CONUNDRUM
Sitting outside A&E at Newquay Hospital was not quite how I had planned this last-minute mission down to Cornwall panning out, but that is the way it can roll when you take on big waves and gusty winds at Gwithian.
ON THE FENCE
Rewind about sixteen hours and I was happily sat at home sipping on a mug of tea watching Saturday night TV when the phone pings with a message from Timo Mullen... 'Headed to Cornwall at 5am, should be big!'. Now that might seem a normal text to most folk, but this message was coming from Ireland where Timo had just been sailing huge waves for the past few days. He was somewhere between the west coast of Ireland and Dublin Airport and still hungry for more. Surely he must have had his fix by now? But we are talking about Timo Mullen here meaning that even at the slightest sniff of wind and quality wave sailing - he's on it. What puzzled me was that the forecast didn't look that special on paper.
The swell was 1.9m at 14 seconds, slowly dropping throughout the day, along with gusty southerly winds blowing anywhere between 15-30 knots. Plus the forecast I was looking at was saying it was going to be overcast, while the chap on BBC Weather also mentioned that a cloud of Sahara dust was also bound for the UK due to some unusual circumstances. Hmmm, this was a tough call, and the evidence was looking weak to me that Cornwall was going to be epic. There would be waves for sure, but possibly just head high with cloudy weather, so I wasn't totally convinced, to say the least!
LEAP OF FAITH
This story is from the Issue 435 - July 2024 edition of Windsurf.
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This story is from the Issue 435 - July 2024 edition of Windsurf.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
New School
Slingshot’s windsurfing brand manager, Wyatt Miller, has noticed that kids are drawn to playing with wings and puts forward an interesting case as to why he thinks this could help entice them and others into windsurfing.
Changes
Wave sailor Flo Jung reflects on our changed world during his lockdown in Germany.
THE LAST WAVE
Lockdown stirred the creative juices of reader Björn Alfthan, who peers into the future to present a fictional story set in the wild waves of Norway, five years from now.
STILL IN THE GAME
After a horrific fracture in his leg from a crashed aerial in 2018, Alessio Stillrich is back! John Carter talks to the highflyer from Gran Canaria about his move to the Simmer team, recovering from injury and how he learned to windsurf in Gran Canaria!
MOVE ON UP - GET ON THE FRONT FOOT
This month we look at how our front foot weighting can affect and improve different aspects of our main windsurfing moves.
SOUTH' KIPA
Nik tweaking it over home waters.
A NEW NORMAL
On a trip to La Tranche-sur-Mer in France last year, Tris Best estimated over 80% of the windsurfers were foiling. This summer in Portland Harbour, foiling activity has increased dramatically too he reports. With the market offering plenty of choice to recreational windfoilers, our test team check out some of the latest foil offerings.
TACKING – THE SEQUEL
Having given you time to practice, Harty concludes his tacking series by critiquing various tacking options, including the carve tack, as well as offering solutions to common slip-ups.
‘NO VAPOUR TRAILS TO SCAR THE SKY' *
Realising we may be about to enter an extraordinary period in our lives, Harty decided to keep a windsurf-centric lockdown diary. Here are some of his choice excerpts.
REDEMPTION DAY!
Renowned for its windsurfing and variety of spots to sail at, Kimmerdige Bay is a wave sailing jewel on the south coast of England. Timo Mullen gives a guide to its shores while reflecting on why a recent session there was a reminder that there is no place like home!
