Does combining a family trip with the chase for epic conditions make for a stressful holiday or enhance the experience. Klaas Voget has been making the journey to Chile for many years and the recent addition of his two small children hasn’t stopped his desire to score the perfect ride on Chile’s rugged Pacific coast. Read how he ensures his annual South American sojourn is happy days for all.
Life as a windsurf-dad isn’t easy. Juggling between kids, job, relationship - and then there is our addiction. Only a wind surfer understands why suddenly everything else becomes less urgent when the wind blows and the waves are pumping. Windsurfing can be the reason for fights, for frustration, for tears. When your partner makes plans for a nice family day and you get a call from one of your mates telling you it’s 4.5m weather and it’s mast high and cross-off, it’s challenging to stick to the family plan. If you do, you’re not good to be around, if you go sailing, you’re the bad guy leaving the family behind. It’s a disaster! It’s a fine line to walk if you drag your family on a windsurfing trip, but if you choose the right location you can enjoy family life and still score the most epic session.
FAMILY POINTS
As parents of two little boys, we are constantly in action. Everyone with kids knows what I’m talking about. As soon as one finally sleeps, the other one poops in his diapers, starts teething, has a bad stomach or is just in action mode! The quiet moments are rare. If you’re on a windsurf trip with little kids, your partner feels left alone with everything as soon as you go “do your thing”. Not enough sleep adds to the problem and things can escalate while you’re loading stuff into the car and your better half is trying to feed the crying baby.
The recipe for a good session without all the hate is collecting family points in the days prior to day X. With a good eye on the forecast you normally don’t get surprised by an epic day, usually these days can be tracked way in advance, so there’s some time to build up the family brownie points account and have the food supply under control before you head to the water. Of course this is easier in some places and more difficult in others.
THE PLACE
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