SURF REPORT #2

It's been really busy last couple of weeks, so I have to apologise for neglecting my blog...

Even worse is the fact that I missed two days of very good JUGO, but I managed to put this saturday to a better use.

According to weather forecast for this saturday, a solid Jugo of cca. 15-20 knots was expected, staring from early morning and it was supposed to last almost through the entire day. So I set up my alarm clock on 6 AM, so I could be in the water allready at 7:30 AM., but at my dissapointment, when I woke up, there was no wind at all...so I fall back to sleep.

Couple of hours later the wind started to rise!!!

I drove straight to the spot - DUNAT, but not on the same location where surfers usually gather during BURA, but a bit futher to the western part of the island. When I got there, the place was crawling with surfers on the beach, instead on the water. So a friend and I decided to try another spot, placed cca 5 minutes along the coast from this one. When we got there, still no luck. At that point we were ready to go back home, but we decided to try our luck on the spot where we usually go for Bura (the was deperate to try out his new board).

As the saying goes, THIRD TIME'S THE CHARM. As soon as we got there, the wind was really gaining in strenght. We started smiling like two idiots and unloading our equipment out of the car. As I opened my sail bag, I was really surprised by the sight: along the mast sleeve on my sail, there was a hole, cca. 10 cm in diameter, made by a mouse!!! ON MY FAVOURITE SAIL!!!
THIS MEANS WAR!!!

The sail was still useable, so I managed to pull a solid 2 hrs wsurf session, and to be honest, after that I wasn't angry any more, which is just another proof of how pacifying wsurfing actually is.

WINDSURFING BOARDS GUIDE

Everything is clear about this post, as stated in the title - it's dedicated to boards. So to get starded, here is a general overview of board parts:

There is a large variety of boards on the market, but don't get scared, most of them are used by more skilled windsurfers. Different board designs offer different characteristics, so there are many factors to consider when choosing a perfect board.

Let's browse through the board parts:

1. NOSE (bow) - if the board is going to be used in wave conditions, a higher nose is recommended, a lower one for flat water usage

2. UNIVERSAL (joint) - a point where the rig is joined with the board. It can be adjusted(more to the front or to the rear of the board, depending on the wind, sail/fin combination...)

3. CENTERBOARD - is a sort of an "adjustable" fin that can be pulled in the board or drawn out (as shown on the picture), during the windsurf session. It allows greater stability of the board, and it makes surfing directly into the wind direction possible. (note: it's very hard to plane with the centerboard drawn out). Only beginner boards come with centerboard, later as you progress, you won't need one.

4. FOOTSTRAPS - are used for greater control of the board, allow advanced manouvres, and protect the surfer from being "catapulted" from the board. To use them, one must achieve greater speed (planing) with the board

5. FIN (skeg) - comes in various sizes and designs. It's lenght is defined mostly by sail size, so please note that the same surfer using the same board but with two different sail sizes, is probably going to need two fin sizes too. If the fin setup is not correct, SPINOUT will probably occur. The style of windsurfing u use will also determine the design of the fin.

6. TAIL (stern) - various designs, depends of the wsurf style, also determinates fin selection and board stability.

These are the most general board characteristics:

- lenght - (cm/ft)modern boards tend to be shorter than the older designs

- width -(cm/ft)modern board designs are lot wider then they werw couple of years ago.

Both lenght and width, or better said ther ratio, directly derives the board stability.

- volume -(ltr) determines if the board is going to float or sink under the surfer. Sinking boards are smaller than cca. 100 ltr (depending on the users weight). Recommended only for skilled surfers.

- weight - the lighter, the better

Before buying a board, make sure to consult with your local trader or with a more experienced windsurfers. When starting out, consider also buying a used board, just untill you decide if that is the windsurfstyle you are going to persue further.

The rocker is the curvature of the board from the nose to the tail. A board with less of a rocker tends to ride faster, while one with more turns more easily.

MY FIRST BOARD

Couple of days ago I decided to make myself useful (for a change) and throw away some old junk that was piling up in the garage for some years now. I knew that there will be some really useless and worthless stuff, but I was very surprised when i stumbled upom my very first windsurf board! That's when the trip down the memory lane started.

I was around 12-13 years old when I stood the first time on that board. My older brother and cousin were just starting to learn the basics of windsurfing, and I can't even describe how cool it was for me when I found out about it. Don't get me wrong, the windsurfing today, and the wsurfing 15 years ago, are two completely different things. It was only lightwind wsurfing for me then, but it was so much fun! At the beginning I could barely get the sail out of the water, but that did't discourage me. After around 10000 falls, wrong steps on the board and things like that I finally managed to wsurf! I used that board for years later, and with some small repairs, I bet someone with enough desire to learn, could still use it. Here are some facts about the board: I could not carry it alone 15 years ago, and I can barely do it now. It's around 400 cm long, 60 cm wide, and cca. 15-18 cm thick, which calculates to arround 350 ltr volume. It had a wooden centerboard, no footstraps, and it was really slippery (belive me, I know). But at least I learned how to repair a board and how to paint it. Here are some pictures with the last paintjob :) (sorry about the dust, it has not seen the light of day for more than 10 years...)

GONE SURFING

This saturday was a great day!

A friend woke me up at 9 AM, saying "Are you crazy, why are U still at home?!?" The wind is up, get your things and move your ass here ASAP!" There's no need to explain that it was not necessary for him to call me twice :) It took around 45 minutes for me to pack my equipment in the car, grab something to eat, drive to my nearest surfspot (around 5 km) away, rig the sail and get in the water... that's when the magic began. I used my 105 l bord combined with the 6.1 m2 sail, and I have to admit, at the start, I was a bit overpowered, but it felt good! If I must describe it with one word, I definitely choose FREEDOM! Sadly, it only lasted till 1 PM...the only thing that comforted me is that as the wind stopped, I was not part of the evidently dissapointed windsurfers that came too late...

SECOND SKIN

To keep a promise I made in a previous comment to one of my posts, this one is going to be about "practical fashion" in windsurfing, or to be more exact about wetsuits.
As you start do discover wsurfing and incerase your skill level, your desire to conquer greater winds will be greater also. The problem is that during summer, you don't get as much strong winds as during the spring / autumn, or the strongest in winter. In summertime, a long or short sleeved lycra T-Shirt will do just fine, but when the things start to get more serious, a wetsuit should definitely come as a priority.
Wetsuits are made of foam NEOPRENE, a synthetic rubber material that provides the wearer with warmth, protects from wind and sun, and also "softens" the potential fall (don't get scared now :). Over the time, the designes of wetsuits have evolved, adding other layers (better wind protection), better seams etc.
Generally, there are two basic types of wetsuits - WET (warm water )and DRY (cold water).
The DRY type is used only for really cold conditions, and prevents the direct contact between water and the surfer. The WET type allows small amounts of water to come inside the suit, but the water very soon gets warmed up to the body temperature, and continues to warm the body afterwards.
Most people use the wet type, and when needed, wear the lycra t-shirt for extra warmth, but in the end, it all comes down to the conditions you surf in.
Wetsuits come in various thicknes (2/3 mm or more) and in various models (vest, jacket, shory, long john, full suit (steamer)).
A couple of tips for the end
- don't confuse windsurfing and diving (no wind protection) wetsuits
- be sure to get the exact size
- be sure to get the optimal thicknes

READY, STEADY, GO !!!

Have U ever thought "I want to start wsurfing, but I don't even know what I need?". Seek no further, because U will get all your anwers here :)
First of all, most of people think that wsurfing requires a great amount of physical strenght, that they are not in a good shape, so they end up giving up before they even start - don't do that mistake! Belive me, wsurfing is 80% about technique, and only 20% about strenght. You should keep one thing in mind - technique gets better only by practicing!
When you finally decide to do it, here is the list of items you need:
-a board - comes in different sizes (volumes - ltr)
-a rig - consists of sail, boom and mast.
Beginners equipment is something you will use only at the very start, and as you progress in skill level, you will overgrow it very soon. At this stage, the board is usually bigger, the sail is smaller and made of more durable materials.
Most of wsurfers have more boards and sails in their collection, because each size is designed to optimize the utilisation of certain wsurfers skill level and weather conditions (wave size, wind power).

I personally, learned wsurfing myself, but it's much faster and much more fun if you do it with someone who can teach you. The most important thing is NOT TO GIVE UP! Belive me, it gets better and better with each session you do. In the beginning, aim for lightwind conditions. Your first goals should be to learn how to get on the board, how to raise the rig out of the water, how to "make a turn", and how to get back to the place at the coast you started from. This phase will probably take no more than a couple of days, depending on the wind and equipment conditions, and naturally, your teacher :)

ADDICTED ?!?

I'm proud because I can say I've got no addiction at all!
I don't use drugs, I don't drink alcohol, and I don't smoke, but there is still some little bug inside my head that never stops poking whenever I see trees bending from the wind, or the waves at sea turning white... that's the moment when I stop thinking about anything else but windsurfing, and start making plans. The plans mainly consist about me getting out of any previously made arrangements for that day, getting home as soon as possible, grabbing my board and my equipment and driving to the closest surfspot. I don't expect someone who never expirienced the sensation windsurfing provides to understand what I'm babling about, but I guarantee that once you succed to plane with your board for the first time, that's the point of no return, that's when you can join the "WINDSURFING ADDICTION CLUB".
So I guess, it would be in order for me to correct the first sentence, there is an addiction in my life!

HE WHO DARES, WINS!!!

First of all, I'd like to greet everyone that finds his way to my blog. The idea behind it is to put out my general thoughts about windsurfing and describe my experiences about it. If I succeed to bring windsurfing closer to someone who is interested in it, but for some reason never took or had the opportunity to enjoy all the benefits and positive factors this sport has to offer, then I will consider this blog to be successful.