Taking the Turfdog out for a run

Here is a video from my first session using a Turfdog terrain board to windsurf on land. I'm on a 4.7m sail in 5-10 knots of wind. Yes, the lack of wind lately has made me desperate.


Turfdog windsurfing on land from Canadian Guy on Vimeo.

Upwind 360s worked surprisingly well, gybes not so much. In this video you can see me get going nicely and then fail on my heli tack attempt. Apparently people have found this board helpful for learning vulcans. We'll see about that. My only gripe about the board would be the footstraps. They are a bit twisty and uncomfortable. However, they do simulate the fear that I had years ago on water when it was hard to get that back foot into the straps.

The ground was not very smooth or level. Next time I want to find a flatter surface! Unfortunately all the grassy playing fields near me are in valleys surrounded by trees. Yes, I'm wearing protective gear.

In the background of this photo, you can see Mont Sainte-Victoire, which was one of Cezanne's favourite subjects in the south of France.

The Turfdog

Here's what the Turfdog board looks like from the side. When you are going, the front wheel caster is facing toward the back, like on a shopping cart. Steering feel is quite realistic, sail forward and back to turn up or downwind. Your back foot also steers like a skateboard, or like using the rail on a windsurfer to carve.

Nice scenery in France! (That is a coal fired plant)

Stay away from the warships

I almost got skunked after my first drive to Le Ciotat, but just kept driving till I found the wind that had been predicted. I didn't really know where I was going, as the Kite and Windsurf Guide didn't have any launches listed near La Seyne-sur-Mer. I was just driving along the coast road until I saw a bunch of guys unloading gear from their vans.

I stopped, and started chatting (in my limited French) with Michel and a few of the other local sailors. They said it was a good spot, no rocks, no booties required, and nice in this easterly wind direction. There were palm trees and mansions on the other side of the road. Everyone seemed to be rigging 108 litre boards and 6m sails. I did too.

But then they all sat and waited for the wind to build. It looked like there was just enough to get going, so I was the wind dummy. In fact, a 5.4 might have been enough, but I was short for time and didn't feel like re-rigging. I sailed upwind of the old fort and checked out the full view of Toulon harbour.

WAY COOL! There were 10 warships, and an aircraft carrier. There were also ferry boats, yachts, sail catamarans and freighters. This massive harbour was then backdropped by mountains. Later, Michel told me that it is important to stay away from the warships. I figured that out when an additional warship came into the harbour. I quickly turned around when I could clearly see the machine guns mounted on the escort boats that were honking for traffic to stay away.

Better earth image to come soon...

I'm nailing my downwind carve 360s and duck gybes, but vulcan attempts 109-114 were useless. I'll blame that on the big fin I chose.

Friendly group at the launch!

Water was 12c, wind 16c. The guys on the beach were all very friendly. Merci Michel et les mecs sur la plage pour votre hospitalitie. A good start to the season.

Stop taking pictures and get home!

The kids weren't even too mad when I picked them up a bit late from school!

I signed up for the Defi Wind 40 km French Windsurfing Race

Apparently they already have 550 of 1,111 possible entries. If you want to do it, sign up soon!  I wonder if Robby Naish will be #1111?

The best part of signing up, is that you need a doctor's certificate saying that you are fit enough to compete. My doctor here got me my certificate in around 5 minutes, and then we chatted about his windsurfing and sailing past.

1,000 racers in 2010, I'm planning on being one of 1,111 racers this year!

Does anyone want to come and join me?  Check out the site at: www.defiwind.com.

Snowboarding

One of Dad's better jumps
Landed it too.

Ok, so I didn't get to windsurf in February. It has been two months now since my last session, and I'm starting to get all the magazines, newsletters etc. indicating a new season is around the corner. I'm excited.

We went to the Alps a number of times, and my boys and I are snowboarding together, and my wife and daughter are skiing. The French Alps have great snow, wonderful food, and mostly sunny skies.  Some of the slopes are only 90km from the Mediterranean. I guess it would be possible to ski and windsurf in the same day!

I did a few experiments with the Shadowbox on the snowboard. It is neat, but definitely more suited to windsurfing (or at least I'm better at windsurfing so the data from that sport is more interesting.)

I've reconfigured www.baston.fr to start emailing me wind reports. My board is back from the repair shop. I'm looking forward to my next session.

Family fun

Wow, 8 person chair lifts

Shadowbox recording of my snowboarding session,
overlaid on Google earth summer image.

I did a 20ft high Windsurfing jump?

20 feet high? Really?

Could winter already be over? It was 15c and a south wind was predicted, so I headed back to Carro beach. My board still isn't back from being repaired, so I rented a 91 litre wave board at the shop. The guy in the windsurfing store seems to recognize me now, and I'm able to speak a little French and communicate whatever I need.

I had my shadowbox with me, and was pretty excited to see some of my jumps being recorded in 3d. Did I really jump 20 feet high though? This one seemed like a good jump for sure, and some of the others were showing in the high teens. That being said, the waves were pretty big, so some of the "jump" is me riding up the face of the wave. Check out the video and let me know what you think, especially if you have a shadowbox.

Shadowbox recording of Carro, France windsurfing ride and 16ft jump from Canadian Guy on Vimeo.

Nice google earth image of the location
of the ride in the video below

There were 50 people out sailing, and I scored a great session. The water is 12c, but I didn't feel cold at all. My wife came along and sat in the car working on her laptop. I got tired too quickly, and only sailed for an hour and a half. My boys were happy about that though, we got back in time to pick them up as they got out early from school.

Snowboarding this weekend?

Here are some shots that my wife took from inside the car..

Some waves were smooth as silk

That's me jumping - very nice of my wife to take photos!

Ok, the waves are decent size when
you can see my sail numbers but not me

Coming back to shore after a good session

Last Session of 2010

All smiles in Dahab, Egypt

Dec 31st. The wind picked up again in Dahab in the afternoon, and the kids went out pretty eagerly for another lesson with Achmed. The boys were on a 3.0 ice with a Joker 108, a 3.5 kids sail with a Syncro 117, and my daughter was on a 2.0 with a nice 110 Mistral kid’s board (the one with an extra skeg box in the middle.) My wife took a big board and small sail for freestyle practice, and I took a Screamer 123 and a 7.8 slalom sail with my Shadowbox.

Did I really hit 42 mph? That would be 67 km/h. I’m sceptical but the flat water protected by the sand bar at “Speedy” certainly does inspire you to go fast. In reviewing my Shadowbox data on my laptop, I think that top speed reading is in error. I'll need to learn how to use that device out a bit better both on and off the water.

My top 10 windsurfing to do list
from Windsurfing Magazine 2007

It was a very nice way to end the year and the 20^th session of my sabbatical. I did the last upwind slog of this Egypt vacation with my wife and 2 kids (the 3^rd kid took the shuttle boat back since broke a boom and he hadn’t worn a wetsuit and was cold) and we all arrived back at the beach. (FYI, having my entire family windsurf with me was one of my top 10 windsurfing things to do from a few years ago. The red sea will have to substitute for Georgian bay for now.)

Happy New Year and may you have wind and good times sailing with family and friends in 2011. I'm hoping to saill at least once a month in France in Jan, Feb and March. Let's see how that goes.

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: