It feels like barely a week has passed since my last monthly mail, but here we are again! This last month has been BUSY! We had our first event of the season last week in France at the Defi Wind, so the last month has mainly been training and preparing for that as well as jam packed with work projects, reigniting my passion for writing and spending time with friends that I rarely get to see!
It feels like barely a week has passed since my last monthly mail, but here we are again! This last month has been BUSY! We had our first event of the season last week in France at the Defi Wind, so the last month has mainly been training and preparing for that as well as jam packed with work projects, reigniting my passion for writing and spending time with friends that I rarely get to see!
Starting where we last left off, at the start of the final training camp before the Defi Wind – there was one thing on my mind, get out in the windiest conditions possible for Garda and go foiling. Defi Wind is a 40km race and it has to be a minimum of 20 knots average (which is windy) for them to start a race, but more about that later – the point is, if its not already pretty windy, they won’t race us. My experience last year however was that Gruissan can be quite gusty and shifty with offshore winds and thus the foil was often a better choice over the course of the race. Unfortunately when pushing the limits, sometimes you find the limits and 1 week before the start of the event, I went from 29 knots to 0 in the space of a second as I catapulted off my board and hit the water pretty hard, even snapping a harness line! I hurt my neck in the impact and gave myself a mild concussion. At the time I shook it off and carried on sailing for a bit to try not to give myself a mental block in those conditions but as the day went on, the headaches kicked in and I knew that was game over for training now until the event.
FREE FOIL FUN
One of the many perks of training in Garda is the amazing setup we have at the Duotone Pro Center in Conca d’Oro. Parking right by the water, loads of space to rig on the grass and easy access in and out of the water. They also have plenty of Duotone/Fanatic toys for having fun and making the most of this stunning location. I was lucky enough to be able to take out some of these toys and have a play whilst we did a photoshoot for some upcoming magazine articles I’ve been writing and playing around on freeride and free-foil equipment reignites my love for windsurfing. Sometimes training can be pretty full on (as it should be) but its nice to just unwind and just enjoy windsurfing in its purest form from time to time.
DEFI WIND DEBRIEF
As I mentioned, Defi Wind is very famous windsurfing race, where each race is 40km in pretty windy conditions. This year was the 20th anniversary and it lived up to it’s name. Le Defi in French means “The Challenge” and it sure was! When I first arrived in Gruissan, I was still very much feeling the effects of the concussion and was on the edge about competing. In the back of my mind, it was less about the symptoms I was experiencing (although being able to focus on where you’re going helps…) but more the worry of what could happen if I took another hit on the head. But I’m also fiercely competitive, and it felt like if I didn’t compete, what was all the winter training for?! I decided I was going to race, and I gave it 100% of what was available!
Now the one thing I’ve not mentioned so far is that there are also 1249 other people on the race course at the Defi! It’s a real race for everyone and it’s an amazing feeling to be on the beach and on the start line with so many other people who also just love windsurfing! Day 1 delivered a baptism of fire – gusts of over 40 knots was definitely challenging on my smallest slalom gear and making it around the course was an achievement in itself! I only saw one other girl on the course whilst I was racing, and I beat her, so I was optimistic for a good result but you never know as there are just so many people. I finished this race 144th and 5th in the women. A solid start and a platform to build on.
Day 2 saw slightly lighter winds in the morning, much to everyone’s relief as we all took our smallest sails again but this time with some elements of control! Another solid race for me 140th and 4th in the women. As we sat over lunch it got windier and windier, so I learned from the day before and took a wave sail instead of fighting with my slalom gear. Whilst it was kinder on the arms, it was a killer on the back and even less comfortable than the race gear. Comfort is key in the Defi and lack of comfort is not quick – lesson learned, finishing 190th. At this point I was still in the top 4 women and proud of what I was achieving in such a strong fleet!
Day 3 – the final day of racing and the day I should have learned from last year. Clouds in Gruissan mean one thing – gusty, shifty winds and the foil will win! But when its still gusting 35 knots, and after a big crash the week before, it wasn’t exactly the most enticing craft. I stuck to my guns and stuck to the fin. It was a huge mistake with the wind teasing us constantly, ranging from 20-40 knots and shifting 90 degrees. Two bad races made of poor equipment choices saw me drop down the fleet to 7th in the rankings. I have to say I was disappointed. After Day 1, I thought I was in the chances of finishing on the podium so to end up down the pack was tough, but a learning experience. I need to get better at high wind foiling if I want to be competitive in the future!
WHAT’S NEXT?
The PWA Event in Croatia is the first week of July and its definitely going to be a lot of windy foiling action. I want to be as prepared as possible so I’m off to Tarifa in the South of Spain for 3 weeks of hardcore windy foiling conditions! It’s going to be intense, but I can’t wait to see what the first PWA Slalom event of the year gives us.
