Olympic Windsurf

Segunda-feira, 11 de Agosto de 2008 (em diferido :) )

Truly vacations are used to do different thing from our daily routine throughout the year. It takes me almost a week to turn on my pc, only to find out that my usual internet stop here doesn’t exists any more. CTT office station in Armação de Pera doesn’t have any more the PT Wifi connection :( So I will be less connected to the world for what I expected. Adding the fact that I’m not touching in any computer in this vacations I will not write much. Even in off-line. Neither I’m using it to see movies neither to play computer games, really for nothing. Strange for me that love computers. Daily I work with computers and these vacations are being also vacations of computer world :)
Instead I’m reading again. I love Agatha Christie’s books. I’m also doing some gardening here in my place, now that we don’t have an employed gardener. And of course doing windsurf. My main activity in this vacations.
The first days of my vacation the wind was a flop. But now there’s wind :) and very good wind. I understand that wind is not good for everyone. When is good for me normally is bad for others. Yesterday started to blow soft at 4pm in the beach full of people enjoying a wonderful sonny day. With soft wind the firsts kite’s went to the water. As I went with my brother and some others guys.
But later the wind increased surprisely. The kitesurfers get out and I had to come back to the beach to change my sail for a much lower one. The wind was really very strong, even when I re-entered it was strong for my smaller sail. In response to the new weather conditions mobs of bathers migrate out of the beach in few minutes. Incredible difference between the first time I went to the water and the second time. First I found a full beach and water cooking human bodies. I had to carefully avoid them to reach the water. Second a much more deserted area with flying sand
Another contrast was what I saw today. The RSX competition in Olympic Games had started. Previously was called Mistral. This can also be called as windsurf, since the basis and material are the same. But I advise that this doesn’t have anything to do with windsurf that I enjoy. To start they compete with no wind or very light wind. Basically in this condition I don’t bother to get my material out. Respecting who enter this class, personally I don’t see any fun on it. Most of the time they are rowing with the sail and they are pasturing in the water.
And for me smaller board and sail the better. In RSX they have standard material for everyone. But they are huge. Twice the size of what I used yesterday. Too big and too heavy.
See what is competed in PWA to see how extreme windsurfing can be. Truly nothing to do with RSX. Speed, jumps, manoeuvres, everything is different. And by far much funnier. Of course I don’t do what the professionals do. But they do that for leaving I just do in weekends and vacations and if there’s wind. The professionals are where can have much better weather conditions. Here in Portugal we have some good wind in the summer. Or have Guincho with high waves and difficult conditions, normally one of the PWA wave spot competitions, although this year it didn’t happen.
But I will continue to enjoy the good wind down here in Algarve :)