Windsurfer International Magazine

Nov 09 Windsurfer International Magazine Issue 03
There is a free online windsurfing magazine, cool huh?
Click the link above.

Jumping in Gero

The forecast was good for Geraldton at the start of the week (it seems to be almost always good there at the moment) so we drove up to Coronation Beach for a few days.
Iris was disappointed that the bakery there has stopped making her favourite garlic and cheese bread; she has been looking forward to returning to Geraldton just for that!
The wind was really blowing and the waves were not huge but provided some of the great ramps for jumping that Coronation Beach is famous for!

I was on a mission to land some forward loops and tried on almost every run out before the wind picked up and I was too overpowered, as it did every day.
I’m feeling pretty tender after landing on my backside so many times but got very close to landing the spectacular move so I’m sure I’ll get it soon!
It was pretty busy on the water with about 30 windsurfers on the water as well as a few kites at any one time, and still plenty of rigs on the beach. It’s great to see windsurfing so popular here with all standards and ages out giving it a go!
Iris and I are back in Perth for the weekend to do a bit of work and plan to head wherever the wind is blowing for the week before Christmas.

Back in WA!!

The wind is blowing and I am back in Perth nicely tired from some great windsurfing! We left the station the week before last and shot across the Nullabor Plains, a very long drive but not too bad really. I slept through the longest straight stretch of road in Australia (146 kms) and got sick of the music on my mp3 player but we got to
Esperance in the end.
They say the best beaches in Oz in Esperance and I have to agree they are pretty spectacular with white sand, lush greenery on the cliffs and turquoise water.
It’s a little scary going in the water there as well as in South Australia as it’s the roaming ground for some big fisheys! I did go for a windsurf though and didn’t get eaten.


There wasn’t much wind in Esperance and the forecast looked better for Margret River so that was the next destination. We followed the coast to Albany where we can say we have gone all the way around Australia!! A place called Cosy Corner was where we stayed that night as we stayed there before and we reckon that it’s the best free camping place in Australia!
The first windsurf in Margret River was terrible. I was so impatient to go out after so long without any good waves and wind, I rigged badly and had a shocking time ending with a long swim in. The second and third days were awesome though! Nice and windy and got loads of waves!

An article on me!

Hi all, when I was on the Gold Coast a couple of months ago for the Currumbin Classic, a wavesailing competition I met a guy who does an online windsurf magazine called www.ozwindsurf.com. He was quite impressed with the setup in Herbert the van and wanted to do a interview for the "Windsurfing Wheels" section in the mag. Its now online at http://www.ozwindsurf.com.au/index.php?curPage=pages.articles.issue_9.windsurfing_wheels

Holidays

Blog time again! Last update we were on the way to work on a station near Longreach in outback Queensland. We had a good time and enjoyed working there. It was nice to stay in one place for a bit and we had our own little cottage to ourselves which was great.
However it is time to move on and we are taking 3 weeks holidays before going back to Wilgena station in South Australia on our way around the bottom of the country to finish the circuit.
In Surfers Paradise our first stop I got a second hand windsurf board and got to try it out, However the wind wasn’t too good so it didn’t get a very good test! It’s a Starboard Trance 74L, a bit smaller than my other board but longer and faster, perfect for the waves in W.A. this summer.
It was good to hang out with my friend Anna in Surfers for a few days and Iris enjoyed some shopping (We now have a herb garden in Herbert!).
From Surfers we cruised down to Armidale to visit the Pirate and stopped by Byron Bay for a quick surf. It was pretty cold in Armidale so didn’t stay too long and jumped down to Sydney where we are now.
Here we are staying with our friends Christina and Pawel and playing lots of Uno and went to a kite flying festival in Bondi. Good times.
From here we will go to Adelaide for a few days and hopefully find some wind and surf before the 9 weeks in the bush saving for the big summer holiday in West Australia!

Check my Facebook page for some more pics from Weewondilla station

Here we are on the Gold Coast. I finally got to windsurf again! We’ve been working in a place called St. George, taking apart an old shearing shed. It was good camping out by a river with a good fire going and not working too hard.

After that we went to Noosa for a bit and looked about for some more work which we found in a place called Longreach in the middle of Queensland somewhere. On Wednesday we will head on our merry way there to do some farmwork.

For now though its good to chill out with friends in Surfers Paradise.

Ps. I had a go with a kite but only to confirm how much better windsurfing is!

The waiting game

Been waiting for the wind all morning and its been a no show so far. However there is a fluttering of the maccas flag outside which gives me a bit of hope.
In the meantime here are some photos.

Back in Oz

I'm back in lovely "sunny" Oz, where it has been pissin rain quite a bit lately.
It has stayed dry enough for me to do some work on the job I got though. I am scraping and sanding the weatherboards of a house to prepare it for painting, next week I will paint it!
The town i'm in is Newcastle about 130 kms north of Sydney, a very nice place actually. Kinda brings a victorian seaside resort to mind, got sea baths and a huge seawater swmming pool thing also.
I went for a couple of surfs here and the waves really pack a punch! Had some good swell but unfortuneatly I'm not a good enough surfer to take advantage of it.
Things should change tomorrow though as there is some wind forecast so I can go do what I am good at!

Estonia!

The barn and well in Iris's grandmas place.

We had a day in Helsinki, got the ferry over from Tallinn.

Back in the Emerald Isle

Scary Fokker F50 Air Baltic Plane

Iris and Haapsalu Castle

Yes its true, I am in Ireland again! I came back for my brothers birthday and had fun surprising a few people.
On the way I went via Estonia to visit my girlfriend and had a lovely time but it was really cold there, I have definately accustomed to the warm aussie weather now. Even as I write this I'm wrapped up in fleeces feeling cold!
Its off to Spain tomorrow to visit my dad, hopefully its warmer there.

Cool old Russian Bike

I get back to Ireland just in time for the Fleadh Seoil, a windsurfing festival in Malahide so hope to catch up with a few friends before I go back to Estonia on Tuesday week.
Phew busy busy!

P.S. I have a lovely wave board for sale if anyone is interested.

Gold Coast

I left the Gold Coast today on my way south to visit my mate "the Pirate".
The last few days have been great, managed to get some more windsurfin in Currumbin. The place has amazing down the line sailing but needs quite specific conditions to be great. Namely a good south easterly, if there is no east in it there is quite a challange in getting out! It's been gettin me fit with all the swimming in and walking up palm beach with my gear on my head!
Unfortuneatly i dont have any pics as my wonderful personal photographer is home in Estonia at the moment.
Apart from standin on the beach chattin to Kirk and the other guys I went to the National Motorcycle Museum for a look around. Its a great spot with lots of bikes new and old.

While its nice to be on the road again its always a shame to leave a place after spending time with Anna and the other friends I met on the Gold Coast, I look forward to going back sometime.A replica of the first motorcycle ever built

A nice old Douglas

Currumbin Wave Comp

Hi all.
I was in the Currumbin Classic at the weekend, a wavesailing competition on the Gold Coast. It was a great weekend organised by SEQ (South East Queensland) Wavesailing.
The wind and swell really came in and gave us some great conditions, although it was quite challenging to get out. Once you did though there were amazing waves to ride.
There will be a full report on OzWindsurf.com.au coming soon.
For now check out these pics on the seabreeze forum. Unfortunately I'm not in any but you can see what it was like.
http://www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=48765&whichpage=2&replies=49&PageSize=30&mxPages=2


The wind is good today so I'm off for another sail

Some Photos

Tandem bodyboarding at Manley Beach

The wombat that was trying to push over our van in the night!

Birthday Party night for Christina and myself;

A good day cross-offshore wavesailing in Gerroa, waves could be a little bigger though!

Cool weather, rain and strange winds

We are in a nice little caravan park by Nowra nature park. It has power which is the reason the blog is getting written now. We will go take advantage of the free internet in McDonalds to post it later.
Nowra is only 150 or so kms from Sydney so we have come pretty far in the last 2 weeks from Adelaide.
There hasn’t been a huge amount of swell or wind and we had a few days of rain so the great ocean road passed pretty quickly and we didn’t even stop in Melbourne so that pushed us on quite fast.
Most days we managed to get on the water with Iris’s windsurf board (an old One Design we got for $50, score!) Courtesy of Matt at Port Augusta Aquatic Centre.
She is getting on really well and its nice for me to instruct again.
As for me I had been really in need of a windsurf after getting out in Adelaide three times and catching the windsurfing bug again. I had one terrible sail trying to get back into it as my body could barely remember how to sail. I didn’t get out until my birthday two days ago and that was only for 30 seconds until the wind died! The wind here is really crazy! It teases you by building and building until you get your hopes up and think about rigging your 4.7, then either totally changes direction so it is blocked from the beach by whatever obstacles are there or dies completely!
Apart from what seems to be the start of a tradition for a swim with my windsurf kit on my birthday I had a great day. Iris made a lovely birthday cake and dinner for us and we went surfing and bodyboarding as well.
We will stay around this area for a few days and take it easy, surf and hopefully windsurf until we go to Sydney for a friends birthday and a bit of a party!

On the road, by the sea!

We left Wilgena Station yesterday, a little early as there wasnt much work and the end of the pay week came up. Lucky we did though! I did enjoy working there and was a bit sad to leave again so soon and say goodbye to everyone. Maybe we will go back some day.

All the stationhands

fixing a windmill


In Port Augusta Iris spotted a poster for the local outdoor centre offering free windsurf, sailing and kayaking hire and lessons. Extra lucky for us as it was the last day of the promotion and it was starting just then!
We got a Hifly Primo and training rig for her and I gave her the first lesson of many more to come hopefully as she loved it and was very good! Have to get a roof rack for the van now for a big board for her. I was great to be teaching again, I didn't realise how much I missed it. However I do realise how much I miss windsurfing myself! Its been too long since I had a good sail. Im keeping my fingers and toes crossed for plenty of wind the next 3 weeks as we follow the coast to Sydney!

The last time i windsurfed, in Gerringong NSW


The other lucky thing was that we just found out my friend Jacque was leaving the next day who I had planned to meet here, so we got up early and blasted down to see him off. He got a job soon in Egypt teaching windsurfing the lucky sod, im a bit jealous...

In other news I got my motorcycle licence, which is incredably easy to do if you happen to live in remote South Australia. Apart from the long drive to Cooper Pedy that is! Although that was down to circumstances at the time and not normally needed.

the trusty TT-R 250

So on to some wavesailing soon i hope!