WindsurfingUK Issue 3 May 2017 | Page 66

66 FEATURE FREE RIDE Over time, as all windsurfers do, technique is consolidated and before long regular pilgrimages are being made to anywhere with water and wind. These days bigger, more powerful sails are used and turboing about your local stretch is par for the course. A thing called carve gybing (what?!) has entered your vocabulary and every now and again you experience the sensation of air and space between water and kit ala chop hops – a whole new ball game! Does this all sound familiar? It should. As said at the start of this article it’s the type of windsurfing we all love and do. With all the stresses modern life can throw at us there’s simply nothing better than cutting loose and going for a blast. If you’re not yet at this stage then have no fear. Keep going and you’ll get to that magic planing stage quicker than you can blink – especially if you have a qualified instructor guiding you. Sometimes it’s easy to lose sight of the simple things windsurfing can bring. Open any magazine (ours included), hit up any windy website or check out the various (and many) online windsurf portals and images of big waves, gravity defying stunts, twisted moves and talk of performance will greet all. But dial it back and understand that this is just one part of windsurfing’s broad palette. There’s no pressure to go out and break yourself just because you spot some teenage trickster bending into impossible shapes. Of course, it’s good to not stand still, and the more we learn and improve the more we enjoy our sport, and the wider the plethora of conditions we can use opens up. But going for a simple blast is fine. You’d be surprised how many of the pros, without a lens trained on them, will do just that. Whizzing back and forth, even on the greyest and dampest of days, will brighten your mood – there’s no question. Freeriding is in us all as windsurfers and there’s nothing better. After all, being a windsurfer is about having fun and leaving life’s hassles on Terra Firma – at least for a short while. So the next time a forecast pops up and comes good go for a blast. Hook yourself in, slot feet into straps and shoot for the horizon (obviously turning round at some point!). Enjoy the ride and love the fact you’re a windsurfer, which is one of the best things in the world! Big thanks to Andy ‘Bubble’ Chambers and JP Australia/Neil Pryde who helped out with this article. Also stay tuned for Windsurfing UK’s kit review of JP Australia’s Magic Ride 130 and Neil Pryde Ryde 7.5m – how much freeride goodness can you handle? uk WIND SURFING