him if he's around. Prices for food and room will be higher than Jeri, but you might save that in ticket costs.

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boardsurfr said..
Maui will be less crowded than Jeri at Kanaha and Spreckelsville. Sprecks can have some decent waves for newbies even in the summer, when Kanaha does not break. There are apartments right next to the launch. Matt Pritchard is great, I took a couple of privates with him just to get comfortable sailing there when it's blowing 30 knots (boardsurfr.blogspot.com/2011/07/lessons-from-matt-pritchard.html). For the price of a camp that you listed, you should be able to do a bunch of privates - just check with him if he's around. Prices for food and room will be higher than Jeri, but you might save that in ticket costs.

I second Matt's camp in Maui. I've done PSC twice, but I think I prefer Maui for when the conditions don't cooperate perfectly.

Depending on when you go,Maui will have more consistent winds in the summer and a wind swell . PSC could be a crap shoot. I can say that a good week at PSC can be uncrowded,and by the end of a week you could have friends for life.

Depending on when you go,Maui will have more consistent winds in the summer and a wind swell . PSC could be a crap shoot. I can say that a good week at PSC can be uncrowded,and by the end of a week you could have friends for life.