Strange combination, but that just about sums up my week - a couple of days on the water with a few more chasing around the country looking for more, while somewhere in the middle my mate had me barrowing concrete through his house. And then there’s the wife... When I decided not to travel abroad as much I think she thought that meant I’d be at home every weekend.
Things don’t always work out as you’d expect. Or maybe they do. Sally knows what I’m like – I’ve got to give everything a real go, so I’m sure she knew I’d want to get about everywhere with this new job. It’s not like I haven’t windsurfed before, but having been out of the country so much over the last few years I wanted to get a real feel for what’s going on.
It’s so easy to get hooked up into what you’re into that you don’t see the full picture, and if I’m honest the event at Rhosneigr is exactly what flicks my switch. The mix of strong wind and high surf is the making of dreams, but then dreams don’t always come true, particularly with our British weather.
This weeks Formula 1 round is the perfect example, as Lewis Hamilton prayed for rain while Jenson Button looked for a heatwave. In the end it was Red Bull who made the most out of the grey skies, and that’s what I’ve been reminded of in the last few weeks. It’s always perfect for someone.
After the surprise of Rutland a fortnight ago I followed the UKWA down to Christchurch to see how strong the following is as the racing moved from the lakes to the open sea. There were slightly fewer, but that was from a commitment to the international racing than anything else. Getting out to the start and seeing all the long boards reminded me more of the days when I started windsurfing.
Maybe there isn’t one fleet that has the numbers from those days, but with Formula, RS:X and Techno fleets the numbers looks impressive. If I had any criticism, it’s that they have become invisible to the public. At the beach it’s only the numbers that make you question what’s going on, and a few flags flying could have easily put that right - but why no one has a camera there is beyond me.
It’s no wonder we don’t see what’s going on. Sure there are event reports on the web, but what happened to a picture paints a thousand words? Not only would the web reports look more enticing but British racing would find its way into print.
That’s enough of my waffling, or at least that’s what the wife said… “I’ve come along to be with you, not listen to you”. She’d come along thinking “If you can’t beat them, join them”, or so the saying goes, though I think “behind every idiot there’s a great woman” would be better. Whichever, it stopped me talking about walking with wheelbarrows....
