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out of his stalled life – a series of missions that lead him
around the world on a journey of self discovery – first to the
Dominican Republic, then back home to confront his past in
Australia, and finally to Ireland. Along the way he earns the
right to sail some of the planet’s most extreme spots.
These locations are all places Nikki and I have visited in our
own search for wind and waves. The descriptions, texture,
and some of the local incidents are often fictionalised
extrapolations from my autobiography. Apart from travel and
windsurfing, there are a few other themes…
I studied philosophy for my undergraduate degree and I
wanted to weave philosophical threads into the story. My
main character, Nick, talks about playing “philosophical
chess” with the Master – moving ideas around like chess
pieces to see how they might impact on each other.
Another theme that interested me was psychoactive/mind-
altering substances. As a Baby Boomer coming of age in the
1960s, a student in the early 1970s, and then playing in
rock bands, I did my fair share of experimenting with psychedelic
drugs. They were part of my (arguably misspent) youth, along
with long hair, electric guitars, and open-air rock festivals.
On balance, weighing up the dangers and benefits, I’m glad
that I had these experiences, and relieved that I survived
them. There’s an element of ‘whatever doesn’t kill you
makes you stronger’ in this, but I am glad to have
experienced these unusual mental states. It gives you a
different perspective on ‘normality’ as just one of the many
threads in life’s rich tapestry.
I imagined myself in Nick’s situation,
drifting for hours on his board, and I asked
myself how I’d cope. Would I have the strength
of will to survive? How long would hope
remain?
Who will the book appeal to do you think?
Initially, my fellow tribe of English speaking windsurfers – not
exactly a mass market, more of a niche, but equally there’s
not much competition. I jokingly describe my book as the
world’s first windsurfing novel. There are a few, non-fiction
windsurfing books (technique manuals, memoirs, location
guides, for example), and no doubt windsurfing makes an
appearance in other fiction, but I’ve yet to come across a
book that you might call a proper windsurfing novel (if you
know of any please let me know).
There are far more books that feature surfing, and even a few
authors writing surf fiction (notably Kem Nunn, credited with
inventing the surf-noir genre). So, although windsurfing is a
smaller niche than surfing, there is a gap in that market. There
may be fewer windsurfers than surfers (especially if we
include the wannabes, hangers-on, followers of surf fashion,
etc, who like to call themselves ‘surfers’ without necessarily
going near a proper wave), but there’s no reason why the
search for wind should not be as authentically chronicled as
the search for the perfect wave.
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WIND
SURFING