Adam Lewis traded his usual winter haunts for Western Australia this year and wasn’t disappointed with his decision! Read on as he brings us his tips for a successful trip down under and how he fell in love with the place and its people.
After a slightly unsuccessful trip to Cape Town the previous winter, my ability to pick a quality winter trip for both a surfer and windsurfer hung precariously in question. Don’t get me wrong, I love Cape Town, it’s easily one of the most beautiful places in the world. But bumpy, impressively busy and blown out waves had left both my partner Lucy and I looking for something more. Would the wilds of West Australia be the answer? Both of us have pretty hectic schedules through the summer, so the winters are really the only sustained period of time that we get to spend together, adding if anything a little more pressure to the situation. On paper Western Australia seemed to have it all, if a little risky with the prospect of forgoing the creature comforts of a big house with a hot tub in Cape Town for a small van and life on the road in W.A. However even during planning, it felt like a dream trip.
F L Y I N G
Flying with windsurf gear to Australia looked tricky not to get stung with excess charges. Some companies let you fly pretty easily with 2 x 23 kilo bags, which if you only wanted to bring one board and a few sails would be fine. But having broken all of my masts in the first week the previous time in Australia, I was determined to bring enough spares this time! A slightly more cunning solution was needed. So after a lot of searching I found some flights with China Southern Airlines; I’d never heard of them, but the stopover was short and more importantly you could fly with a “golf” bag for free and extra windsurf bags were only around £100 per bag. Having priced up my baggage with Qatar at around £650, £100 a bag seemed like a steal, although a little risky as you can’t pre-book and have to pay on the day.
V A N
Denne historien er fra Issue 376 - June 2018-utgaven av Windsurf.
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Denne historien er fra Issue 376 - June 2018-utgaven av Windsurf.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
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!