Monday 1 September 2014

My Great Northumbrian Windsurf Adventure.

          After the disappointment of Tenerife it was off to the UK to visit my family and also to pick up my new 2015 Fanatic /North kit! As I was picking up two boards and two sails I thought I may as well take a wetsuit and harness back with me on the off-chance that there was some wind during my 10 day stay. How glad was I that I did as the forecast for the first weekend showed strong NW winds for the NE of England! I hadn't sailed 'back home for over 15 years and couldn't wait to see all the boys again and sail the places I used to back in the day. In the end we sailed at Bamburgh, a place I actually had never sailed before, although I had sailed the estuary (mouth of Budle) a few times just before I left for Fuerte in 1995. What a place! The WNW wind was cross-off port tack on the first day with fun little waves rolling in and it was a joy to get some down-the-line against the impressive backdrops of Bamburgh Castle on one side and Lindisfarne at the other, although I must admit I struggled a tad with the cold!
         On Sunday the wind increased but the waves dropped and I was overpowered all day on 4.5 but still had a great session mainly because more people turned up and I caught up with a lot of old friends and made some new ones too. There's a great bunch of guys sailing up there with a real community spirit and it really was fantastic to be a part of it- took me right back...when I sail here I mostly turn up, sail then shoot off (late) to work so the craic on the beach there was most enjoyable with all the lads 'giving me tips' and generally taking the p**s (you know who you are).
          On the Monday the wind swung cross-on and the waves increased to mast-high making it very challenging to get through the break but I had another amazing session with Fuerte regular Alan Pickersgill and a seal!
          All in all an unexpectedly cracking windsurf adventure, which I hope to repeat next year! I'd like to thank all the boys up there for their help and for making me feel so welcome, Fanatic /North/ Maui Ultra Fins for my amazing new gear and an extra big thank you to Ben Oliver for sitting on cold, windswept beaches for three whole days with his broken leg in a cage and taking some amazing photos of the sailing!














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  1. Anonymous19 September 2014 at 03:23

    Nice post !

    Our range of free clinics and Windsurfing courses will let you master the sport and return home with new skills or a qualification.Our top of the range boards, light weight rigs and hi-tech sails will suit all abilities, and boost your learning curve from day one!

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Welcome to the site!
Aswell as regular features and news updates from Fuerte, I am going to be using this site to promote my windsurfing clinics.
After 15 years on the island,having competed in the PWA freestyle world cup and now representing Fanatic Boards and North Sails, I have decided to give something back to the sport which has given me so much over the years.
My aim is to provide clinics "tailor-made"for each individual, with a strong emphasis on practical in-the-water instruction, backed up by on-the-beach tuition and video analysis. The consistent conditions here in Fuerte make learning so much easier and, perhaps equally important, more fun than the typically inconsistent, cold UK - why not come over for a week and improve your windsurfing by a year!!!
I can help with any manoeuvres from carve-gybe through to advanced jumping and freestyle, just email me with your wish list and we'll take it from there! Over the next few months, I am going to be video-chronicling manoeuvres which you can check out on the right in my tricktionary sections. This will give you some idea of the things we can work on, or, if you can't make it over here, you may find them useful to help understand and break down a manoeuvre you would like to learn (hopefully, the slow-mo will help in this respect!).Just click on the trick and scroll down..........
Anyway, keep checking it out as I have loads more in my bag of tricks and will be updating as and when I get the footage.
If you're interested, e-mail me on gibboinfuerte@yahoo.co.uk
See ya in Fuerte?
Stephen.............