2 Jan 2012
Out with Old and In With New

Out With the Old and In With the New 1

This title works on so many levels. Firstly it's what everyone says at this time of year, or least it is after they've had at least 6 pints and are between the good will to all men stage and the Shipman with a dose of whiskey stage.

And then of course, it's what's been happening this year as Paddy's Ducklings have graduated from being keen but wobbly to planing and even carve gybing. So the old men can clearly see the new generation pushing through, which is just great for the sport. Mind you, the old men still have a few shots in their lockers so we're not going to lie down and take up knitting yet. As the chief old man has said, 'You're a long time dead'...

And the third way this title works is that I've just got a new camera. Many of you have been caught in moments of indiscretion, sometimes even while windsurfing, thanks to a 12x optical stabilised zoom. Well time, unlike Paddy's gybes, brings huge improvements and I'm now resplendent with a 36x stabilised optical zoom. So now no matter how far out your crash that gybe, expect to see it on these pages.

And the other big change has been in communications. When I started this e-newsletter, back when the old queen was on the throne and Andy was really 29, it was the only way to keep a band of windsurfers together. While it has evolved, technology has rocketed and it's great to see the ease with which we can now call a session by a quick Facebook posting in most cases direct to people's mobiles. This also allows quick and dirty posting of photographs along with the how it was story immediately afterwards. All great stuff which I use a lot myself of course.

That does sort of leave me wondering about the future of this newsletter. I'm really pleased to get so many good comments about what I write - plus a lot of enquiries about why there's usually a big gap between issues. The truth is, that apart from me just being busy, the original purpose of this newsletter has moved on. It's moved to being more of humorous rant and general character assassination (well OK, it always was about humiliation). This material is harder to gather, especially as our windsurfing is less concentrated in one location (Newtownards) and people windsurf in smaller groups. So it tends to either have to wait until some craic has built up or be written around a major event like the Donegal course.

So as we enter a new year, I'm interested in any feedback or ideas people may have. I'm happy to write stuff as long as people enjoy it, but feel that maybe we need some new thinking or ideas. So if you have any comments, including on how to extend the number of people wanting to read this, just reply to this e-mail.

And now I'm off to do some serious drinking to see in the new year..... Well, some things just never change.

Out With the Old and In With the New 2

Right - enough of this end of the year soul searching I hear you cry. What about the windsurfing?

Well, there has been loads of it. All that hard work generating CO2 and chopping down the rain forests is really paying off. It's been positively tropical this Autumn and there's been some wind. The East Coast Wave Sailing NI group have been calling a lot of trips to Kearney, Millisle and that well known east coast spot - Tyrella. I joined them for a few blasts at Kearney where there were some good waves but also some very high tides and shore dumps. On one occasion Ming and I joined late and got a couple of hours on the waves in what became frighteningly dark conditions. The amount of debris in the water was also scary, and I'm not just talking about fallen sailors - I had a high speed tangle with a branch but Ming just missed a sunken tree.

And Christmas was celebrated by dignitaries like Wookie and Andy on the water 4 days in a row including Christmas Day and Boxing Day. What a cracking Christmas while also being a great way to avoid the relatives too.

And a special mention must go to Mr Titanium, Chris Ming Loughridge who went out one day recently when even global warming had given up. 4 degrees and no other sailor daft enough to even consider it, he went out on his 9.4m and sailed all afternoon. The only reason he didn't go blue was because he didn't fall in.

I must also say that he and I have been running a little competition on our Wednesday afternoon LTD sessions to see who can stay out in the darkest. With lights out around 4pm in December it is fairly frightening just how much after this it is still possible to sail if you're mad enough - and we are. Sailing in the dark is 'interesting', when you can't see you have to feel - it's a bit like letting the Force guide you. I'm clearly not cut out for Starwars as I managed to lose 90% of a fin in the dark when I hit the shallows. And your troubles are not oven once you get back to the rigging area - you've still got to derig in the dark. But here Ming has the answer in the form of one of those miner's helmets. What the passing car must think seeing this ghostly figure in the dark with his light on I don't know.

And finally, when I'm talking about things Minging, I have to mention the recent light wind Wed afternoon when we both arrived a bit late. I got straight out on my 9.4 but struggled to get going so Mr Merciless broke out his 12.5m. When I say, he broke it out, I mean this quite literally. First his boom broke, then when he put on another one (naturally he always carries at least 2 carbon massive booms) his lines broke and he had to rethread them. All the time darkness was looming - and he wasn't best pleased. From my position performing water ballet I could hear the constant and ever louder swearing along with the sound of fists on carbon. Thank goodness he finally got it all together and out on the water (and planing well of course) before either his fist or the rig was broken..... You do realise this is the man who punches his board at times when his gybes aren't good enough.

And in the last few days there's been quite a lot of activity based around the club (oh those lovely warm showers) and the car park. Andy, Wookie, Ali Todd and I had a rather frustrating session on the day when Angie was warning us that there would be structural damage. Wookie sailed well on 4m, but I got it wrong on 4m and 78 ltrs and was seriously under powered - except when I was seriously over powered. The rest on 4.5-4.7m fared better, but I'm afraid I had the walk of shame after the wind dropped a bit. A bigger board recovered the day for me until a further lull and oncoming darkness forced me to repeat the experience. Still, they do recommend a good walk after all that Christmas food.

Later in the week the Bin Laden clan appeared along with Richard Bowman. With only 20 mph forecast and showing I went out on my new slalom kit on 7.5m but was soon blown in as the winds rose. 6-6.5m was the new call and we all had a good sail and Mr Wookie joined us.

You can see how the pecking order goes in the Bin Laden family. Oul Robbie had first choice of kit (6.5m) and first choice of wetsuit. Poor young Thomas (I've been to Maui don't you know) Wright was stuck with an unmanageable 7m and what looked like a summer wetsuit - well judging by the amount of bare flesh showing. It was 7 degrees at the time. To be fair Thomas lasted about an hour and put in some of his trademark immaculate gybes but he did look very blue when he came in. Robbie also sailed well, if somewhat smugly warm in his winter wetsuit. But then the wind just kept rising. Richard and I went out and nearly got into trouble as 6+m rapidly became near unsailable. It was all we could do just to hold onto our kit and tail walk back in. One slip and the by now way too big kit would have been spinning off to Pig Island.

And the New has Started!

Two days into 2012 already people have been sailing. Who says windsurfers are wimps - well, apart from kite surfers of course.

New Year's Day was forecast to be a solid 20 mph, but it never happened. Wise people monitored the flying club site and saw 10-12 knots and dodgy. 3 people were out including Richard Honeyford who wallowed about on 8m and on and off. It was at least warm.

But Tuesday 2nd saw the men of steel out - or least the men who no longer worried about procreating more like. I arrived at the club about 11 and it was 3 degrees and not a sinner around. But it was windy in a 14-22 mph sort of way and the sun was out. I steeled myself and rigged 7.5 on my 122 Firerace and ventured out. Now a Spartan semi dry suit is a wonderful thing and between that and a set of Ming's surgical gloves it was actually not too bad. I've often wondered exactly what a dentist like Ming uses surgical gloves for, but never dared to ask. I'd always thought that since you are seated on a dentist's chair the whole time, the equivalent of a full body cavity search was unlikely. But I guess Ming's patients, being private and paying through the nose (or possibly some other orifice)  for the privilege get special service? A couple of fillings, teeth polished and a colonic irrigation perhaps? My advice is to choose your dentist very carefully.

Anyway, no matter what they'd been previously used for, the gloves worked. And then Mr Wookie appeared, also on 7.5, the sun shone and the temperature went up to a racy 5 degrees!

I have to tell all of you who sat at home on this bank holiday thinking it was too cold that you missed a great day. Nicely powered up in a good SW wind we had a blast. We raced up and down the lough in effect tacking our way right across until we were at the other side. I'd also admit that the down wind rush back home was highly scary as the wind had risen to around 6m weather and our slalom boards were becoming quite a handful. But, possibly helped by the thought of the temperature of the water, our gybes and tacks were great!

You may think that on a cold day it would be short and sharp, but actually we were out for around 3 hours. Mind you, I now feel like I spent the day at Wookie's gym....

And one other brave soul ventured out. Isaac is new and spends a lot of his time in Dublin. He went out for a brief sail on his 4m and somehow planed! He came in looking rather blue as he wasn't wearing a good winter suit and had no gloves. He'll learn - if he lives.

So there you have it. 2012 is off to a great start if you're a real man. And as for the wimps - well you know who you are....

More Kit for Sale

So here's a young man looking for offers. He's particularly like to get some regarding this kit he had for sale. This has been in my in-tray for a while waiting for me to get round to doing another newsletter, so he may already have flogged it. But if not, get in touch with him.

Alan,

nigeywright@hotmail.com

And a Good Freeride Board for Sale Too!

Well I help some of you offload your old kit, so now it's my turn. New boards are an awful price these days, but after a lot of nagging from Mr Wookie, I finally got around to buying a new RRD Firerace so I can get a bit more speed on the water. The result is that my trusty RRD Z-Ride 120 ltr is now open to offers. 

Frankly it's an ideal progression board for any improver, is quite fast and gybes really well - unless your surname is Lyner of course.

It's generally in very good condition except for one rip which has been repaired but not cosmetically. As best I can work out the board is 2006 and comes with a 40cm fin.

Best offer secures it. Just reply to this e-mail to get me.

Tide Time

Now Mark Adams is a man who knows a thing or two about technology - and also how to address his betters. He writtes :

Lord

Worth mention this find in the next news letter.

There’s no more need for paper tide timetables, there’s a great little App called “Tide Times NI” free to download. Very useful and simple to use.

Regards

Mark

And some further details :

Tide Times NI

By Kainos Software Ltd

Open iTunes to buy and download apps.

Description

TideTimesNI - your local tide time table finder, over 60 locations for Northern Ireland.

Find tide times for wherever you are when ever you need to. With offline storage TideTimesNI only uses an internet connection to download the most up-to-date tide time information and stores it all on your device for offline usage.
With the ability to find your nearest locations using TideTimesNI GPS location system you can find the locations you need, fast.

Tidal data it displayed in high and low tide values for each day allowing easy access the information you need.
TideTimesNI was developed as part of the Kainos App Camp program. Students where given the skills, tools and support needed to make thier ideas a reality. To find out more info, or apply yourself, see http://appcamp.co.uk or http://kainos.com

So now you know. Thanks to Mark you need never be stuck in the wrong place at the wrong tide again. Just be careful not to get your I-pad wet....

29 Aug 2011

Todd in the Hole

• Donegal Windsurfing Clinic - More Accessible and Definitely On!

• Todd in the Hole

• Another Wind Site to Bookmark

• The Usual Plug

Donegal Windsurfing Clinic - More Accessible and Definitely On!

The good news is that the Donegal windsurfing course is definitely running and the both the format and the dates have changed slightly, now including a full weekend.Firstly, we've broadened it to be less wave orientated. Jim Collis was unable to provide the coaching this year, however we're delighted that Phil Richards and Danielle Lucas have stepped in - 2 for the price of 1! These 2 are great, we first met them as the 'Hobbits' at El Tur where they provided excellent coaching and showed off some great free styling - and that was just Phil's hair...You can find out more about them at http://www.getwindsurfing.com/We've also opened up the format so that as well as catering for the wave guys, it now also provides a huge performance boost for other sailors. Learning to gybe, tune up, speed sailing, freestyling - all now join with waves. So the new package is :
                    The new format allows for teaching intermediates in the mornings and wave  heads in the afternoons

• We have Phil and Danielle as coaches, regular and excellent coaches from El Tur
• The course is now 6 days, running from Tue 20th to Sunday 25th on the water
• This means that an entire weekend 24/25th is available to people who don't/can't do the full week
• The 6 days will cost £250
• Weekend and 2-3 day packages are also available. Cost will be £50 per day, but with discounts for booking in advance
• The Loch Altan hotel is our base at E40 b+b, although cheaper accommodation is available at various B+Bs

The way the coaching will work is that Phil will concentrate on intermediates in the mornings. So eg if the venue is Magheroarty, then in the morning he'll teach on Ballyness Bay (shallow flat water). In the afternoon he'll move the 100m to the wave beach. Depending on conditions, intermediates may also go out in the waves, or they may continue to sail in Ballyness. Intermediate coaching will be whatever they want so can include gybing etc as well.

So this new format will work very well for newer windsurfers or slalom people - as well as wave heads.

There is still time to book at the discounted rates. Just reply to this e-mail or contact Lord, Andy or Wookie. But remember, if you leave it within 1 week of the start of the course, all discounts are off!

Todd in the Hole - or Should This Happen to a Lawyer - Part 2

Do you know the difference between finding a dead dog on the road and a dead lawyer? There are skid marks in front of the dog....

We all began to believe that there is a god when some years ago there was a lightning storm and Ali Todd, well known lawyer and purveyor of 4 letter words, was very nearly struck by it. However celestial intervention has been rather sparse since then - until last Sunday. But first a round up of various bits and pieces, since this newsletter has been a bit quiet over the Summer.

The Downings event ran in July and after a couple of excellent years of wind, had the inevitable lull. A very good crowd still appeared and the Fletcher crew ran their usual immaculate event but with all races non planing.

One of the delights of this event is always the number of kids on the water. This year these included Gary and Wookie. The squealies were out in all ages, including a number being towed around on blow up windsurfers by doting fathers. And the tens to teens were super competitive on the water and like flies round Wookie at the gybe marks. And the traditional Saturday evening Downings hoolie was as usual spoiled by what Chris Loughridge believes to be sartorial elegance - but hey, the craic was good.

Actually, talking of the Emperor Ming, after many years of being right up there, he was crowned Champion and finally gets to have his name engraved on the trophy. He did of course win every race and, even more impressively, he managed to plane for some parts of them - no mean feat in around 8 mph of wind. So all hail Ming - Emperor of the Universe and Champion of Downings!

Rather more embarrassing was the fact that I was awarded Grand Master of the event. OK I completed every race and never dropped a gybe, but I have a very strong suspicion that the number of entrants in this category this year would not exceed the number of valentine cards Wookie has ever received. So, taken totally by surprise at the prize giving, I had to waddle up for my gold medallion still in my summer wetsuit - yes, that one with the entire arse hanging out. Still, the kids enjoyed it!

There've been a number of good sessions over the Summer, but generally the wind hasn't been great that often. Wookie and I had a good blast at Whiterock where the larger yachts were also rather inconsiderately racing. Most of them are good and respect the rules of the water, but 1 sneaked up behind me (when I was off the plane) and came within 2 feet before thinking to call out to me. I had to hurl myself off my board and only just avoided being run over by this 2 fridger (around 30 feet). Clearly he hadn't had enough gin that day.

Paddy's ducklings have been out most Tuesday nights. It's a good system, they all go down to the club on a Tuesday evening regardless of the conditions. Then they sail, float about, swim or just lark about in the water before retiring to the bar. I joined them 1 night and you can't fail to be impressed by the group dynamic and just how keen they are. That's what windsurfing is all about and more power to Paddy (got be a pun in there somewhere) for bringing on so many new windsurfers!

Actually, we'll have to stop calling them ducklings soon as some are getting very good. David Corkill is charging about at speed (over 26 knots) and many are waterstarting and getting the odd gybe.

I don't usually bang on about supping, although increasingly that's what many of us do in light winds. Andy, Wookie and I were at Strangford on Saturday to sup up the lough with the tide and then back down as it turned. Ricky joined us in a canoe. All went according to plan apart from an almighty splash when Andy got his feet muddled up (try painting L and R on your wetsuit boots Andy) and took a big dive. But the most amazing sight was when we parted company and Andy headed back across to Portaferry. By now the tide was racing in the Narrows and Andy took off like a rocket. He'd judged it perfectly and arrived at his van at Portaferry, but a long way down from where he's started with us. A very scary sight and one can only wonder what would have happened if he's come off his board. Isle of Man perhaps?

And now, to the best which I've save to last. The bank holiday weekend Sunday saw a good crowd out at both the club and the car park. Fred, David, Dave, Mark and Tesco Tim led the charge but Paddy was soon down and talking - and eventually sailing. Gary had his X-fire out as indeed had Mr Wookie. Most of these were on around 6.5m as was Andy. He looked like he'd under-sailed but in fact he'd judged it perfectly and had a power hour of charging in and then going for ducks and 360s.

From the car park, Mr Todd headed out on his 6.5m. As soon as he reached the far side of the lough, his mast broke - spectacularly. He was so far over that we couldn't even hear the swearing from our side of the lough. After a while the Wookie chanced upon him and immediately turned and sped off - cue more cussing from Ali who clearly didn't trust William to do the right thing. Of course he did and so Paddy was dispatched in a rib to go and pick up the happy lawyer. As the wreckage (I mean the kit, not the lawyer) was dragged into the boat, Ali took the broken mast and hurled it back into the sea - where hopefully it was hit by a 2 fridger and holed it. Of course there was damage to Ali's sail, it's hard not to have this when a mast breaks and splinters.

More power to him though, he rerigged and sailed on. I would have liked to include some picture of his smiling face and wrecked kit, but he's now issued a super injunction...

Another Wind Site to Bookmark

Some good and useful news from Mark Adams.

Lord,
I’m not sure if many windy’s know about this site which I’ve just came across – it provides a live weather feed from Bangor Marina.
Very useful and way better than the old Ballyturd web cam – it uses the exact same technology as Ards Flying Club for the weather, it’s located at the bottom of the web page – so no more wasted journeys to Bangor!
http://www.quaymarinas.com/Marinas/BangorMarina/Weather.aspx
Please circulate on the next news letter.
Mark Adams

Nice one Mark. No more wasted journies to Bangor then.

IT'S ON - THE 2011 DONEGAL WAVE CLINIC IS BOOKING!

Yes, we've sorted out enough to start taking bookings. And this time we've moved it to September so it will be a bit warmer - and hopefully a lot more windy.

• WHEN - 19th to 24th September

• WHERE - any beach that works, but based around the Loch Altan at Gortahork, Donegal

• WHO - Jim Collis is available again - so expect duracell teaching

• WHY -  because it's a class wave location and you owe it to yourself

• HOW MUCH - £200-250 plus accommodation

• Open to any windsurfer from anywhere

So that's the basics. Many of you will know Jim Collis and what a superb and motivating instructor he is. If there's wind and waves you can expect top tuition followed by full video analysis in the bar that evening. And if the conditions aren't kind, he won't be put off. He'll have you out on the flat water brushing up on those tacks and anything else you want to cover - which all add up to a better time on the waves when the conditions come back.

The course is suitable for any windsurfer who is comfortable water starting. Gybing and the like are good, but not essential - Jim manages to cover a wide range of abilities.

This year we need to get the hotel booked much earlier since we're running in a busier month. So we need deposits in now. After the frustration of not being able to run a longer course, this year we move back to a full week and you can expect competition for the limited number of places.

Deposits are £100 - non returnable unless the course fails to run - and should be paid to me electronically. Just drop me a line and I'll e-mail you the details.

There is still some variability about Saturday 24th September. This means that a further half day of coaching may be available. For this reason and until we see the numbers, the price has been set as ranging from £200 to £250. The exact price will be confirmed as soon as we can. Once again we have negotiated a fantastic deal at the Loch Altan - expect good rooms, dedicated wetsuit drying - and a breakfast to sink a fleet.

In past years this has proved a popular course combining excellent tuition with a week's terrific (or horrific) company. Don't miss out - book early and then tell your mates.

Alan

27 May 2012

May Days
Yes, May was windy. And we made a lot of it - culminating in a fantastic 6 day run of mad wind. There were quite a few good sessions, so let's start with a few of these.

Mid May saw a mixed group head for Kearney. The sun was out and the wind was good, but not howling. 5-6m was the general call and it was more blasting than wave riding. Raptor of course was practising silly stuff on the waves and was pretty much first out and indeed was still out when the rest of us drove off exhausted. Wookie, John the Drain, John Glover, Simon, Lorraine, Andy, Big Roberta and I came away feeling like we'd had a day in the sun.

Another Saturday found some people out at Newtownards - both club and car park. First out were Lorraine and Wookie, but after some initial planing Wookie at least gave up - although not before spending a very happy 15 minutes sitting on his board looking like thunder. He described it as 'the worst windsurf I've ever had' - just his luck  then that I had the camera with me...

To be fair he's fallen in doing some front to sail and there was no way anyone could waterstart in that lull. It was very up and down, one of those days when there's not much except briefly during the squalls when the sail is almost ripped out of your hands. So we were very grateful to Mr Wookie who in driving off immediately brought on a 1 hour spell of really solid 7m weather. I benefited greatly from this and then later on Pat and his ducklings came down and also had a good sail.

The third weekend of May had a number of people heading for Kerry for the big slalom event. Wookie took the whole family while Pat arranged his personal love cottage with room for 6. Indeed he was heard most of the week before trying to persuade people to join him - and even offering to share a bed with them. Clearly it was going to be a big weekend in Kerry...

Those of us left behind also had fun as our 6 day run started. Saturday was pretty good 6m weather. A little up and down but again the waters at Newtownards were awash with sailors. Most of the usual suspects were out but we also think we spotted Russell (or at least his trusty life jacket), Hern Dog, Tourettes and Mr Yeates. Bin Laden went out, had a good sail, and then left most of his kit sitting at the club - thank goodness for Ebay.... For May it was actually a tad chilly, but that didn't seem to deter quite a big crowd at the car park.

Sunday - day 2 -  then was a little lighter but definitely more up and down. Ming the Merciless, Ronnie Lough and Trevor 'babe magnet' Pollen were first out on around 6ms. They had a good sail but complained of it being on and off. Ming stayed and clocked over 32 knots so when it was on it was very on. In fact it was really 7m weather but frequent and sometimes prolonged squalls were coming through making life 'interesting' to those hanging on to larger sails. I hit a modest 26 knots while bouncing over waves wildly out of control on 120ltrs. Bin Laden by then had retrieved his kit and was once again on 110 and 6m. Even Pat's ducklings appeared, despite being deserted by their mother duck, and Dave 1, Dave 2 and Kate sailed. There was also a lot of water start practising going on in the shallows - clearly the ducklings are getting better.

It was nice to see Casper (Phil) materialise as usual just as most people were calling it a day. We've missed his dayglow life jacket and variety of antique equipment. Indeed his sail was a brief one as his antique boom started to break - although for once it wasn't when he was 4 miles out (and downwind).

Amazingly all the forecasts were agreed for Monday - even the BBC were issuing an amber warning. Naturally it was a Monday - they're always windy. However for once your humble scribe had booked a windy week off and was able to experience the life of Andy. It's pretty clear that the Aquarium is not a good tourist attraction when it's windy - as their number one star is never there on those days (just to be clear, when I say Andy is their number one attraction, I don't mean he swims around in a tank for the tourists). John was out good and early and was manfully hanging onto a 4.5m when I arrived at around 11 - well it was supposed to be my holidays. Trevor Pollen was next out - but he had a bit of a shocker - most unlike him. He'd unearthed a 4m sail he'd owned for 5 years and never sailed. He actually had to rip the sail bag open to get the sail out. By now it was windy beyond belief, Debbie was showing around 40 mph and the gusts were unbelievable. There was actually quite a lot of damage to boats at the club as they were rearranged on the concrete storage apron.

It was so windy that Trevor was (correctly) worried about taking his kit down the slipway so I carried his sail and he struggled down with his board. Once connected he sailed off into the mayhem. Within minutes he'd lost his kit - ripped out of his hands while he attempted to waterstart. He had a difficult, but short, swim in with waves crashing over his head. His kit meantime had cartwheeled off to Pig Island where miraculously his sail and boom where intact although his board had a few more dents in it. It's quite a business repairing antiques like this - I mean his kit, not Trevor. So he retired a bit shell shocked to see if he could rustle up some creosote or whatever.

By now Andy had gone out on 4.2m and 80 ltrs and, after some initial struggles, was coming to terms with the conditions. He was joined by Graham, he of the Scottish accent, on similar kit. It wasn't easy at all and there was a lot of tail walking and ending runs without even attempting a gybe. The saving grace was that the tide was out so it was possible to plop down and recover after a knackering run.

Next out was me - on 78ltrs with a 4m screwed down flat. Clearly this was seen as the light entertainment, a bit like going to Rome to watch the lions eat the unfortunates. I noticed Alan Yeates parking up his jeep to get a good view of the annihilation. However the voyeurs were to be disappointed as somehow I managed to cope and started to get some good runs. But it was bedlam - if you're reading this in e-mail form go the the windsurfcraic site and look at the photos. Who says we don't get waves at Newtownards?

At one stage Andy lost his kit, ironically as he stood in the shallows, and had a mad dash after it. Very entertaining and fortunately for him with a happy ending. All he did was mash part of his fin.

By about 2pm it had become unsailable. The news said gusts of up to 80 mph and while it may not have been quite that, it was arguably the windiest I've ever seen at Newtownards. Even derigging required great care and much standing on things in case they took off.

While I retired to a hot shower in the club, Andy and Graham waited patiently and were rewarded an hour later by a shift to more west and a slight drop in the wind. When I say a slight drop, I do mean relatively. They then had an excellent sail, just a series of short runs from the carpark to Pig Island. Andy now had the conditions dialled and I'd say he was sailing like a pro. Being fitter and lighter these days he was the only person attempting and getting nearly every gybe. His control in  totally ballistic conditions were truly excellent.

Well, what a day number 3 turned out - could it continue?

Day 4 and the answer was yes. Tuesday 24th didn't see any trees down or sailings cancelled, but it was another great windsurfing day. The sun shone and by 10am Alan Yeates was sent out as a wind dummy - and yes he was having a good sail on 5m. Soon Andy and Graham joined him from the car park while Caspar (yes before lunch!) and I rigged from the club. It turned out to be one of those days when wind came though in periods, so you'd get 15 minutes of good 5m weather and then a lull and so on. And then every now and then a real squall could pass by and winds went up to around 40 mph (according to Debbie). So it was interesting to say the least - and by the way the sun was shining too.

The first squall which passed by flattened everyone, so we were all sitting the shallows waiting for it to pass when we realised that one sail was still going. The wind had taken out all of us, even the excellent Andy Tease, and yet Casper was still rattling on. What a reversal - or perhaps he just hadn't noticed the howling gale?

That was the pattern for the day and it allowed to have some pretty excellent sailing. I was on 5.5m on 90 ltrs and had a ball, indeed there were a lot of smiling faces by mid afternoon as the wind started to ebb away. Trevor's Antiques came back out, still shell shocked from his hammering in the day before's gale and muttering that he now had 6 holes in yesterday's board - the Ulster Museum will be gutted.... And we had 2 Robbies on the water. Mr Wright aka Bin Laden was a late entrant while Robbie Richardson - better known as the sailing instructor - was out learning to waterstart. And indeed he was making excellent progress despite a lot of coaching from Trevor Pollen.

And so to Wednesday (day 5)  - and guess what, it was very windy again. After a few days of this lesser mortals like me are beginning to get an understanding of the life of Andy. And talking of Andy he led the charge to the water at Kearney. 11am saw him, Alan Yeates, Graham (did I mention he's Scottish) and me on around 4.5m and 80-90ltrs in some small but nice waves. And as the tide moved in the waves just got better. Graham, who was on his first visit to our premier wave beach, just let his jaw drop further and further as he began to realise how good it was. He did try and communicate this, but being Scottish of course we couldn't understand a word he said. In fact his jaw dropped so low that he started to look like Alan Yeates who always gybes with his mouth open - he says he's just permanently amazed he's windsurfing. Actually, I do have to give Alan major credit for one great jump which we all witnessed but sadly I missed with the camera.

Crash of the day went to Andy who was backsiding a wave (his words, your imagination) when it closed over him and ate him. Duly digested he was spat out on the rocks but somehow came away without damage to his kit - we forgot to ask about damage to him. Actually he already had some damage as he'd taken a lot of skin off his hand in Monday's real gales. We all had a good sail with some lovely gybes on the wave faces. The wind dropped off a little and I had to head off, leaving the others to do it all again as the wind came back just as the waves were at their best. So they sailed until they could sail no more and after that Raptor came out play.

Dropping by the club for a much needed shower it was mental there too. 25-30 on Debbie and Shipman and Ming were out blasting about. No waves though.

And so to Thursday - for most of us our 6th day of hard windsurfing in a row! Northerly this time and by a beautiful coincidence we went to Ballyturd (aka Ballyholme) on the day the BBC News announced it was one of 3 NI beaches which were unfit for bathing. Nothing new to us there - we've literally seen the evidence float by. Actually the TV coverage showed a windsurfer and kiter at Ballyholme - we wonder if it was one of us? That gentleman of leisure Andy Tease led the way with 5m on around 90 ltrs being the average. We were delighted to see Fanta Pants (Nigel) brightening up the water. Actually I nearly put a dent in his bright orange hair when he crashed a jump right in front of me (and on my wave too) and I only just missed him. Better luck next time.

Graham was with us again, another one who doesn't seem to let work get in the way of his windsurfing. But we were also joined by John Bedford, Raptor and a few others. The wind was strong but gusty and at mid tide sailing was hard work but fun with some nice waves. The usual corner by the boat club was a bad place to go (although that didn't stop some people from going there) as there was a huge wind shadow. But there were nice waves to play in near the main beach and some big swells and stuff on the other side of Trevor's Knob. By 6pm the waves were very good for jumping and I managed to catch a bit of evidence with my camera.

And then we all celebrated by eating Mrs Boyd's famous coffee cake. It was so windy that eating it was actually quite difficult (yes the cake was that light), but we managed to demolish it - so thanks to Nigel's mum.

So after a fabulous run of wind, it all ends on Friday. We've had gales, northerlies, westerlies, southerlies and sailed 3 different locations. And boy did I pick the right week to take as holidays. I'm going to book a week off around this time next year - and I suggest you all do the same and live the life of Andy....

ANNIE'S WALK

Another plug, and happily given, to Annie's Walk. This is the annual walk in aid of Marie Currie which the Loughridges and others are organising. It was noticeable how many windsurfers went on the walk last year and indeed it was a fun day out.

The details are :

Sunday 29th May, 2pm

Barnett Demesne

Adults £10, kids £4

Loads of stuff for kids and a nice walk in a good cause.

Go and support it!

KIT FOR SALE

We're used to seeing sailors come and go as busy lives and other interests get in the way. But we were particularly sorry to Lance vanish from the scene as we could no longer make jokes about his manly chest - which he seemed to bare at any and every opportunity. Sadly this fun has now gone forever as he's flogging his kit (not his chest).

Hi, 

Clearly Lance's use of punctuation and capitals has benefitted greatly from his time as a windsurfer. However it's good kit and contact him if you're interested.

2 May 2011

God of the East(erlies)

Yes, it's true - there must be a god. After weeks of having to get out the SUP or where some windsurfers were forced to go to garden centres (the guilty know who they are), we finally got consistent wind. And from the east.

Easter came and went with relatively little windsurfing activity. A few people celebrated Good Friday in Antrim, not a town noted for being either good or religious. In fact, Lorraine (Kelly) led a few people onto the dubious coloured waters of Lough Neagh and had a reasonable big sail day. And Easter Monday saw a few hopefuls out in Ballyturd. Again mostly big sails, but at least in bright sunshine and with plenty of chance to play dodge (or ram) the kiters.

But this all changed just as soon as Will and Kate tied the knot. No sooner had we suffered the 200th repeat, than the winds moved to the east and picked up. The day of the wedding saw Mr Wookie get a late evening rattle at Whiterock, but on Saturday it really took off. Hot footing it straight from a breakfast celebration of his wife's birthday the same Mr Wookie led the charge. Can't you just picture the romantic scene, 'there you are dear, a good birthday fry and now I'm off the spend the day at Cloughey'. Or words to that effect.

The sun was out and so were the windsurfers. Mostly standing around at 11am wondering where the wind was. I even rigged up a 9.4m. And just as soon as I did, up came the wind and 7m was the main call. And within an hour it was up again and most moved to 6m and even some wave boards. It was glorious.

The original plan was for some slalom practice, but that soon disintegrated into a dash upwind to the reef. Paddy, Gary, David, Tourettes, Raptor, Andy, Shipman and about 8 others had a ball. The water of course is still rather cold but the sun shone and it seemed that god was in his (easterly) heaven and all was right with the world - even if not perhaps with all of the gybes... The only tale of woe came from Gary who managed to break his UJ on the outside. His good, loyal and caring friends then proceeded to use him a gybe marker while the poor sod struggled to sail back with only the safety strap holding his mast on or near his board. Eventually word reached me and I sailed out with a spare UJ shoved down my wet suit. And not where Mr Wookie suggested it should be shoved, but still pretty sore none the less. A very knackered Gary eventually made it back to the shore - much to the annoyance of his 'friends' who were already drawing lots to divvy up his kit.

The other memorable incident was when a kitesurfer lost his brand new board. Of all the possible knights to come dashing to his rescue it was, unbelievably, Mr Wookie who sailed out and found it. He was then faced with the difficult job of sailing back with it. So he stuck his arm through the foot straps and water started and sailed back with it on his arm like a shield. In fact he looked like a Roman centurian - thank goodness he didn't also have a sword.

Sunday and the god of the east continued to smile. This time the call was Tyrella - despite the fact that we had to pay £4 each to get our cars in. You should have seen the look on Raptor's face! Big Robert tried to make a dash for it, but did eventually stop and pay up. The forecasts said that south would be windiest, but it didn't turn out that way. We'd probably have been better to stay in Strangford by all reports. However once again the sun was out and there were a few small waves to play with so, we were determined to stay and get our £4 worth. Wookie put 6m on his slalom kit, Robert was similar, I put 6.9 on 110 FSW and Colin 7m on his Techno. Raptor as usual defied the laws of physics and sailed with ease on 5m. It was a nice day but the wind only filled in well for about an hour in the afternoon. It was good to see Barry out, we'd only just learned that he'd wrecked his ankle months ago in 4m weather when his foot stuck in his straps. He was taking it easy but seemed to suffer no ill effects.

The only other revelation was Big Robert who admitted that he's a regular at pilates, he says it keeps him supple and he really notices it on the water. We'd notice him on the water if he sailed in his lycra. However he also proudly admitted that he's the only bloke in a class of 12. Now we finally get to know why he's called Big Robert. Even that might change though as he says the instructor finds it difficult to remember that it's not all girls in the class so he's offered to have a sex change. So some time soon it could be Big Roberta....

And so to bank holiday Monday and the deity which had been looking after us was starting to run out of puff - but still provided a good day. Most people headed to the Wookie's lair (Whiterock) and soon his front garden was turned into a rigging area. After all the news reports that the Americans had got him, we were very pleased to see our very own Robbie Bin Laden alive and well and indeed windsurfing - rather badly on a too small 6m sail as it happened. I fared rather better on 7.5m and so when the tardy Loraine, Big Roberta, Tourettes and Shipman arrived they figured it was very windy and rigged too small. Just how this was my fault I don't know, but I got the blame.

I should explain that Whiterock is a very hard place to rig for. The boat area where we launch is relatively sheltered with a number of small islands around. So you have to look out past them to see what it's really like 'out there'. So mistakes are common. A further difficulty is huge number of boats at moorings on the way out. Tacking out against the wind is a minefield of expensive boats, buoys and of course ropes.

Eventually most people got onto the right kit and most had a really good sail. Bright sunshine once again and lots of interesting scenery to look at. Eventually all but Ali Todd came in and were served fresh coffee on Wookies lawn - by a remarkably helpful Wookie. Todd hit it lucky, something he didn't deserve after spending the morning at Dobbies, and while we nibbled the Wookie's nuts (biscuits) he had a great blast.

And so 3 glorious, sun-filled, windsurfing days came to a close at Daft Eddies for the obligatory salty pint and the sun continued to shine.

Roll on the next royal wedding and bank holiday combination!

Donegal Wave Clinic Confirmed for September

We're really pleased to be able to say that Jim Collis is confirmed for the full week of 19th-23rd September for the annual Donegal wave clinic. We're just waiting to hear his exact travel arrangement, particularly whether he'll be about for Sunday 18th and/or Saturday 24th. Then we'll be opening up to (non returnable) deposits and taking bookings. No word yet on whether the soup dragon will be making an appearance.

More soon, but stick it in your diaries and book the time off work now!

Crime Watch

Not good news from Mark Adams and a call to watch out for all of us :

Hi Alan

I had a brand new board bag swiped from underneath my car last Thursday morning at the car park down from the sailing club in Ards.

It was a Maui Magic bag, blue/grey on top and silver foil on the bottom, think it was 240/60.

Not a chance it blew away as it would have been caught by the bushes which I was parked right up against and I checked everywhere else.  Thankfully it was the only thing outside the car!

If you can just remind others to lock all their gear away and if they are offered or see a similar board bag for sale, could they please let me know.

Cheers

Mark

So watch out and lock up!

6th March 2011

WINTER - WHAT WINTER?
Normally at this time of year we get a lot of comments about windsurfing in the winter. Comments like 'you must be mad', 'how many wetsuits do you wear' and 'you've finished having children then'. So the 'real men' who sail all the year round feel very superior and make sarcastic remarks about the warm water sailors and wimps who only emerge after the clocks change. But not this year - it's been warm!
So the reason I've been silent for a while isn't because there's been nothing to write about. It's because we've been too busy enjoying the windsurfing to bother sending out a newsletter. So for those of you who've been stuck inside trying in vain to contact NI Water or watching Stickly Cum Iceskating For B-list Celebrities, here's what you've missed.
Donegal has produced a couple of epic sessions. The third week in January saw a bunch sneak off for a day in Magheroarty which then turned into a weekend. 10 degrees, sunshine, excellent waves and 5m weather - was this really a Saturday and Sunday in January? Yes and Wookie, Lorraine, Big Robert, John The Drain and I milked it for all it was worth. A mixture of sails from 4.5m upwards and good but not too big waves meant that even I managed to catch a few. The high point was Colin 'Lorraine' Kelly who did a big run on the outside to get up wind and promptly broke his (aluminium) boom - both arms! Cross on wind meant about 45 minutes in the water and then a good pounding in the corner before he got in. Tired but happy though. And amazingly - and clearly this has never ever happened before - Andy was stuck in work the whole weekend. It wasn't for want of trying but he missed the whole weekend - including a good feed and Guinness in the Loch Altan. There is a God...
There was a further great session at Magheroarty for 3 days in February. This time Andy did get away and he and the Wookie shared the waves and then some bodily fluids in Mr Yeate's hot tub. With characteristic brevity, Wookie summed it up as :
3 days in Donegal, logo waves, sunshine, 13 c, 4.5/5.0 each day. I have picked up a bad cold.
Clearly remark about the diety also applies here.
And there have been numerous other sessions. Wednesday afternoons have picked up and now been named by Ming the Merciless as 'the Ltd'. This is a reference to you're a Long Time Dead. It used to be that only those of a medical bent (and I use the word accurately) could book off every Wednesday afternoon to get wet. But other, including me, have now joined them. The rule is that you go out regardless of the weather. So no wind and you SUP, some wind and you water ballet, a bit more and it's big kit and if there's a lot of wind you have a ball. It's surprising how enjoyable and addictive this is, especially knowing that you'll have company and indeed despite the company you know you'll have. So if you want to join us, you'll find the Ltd also known as 'long toothed and desperate' at NSC every Wednesday.
Pat has been trying to whip up enthusiasm for racing. While not the type of whipping more often enjoyed by certain club members, it has worked. He held a good session one Sunday in February and quite a few people rocked up to play. They included Lorraine, Fur-Ball, Pat, Gary, Ming, Shipman and Richard 'Man in Tights' Bowman. The only problem was the sea state. While we started on around 7m to be suitably over powered to race, it was tough going with a gnarly sea with no consistency in the waves. Crashes abounded with much muttering in the rigging area. Eventually the wind came up a bit more and I went from a 120 ltr straight down to a 90 FSW and 6.3m and had a ball. Others moved to much smaller boards now there was enough wind to use them and at least one wave board came out. I can't say the racing was fabulous, but we had a great sail!
Last weekend was really odd in that it was NNW and then swung NNE mid Sunday PM. While it was sunny, it was also cold so the lure of hot showers was stronger than the possibility of some waves in the brown stuff at Ballyholme. This wind direction meant that NSC was gusty, but despite this Pat, Gary, David Corkill and a few others had a good sail. The scary thing is that David, who always carries a pile of cameras, brought a boom cam and let a few of us try it. Then he posted the results up on Facebook. So if you want to see some good blasting and some wet gybes you know where to look.
That's just a flavour of the sessions there's been. There was a crowd out in Ballyturd, a number of Wednesday sessions mostly on big kit and the odd Saturday - Ming even got over 30 knots in some gusts last Saturday.And there have also been sessions at the Wookie's Lair in White Rock in easterlies.
So if you're one of those who 'only goes out when it's warm' - look what you missed!

DONEGAL WAVE CLINIC - PROVISIONAL WEEK
We're determined to make a couple of changes for this year's wave clinic. Firstly we're going to have decent wind for the time ever. So as well as sacrificing a few furry animals and shooting some crows, we are moving to September. And secondly we're getting sorted out really early so that we can get Jim Collis organised for a full week's course and not mess around with a few days here and there.
So, while it's not sorted yet, we're looking seriously at the week of 19th - 23rd September. So stick it in your calendar in pencil as it's going to rock this year. Warm weather, wind (of course) and a great week ..... More as soon as we know it.

MAY ROADSHOW
The other cunning plan is for a warm water holiday or not. After a lot of discussion, well a lot of pints and a little discussion to be honest, we've decided not to run a warm water holiday in 2011 - well, sort of. The current thinking is to run a fixed week in May which is intended to be an Ireland tour. So we'll get people to book the time off, pay a deposit (to commit) and then we'll drive to where ever looks best - Donegal, Bellmullet, Kerry. No accommodation booked in advance - mobile and flexible. After all, why fly when we live on an island with outstanding waves and sailing at that time of year.
But - and here's the clever bit - a couple of days before if the forecasts look good, we'll all up sticks and jump on a plane to Malaga. If the right wind is on, then Tarifa is the place to be.
So it'll be Ireland - unless it's Spain. Dear love whoever is going to organise this - oh, s**t, that'll be me then.
Again, this is still being discussed but we'll make up our minds soon and let you know the date.

TRAILER WANTED
Mark Adams has been in touch and is looking for a trailer. And it's always nice to see someone following my lead - even if it's in the wrecked shoulder department -

Hi lord

On your next newsletter can you please ask if anyone has a trailer for sale please?

Open or closed for 4 boards.

Way too cold to be sailing, no matter how much wind, time to go abroad. I've done your trick with my left shoulder, so total rest or I,ll end up in bits.

Regards

Mark Adams

Tel. 02890 326025
Mob. 07920294226
mark.adamz@ntlworld.com

____________________________________________________________________

ALL HAIL MING THE MERCILESS AND EMPEROR OF THE UNIVERSE

Cancer is a horrible thing which, as we know, strikes at all of us including many in the windsurfing community.

The Loughridge family (aka the Mings) has been hit harder than many recently losing a mother, brother and sister. However they are running a Family Day at the

Barnett Demesne beside Malone House on Sunday 3rd October.

The main part is a 3km walk and since the forecast for Sunday is windless, we thought many of you would like to support this in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Kathy, who hates to be called Mrs Ming almost as much as she hates to be called Mrs Minger is organsing this. It's known as Annie`s Walk, the day is run in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care in memory of Kathy`s mother, brother and sister.

The 3km walk starts at 2pm .Other activities include face painting,,a raffle, refreshments and a BBQ provided by Murphy`s Butchers on the Lisburn Road - to fatten you and keep you warm during the long hard windsurfing winter.

Tickets cost £10 for adults and £4 for children .They are available from Kathy [07714 243759]or Chris [07801 476521], or you can pay at the gate on the day, although it would be helpful to know numbers in advance so we can organise the BBQ.

From his exalted position on the throne (his bowels have been playing up something rotten recently) the emperor says :
"I have been in touch with the Wind Gods to make sure that Sunday is windless."
The Emperor has spoken so it be so.

So if you can, come along and support a good cause and the windsurfing community.

Alan

PS - the Donegal Wave Course is on track for 3 days 27-29th October. Only a couple of

places left, so if you haven't booked, extract the digit!

ANT AND DEC RUN OUR WAVECLINIC II
New dates and a new instructor for Donegal in October

Well - maybe not Ant and Dec - Wookie would probably drown them, but only if we didn't do it first. No, unfortunately Jim Collis was just unable to free up the time this year and Ant Baker has stepped in.
We're really sorry not to be having Jim who's proved himself and excellent and highly positive windsurfing instructor - and he's managed to put up with the 'banter' ie abuse we all talk. But his day job rota has been changed and has caused him and other a lot of trouble - and the wave clinic is one casualty.
Ant doesn't require much introduction, but if you really want one go to :
http://www.baker-academy.com/

With a new instructor comes a new package including new dates. The details are :
4 days training 28th - 31st October
Cost £120 per person for training
Hotel, Loch Altan, E40 bed and great breakfast per night
Confirmation now essential
So (punk) you need to ask yourself one question. Do you want to receive professional instruction on how to wavesail in some of the best conditions anywhere - think Magheroarty ....? Or are you content to just go on sailing in waves?
If the answer is yes, then you need to tell us quickly. The deal is first come, first in as there is the usual limit on the numbers who can be trained. Your windsurfing level needs to be up to sailing in these conditions ie confident waterstarting and in the straps - gybes are a bonus.
As soon as we get sufficient replies, we will then ask for the full amount to be paid. This is non returnable and so if you have to pull out you'll need to find another soul to go in your place or lose your money. No places are guaranteed until the money is handed over.
So don't hesitate, reply to me - quickly!
See you in Donegal.
Alan

NOSTALGIA AIN'T WHAT IT USED TO BE!

NI WINDSURF CRAIC - see www.windsurfcraic.co.uk for the full version of all of these stories - plus the pictures...

NOSTALGIA AIN'T WHAT IT USED TO BE
Talk about rolling back the years, it really was a scene from yesterday at Newtownards Sailing Club last week. And for once I'm not talking about Trevor Pollen's gear. Of course, as usual, it was all Wookie's fault.
As you may know, the furry one decided to do the Irish Slalom Series this year - in fact he's doing very well indeed, 4th at Downings and near the top overall this year so far. All this on a budget so he can't buy his stairway to heaven and has to rely on raw talent, determination, eating his opponents and having more hair than anyone else. Let's face it, it isn't his good looks. So he suggested that it might be fun to have some practice races at the club before the Cork event and good old Panty Lyner threw the invitation open to anyone including non members. And result was a really good showing of present and former NSC members - hence the nostalgia bit.
Pat nipped out early and set out buoys for various courses and by late morning there was quite a crowd. The wind had rather too much north for NSC which meant it was a bit up and down, but much better if you were well out from the shore. Most people rigged 7-8m but there were a few 9+s out at times too. So it was on the lighter side, but for a good hour after lunch it blew 6m causing quite a few people to either hang on with their teeth or change down - oddly enough to 6m.
There weren't any official results, but it was pretty clear that the Hairy One was the fastest on the water most of the time. However Ming the Merciless gave him a hard time both in terms of speed and also looking mean and moody - Ming was on his black sail which does make him look like the bad guy.
Tony 'Shipman' 'Death' was racing pretty well too, just showing what you can do after major surgery. It's such a pity the operation means he'll now have to enter the ladies fleet. Perhaps we should start calling him Antonia.
We were also particularly pleased to see that Tony has mastered the lay down gybe - well, actually more of the lie down gybe. This is quite difficult to do as an important part is that your feet must not be touching the board while you carve. If you're reading this on the e-mail, go to our website to see the photograph - if you study it hard enough you may figure out how to master this difficult free style (or in his case no style) manoeuvre.
Another mean looking person whose parents are unlikely to have been married at the time of birth was Ali Tourettes Todd. Armed with 8.5m he was charging about looking like he had his usual hangover.
The nostalgia started when Russell appeared and rigged a, for him, enormous 7.5m. He's obviously been practising hard at the car park as he was getting his gybes. And Alan 'Orange Man' Yeates also came out creating more nostalgia on the BIC Techno and getting some good speed. The Colin 'Lorraine' Kelly appeared the old boy network was complete. It was great to see Colin still sails in his Biggles aviator helmet.
Also involved were of course Pat, Gary and Tim.
As you can imagine there was a lot of mayhem about the gybe marks. I wasn't racing, my excuse being that I was looking after Sarah who was getting into the foot straps. But it meant I got a good view of what happened. My own favourite was when Shipman cut it too tight at the mark and his boom hit the buoy - which was one of those tall poles. In a desperate attempt to save himself he clutched the pole and end up with arms around it. He then slowly slid down the pole and into the water - clearly a form of medical pole dancing.
It was actually a lovely day, the water was warm and the sun shone. During the period of consistent wind it was just lovely. Most people came out around 4ish, but Ming and Shipman clearly decided to make a night of it. So as we all left, they were still bashing away, well towards the other side of the lough. For all I know they may still be out there...

WAVE COURSE UPDATE
Good news and good news!
Firstly we do have enough people who've indicated interest that we should be able to run the Donegal wave course.
And even better, Jim Collis has worked a bit more magic and squeezed in an extra day. So the details are likely to be :
Course starts PM Thursday 14th Oct
Runs for 3 days ending lunch time Sunday 17th
Cost to be confirmed shortly
So save the dates, tell your mates and we'll be looking for firm commitment very soon.

BEGINNERS LESSONS A HUGE SUCCESS AT NSC
You may know that there's been a few problems in running windsurfing lessons at NSC. Well this year, after a lot of work by Paddy Pants, it's all systems go. The lessons have been running since July and already a lot of people have gone through. Further instructors have also been trained up, so expect the lessons to continue and grow.
So if you know anyone who wants to do a proper RYA windsurfing course, go to http://www.newtownardssailingclub.co.uk/index.htm and check out the details.
And if you've already done your RYA course, this means that rescue boat cover is present at the club every Tuesday evening - so why not go out and get some practice.

27 June 2010

NO PENALTIES REQUIRED!
NI WINDSURF CRAIC - see www.windsurfcraic.co.uk for the full version of all of these stories - plus the pictures...
No Penalties Required
RYA Windsurfing Lessons
And What About the Wave Course?
Stuff the End
NO PENALTIES REQUIRED
What a great day! England get stuffed 4-1 (Thank you for that but at least England was THERE to get stuffed - Ed!) and it's windy and sunny - you can't get much better than that, given that the cheating French team have already been sent home with a croissant up their derriere...
Anyway, it's been a funny month for windsurfers. We normally associate this time of year with good Spring winds and they're from the prevailing west. Instead we've had mostly dodgy wind (rather like being the vicinity of Andy) and it's been from the north. I've heard a lot of tales of quite good sessions at Ballyturd, well I guess that's one way to get a fake tan. However since I live near Lough Neagh, I've found myself out there a lot.
In case you don't know, Oxford Island which is the bird sanctuary on the south of the lough, is great in northerlies. You get very clear wind whistling right down the lough and there's quite a crowd go out there. The only negatives are flies if the wind is low and the funny water, some call it fresh water but it doesn't taste that fresh to me. It's also a good spot if you want to indulge that other windsurf related sport of giving the grannies something to look at if you have a wardrobe failure as the main coffee shops look out on the area we all get changed.
Mostly I have to admit I've been out there on big kit (9.4m) but I did get one very good evening on 7.5m when most others were holding down 6s. Nice spot and good company with the added benefit that Ross sails there a lot which is handy if you need your board repaired. But you do have to watch out for certain spots where it's shallow - I've just spent a happy half hour sanding down the new dents in 2 of my fins.
But this weekend it swung to the west and Saturday saw a few people out at NSC on around 8m. It was apparently up and down but very warm. Sunday provided a much bigger crowd and better wind. I was second down and rigged 7.5m on 120ltrs in warm sunshine - turned out I got it about right. Lee and James appeared and raced about on smaller kit. James especially planes on the proverbial and he and I had some great races, I think we was on around 6m but only 100ltrs. He was faster than me but when we raced I was able to use my larger fin (40) to go up wind across him as he caught me forcing him to go up wind and slow or fall back before trying to pass me downwind. All great fun.
For once we had two girls out as Lee was joined by Paula. She had some great runs at good speed but when I asked her about her gybes she used some (very) mild swear words. Shocked at this change of image I asked for clarification and she claimed that in her book these were very strong words - she's clearly not be in Ali Turrettes Todd's company very much...
Tim was out - I mean on the water, no dressed in frightfully garish tight clothing... He was rattling along nicely on 7.5m although he did seem to be taking the phrase lay down gybe rather too literally I noticed as I gybed round him in the water.
Gary joined us and stretched his whole body on 8m and 135ltrs. He had a good sail though. We also had David Brown although he stopped early as wanted to get home to watch the England match. Clearly he prefers to watch paint dry to windsurfing, although he did sail well on the an impossibly small 5.5m.
We didn't see Pat Panty Liner out - but this could be due to lack of shoes. He was apparently out sailing while a sailing course for scouts was being run. When the scouts came in, their leader gave instructions that all left behind articles of clothing should be tidied up and put in a bag. A nice way to ensure the Scouts tidied up behind them - but sadly for Pat they also tidied up his shoes and socks so he was seen bare foot in the bar afterwards. Pat is now apparently Scouting for Boys - a joke in itself...
So a lovely day's sailing, despite my attempts to complete a carving tack front to sail causing much (ironic) cheering and laughter from the shore. But then they missed the excellent planing out gybes.

RYA WINDSURFING LESSONS

The man with no shoes has been busy organising more RYA windsurfing instructors and as they come on line, the official lessons have restarted at the club. Tuesday night sees most people out, but some courses are also run over weekends. More than half a dozen are through or nearly through and there will be more courses to come. So if you know of anyone who wants to learn, please get in touch with Pat on p.lyner@btinternet.com - and while you're at it, do ask him if he's wearing any shoes!
Tuesday nights are also set up that people who have passed their course can come down and use the club gear safe in the knowledge that there is some rescue boat cover out for the windsurfers. So any of you improvers, get on down every Tuesday night.

AND WHAT ABOUT THE WAVE COURSE?

What indeed about this year's wave course? Well the good news is that Jim Collis is well enough to give the course. The bad news is that the only dates he knows he can take a full week off right now are silly ie late August or late November. So we're currently waiting for him to give his best guess as to when he can wrangle say 4 days off and then we'll go for it. The best guess is sometime in October - and on the law of averages we must be due some serious wind.
So be patient and watch this space - it will be worth it!

6 Apr 2010

EASTER BUNNIES
At long last, holidays and wind - a perfect recipe for some fun.
It all started on Good Friday at Tyrella. 5.5 - 6.3m was the sail size, the waves were of a reasonable size, the tide was in, there weren't too many kites on the water - and it was FREEZING! The car said 7 degrees, but it felt much colder than this. Maybe we're getting soft.
Nothing soft about Wookie (allegedly) and right enough he was first man out. 5.5m and having a great sail.  Ali FN Tourettes Todd was next - just back from a week's skiing late the night before and so with his by now usual hangover look.  He actually lasted pretty well (for a total wreck) and got some good waves and jumps before fatigue (and drink) caught up with him.
I look 6.3m and thought I was in for a great day when my first run included a planing out gybe, catching a good wave and rather neat carving tack on the inside.  Unfortunately for me it was slowly downhill after that.  The problem we all had was the cold, although an increasingly strong rip added to it later on.  If you got caught in the water a bit, it really zapped your energy.  And there was a lot of hands between the legs going on - I mean on the shore, not some new riding technique.  In my defence, I later found out I'd got a virus (thanks Pat) hence no staying power.
It was a good start to Easter, but by 2pm we were all driving home with the heaters on full blast.
The wind didn't play ball until Easter Monday - but then it did big time. The troops were divided between the wave-heads who went to Tyrella and the hibernating creatures who went to the club.
At NSC it was like one of those big international football matches where they trot out (actually carry out) the 1966 England team and parade them in front of an amazed crowd (who've all naturally assumed they're all dead).  So it was at NSC as all the oul men who'd clearly been hibernating over winter had emerged in the full awfulness and were parading on the grass at Newtownards.  Actually some of them looked they might have been carried there too.
First up with Trevor (my gear is from the Ulster Museum) Pollen.  Trevor was mostly on 5.2 and told me that his endorphins were flying.  I thought that was against the law in NI, but I guess he gets away with it on account of his age.  The other thing he gets away with is having virtually no eyesight, so when he's on the water it's the rest of us (and the pier) who have to look out..
Then of course we weren't at all surprised to see turning up together (hand in hand as ever) Guy and Harry.  None of dared to ask what they'd been doing all winter, but they did at least sail - I wasn't in the showers with them so I can't say any more than that.  Turned out that Guy, who's lost a decent bit of weight - no doubt thanks to his exertions with Harry - had been out last week.  Actually, we know he's been 'out' longer than this.  But that time Harry came but didn't go out.  Now where have we seen that before.  But fair play to them, out they went and has a great sail.
And talking of colourful characters,  Nigel 'Fanta Pants' was back on the water.  Actually he was flying, had a great sail and because it was warm we could see him coming ie no helmet and ginger hair.
Others out included Paula, holding down 5.4 in some big winds, Gary (national under 7 egg and spoon champion), Pat, FN Todd, David Brown, Lorraine Kelly and Shipman.  Actually Tony was really flying and showing no ill effects of all his reconstructive surgery at all - and of course a fine set of breasts in the shower afterwards....
Pat made our day by being brave enough to go for some ducks.  He was nailing these big time at El Tur but choppy NSC is a different matter.  His particular speciality seems to be the one where you walk to the front of your board (mid duck) and dive off. He then went home to fix the cracks on the noses of 2 of his board - not unrelated.
Casper was there and for once in really good time rather than materialising as we all came of the water.  It was an expensive day for him as holed two sails without apparently doing anything spectacularly stupid.  Like some of the windsurfers, I think they were just knackered.
I won't say it was very warm, but at 12 degrees and with some sun it was nice.  Sails varied from 5.2 - 6.3 with a few people starting on 7m.  But it was up and down a lot - the forecasts were basically right, but average wind speeds don't tell the full story.  I was one of many who rigged two sails and boards and swapped between them a lot.  6.3m on 110 ltrs and 5.5m on 90 ltrs.  Some people got it wrong at times, it was hard to do otherwise and it was a real bit of nostalgia to see Harry wallowing around in the shallows way downwind have been caught out.
It was lovely to see so many smiling (if ugly) faces and indeed such a crowd.

And what of the waveheads do I hear you ask?
Well the great and good assembled at Tyrella where they got 4m weather and sunshine - and waves.  A very good call. Wookie, Raptor, Bedford, Simon Saunders and Chris Cassidy were on the water and showing off as you do.
Now what can I say about the average intellectual level of the type of person who walks on our beaches in NI?  Only slightly higher than those (elderly couples) who sit in their cars at various car parks like Ballyturd and 'enjoy' watching us get changed perhaps?
Apparently one of these intellectual powerhouses collared John Bedford and, no doubt mesmerised by that hair of his, asked if the group were professional.  Titter ye not!  History, or at least my hairy correspondent, does not record John's answer (yes, seems likely), but one suspects that young Raptor's aerial antics may have had something to do with it....
  Winter's over and the fun has begun.

SLALOM RACED AT NSC

It was the first time the Irish Slalom Series had come to NSC and also the first time they'd run an event so early in the season - so there were some concerns.  But they needn't have worried, around 60 windsurfers descended on the club and, ignoring the rotten weather forecasts (which turned out to be completely wrong) had 2 days great sailing.
If you want to see more you can find details at www.irishslalom.ie  In fact this is really great site with piles of fantastic photographs - which mostly seem to be of Maurice kissing people. Strange way to race, but it obviously worked for him - probably put off his (male) competitors I guess.  I'll leave you to speculate on tongues.  But if you go to www.windsurfcraic.co.uk you'll be able to see the evidence especially from the Saturday night disco.
However, first off, what happened?  Well, I'll hand over to our big-juicy-lipped correspondent Maurice Owens for this -
March 27th - 28th saw the round one of the Irish Windsurfing Slalom Racing Series kick off at Newtownards Sailing Club, Co. Down. A poor forecast may have dampened spirits in the run up to the weekend, but come Saturday morning, the wind filled in for what turned out to be a great weekend of slalom racing for the 50+ entrants.

A major difference this year was the speed of registration, this was due to competitors availing of the pre-registration and payment via irishslalom.ie This meant that competitors literally only had to pick up their vests on the Saturday morning allowing for an earlier 10am briefing and a timely 11am first race.
OD for the year, Ciaran O’Brien, laid out a 6 buoy downwind slalom course with the help of the NSC boat crew, opting for a “sail towards shore - port start” as opposed to the more traditional start from beach approach, the advantages to this was that there was much more room for sailors prior to the start to allow many sailors to hit the line flying as well as the visual importance for the spectators.
Gold fleet racing kicked off with two full rounds of heats on Saturday morning, this meant that only 50% of the fleet were ever racing at the one time, thus having fewer bodies on the line and at the marks allowing for less intimidating racing
Once two complete rounds were run it was decided that 5 back to back "all-in" races could be run in the afternoon with winds ranging from 20-30 knots. The action on the water was spectacular, with high speeds, dramatic turns at the marks and “drag like” starts out at sea racing towards the club house. The pace was very fast in the afternoon with current Champion Pearse Geaney and Maurice Owens fighting it out for the lead. Other top five contenders included new comer and local sailor William Revels, the steady Hannes Louete, Fintan Day and current Grand Master Chris Loughridge.

As the tide dropped and more beach revealed itself the silver fleet took to the water for a simple out and back format, 11 races were held in total with John Boyce stepping up to the mark coaching and encouraging the entire fleet who were feeling the effects of the winter water temperature.  Standouts in the silver fleet included the youngest sailor, John Patrick Fletcher, all three ladies, Alessia Stocca, Laura Macauley and Rebecca Fletcher, but it was Kevin Cunningham, Aidan Granfield and Gary Pope who topped the fleet 3rd to 1st consecutively.
Saturday night started off with a banquet buffet in the sailing club followed by the 2009 prize giving with winners receiving locally handmade windsurf trophies. A special anural trophy in memory of Alan Harris was started for contribution to windsurfing in Ireland, a cause for which Alan was a driving force.  Fintan Day one of the longest standing surfdock team riders proudly presented the trophy to Danny Mulryan.
Later followed a vinyl DJ set from Newtownards own Alan DJ AJ Watts. Alan who is better known for his newsletter and online post www.windsurfcraic.co.uk and basically taking the hand out of anybody who steps out of line, was definitely the right man to have behind the turn styles! [I think he means turntables, but turnstyles might have been a better description when you look at the dodgy characters who got let in].  Dodgy dancing was the name of the game and it was decided early the next day that Stephen Kelly had taken his third consecutive event win in this newly hotly contested discipline!  This weekend was also the launch of the Irish slalom clothing range, hoodies and beanies are available from our website www.irishslalom.ie with t-shirts and accessories to follow. All proceeds from the sale of merchandise will go to promoting Irish windsurfing.

A special thanks also to Eimear Owens from Discovery foods who laid on much needed hot lunches for the competitors on both days with help from friends.
Sunday dawned with yet again more bright and breezy weather (Much to the dismay of a few people!  Some bodies were not capable to taking days of abuse this early in the season!) Nevertheless a slightly smaller Gold fleet took to the water to complete five races to total eleven races and give an all important 3rd discard. A Master blaster where by the entire fleet followed a rib across the Lough and back, signalled the end of what was a great weekends racing.
After a reasonably early prize giving with generous local sponsorship from Pier36, www.wookieWindsurfing.com , Tushingham and McCready sailboats. A big thanks to all the volunteers in the boats who ensured racing ran smoothly and safely, as well as those who helped take in the boats at low tide which was a task in itself. We would like to thank the Commodore and Committee of Newtownards Sailing Club for letting us avail of their fabulous facilities.
Watch this space for GPS replays of all the racing on www.irishslalom.ie with thanks to Cormac O’Brien
Gold Fleet
Overall
Pearse Geaney
2. Maurice Owens
Hannes Louet-Feisser

Master
Hannes Louet-Feisser

Grand Master Funk
1. Chris Loughridge
U-20
1. Matt McNutt
2. Joseph Fletcher

U-17
1. Ben McNutt
2. Emmit Kelly
Lady
1. Alison Beirne

Silver Fleet Overall
Gary Pope
Aidan Grandfield
Kevin McGuinness

Ladies
1. Laura McCauley
2. Rebecca Fletcher

The Dodgy Dancing Award
Stephen Kelly

I don't know about you, but I just love the description of Ming the Merciless as Grand Master Loughridge. Makes him sound like Grand Master Funk - or something sounding remarkably similar.

Now of course Maurice may have covered the racing, but that pales into insignificance in comparison with the Saturday night disco. One of the many skeletons in my closet is that I used to be professional DJ, so it was that my 2000 strong vinyl collection was dusted off (more like industrially steam cleaned), gear hired and the usual stream of abuse from this newsletter was - for one night only - transferred to verbal abuse. Lots of it. You have to feel sorry for the hire shop who fell about with laughter when I asked for a twin vinyl deck (but located one) only to be floored again when I asked for a cassette deck to play my jingles. Anyway it all worked and eventually sufficient drink was taken to overcome the chronic lack of women that night. Most of the women who were there appeared to be married to Paddy. But this didn't daunt Grand Master Funk and Maurice 'the lips' Owens who didn't seem to care what gender they danced with. See the photographs and wince.
I also have to give a mention to the brave contestants for Bits 'n' Pieces, won by a very creditable 13/20 by a table with a combined age of 423 years - and that appeared to be a team of 3.

So all in all, it was a great weekend. Wookie came fourth by the way and we are still reeling with the shock that someone let Gary Pope into the Silver fleet - and he's now the national leader. I hear he's also going to enter the under 7s egg and spoon race as well...
The ISS were superb. Pat did all the arranging for the club, but once the ISS were on the scene the well oiled machine just purred into action. In the thank you department, a special word must go to Pat (Panty) Lyner - if it hadn't been for his 1 man determination and 6 months hard work (and 6 months talking) from him it simply wouldn't have happened. Nice one Paddy!
See you next year!



RYA CONFERENCE
By way of something completely different, I've heard from Mary Farrell, RYA NI Development Officer.

Dear Alan,
As you may be aware, RYANI is running a principals and instructor conference on the 10th April. As the main speaker is RYA National Windsurfing Coach, I am trying to use this as an opportunity to lead a discussion on Windsurfing in NI and perhaps what RYANI could do to support it and also to give NI windsurfers/clubs an idea of what is happening in the UK.
The details are in red as below, but I would like to invite windsurfers, be they instructors or not. The afternoon part of the day will have a demonstration about windsurfing instructor scheme (TBC) followed by a debate/discussion about windsurfing in NI.
I would be much obliged if you could spread the word about this conference to the windsurfers and perhaps attend yourself? It is free, and if you book in advance there will be lunch provided at the club.
Regards
Mary Farrell

RYA NI Development Officer
( Mobile: 07919 923 018
Phone: 028 9038 3875
Email: mary.farrell@rya.org.uk
WEB: www.ryani.org.uk
Skype: Mary Farrell

RYANI Principals and Instructors Conference 2010.
Venue: Strangford Lough Yacht Club.
Date: 10th April 10am – 4pm
Book your place Now by contacting me!


Now as it happens I can't make this as I'm in England that weekend. But if any of you wish to go, you've got the full contact information. The RYA as far as NI windsurfers in concerned has often been seen as a rather distant and inconsistent organisation. Mary has said that she needs to understand a lot more about the local windsurfing scene - so this is your chance to help her. And there's a free lunch.
So if you'd like to give off about your views about anything windsurfing - RYA, insurance, developing kids (for windsurfing, not the priesthood), training courses, Maurice's tongue - whatever is on your mind, just go along.

8 for Sale
Despite all the horrible things I say about the age of Trevor Pollen's gear, he does keep it in immaculate condition. He's the only sailor I know who religiously hoses his sails down after each session. So when he has some stuff for sale, it's worth looking at.

Alan

I am selling an 8 metre Tushingham Thunderbird sail. It is in virtually new condition, has only been used a handful of times and has been carefully dried after each outing. On the basis that it is of little value to me sitting in my garage I am seeking approx 20% of its original price say £80.

Would you mind passing the message on through your various websites / threads.

Regards
Trevor

Trevor can be reached care of Ulster Museum or on trevor-pollen@ntlworld.com. What a bargain - get in there quickly!
And while you're at it, ask him if he's got an Arthur Daily coat for sale ....

13 Feb 10

No - of course there's been no wind!
I'd love to be writing great tales of windsurfing and other daring stuff. But it's either been too baltic or windless. What a start to the year.

But what I can tell you is that there's an opportunity to become an RYA Windsurfing instructor. The course below will be run at NSC over Easter and there are still a couple of places left. So if you fancy putting something back into the sport, torturing and humiliating beginners and even making a bit of money, why not sign up and get the training?

The details are :
Windsurfing Instructor Course
Organised by Peninsula Watersports Sail Training:
Dates: 4th -9th April
Contact: Robbie Richardson

robert.richardson1212@btinternet.com

028 9182 8781
Cost £310

And finally a small reminder, that Round 1 of the

2010 Irish Slalom Series (windsurfing)

will be held at the Newtownards Sailing Club

on 27th and 28th March 2010.
Queries to Pat Lyner at p.lyner@btinternet.com

See also www.irishslalom.ie

There'll be a lot more information soon, but expect a big event for both serious and fun racers - plus some seriously dodgy entertainment on the Saturday night. The whole thing is of course open to everyone.

See you on the water - someday when the wind blows ....

1 Jan 10

.

OUT WITH THE OLD - IN WITH THE NEW

.
NI WINDSURFING CRAIC - www.windsurfingcraic.co.uk LAUNCHED!
NEW WEBSITE FOR NI WINDSURFING CRAIC

.
I don't have much good to say about Christmas's generally. There's only so much food (but not drink) you can take, so much crap TV to watch and of course only so long you can stand being nice to your relatives. All that and it's generally too cold to windsurf - although not always...
On the plus side, it means that there's no work to get in the way of important things like wishing Simon Cowell a slow and unpleasant death and of course updating one's website. So it is, that I've finally got round to sorting out the website associated with this e-newsletter. So here's what you'll find :
.
All the craic and news on www.windsurfingcraic.co.uk
Each newsletter after I send it out - but often with photographs etc added

.
Details of our past windsurfing holidays - now including the full photographs. Prasonisi, Egypt and Medano are up, more later
Pages on some of the regular windsurfers - including (be very scared) photographs
A photo gallery of windsurfing locally
The pages to subscribe/unsubscribe to this newsletter.
By the way, the old URL of www.mylyst.com still works too.
So why not take a stooge through this and have a laugh. And any time you get one of these newsletters, you'll often find additional stuff on the website.
All feedback welcome.

.
AND I WANT INPUT FROM YOU TOO - YES YOU!

.
I can't be at every windsurfing happening, my name isn't Andy and I do have to work for a living. So I need your help to tell me what's happened. All I need is an e-mail (there's a form on the website) telling me who did what and where. If there's photographs, so much the better, they can be e-mailed to me.
And don't worry about tarting up the English or even spelling. You give me the basic facts and we'll make it look good - and for good measure we'll insert the humour and humiliating comments as required.
AND - if you'd like to feature on the windsurfers pages - just send me the stuff. I need to know a bit about you and to get a couple of your best (or worst!) photographs. Come on, depress your mates....

.
AND SOME PEOPLE EVEN WINDSURFED THIS CHRISTMAS!!

.
Yes - honestly, they did! After Christmas it became slightly less baltic (3-4 degrees) and easterly.29th saw Wookie, Andy and Thomas Bin Laden out in some quite good winds at Whiterock. In the words of Father Wookie 'it was cool'. We're not sure if he's referring to the temperature or his windsurfing - clearly he wasn't referring to Andy.

.
And on the 30th I made my debut following a dodgy shoulder. My thanks to the huge numbers of you who replied to my last e-mail with some sympathy - both of you will be pleased to know I suffered no ill effects from being back on the water. In fact Wookie and I went out in a rising wind and 3 degrees. Wookie has developed a cunning arrangement of Marigolds (held on with duct tape) under his mittens. He looks like a (particularly mean) boxer who is about to do the dishes. He went for 5m, I took a 5.5 and we both badly under estimated the wind. After a brief but chilling mauling he went down 2 sail sizes to 4m and I 'rested' in the lee at Daft Eddie's. Then the wind really came up, certainly gusting to over 50 mph. Wookie managed 2 runs on the 4m, but I was murdered on 5.5 when I came out from behind the island. No chance, so it was a walk home from the wrong side of the sailing club for me - much to Wookie's delight!
So - I'm back. Look out for more abuse both on and off the water....
Alan