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First wave of the day, with a camcorder hidden
amongst the rocks.
session having forgotten I was wearing it. To the
onlooker we appear to have a remote control aerial
fitted to our behinds!
Another mount used often by us windsurfers is the
Flymount – a heavy duty and quality made bit of kit
that grips the mast like stink (or any cylindrical ‘pole’).
The angle of the Flymount is usually looking straight
down, it is easy to use and, for me at least, has
provided the most useful technique footage. I know
those who use them attached to stand up paddle
shafts as well, which with a bit experimenting can also
yield great shots – especially in surf (we concur – ed).
FHot produce a really nice mast mount – perhaps on
my next trip I’ll persuade Gump from Juice Boardsports
to lend me his. You never know, I might just get that
perfect shot!
Steve Thorp
One of the people who ‘snaps’ a consistently high
quality ‘windsurfing selfie’ is K4 fins owner/Ezzy team
rider Steve Thorp. His high level of sailing obviously
helps here but he has also introduced an innovative
new clip and harness mount, which I have been lucky
enough to use recently. This nifty bit of kit attaches to
any harness in seconds and removes the need for
holes to be drilled as per the first type.
Another advantage to this update is the large back
plate, which also makes the camera much steadier. A
little more care does need to be taken whilst water
starting for example, as the extension can catch on the
mast, but otherwise it’s surprisingly easy to get used to
wearing. I often wondered what people were looking at
as I walked down the beach after returning from a
So what other land-based selfie options are there? A
low tech solution I learnt from Nejc, a Slovenian
windsurfing friend of mine, is to hide a DSLR or
camcorder either in the car (under a carefully draped
towel) or even on the beach (hidden by a rock or two)
to capture the action. Using this method we’ve gained
some interesting shots over the years. The only
downside is your valuable camera could be nabbed!
The emerging land-based high-tech solutions have
given us the various incarnations of the Soloshot; a
‘robot’ mounted on a tripod. I have the first version but
the tech didn't quite deliver and I got better footage
from simply focussing the camera on the wave section
I knew I'd ride. I’m waiting to see how the third version
performs…And they’re pricey!
The future, however, looks exciting with ‘follow me’ drone
technology maturing, but again I don’t intend to be an
early adopter. I think I’ll stick with my proven and trusty
GoPro for now. These kit mounted solutions have become
part of my sailing routine and while some say they add
unnecessary weight I find it’s easy to get used to.
uk
WIND
SURFING