2022
29 December 2022: Finally SW wind at Sea
Friday 30 December 2022
In recent months, if SW winds were predicted, it always changed to south or even SSE. Fortunately not today. Sailed with the Banzai 5.3 with Wave Slate 96 and 20/12cm MFC fins Not cold at all, sailed in a dry period, between large showers. Wind turned a bit, but was not too gusty. Was a nice year ending. [Read...]
28 December 2022: Short flat water session
Friday 30 December 2022
Wind dead south, almost ZZO. So the water was very, very flat. Sailed the Banzai 5.3 with the Wave Slate 96 and 21/11cm fins. 5.3 was the largest size I had with me. With minimal trim in the 5.3 I could always plane, but 6.0 would have been better. Not cold, no rain while sailing. Unfortunately, the direction was very SO. [Read...]
17 November 2022: Rain and disappointing wind
Friday 18 November 2022
30 to 40 knots SW wind forecasted, turning from South to SW and decreasing after 14:00. Unfortunately also a lot of rain. Upon arrival, most surfers appeared to sail with 4.2 to 4.5. Looking at the predictions, I expected 3.7s. Sailed with the Banzai 4.2 on the Slate 96 and MFC 20/12cm fins. Quite nice sailing, despite the gusty wind and all that rain. Sailed with cap and gloves, but not really cold yet. The Wave Slate 96 certainly didn't feel too big, although I never really had much power. [Read...]
15 November 2022: Gusty afternoon
Wednesday 16 November 2022
Wind forecast, unfortunately south east. But dry, and agenda was free. Let's go surfing. Sailed with the Banzai 6.0 and JP FSW 102. Tested my new Select Freecarve 31 against the MFC Freewave 32cm. It was gusty, that was to be expected. With 12 degrees it was not that warm anymore, unfortunately the sun disappeared after an hour. Set worked well for today. Nice sailing. [Read...]
01 November 2022: Testing the stubbies
Thursday 03 November 2022
Light wind afternoon at sea. Perfect to test both stubby waveboards. Sailed with the Banzai 4.7. Started with the Fanatic Stubby 99, then sailed for a while with the JP Wave Slate 96 then the Stubby again. Good day to test both stubbies. Unfortunately, the wind direction was not good and there were few waves to really test the wave riding well. First impression of both boards is good. Haven't figured out yet which one stays. Nice sun, wonderful weather, and that on November 1st. [Read...]
19 October 2022: Nice light weather afternoon
Friday 21 October 2022
From about 11 to 12 good east wind forecasted, in combination with sun. Sailed with the S-Type SL 8.3 and iSonic 117. The weather was lovely, nice sun. Wind was a bit gusty. But for east wind with nowadays the windmills it was not at all disappointing: enjoyed. [Read...]
15 October 2022: Happy ending
Sunday 16 October 2022
Prediction: around 3 o'clock the wind would become perfect Sailed with Goya Banzai 6.0 and JP FSW 102. Floating, a lot of floating. Until 17:00 the wind turned direction and switched on. It was a long wait for the real wind. But that 1.5 hours wind and sun made up for a lot. [Read...]
08 October 2022: Dam-X: day 1
Sunday 09 October 2022
Slightly less wind day yesterday and also from the wrong direction: W/NW, so small chance of good races. Biggest set: S-Type 8.3 and isonic 117. 4 races. Too little wind for my equipment, but still not a really bad result. It was wonderfully sunny and warm. For so little wind I did not too bad. [Read...]
07 October 2022: Dam-X 2022 training
Sunday 09 October 2022
The afternoon before Dam-X: slalom start training. Starting line, and 2 buoys: improve start timing, round the first mark, back to the start for another round. Wind minimal, sailed with S-Type SL, iSonic 117 and Busca 46cm. Starts started to improve again. Wind minimal, not cold at all. [Read...]
01 October 2022: Nice afternoon freerace
Monday 03 October 2022
WNW wind, 20 to 25 knots predicted. Perfect for the Grevelingendam. Sailed with the E-Type 6.6 and iSonic 101. First time since more then a year that I had sailed with this set, took some time find the right trim. Unfortunately, the wind that had been predicted did not come. But it was good to sail the slalom board again, and try to sail as fast as possible. Definitely a good training for Dam-X next week. [Read...]
30 September 2022: A bit minimal, but still nice and warm
Monday 03 October 2022
Increasing wind forecast all day, finally SW again. Aimed to be in Zeeland at the end of the afternoon, when the wind would exceed 20 knots. Sailed with the Banzai 6.0 and JP FSW 102. Wind seemed a bit minimal for a 6.0, but with increasing wind that should only take some time before the sail should be big enough. Unfortunately, the wind direction stayed/was too south. It was still quite warm, sumer wetsuit. But wind was a bit disappointing. prediction was much better. [Read...]
18 September 2022: Rainy and gusty day at the Grevelingendam
Monday 19 September 2022
Since the wind was already slightly too west for Brouwersdam Zuid all weekend, I went to the Grevelingendam to end the weekend. Sailed the Banzai 6.0 and JP FSW 102. Regular rain, changing wind. But overall delicious sailing. [Read...]
17 September 2022: Nice day at sea
Sunday 18 September 2022
Prediction was not much better than yesterday. NNW 25 to 40 knots and lots of rain. Sailed with the Banzai 4.7 and Goya One 95. It was a lot better today than it was yesterday. Water still a very choppy and chaos, but that is actually always when the wind is not completely north. Only a one short shower, quite a bit of sun and wind quite stable. [Read...]
16 September 2022: Terribly gusty with heavy showers
Friday 16 September 2022
Forecast: starting Friday afternoon all weekend strong wind NW, up to 40 knots. But with a lot of rain. Tried to sail with the Banzai 4.7 and Goya One 95. Perhaps worst/most difficult day ever. 35 to 40 knots predicted and then having to wait for the wind more then sailing. Thick showers and wind: so occasionally there was wind for 10 minutes and then completely gone for a while. Did I mention hail already. [Read...]
09 August 2022: Summer evening session
Thursday 11 August 2022
After the holiday finally some wind again. Sailed with the Banzai 5.3. Started with the JP Wave Slate 96, first time. Wind seemed to be too minimal for the Slate. Switched to the Goya One 95. Unfortunately few good waves. But the wind was lovely and with this sun and temperature it was like being abroad. Still many people on the beach and in the water. [Read...]
Strapper is still alive
Tuesday 05 July 2022
They don't make windsurf boards anymore, but Strapper still exists. Paul van Bellen visited Strapper in Torquay in South Australia. Strapper is a surf shop, and they've been around for a very long time. Paul has made a nice documentary about it. Nice piece of windsurfing history. [Read...]
05 June 2022: Short fun session at sea
Monday 06 June 2022
In the afternoon other plans, so a short session. Sailed the Banzai 4.7 with Goya One 95. Directly planing form the beach. 4.7 clearly correct size, only slightly adjusted the outhaul once. It was short, but tasty. Too bad about the rain at the end. My front-side waveriding is improving. [Read...]
13 May 2022: Gusty, lovely sunny afternoon
Sunday 15 May 2022
Wind would increase considerably in the afternoon. Started with the S-Type 7.3 and iSonic 117. Wind slowy increased, and ended with the Banzai 6.0 and JP FSW 102. Nice sailing, but very gusty today. [Read...]
10 May 2022: Too bad: hardly any wind
Thursday 12 May 2022
Tuesday would get the best wind. Tried to sail with the Banzai 6.0 and JP FSW 102. Already on the beach it was clear that wind was very minimal. I was still hoping that the wind would come back. Unfortunately, it was mainly a lot of bobbing. Sometimes you are lucky, today was certainly not such a day. [Read...]
24 April 2022: Wonderful day at sea, Pulse boards testing
Tuesday 26 April 2022
Good north wind forecasted for the end of the afternoon, with sun, so chance of a nice afternoon at Brouwersdam south. Sailed with Banzai 5.3 and Goya One 95. I got to test the Puls 110 and 95 from Henk. A lot of waveriding, some long lines so even 3 hits were sometimes possible. Sailed until I was completely empty. It was a wonderful afternoon/evening session. [Read...]