56PROFILEKEITH ATKINSON
What’s your current (favoured) location and why?
When I train on the water, I sail most of the time at Portland
Sailing Academy. I live near London still and so it takes me
a couple of hours (on a good journey) to get down there, so
it’s not close, but worth the journey without a doubt. All-
round I think it’s the best place to train in the UK for
windsurfing. It has everything: easy parking, great facilities
on site including a café and hot showers. It’s also a
stunning location with good views of the Jurassic coastline,
plus there’s a lot of great people down there. I always love
the vibe and the atmosphere on the beach.
What does it offer the recreational windsurfer?
Constant and pretty clean wind in most directions. Super flat
water – especially in south westerly and north westerly wind
directions. Although it offers choppy conditions in some areas
if you look for them for a livelier ride. There’s always someone
out, always nice people to sail with and at low tide you can
touch the bottom quite far out so It’s pretty safe.
And for the pro?
It’s easy to come in and change kit when you’re testing
gear. The conditions are pretty consistent and most of the
best guys in the UK are down there all the time so there’s
always someone good to test and develop with.
You’re known mainly as a slalom and formula sailor,
having won numerous titles. Still doing the comps or
mainly sticking with sailing for personal fulfilment?
I do enjoy free-sailing and just blasting with friends. But
windsurfing competition runs through my veins. I really love
racing so I am looking forward to a competing again on the
BSA tour for 2018.
Tell us about your most memorable achievement within
windsurfing and why?
The one that stands out the most within windsurfing, when I
was racing internationally, was winning The Euro Cup at
Silvaplana. I had a pretty strong start to the event, but on
the last two days I felt like I really got into my stride and I
was literally buzzing with adrenaline on the start line. Being
in a beautiful place was a factor for me. I was enjoying just
being there. On the last day of the competition there was no
wind. Andrea Cucchi was in the lead and with only minutes
before they called it off for the event, the wind started to
come in and we got called out to do two races. I had a good
second to last race, but It was down to the last one and all I
wanted to do was try stay in the top five (which I was very
happy with o f course) and not mess up with a bad start.
Last race I had a good start and ended up second. Coming
back to the beach I didn’t know where I stood in the
rankings but knew I’d done enough to at least stay in the
top five or maybe better. But after another discard came in
it shook everything up and I didn’t know I’d won until
Matthias Regber (Euro Cup Organiser) came to me and told
me that it was me. There are literally no words to describe
the feeling of winning an event like that. I was shaking. For
me it was the perfect event.
uk
WIND
SURFING
I have had
fantastic support
from K66 with
North/Fanatic/ION
, and from 2018
I’m sponsored by
Goya boards.
Windsurfing is
certainly not a
cheap sport, but
it’s definitely less
expensive than
some others out
there.