Doesn’t matter where you go, Bank holidays are always rainy. While I’ll keep the details and most of the pictures for my “Home Ground” in Boards, though I can tell you we sailed several wave beaches with everything from side shore to survival. Driving home through that night I could hardly keep my eyes open, but then that turned out to be constant thread throughout the week.
Mum always said you can’t burn the candle at both ends, well it feels like I lit the centre as well this week as there hasn’t been a day without wind. I’m not complaining but making up time behind the screen into the night and heading out on the road at six didn’t give any recovery time from the hours of sailing.
And just as you think a good nights sleep wouldn’t go amiss you’re out on a stag night. It’s Timo ‘s wedding in a fortnight but being the most wind addicted junkie I’ve ever met it was no surprise it was a last minute call for the stag do. All day at Kimmeridge and then off in to town. That meant yet another six am start to pick up JC and head to the beach.
After a slow start the wind filled in, though the waves remained small for Kimmeridge, then back to Timo’s for a wash and brush up before heading out. I wouldn’t normally praise the stag for being a light wait, but lets just put the blame on excitement and everyone going to hard to quick. Jamie Hawkins could hardly keep himself together to see midnight, at least that didn’t make Timo’s early exit unique.
JC and I had another six o’clock start to get up to Hayling Island and the National Windsurfing Festival NWF. People turned up in there in their hundreds despite a dodgy looking forecast, but for once I was grateful to see the weathermen getting it wrong. Big sails may have been the order of the day, but I’m sure it favoured many compared to battling through the shore dump of past events.
The calm of Sunday morning was a welcome start for many suffering with hangovers, but I’m sure it was Alan Cross who had the clearest head, not so much the lack of partying, but having pulled off the UK’s biggest windsurfing event without the support of a headline sponsor, Sunday must have come as a great relief.
I was just two miles from home when that candle finally burnt out, probably should have pulled over hours before but with just two miles to go I just couldn’t go any further and had to crash in the van for awhile, but you know what, nothing really beats falling asleep exhausted.
