More Windsurfing in Dahab

Smiling in Dahab!  Video down below

After 4 days without wind, and even a very rare day of rain in Dahab, I got back out on a short board. I had actually done some light wind freestyle and stand up paddleboarding on the no wind days.  The kids took advantage of the wind lull and explored the beach and reefs snorkelling on a pedal boat.

I tried out a Mistral Joker 108 which is a nice freestyle board. With a 5.8, I got planing every run, and tried over 20 vulcans and an assortment of other tricks. My vulcans are sliding well, but I still don’t get my hands to the other side. The tide was high, which means that you can get planing and then beach start in either directions in the bay after a failed trick attempt. I was having fun comparing moves with Hafaz, one of the club Mistral staff members. Most of all it was great to be out sailing.

Don't think about sharks while waterstarting in the red sea

The Mistral centre, and the other centres on the beach (Harry Nass, Club Vass, Planet Windsurf and a few Russian rental outfits) are all well stocked. I like how they take the boom off and on each time, which I think keeps the gear in better shape. In the Club Vass centre, I met Colin who, as it turned out, knew two Canadian windsurfers and a Dutch pro that I know. What a small little windsurfing world.

Dahab is a very nice place. It is a bit of a bubble, the resorts and many international guests keep you a bit isolated from the actual country you are visiting, like in other resort towns. The vibe when you venture into the town of Dahab is a bit more eclectic, and worth a visit for a relaxed lunch and stroll down the paved beach boardwalk on a no wind day.

The resorts seemed busy but not packed, I wonder what impact the shark attack 100km away in Sharm-el-Shiekh has had on tourism, or if it is a delayed result of the economic downturn from 2008?





Dahab mast view from Canadian Guy on Vimeo.


Here are some more images:

The Best Christmas Present EVER!

Christmas dinner in Dahab for 5 Windsurfers!

So much fun. Waking up on Christmas day in Dahab to see wind, and hearing my 10 year old daughter say on the way to breakfast, "Daddy, I want to go windsurfing with you today." My wife and one son were already keen to sail, so after seeing Santa walk through the hotel handing out gifts to the kids, we all headed down to the beach to pick out some rental gear.
As the 4 of us were almost ready to go, my other son said he wanted to sail too. Way cool.
My wife was planing, my one son was zooming back and forth on his 3.0, and my other son and daughter were doing pretty well to on their big boards and tiny sails. There were a few "I can't get back moments" from the kids, but eventually we all made it back to the Mistral centre. (The wind here is offshore, but there is a sand bar that collects the beginners letting them walk back upwind.)
Here is a picture from Christmas dinner. Being away from home at Christmas is weird, but to have all 5 of us out sailing at once is a pretty wonderful present for the luckiest dad in the world.

Christmas Eve Windsurfing - Dahab

I've never sailed on Christmas Eve, but today I had a memorable session. We've been having a great trip exploring Egypt. After an amazing Nile cruise, and a bit of air travel, we've arrived at Dahab.This windsurfing destination on the Red Sea is very popular with Europeans, and we are staying right on the beach.
We arrived at the hotel, had a quick lunch and then my son and I headed out to test the waters. He had a few problems staying upwind in the beginner bay at first, but then made it back to the Club Mistral centre under his own power. I headed out to the freestyle area, but with my 6.6m sail and 135l board, was limited to fine tuning my duck gybes and carving 360s.
I got back from session #17 as the sun was setting got showered and ready for Christmas dinner with my family. It was definitely a great way to spend the afternoon before Christmas Eve. Normally I'm out doing last minute shopping!

The Windsurfing Movie II

We are packing up to head to Dahab for the holidays. The family joined me in watching the Windsurfing Movie II, as part of me getting stoked for our trip.The production values and sailing in the movie are first rate. It was very cool to see Levi Siver, who we saw sailing, and if I recall doing well at the Gorge cup in the 1990's when he and his brother were kids. My son said he wants to go sail the gorge. Cool.

Crazy French Windsurf Park

Ok, these French guys are crazy. But what a good idea.


Wesh Center Crew Windsurf Park in Leucate from Julien Taboulet on Vimeo.

It is around 2.5 hours away from my place, I'll have to check it out in the spring (on my way to the Defi Wind?).

#16 Shadowbox Recording of Fun Dec. 7 Sesh in France

This session wasn't supposed to happen. After two weeks of freezing nights that left most of Europe under an early and heavy blanket of snow, I figured my season was done. But it suddenly warmed up here.

There wasn't much wind predicted though, so my wife took the car for the day to her hiking club. Luckily, when my email wind alert buzzed at 11am, I emailed her and she let me know the car was actually just parked at the kids' school. I figured by the time I ran to school, drove the car home, loaded the gear, drove to the beach and rigged, the wind would be gone. What the hell, I quickly walked uphill then jogged downhill the 6km to school to get the car, raced home packed up and headed out.

I was sceptical, but as I pulled up to Carro beach, a nice 25 knot, 16c SE wind was powering up a dozen sailors out on 14c Mediterranean water.

I rigged up quickly, slapped the new Shadowbox on the board, and realized it would have been smart to have read the user guide that has been on my bed side table for the last 5 nights. The box powered on but didn't seem to record anything as it hadn't been on long enough to get a good GPS signal.

Oh well, I was desperate to go, and I sailed just enjoying the near perfect conditions. Waves that were big enough to ride, but manageable enough to get out through the break. Wind that was pretty steady, and not overpowering (or dying) like a few of my recent sessions.

For the first time in a while I had no GPS, no GoPro, and with the Shadowbox off, no extra reason to try hard or push myself. So I was soul surfing, and just loving being out in early December with the right board and sail.

Shadowbox Track of a Decent Jump!

After 50 minutes of perfectly heavenly sailing, I tried turning on the Shadowbox again, and lo and behold, it started up with rapid blinking lights, indicating that it was recording.

So I started pushing myself a bit more, and recorded some jumps, and 2 more vulcan attempts. But most of all I was having fun playing in the waves, catching good rides in, jibing smoothly and not being completely freaked out on my way back out.

Above is a sweet image of one of the jumps I got.  I'd say this is maybe 1/2 the size of the best jumps I've ever done, so I'm looking forward to catching some better ones in the future on the Shadowbox. It says I went 7.7 feet high and over 28 feet long at 17 mph. The board recorded a maximum 16Gs of deceleration on one of my flat landings. Ouch.

Nice Wave Ride and Jibe Track

Here is a nice wave ride, I need to get a bit more slash in my top and bottom turns I think.

Shadowbox recording of Windsurfing Vulcan attempt from Canadian Guy on Vimeo.

I got a great image sequence of Vulcan attempt #83. It confirms that I get the board around 180 degrees fine now, I need to really start working on getting my hands to the other side and then leaning into the sail. Of course in the Shadowbox software, the sail stays straight up perpendicular to the board the whole time, but it is still a fun video!

My maximum speed for the session was 27mph (43 km/h).

Re-Split nose - May be the end of the season :-(

After around an hour and a half of sailing, on one of my waterstart attempts after a failed jibe in the whitewater zone, my calves cramped up something fierce. The combination of jogging, and then sailing was taking its toll. I had to lie in the breaking waves for a minute just to ease my cramping legs. I did a few more runs, and then just as I was saying cockily "I've been sailing really well, but this is my last ride out, I have to pack up and go get the kids from school", and WHAM, I got pulled over the front and the mast hit the board, HARD. (I can see that moment on the Shadowbox too!) It actually split the board open, along the fault line of an earlier but smaller bit of damage. I rode straight back in and left the board at the Carro Windsurf shop. I am curious what the repair estimate and timing will be?

I've washed the salt water off all my sails now, and think this is the last entry from France for this year. The great session, and the fun of getting the Shadowbox working, makes up for the broken nose. Overall I'm feeling pretty good about my 16 sessions this fall.

Toys for Geeks. My Shadowbox has arrived!

Santa Came Early!

Ok, after months of waiting, my new Shadowbox has arrived. It is a cool GPS with extra sensors that record a great deal more motion detail than a regular GPS. I should be able to see how high I jump, how smooth my gybes are, and someday help me with analysis of tricks I am still trying to learn.
There are a lot of sailors who deserve to have their skills recorded more than I do, but the geeky engineer in me couldn't resist ordering one. Here's a great video with guys who deserve to be monitored with a Shadowbox (go to 1:30 to see the Shadowbox tracking). I'm looking forward to recording my first session, hopefully it gets warmer here in France next week, we've been freezing with the rest of Europe for 10 days.

What I find really cool about the Shadowbox, is that like the GoPro, it is a new, high tech device that is made (or at least designed and assembled) in the USA. While many people seem to want to believe that the US is in constant decline, Apple, Google and smaller cool companies like shadowbox and GoPro seem to still all come from the US.

But what is it about windsurfing and engineering types like me? Ok, not all windsurfers are engineers, but once when I was down in San Carlos, 5 of 7 guests were engineers. And the number of doctors, pilots and rocket scientists make windsurfing a bit unusual as a sport. Why so many geeks?

#15 Cold and Windy in France: Why am I the only one out?

Well the mistral has been blowing for a few days now. The wind was supposed to be down to 20 knots. With sunny skies, the predicted 7c air temperature didn't even scare me off.

I arrived at Le Jai, and there was not a soul there. I rigged up the 5.4, held it up in the wind, and then quickly took it apart and rigged the 4.7. The wind was now 20 gusting to 25.

Wind report during my session, 29 gusting to 38 knots!

Getting out through the weeds in the onshore winds was tough. (There was even a tractor down the beach piling the black stringy stuff into a dump truck.).

The water was a chilly 10c, but the air was up to 8c for a combined 18c, which has generally been my lower combined temperature limit.

There were also fishing nets strung out perpendicular to shore, so on my first few runs, I had to chop hop over them.

Once upwind I could do longer runs, but I did want to keep an eye on the car. In October, there was a rash of break ins and car thefts at this beach.

Cold, seaweed, fishing nets, break-ins, on a normal work day. Maybe that's why I was the only one out?

My fingers and feet got cold, but just slightly numbing, not the pins and needles cold I remember. My 5/4 wetsuit didn't even get soaked inside up top; just from my waist down.

Pretty smooth GPS gybe tracks. 40km/h top speed!

The wind had picked up to 29 knots average with gusts to 38. I was in survival sailing mode and didn't really try any tricks, just a few jumps. No video of this session, just a GPS track. A fair number of nice smooth gybes at each end. I hit 40 km/h at one point.

30 minutes later I was pretty tired and had to quit and go pick up kids from school. But it was still a worthwhile session. How long is a typical fall/winter windsurfing session?

Next time I'll be wearing gloves and a neoprene toque but I'm not planning on putting the gear away quite yet...

Here's a shot of the statue near Le Jai France.

Definitely a windsurfing place! 

#14 Fun Burger! Best Session In A While

Monday Nov 22.  The kids have been dropped off at school, I got a few emails done at home, and my lovely wife has been dropped off at French lessons. Nice wind predicted and I can see a few out sailing on the live Carro webcam.  45 minutes later I'm rigging a 5.4 on the beach and head out.

Completely in control for the first time in a long time, I'm jumping, gybing, heli tacking and just plain enjoying myself. Water at 15c, air at 12c, so I didn't even mind falling in on Vulcan attempts 79-81. My only worry was that it was slightly offshore, so I stayed upwind of all the other sailors in case of a breakdown.


Carro, France Windsurfing on a Nice Day from Canadian Guy on Vimeo.

Check out the video. I like the GoPro boom cam mount. The waves look big as I head out, but were really only a metre or so. The jumps are the best I've captured on video, but only 1/4 of the best I've done. Judging by the distance I go through the air, I'm guessing I go 2m high by 5m long?

The photo is of a burger joint in town - I haven't seen it open, but then it is late November.

Fun Burger in Carro, France

More Windsurfing Humiliation in France - On the Rocks

Another huge forecast for wind. In fact too good. The place closest to home was supposed to have strong Mistral (north) wind, and it did. Check out the chart on the right!  Le Jai wound up with 44 knots with gusts up to 52 (that is up to 96 km/h!). So I didn't head to that beach, but drove in the other direction to where the winds were predicted to be more reasonable.

I arrived at La Coudouliere six Fours and saw around 25 sailors on the water, nicely powered up. They were all on 4.5-5.0 sized sails. I asked two locals what they recommended, and they said wear booties, and I'm glad I did!. For sail sizes one suggested rigging my 4.7, the other my 5.4. Since I was so worried about being over powered (and because I have a floaty board and the 4.7 was still wet from Sunday's session and the boom and extensions were set for it), I rigged the smaller sail and headed out just as the wind dropped off. From the small beach under the cliff, we had to head out and upwind to avoid the rocky breakwater for the marina. I floated out, floundered, started being pushed downwind to the rocks, and then returned to shore. I rested up, walked up the beach 20m, and started again.

This time, I almost got going, then got hit by a wave and fell. And then waterstarted and fell again, and again. As I floundered more and more, and the breaking waves started jacking up higher and higher, it was clear that I was heading to the rocks protecting the marina. The waves spewed me up onto the breakwall, but somehow I managed to grab my gear and walk up without killing myself and just putting a tiny tear in my sail. Whew. Check out the video. (Is the addition of music and credits done in Windows Movie Maker worth the loss of video quality required to convert from the .264 encoded GoPro videos of my other posts?)


Washed up on the rocks, Windsurfing in Six Fours, France from Canadian Guy on Vimeo.

I walked past the RVs and boats back to the parking lot, where most of the sailors had also returned due to the weakened wind. I got undressed while the 5 remaining little French and Itilian sailors bobbed around with their 5.0s, and then caught nice waves on their runs back in. I wonder what my day would have been like if I'd rigged the 5.4, headed out 10 minutes earlier and had made my way upwind out of the breakers before the lulls came?

Six Fours on the Mediterranean - You can see the breakwater I washed up on. Nice waves though! 

I didn't actually feel too grouchy about another humbling session. I've learned to maybe go a bit overpowered when there is upwind ground to be made at a new spot. And winding up on the rocks might not kill you, and is not a good enough excuse to sit on the beach. And there were guys who drove from Italy for this day and were skunked as much as I was, just without an adventure on the rocks like I had. I will count this as session #13 though. I''m thinking there will be a few more windsurf-able days before the end of Nov?

Gotta Keep Smiling!

#12 How to Get out through Shorebreak

Well I'm learning. And mainly learning that after 30 years of sailing, there is still lots to learn. Like getting out through the waves. Man does it feel good when you succeed!

Enjoying a good session at Carro!

Wind Data From Carro, Nov 14, 2010

After the trashing I took before Halloween (see last blog entry and video), my calendar and the wind didn't align for another two weeks. That put me at 34 days without an actual feet in the straps sailing session. So I was overdue and scored a great session.

Warm 19c, SW wind at 30knots (see chart). 15c water. I was still overpowered on my 4.7. Thankfully there is a great surf shop on the beach at Carro, and I managed to rent a smaller 85l RRD wave board, which helped me cope. I had actually been there 4 days earlier on Wednesday morning during a strong NW wind, but that day I was the only one on the beach and decided not to venture out alone into unknown wind and wave conditions.  This now being a Sunday, there were over 80 sailors, which is not bad for mid November!


How to get out through shorebreak on a windsurfer from Canadian Guy on Vimeo.

Here is some video of the session from my GoPro helmet cam. I love how quiet it gets when I'm on the wave and heading downwind (if you watch all the way to 3:15!).

A bit of humble pie - Halloween nightmare windsuffering in Carro

I'm back in France and the wind reports looked solid. 18 degree warm wind from the south. So I headed back to the legendary windsurfing spot Carro where I had fun last time. There were around 100 sailors out. Most of the sails on the beach were 4.0, my smallest is 4.7, and my 108l board looked huge next to the 80l wave boards that everyone else had. It also started raining, adding to the windspeed, 30 knots gusting to 35.

I rigged up and could barely walk down to the beach. I was able to get out to waist deep water. Several failed beachstarts got me out into the shorebreak, where I got washed several times. A few more waterstart attempts, and I was out into the breaking waves, where I got pulled over the handlebars each time. Started swimming after my gear, and felt the current ripping me straight down wind at an alarming rate. I dragged myself and the gear back to shore and did a walk of shame back to the car. Got out of my wetsuit in the sideways rain, and could barely get the board back on top of the car due to the wind.

There were only 40 sailors out at this point, and my wife and I watched them in comfort from the front seats of the car. Still more to learn about this sport - like make sure you have the right gear. Maybe I'll rent from the local shop next time it is really windy. Does this count as a day of sailing?

Carro Windsurfing Nightmare from Canadian Guy on Vimeo.

Canada for a week - Georgian Bay Windsurfing Memories

Well I'm back in Canada for a week of work functions and also to close up the cottage on Georgian Bay.

Funny that just after I get back here, there is a new post on the Original Windsurfer Blog. The post was about how Ted Schweitzer visited Toronto and then drove up the same highways I just drove, to deliver a windsurfer to his dad Hoyle who has a cottage on Georgian Bay.(Yes that Hoyle Schweitzer AKA the man who brought windsurfing to the masses).

I learned how to windsurf on Georgian Bay on an original teak boomed windsurfer around 1981. Here is 8mm family film footage of those early days, just after I got my own YPSI Wayler from JD at Windsurfing Toronto on Yonge Street.

1985 Vintage 8mm Windsurfing Footage from Canadian Guy on Vimeo.

Oh, this weekend there was almost enough wind to sail, but not enough time after shutting down the plumbing for the winter.  Back to Provence on Wednesday.

#10 First time sailing at famous Carro beach

OK, for my 10th session, I finally got up the nerve to sail at Carro beach.  The windsurfing guide book from Stoked Publications suggests that Carro is one of the top spots in France. So I was a bit intimidated, but with my wife and family there with me, I got up the nerve.

Well, actually the kids just stayed in the car. But my lovely wife watched from shore and took these pictures.

The bottom is rocky, so I wore booties for the first time this year. I only cut one guy off on a wave (merde, pardonez moi) and despite the crowds, I look forward to getting back to this spot again soon.

Jumping!

Navigating the crowds - 100 sailors - a few waves

Got my own wave!

Cdn Guy is Stoked!

Only 2 vulcan attempts, but number 76 slid for a mile (well maybe 2 metres). I need to get my hands to the other side. Shove its started having a bit of backwind. More to do there too. My jump looks better than I remember it, I'm looking forward to getting a really good one.

Here is a map of the areas I've been profiling in this blog.

Map of windsurfing locations I've tried so far near Aix-en-Provence

Did you know tomorrow shortly after 10am will have a cool date?  10:10:10 on 10/10/10.  Cheers, Carl

#9 Windsurfing in Almanarre for the 1st time

I've met another parent here in Aix-en-Provence who loves to windsurf.  He actually ran a windsurfing school in the British Virgin Islands and raced several times in the HiHo.So with the wind reports looking good for an east wind, we met at the morning school drop off and headed to Almanarre.

As we had hoped, there was a windsurf rental place on the beach, and Roy was quickly set up with a nice board and sail.  I rigged the 5.4 and it was perfect.  Nice sand underfoot, and small shorebreak that created a few ramps, but challenging for someone not used to getting out through the white water.

I sailed 2 hours and 15 minutes, and over 40 km.  It is amazing how much time you spend in the water when you are trying some new moves, and also learning to deal with shortbreak.

Here is a NICE HQ VIDEO of how I start the camera, a few chop hops, a nice gybe and then a few small jumps. 90 great seconds of my day.


Windsurfing in Almanarre from Canadian Guy on Vimeo.

I'm thinking this video is much nicer quality than the last ones.

Here are a few stills as well.

Shaka!

Carving Gybe

Cool image through the sail!

It was really great having a fellow windsurfer to share the 100k drive with. I'm thinking Roy and I will have a few more sessions this fall!

Night time craziness in Sylt

Last night is well worth commenting on. The PWA put on a night time tow-in freestyle expression session. This was after a full day of slalom races which were broadcast with live GPS timing on the web (see chart). 

The night time tow in session was a very challenging situation. The 7 best freestylers in the world took turns being towed in by a jet ski over big breaking waves to finesse spectacular moves in random winds, just meters from shore in front of floodlights (and even headlights of the sponsoring Range Rover vehicles) illuminating the action.

I stood on the shore with Maarten Van Ochten H72 who gave me great play by play insight into the specific moves that his PWA colleagues were doing.

World Champion Gollito
 from PWA Website

The action was enough to coax many of the partiers out of the beer tent to watch. Inside the massive tent it was virtually impossible to move, only those like me with hand stamps from earlier in the evening were allowed back in, and the line to get in was crazily long. The party was so hot that condensation on the tent roof was dripping down in many places!  Maybe it was the Octoberfest spirit, or a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the German unification of Oct 3, 1990. Or maybe it was just Saturday night in Sylt.

This morning, with more wind and sunny skies, I was hopeful that there would be a freestyle competition. A few freestyle sailors went out to try the conditions, but it was too gusty close to shore where the judges would have needed to be to rate the tricks.

Team Canada at Sylt!

I said goodbye to several people I'd met and got a 'go Canada' photo with freestyler Philip Soltysiak CAN9. The slalom fleet was just starting their first heats in the surprisingly warm (17c) wind. Not bad for northern Germany in October. For more contest info see: www.pwaworldtour.com  FYI Dunkerbeck won the Slalom portion of the event, and finished the year in 2nd.

I headed off to catch the Auto Train shuttle off the island, to start my long drive home before Sunday weekend 'rush hour'. Sylt was a lot nicer, busier, accessible, warmer and drier than I expected. No wonder it is such a popular windsurfing stop on the PWA tour.

Did I mention that some of the taxis in Sylt are Porsche Cayennes? Yeah, it is a bit crazy there.

#8 Sylt (not part of the world cup)

This morning I got to watch my first ever live PWA slalom races. It was fascinating to see that a huge part of the racing is having all your gear rigged on the beach and ready to go. Like the few races I've been in, it is also a challenge to figure out what heat you are in and when your start time is.  The racers were way out to sea, because of the offshore wind.

Bjorn Dunkerbeck and Sebastian Kornum head out to race

Later, after winning yet again, Bjorn was swarmed by the media.

Bjorn in media scrum

Crowds line the beach

The Beer Tent

Crowds on the Boardwalk - Checking out the event results

More Crowds

My sailing: I headed off in the afternoon to the far end of the island to do some sailing myself. I was at the most northerly spot in all of Germany, and could have sailed across the bay to Denmark with the right wind direction.

6.2 on my 108l board was perfect and the combination of 14c water and 13c air was quite tolerable in my new wetsuit.  After 90 minutes I really didn't even notice the cold anymore. I'll be interested to see what my minimum combination will be later this fall, likely somewhere around 25 combined air and water temperature?

I got a nice upwind 360 on video, and a few more failed Vulcans I'm up to attempt number 75?..

Quick failed Vulcan

Upwind 360 into Heli Tack

Nice planing duck gybe into failed Vulcan

Professional Windsurfers World Cup Sylt

Ok, I made it to Sylt, and have been amazed at the number of people who come each year to this cold and windy resort town. It is a bit like Whistler, but the attraction here is the beach. There are huge tents with beer and seafood being served, and a real party feeling. At night it is hard to walk through the tents due to the dancing/singing crowds, it has a Octoberfest party vibe going on!

The day I arrived, the wind shut down, so they had a tow-in windsurfing session. It was clear that the freestyle sailors were thrilled to show off in front of the hundreds of fans lining the beach. Check out the second half of this PWA video to see how tow-in windsurfing works.

Over the last two days I've bumped into a lot of the major names in windsurfing, some of whom I've met over the years.

Tonky Frans from Bonaire always has a huge smile for his Canadian friends.

Tonky all smiles!

We also have a Canadian on the world windsurfing tour, Philip Soltysiak is ranked #5 in the world right now. I met him on the beach, and he is very nice. It sounds like I am the only Canadian fan here.

PWA Website link to Philip Soltysiak

I met Bjorn Dunkerbeck and got an autograph from the 15 times world champion. He is a great ambassador for the sport and seems to continue to enjoy competing (and winning) every time he goes out. I found the last copy of his book "The Search" in a bookstore in town, and had him sign it.

Me with Windsurfing Legend Bjorn Dunkerbeck

I also bumped into a very nice young Danish sailor we met on the HiHo in 2009. A nice small windsurfing world.  Hopefully there is wind tomorrow and some racing to watch.

Interesting windsurfing retail observation.  There are no shops in Sylt that sell gear anymore.  The German websites (and Deutsche Post) are so good that the one local shop only sells wetsuits and clothing.  Quite different from the number of good shops in southern France.

#7 Le Jai on the way to Sylt PWA Worlds

So Monday was my day to start the drive up to the PWA World Cup in Northern Germany. But as I was having a nice farewell lunch with my wife, I got an email saying there was wind nearby. Never leave wind to find wind, so I got a nice kiss goodbye, skipped dessert, and headed for a quick session.

6.2, fully powered and then some. Did some upwind and downwind 360 attempts, 5 more vulcan attempts, and another flaka and shove it experiments. I mounted my GoPro and got a few photos and a video.

Then I started driving 900 km north so I can see some professionals do their thing in Sylt.  More driving tomorrow.

My first experiment with video...

Smiling!

Le Jai, A beach dedicated to Windsurfing - NO SWIMMING!

Road Trip to Sylt!

#6 Brutal Beach with the Family

The wind reports were solid, and the weather nice, so the family decided to come check out the waves at Brutal Beach with me.  Everyone liked the drive through Sanary sur mer, a 4 flower town, meaning it is very scenic.  This is the edge of the Cote D'azur, and there are palm trees lining the main street.

We parked, and while I was rigging, Phillip and Katie were already heading out on their boogie boards to play in the waves.  The local guys were rigging 4.7s, but I chose my 5.4 as there seemed to be a lot of lulls.  Indeed, the wind was light for the first 40 minutes, and then kicked in big time.  I actually contemplated sailing right across to the island I could see in the distance (Isles des Embiez?).  Judging by Google earth, I was half way there on my longest run out.  Vulcans #61, #62 were lame, and #63 had way too much altitude.  Tried another couple of "shove-it"s too.

I came in after 80 minutes, right after a big sobering catapult fall. Might wear my helmet more. The family was just finishing up lunch in the restaurant and had been watching me sail the whole time. Very cool. They were raving about the altitude and hang time I'd had on a few of my jumps. I went out for another session and Geoffrey took pictures, see below. We got back in the car and the kids still made it to the party they were invited to. A nice day in all.