74 FEATUREWAVE SAILING
‘The dream’
Reading through many windsurf mags, not unlike this one,
and seeing what ends up online will have you thinking every
other sailor (apart from you) is up and down the length of the
country, scouring for conditions, daily. This just isn’t true,
however. What you’re seeing is ‘the dream’ being sold by
marketing gurus and pro riders whose job it is to get you
frothing. 90% of all windsurfers are simply in no position to
do this kind of thing. Most windsurfers will do what’s already
been explained: hit their local on a predicted forecast,
hoping for some classic conditions.
Now don’t get me wrong. Skunkings are par for the course
when talking about any kind of sport relying on Mother
Nature’s moods, not least windsurfing. Yet with a better
choice of quiver, the majority of windsurfers would up their
water time no end. Things are changing, slowly, but there’s
still a way to go and more open minds needed.
It’s all very well suggesting blasting back and forth is boring,
which I’ve heard a lot. I totally get wielding a 9.6m isn’t for
everyone. Yet most don’t need to go this big. Even plugging a
uk
WIND
SURFING
6.5m into a 122L board will see more sessions scored. And
owning this type of gear doesn’t need to break the bank. You
don’t have to go all out and buy new, there are plenty of
bargains to be had if you look in the right places and are
prepared to ‘move’ when a deal pops up. And to be honest,
if you think skimming back and forth atop the brine,
absorbing some much needed Vit D, whilst experiencing and
appreciating your natural surroundings is dull, then you’re a
lost cause. After all these are the feelings that drew you to
the sport initially.