To sum up, things are working out really well. The van's good, the club's good, the gear's good - all we need is me to be good! I'm astounded at the camaraderie of windsurfers in general, everyone has time to help, offer suggestions, swap notes on sail sizes, technique etc. Brilliant. And probably the most important thing I'm learning that would never have happened in Dahab is FLEXIBILITY. Sailing at a range of places, in lots of different conditions, means that one has to adapt and be flexible - no time for "ooh, it's cold", or "yuck, looks messy", just go for it, and work it out as you go. Not that one doesn't think carefully about the possible side-effects etc., but I'm learning to seize the opportunity. About time too.
The van's fixed, great job, thanks guys, almost a new van - the new back door fixed the dent on the other side!
Not only is it fixed, but I spent some of the week off (last week) putting in some shelves and stuff. This is a great success, separating the gear from the other space and getting it stacked up, using the height instead of the width of the van. The pictures show it pretty well (apart from serious over-exposure-hey!). Since it's pretty simple and cheap, I can adapt and change without feeling like there's too much invested to make it worth while. The old IT adage "Do the simplest thing that could possibly work" fits most things...
The club has worked out well. I've spent one night in the van only so far, at Lee-on-the-Solent. Pictures from that too, but of course it was before the fittings, so lacked space and organised comfort. Cool though - slept in the pub car park, woke up about 6.30, went for an excellent walk on the seafront before anyone much around. No wind on the Sunday, so went for a bike ride with Rog, Adam and Chris, on the old Meon Valley Railway track.
Lee was my first REAL club trip, with socialising and all that. Met Chris, proud owner of Austin equivalent of Morris J2 van converted for camper. Now I had one of these 30 years ago, so we had lots to talk about. He's had his for only 18 years, and intends to look up 403 BXY on the J2 register - good luck, since I sold it to some "travellers" for £5. The picture shows (most of!) the van, Chris, and some other OMWC members.
I've also been to Lepe and Weymouth with the guys, and Lepe and Hayling without them (last week, during holiday).
Lepe - nice place, but no wind on the club visit, especially boring because I was only there for the Sunday. Went back twice subsequently on my own, first time had great difficulty getting out in the waves, second time the tide was out and the wind less strong, so spent time on 5.5m and 6.5m - could probably have used 7.5m later when wind died. Good day though.
Weymouth, that was last weekend - wow!! Fantastic blasting weather in the harbour. Flat water, with mild chop at best, because of the harbour, and Force 5 I reckon - used my 5.5 meter sail, which did brilliantly. Also got the harness lines and boom height right, after experiment, and everything felt good. Still can't turn corners... but I will!! Started to get the feel of carving, banking the board to effect a turn. Great stuff.
Hayling - now there's a story. It was high tide when I arrived, and blowing F5 SW or so - good wind. HOWEVER, there was a lot of waves and I now know that Hayling at high tide with waves has a horrible "shorebreak" - the waves crashing into the shore basically. So I tried to get out, but couldn't!! Got mucho mangled in the huge washing machine, including the boom scratched up big time and suchlike. Definitely a lesson learned. I might have tried harder if I'd been confident of survival when I got out there, but I'm still worried about my waterstart in waves - much harder methinks, and it's too late to find out as you drift towards Dover... So a chastening experience.
But now I'm really
