GOD OF THE EAST(ERLIES)

• God of the East(erlies)

• Donegal Wave Clinic Confirmed - September

• Crime Watch

• And the Bit at the End

God of the East(erlies)

Yes, it's true - there must be a god. After weeks of having to get out the SUP or where some windsurfers were forced to go to garden centres (the guilty know who they are), we finally got consistent wind. And from the east.

Easter came and went with relatively little windsurfing activity. A few people celebrated Good Friday in Antrim, not a town noted for being either good or religious. In fact, Lorraine (Kelly) led a few people onto the dubious coloured waters of Lough Neagh and had a reasonable big sail day. And Easter Monday saw a few hopefuls out in Ballyturd. Again mostly big sails, but at least in bright sunshine and with plenty of chance to play dodge (or ram) the kiters.

But this all changed just as soon as Will and Kate tied the knot. No sooner had we suffered the 200th repeat, than the winds moved to the east and picked up. The day of the wedding saw Mr Wookie get a late evening rattle at Whiterock, but on Saturday it really took off. Hot footing it straight from a breakfast celebration of his wife's birthday the same Mr Wookie led the charge. Can't you just picture the romantic scene, 'there you are dear, a good birthday fry and now I'm off the spend the day at Cloughey'. Or words to that effect.

The sun was out and so were the windsurfers. Mostly standing around at 11am wondering where the wind was. I even rigged up a 9.4m. And just as soon as I did, up came the wind and 7m was the main call. And within an hour it was up again and most moved to 6m and even some wave boards. It was glorious.

The original plan was for some slalom practice, but that soon disintegrated into a dash upwind to the reef. Paddy, Gary, David, Tourettes, Raptor, Andy, Shipman and about 8 others had a ball. The water of course is still rather cold but the sun shone and it seemed that god was in his (easterly) heaven and all was right with the world - even if not perhaps with all of the gybes... The only tale of woe came from Gary who managed to break his UJ on the outside. His good, loyal and caring friends then proceeded to use him a gybe marker while the poor sod struggled to sail back with only the safety strap holding his mast on or near his board. Eventually word reached me and I sailed out with a spare UJ shoved down my wet suit. And not where Mr Wookie suggested it should be shoved, but still pretty sore none the less. A very knackered Gary eventually made it back to the shore - much to the annoyance of his 'friends' who were already drawing lots to divvy up his kit.

The other memorable incident was when a kitesurfer lost his brand new board. Of all the possible knights to come dashing to his rescue it was, unbelievably, Mr Wookie who sailed out and found it. He was then faced with the difficult job of sailing back with it. So he stuck his arm through the foot straps and water started and sailed back with it on his arm like a shield. In fact he looked like a Roman centurian - thank goodness he didn't also have a sword.

Sunday and the god of the east continued to smile. This time the call was Tyrella - despite the fact that we had to pay £4 each to get our cars in. You should have seen the look on Raptor's face! Big Robert tried to make a dash for it, but did eventually stop and pay up. The forecasts said that south would be windiest, but it didn't turn out that way. We'd probably have been better to stay in Strangford by all reports. However once again the sun was out and there were a few small waves to play with so, we were determined to stay and get our £4 worth. Wookie put 6m on his slalom kit, Robert was similar, I put 6.9 on 110 FSW and Colin 7m on his Techno. Raptor as usual defied the laws of physics and sailed with ease on 5m. It was a nice day but the wind only filled in well for about an hour in the afternoon. It was good to see Barry out, we'd only just learned that he'd wrecked his ankle months ago in 4m weather when his foot stuck in his straps. He was taking it easy but seemed to suffer no ill effects.

The only other revelation was Big Robert who admitted that he's a regular at pilates, he says it keeps him supple and he really notices it on the water. We'd notice him on the water if he sailed in his lycra. However he also proudly admitted that he's the only bloke in a class of 12. Now we finally get to know why he's called Big Robert. Even that might change though as he says the instructor finds it difficult to remember that it's not all girls in the class so he's offered to have a sex change. So some time soon it could be Big Roberta....

And so to bank holiday Monday and the deity which had been looking after us was starting to run out of puff - but still provided a good day. Most people headed to the Wookie's lair (Whiterock) and soon his front garden was turned into a rigging area.

After all the news reports that the Americans had got him, we were very pleased to see our very own Robbie Bin Laden alive and well and indeed windsurfing - rather badly on a too small 6m sail as it happened. I fared rather better on 7.5m and so when the tardy Loraine, Big Roberta, Tourettes and Shipman arrived they figured it was very windy and rigged too small. Just how this was my fault I don't know, but I got the blame.

I should explain that Whiterock is a very hard place to rig for. The boat area where we launch is relatively sheltered with a number of small islands around. So you have to look out past them to see what it's really like 'out there'. So mistakes are common. A further difficulty is huge number of boats at moorings on the way out. Tacking out against the wind is a minefield of expensive boats, buoys and of course ropes.

Eventually most people got onto the right kit and most had a really good sail. Bright sunshine once again and lots of interesting scenery to look at. Eventually all but Ali Todd came in and were served fresh coffee on Wookies lawn - by a remarkably helpful Wookie. Todd hit it lucky, something he didn't deserve after spending the morning at Dobbies, and while we nibbled the Wookie's nuts (biscuits) he had a great blast.

And so 3 glorious, sun-filled, windsurfing days came to a close at Daft Eddies for the obligatory salty pint and the sun continued to shine.

Roll on the next royal wedding and bank holiday combination!

Donegal Wave Clinic Confirmed for September

We're really pleased to be able to say that Jim Collis is confirmed for the full week of 19th-23rd September for the annual Donegal wave clinic. We're just waiting to hear his exact travel arrangement, particularly whether he'll be about for Sunday 18th and/or Saturday 24th. Then we'll be opening up to (non returnable) deposits and taking bookings. No word yet on whether the soup dragon will be making an appearance.

More soon, but stick it in your diaries and book the time off work now!

Crime Watch

Not good news from Mark Adams and a call to watch out for all of us :

Hi Alan

I had a brand new board bag swiped from underneath my car last Thursday morning at the car park down from the sailing club in Ards.

It was a Maui Magic bag, blue/grey on top and silver foil on the bottom, think it was 240/60.

Not a chance it blew away as it would have been caught by the bushes which I was parked right up against and I checked everywhere else.  Thankfully it was the only thing outside the car!

If you can just remind others to lock all their gear away and if they are offered or see a similar board bag for sale, could they please let me know.

Cheers

Mark

So watch out and lock up!

And the Bit at the End

You're receiving this because you registered on the www.mylyst.com / www.windsurfcraic.co.uk site, you can stop at any time, just follow the links.

You can also register your mates, just fill in their e-mail address and the system will e-mail them and check if they're happy to receive my meanderings. Why not share the pain with them?

And we're always looking for reports, ideally with photographs, so if you want to share the craic with or dish the dirt on your mates - just drop us a line!

These newsletters are about the people who windsurf - anywhere in Ireland. But a lot of the action takes place at Newtownards Sailing Club - probably the largest windsurfing club in Ireland. For lessons, great beginner kit, to join or just to sail there as a guest and try it out, see the website at www.newtownardssailingclub.co.uk