I can’t remember the last time I windsurfed from Brightlingsea sailing club, let alone during Pyefleet week. As windsurfers we’d moved from that beach long ago in search of cleaner winds, at first it was just along the promenade but the smaller our boards became the further we had to look. Point Clear and beyond have since been our sailing area’s, for us to return we’d have to dig out the kit of old.
I’d like to say this was my original windsurfer but while the boom was, (including the original rope we tried to fashion some sort of harness line) the rest was borrowed. I couldn’t wait but was soon brought crashing down in the realisation that the original windsurfer was harder to sail that anything I’ve sailed, and I mean anything.
From the smallest speed board to the latest windSUP’s all behave impeccably compared to the daddy of them all, how windsurfing became popular is beyond me, it was way too hard and I wasn’t alone in that belief.
To keep me company I had a bunch of SUP’s, all of which delivered a lot more pleasure, everyone who wanted to relive the old days were soon abandoning the original for the new breed in town and it wasn’t long before our beloved windsurfer looked like it should have stayed in the hedgerow from whence it came.
While the experience put a few realities on the “good old days”, it was the future that became clearer. Windsurfing has a strong future in clubs, especially with the windSUP style boards, so many wanted to have a go I had people asking if I could return the following days.
I’m not about to give up the high winds but look around and you’ll see light wind on the water is popular, I see hundreds of those plastic canoes around that take more people to lift than can use and having seen how eager this lot were to get out windsurfing I know where I’d be going if I still did demo’s.
