POST CHRISTMAS WINDSURF

THE USUAL BITS AT THE END

This e-mail is sent out free to anyone interested in windsurfing in Norn Iron, regardless of where they may live. It is often centred around activities at Newtownards Sailing Club but welcomes information from and about anyone enjoying the sport in Ireland - and preferably sometimes making a fool of themselves as well. If you have a story to tell or some dirt to dish, please let us know.

You can subscribe to this newsletter by using the button on the NSC website at www.newtownardssailingclub.co.uk where you can also find incriminating photographs of the regulars and past newsletters detailing their many crimes.

However the best way to subscribe is by going to www.mylyst.com . You can also change you details here at your own convenience and of course unsubscribe.

If you are interested in trying out the club, contact us and come and sail as our guests. The club has excellent facilities including RYA qualified instructors and top quality beginners gear for hire and lock up storage facilities for gear, so line up your family and friends to get into the sport.

Windsurfers are a nomadic bunch, moving around to find the best winds and waves. So some question the value of paying annual membership to a club. For the many of us who do, we get excellent facilities including warm showers (all winter long!), a bar, safe launching and rescue facilities plus of course we organise the legendary windsurfing holidays. Visit us and see (and sail) for yourself, you can sail with us a guest up to 6 times before we give you choice of joining or losing your kneecaps.

OUT WITH THE OLD AND IN WITH THE NEW - OCTOBER 2008

CONTENTS

Out with the Old and In with the New

Who Would be Daft Enough to Go Out in That?

Pictures of Dirty Dogs

Winter Membership - A Reminder

The Usual Bits at the End

A NEW PIER 36 SPEED CHALLENGE IS ANNOUNCED!

OUT WITH THE OLD AND IN WITH THE NEW

Yes, it's true the 2008 Pier 36 GPS challenge is over and prizes have been given out. But, just when you thought it was safe to go back on the water - there's another one - and it started the very next day....

First to what I thought was the end of season dinner, but with the fantastic winds we are now having is more like the start of the new season dinner. 22 of us lived the high life at Pier 36 on Friday. Good food, good craic, great entertainment and Ming did NOT wear his shorts.

First up was Loraine Kelly who gave us a superbly edited video 'Wookie's Windsurfing Webcam'. 6 minutes of humiliating footage from Donegal full of crashes, pummelings and lots of swimming and walks of shame - and that was only the bit shot in the bar. Along with some cracking music, witty subtitles and of course Big Robert's major wipe out, it was very well received.

After that I ran Who Wants to a Windsurfer, no million pounds to give away but a lot of very damming multiple choice questions - many of which were picture-based. Twice we were asked who is the gayest windsurfer - once the answer was Wookie (photographed mincing with a pink handbag) and once all the answers were Andy - I'll leave the photographs to your imagination. We also had questions on international terrorist windsurfers, Trevor being beaten up by Avalene and how many bits of windsurfing kit Pat has left behind.

The prize giving included a great set of mocking prizes prepared and compered by Ming. Wookie got hair remover for example (jumbo pack) and Fanta Pants got a gun (for pulling the trigger at Ballyturd). And then the serious bit, when we gave out the Ronnie Millar trophy for the fastest windsurfer. We have all been greatly saddened to lose Ronnie and there have been many comments through the year about how much he would have enjoyed and contributed to various events. So we paid tribute in the best way possible with a really excellent trophy, featuring a metal windsurfer set on a huge rock - rather realistic in many of our cases. Ironically, the metal windsurfer was created by none other than Ronnie himself. And we also gave out the Strangford Rock - a fin embedded in a rock, as has happened to so many of us.

The actual winners were :


Handicapped 1st (Strangford Rock)
Paula with 31.2 knots
A case of wine

2nd, Ali Todd with 28.8
Champagne (Ali wasn't there so we drank it for him)

3rd, Tony Egerton with 27.5
2 bottles of wine (he managed to drink these himself)

Open Speed 1st (Ronnie Millar Trophy)
Chris (Ming) Loughridge with 33.1 knots
£100

2nd with 31.5
Andy Tease
£50 Pier 36 voucher

3rd with 30.8 and 2 broken bones in his foot
Robbie Bin Laden
2 bottles of wine

We are hugely indebted to Pier 36 for their generous sponsorship. Remember this also included buying two GPS units which are now permanently stationed at the club.

And we were also really pleased to be able to announce a further year's sponsorship by Pier 36. The result is that the competition literally restarts now -and so you have 365 days to hit the prizes. This year's fee is £15 and that automatically enters you in both categories. In fact two people signed up on the spot - as they figured that it was going to be seriously windy the very next day. Ming, that's a real shame about your 4m sail, but I wonder what speed you did as burst though it?

WHO WOULD BE DAFT ENOUGH TO GO OUT IN THAT?

At long last - wind, indeed buckets of it. Andy was looking particularly worn this week, having had 4 days of 4m weather ie it's been seriously windy. Most days he was down at Kearney with other madmen like Jarleth, Big Robert (now minus his Australian hat) and like.

Friday night at Pier 36, there was much (drunken) talk of Big Saturday and how it was going to be over 30 knots. Indeed by the time the end of the evening was reached, there was somewhat harder to make out talk of over 50 knots. Andy was so excited by this that he generously gave away his previously arranged night in the bridal suite at Pier 36 - to Ming. Poor Susie was not consulted about this - indeed when she heard that Ming was heading off to enjoy what should have been her jacuzzi and large double bed she almost headed off with him. Now that would have made for some interesting talk in these e-mails. The whole point of this strange arrangement was so that (1) Andy would be in position to get to Kearney on Saturday early, (2) Andy wouldn't be too tired (don't ask) and (3) Ming could be there too (that's Kearney, not there with Andy and Susie) without having to leave from Belfast. I have to say it made no sense to me and indeed I still have my suspicions about a menage a trois in the jacuzzi, or at least I did until the mere thought made me be violently ill...

Anyway, back to reality which turned out to be ridiculously early at a cold and seriously windy Kearney. Andy, Robert, John Bedford, Jarleth and Ming the Merciless all appeared and were frightened by what they saw. Seriously big waves, the sort of wind when you can only just hang onto your 4m sail and harsh, mixed up water states. I don't know if it was the result of the menage a trois or an uncharacteristic rush of good sense to the head, but Andy decided not to go out. The others did, with Ming leading the charge. And he was rewarded with a dramatic move which culminated in a spectacular journey right through his 4m sail. As I said, who would be daft enough to go out in that? Mind you, Jarleth said it 'wasn't too bad and was actually quite easy on the way in' - one suspects there might be a small element of understatement here, either that or Ming is just not a very wavesailor...

The more civilised amongst us got up late, had a civilised breakfast and gathered at a storm-tossed NSC around noon. The horribly high tide had turned, the horribly high Ali Todd had already tested the waters and it was down to a civilised 20-30+ miles per hour. Quite a few hangovers appeared and sailed. Pat, Ali, Paula, Lee, James, Shipman, Trevor, myself and an uncharacteristically early Casper were blown about on various sails from 4.2-5.5m. The car park also disgorged Russell, Hern Dog and the very same John Bedford who was earlier at Kearney. By the time I caught up with him, having a breather at Pig Island he was moaning about life - 'my board's too big, my sail's too big and my tummy's too big'. Life's a bitch and then you crash your gybe (through your new 4m sail).

It was good to see Trevor Gabby out so quickly after a good night's ribbing about being beaten by his wife. Mind you his glee at having escaped a good hiding was short lived as he immediately broke his boom.

Everyone else had a good sail, although the wind was up and down a lot. Not so much gusty, more as if some sadist was gradually turning the wind knob up and down just to torture us. 5 minutes of sinking, then 5 minutes of holding on for dear life.

Andy joined us and had a good sail on 4.7m and Casper was out on his smallest kit and had a good sail. I saw some very creditable gybe attempts.


Sunday saw the clocks going back and I rocked up at a leisurely 11:30 to find the water deserted and the wind howling. Gradually the usual dregs of humanity made their awful appearance - Andy, Casper, William, Jarleth, Guy, Mark, David Brown and Edward.

There was much erudite and learned discussion - oh, OK, there was much windsurfing b*llox about what to rig. The issue was a particularly frisky wind which was mostly around 20 mph, but gusted to high 20s and also a highly visible wind line a bit out from the shore as it was pure west ie cross on shore from the right. The general opinion was that only a fool would go out and get wiped on a sail as big as 6.3m.

I immediately distinguished myself, heading out on 6.3m and 100 ltr FSW, did an immaculate gybe on the outside and was blasting in when I felt something wasn't right. Looking down I was just in time to see the deck plate come right off the board. So I was left blasting in the straps while holding the now free rig in mid air - needless to say it ended in tears, mostly the tears of laughter I might add of those still on the shore. Mental note to self - tighten the deck plate properly before going out!

Although Andy started on 7m and others at 5.5-5.7, it turned out I'd called it about right - pure fluke I assure you. So we all had a really good sail, despite some hang on by your fingernails stuff when squalls came in and the wind went over 30 mph. Andy was flying on his 110 FSW, by now on a 6.2m. David and Casper were both showing big improvements with excellent gybe attempts and indeed the odd gybe.

Apart from the squalls, the sun was out most of the time and it wasn't too cold. However November is approaching and with it the amount of dodgy head gear being worn can be seen to be increasing. Windsurfing may be a cool sport, but the way we do it it's hardly high fashion!

PICTURES OF DIRTY DOGS

Apparently someone was seen flashing at the windsurfers last week. Hern Dog (Mark Herron) explains :

Alan,

on Sunday there was a lady taking photos at Ards and she left her details with one of the guys.

Good to see some pictures of us.

Mark

Mark was so keen to see his manly work displayed that he contacted the photographer, whose name is Julie. You should check out her site as she has some absolutely fabulous shots there - not just of windsurfers. However Hern Dog is really excited about this and sent a follow up :

Alan,

lots more pictures than just me...


the photographer's main flickr webpage is

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jules79

going to tags, then  windsurfing brings you to

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/jules79/tags/windsurfing/
   
& hit slideshow.  

Mark

There are some great shots there. So if you can stand seeing yet more fantastic jumps by the Hern Dog, check this site out. Her comments about how much the guys (and dogs) were clearly enjoying themselves are very nice. And if I hear that Julie has taken more shots, I'll let you know.

WINTER MEMBERSHIP - A REMINDER

This week the wind is to swing to the north and that means it's time for Mr Icecream head. So, as you are out there changing in the freezing carpark - or thinking you have to put away your toys for the winter, some of us will be enjoying the joys and scary sights of warm communal showers. But of course, so could you.

NSC operates a pro-rata membership cost for late joiners (the club year starts in March). So right now you can join right through until March ie the coldest bits for well under £100.

So don't freeze your nuts off, join quick. You can find the forms etc on

www.newtownardssailingclub.co.uk

or e-mail me for more information.

THE USUAL BITS AT THE END

This e-mail is sent out free to anyone interested in windsurfing in Norn Iron, regardless of where they may live. It is often centred around activities at Newtownards Sailing Club but welcomes information from and about anyone enjoying the sport in Ireland - and preferably sometimes making a fool of themselves as well. If you have a story to tell or some dirt to dish, please let us know.

You can subscribe to this newsletter by using the button on the NSC website at www.newtownardssailingclub.co.uk where you can also find incriminating photographs of the regulars and past newsletters detailing their many crimes.

However the best way to subscribe is by going to www.mylyst.com . You can also change you details here at your own convenience and of course unsubscribe.

If you are interested in trying out the club, contact us and come and sail as our guests. The club has excellent facilities including RYA qualified instructors and top quality beginners gear for hire and lock up storage facilities for gear, so line up your family and friends to get into the sport.

Windsurfers are a nomadic bunch, moving around to find the best winds and waves. So some question the value of paying annual membership to a club. For the many of us who do, we get excellent facilities including warm showers (all winter long!), a bar, safe launching and rescue facilities plus of course we organise the legendary windsurfing holidays. Visit us and see (and sail) for yourself, you can sail with us a guest up to 6 times before we give you choice of joining or losing your kneecaps

DRAGON'S DEN - SOUP DRAGON THAT IS - OCTOBER 2008

CONTENTS

Dragon's Den - Soup Dragon That Is!

This Friday - Pier 36

Pat's Pointy Thing

Winter Membership - Get Those Warm Showers

The Usual Bits at the End

THIS FRIDAY - PIER 36 WINDSURFING DINNER!

DRAGON'S DEN - SOUP DRAGEON THAT IS!

Once again the Donegal wave sailing clinic is behind us. And once again (this is my third one - and yes, I'm still crap on waves) the winds weren't too kind to us - I've yet to take my waveboard out on one of these courses!

To be fair the wind was kinder than last year and we did get some good waves at Magheroarty. Some days, 5.5-6.5m sails were in use, but the heavier sailors also took a few turns on 7-7.5m sails. It's an interesting point that some of the best times were had by sailors who'd invested in the new larger breed of freestyle wave boards, 110 ltrs being a good example. A board like this will carry a larger sail and yet is capable of some quite good (although perhaps not quite radical) wave riding.

And talking of radical, this was the first time anyone brought a SUP along - stand up paddle board. These are pretty large (about 200 ltrs) and designed as the name suggests to be used without a sail by standing up and paddling - who says these clever marketing people never come up with good names - bet this one took them ages.... They can in fact also be fitted with a sail and Andy took this out in very marginal conditions and rode some excellent waves. It was a little technical to turn, but Andy was easily the master of it - and it was nice to see his feet and knees for a change when he was on the board.

Early in the week we got wind and waves at Magheroarty. For those of you who don't know it, it's a fantastic spot. Nowhere near anywhere (only 1 pub), it's a large crescent-shaped beach well exposed to the Atlantic rollers. The shape makes it safe in that almost no matter what happens you will hit land. There's a nearby harbour and upwind of that is a big reef, much favoured by surfers. A couple of miles of lovely sand and almost no-one there - although we did tend to find that people appeared everytime we were fighting with a towel to preserve our modesty in getting changed.

However we also had a couple of light wind or no wave days and so headed for Loinya - I still don't know how to spell this as it's not on any map I've ever seen. But it's a lovely flat water beach near Bunbeg with 3 islands off shore and yet another beautiful deserted beach.

It was a decidedly motley crew that convoyed around the winding roads of Donegal, with huge mountains all around, fantastic shorelines, every shade of brown and green (countryside, not the vehicles) and mostly a lot of Autumn sun. We would corral up on a beach, strip off and sail and then gather round Ming's icecream van for the soup. I have to say that this year's trip will be remembered more for the soup than the quality of the windsurfing. At first it was bought in, then gradually it moved to being more home made and finally Alan Yeates took it over, slaving everynight in his local mansion, to reach near gourmet standards. He even put swirls of cream on it. What a sight we must have made, 15 people crowded round the world's oldest camper van all dressed as terrorists in black hooded outfits while balancing bowls of soup on grassy banks. So the first person to be booked on next year's course will be Mr Yeates - the Donegal Soup Dragon - he even sounds like a Clanger, especially as he disappears under water during a gybe....

There were 14 of us, all under the skilled and watchful eye of professional coach Jim Collis. Jim was recently, and very accurately, described in Boards as a 'windsurfing Duracell bunny'. We're still not quite sure where he puts the batteries, but there is no doubt his energy is boundless - and that's after getting up each morning before dawn to do a 10 mile run (Dawn preferred to lie in). Each day he'd coach, including videoing us and then by the time we'd had our second pint back at the Loch Altan he'd it all edited down and would do an excellent feedback session. Somehow he'd always find a positive thing to say, no matter how bad his subjects might be doing. So where we'd say 'another crap gybe Alan' he'd say something like 'you kept your front arm straight' ie just before you totally wiped out. Everyone commented (again) on how good the coaching was and how they'd like more of the same next year.

This year we also had the benefit of Wookie video. Poor old Wookie crocked himself recently, doing a ligament in his knee during some wave/air maneuvres. He did sail, but only with what looked like an athletic support on his leg. So he had more time in the van than usual -and he put it to good, if somewhat evil, use with the video camera. With his sailing knowledge, he would track people at just the right time to anticipate big crashes and pummelings in the waves. No-one was exempt (not even Jim), but it did make for some highly entertaining viewing (and drinking).

As to the participants :

Andy sailed well on the SUP, including in some really evil (big waves, no wind) conditions at Magheroarty on the last day.

Wookie had done some amazing physiotherapy just to be on the water at all - but couldn't work the waves without risking his recovery. He took his frustration out via the medium of video instead.

Robbie Bin Laden sailed well on the first day before breaking 2 bones in his foot in the really treacherous rip (on rocks) at Magheroarty. He also went through a sail with some style. Apart from that Mrs Kennedy, did you enjoy the drive?

Mr Yeates, when not peeling onions for his Soup Dragon duties, sailed with his usual style and grace. As he pointed out on the video, his dismounts at the beach were a particular strong point. His wave riding improved, despite having to miss a few days due to a bereavement.

The Lesbians (long story, don't ask) Damien and Anton sailed hard all week. Anton especially (he's only been sailing for 2 years) stuck at it and certainly impressed us with his crawl when badly separated from his kit in death city at Magheroarty.

Paul was a guest from Scotland and a very good wave sailor. His top turns especially got more and more radical under Jim's supervision but his last few days of sailing were cut short by a bad foot infection - the joys of sailing bare feet.

Big Robert was only able to join us for a couple of days, but sailed expertly as he does. He also braved Magheroarty on the last big wave, no wind day. He actually drove all the way up for what turned out to be just 1 run - got a good wave, got eaten, totally trashed and was spat out right down the beach after a really thorough pummeling. Not that Robert was in the slightest bit put off - not even knowing that the evil Wookie had caught it all on video. But it showed the rest of us the risks when someone as good as Robert gets so minced. The only good thing was that he lost his Australian hat during the mincing.

Fanta Pants (Nigel) gallantly tried to keep up with us in his Postman Pat van. He was the only one to break a mast, but it was worth it to know that Wookie was tracking him on the video as he drifted down into death city one day in Magheroarty when the day's wind had dropped. Nigel had a good week, which got better when AJ (his girlfriend) turned up - although his early starts for the windsurfing seemed to go by the board after this...

Colin, I'm pleased to report has a new nickname - especially as his old one would not get through your spam filters! With the surname of Kelly, he is now known as Lorraine. As ever he went at it hammer and tongs - and also at the windsurfing. He was usually first out, only being outlasted by Ming at the end of the day and sailed really well. The conditions dictated bigger kit a lot, but he worked away at all sorts of areas and his improved sailing was there for all to see. Well done Lorraine!

And all hail Ming the Merciless. Or perhaps that should be Ming the Relentless. First out, last in - and if there was a wave he was on it - with his 7m sail and 110 FSW. We simply don't know how his body took it, even allowing for the titanium - maybe he'd inserted some of Jim's duracells. And when it wasn't possible to sail, he was out surfing - indeed he and Jim surfed until well after dark one night. Clearly mad.

Ali Todd was almost unrecognisable, both because of his near lack of swearing and because of his urgent need of a haircut. In fact with his neopolitan locks ruffled by the wind, he looked like some sort of escaped icecream salesman. He enjoyed his sailing and also improved, we saw some good wave riding and also some excellent tacks. We're a bit worried by his new cleaned up act, will it last and will we have to ditch the name Tourettes?

Peter Campbell did his best to keep his head below the parapet, we think in the hope that he might escape the level of abuse which is normal in our windsurfing crowd. Somehow it seemed to work in that, try as we might, we don't have anything bad to say about him - amazing when you think that in his day job he's a lawyer. Anyway he too sailed well and did plenty of damage on the waves - and was also seen uphauling a lot in waves - clearly a brave man!

Shipman turned up to sail with us one day, bringing with him the ghostly form of Casper. Not so much Dumb and Dumber as Scary and Scarier...

And the final Saturday wouldn't be complete without Paula putting in her appearance - the religious needs of her pupils couldn't be neglected during the week. Although her 1 day was not the windiest, she enjoyed a good lightwind session with Jim in Ballyness Bay before being inducted into the joys of surfing in Magheroarty.

I too lasted the course and yes, I did catch some waves. Although I was also berated for racing the waves instead of stalling so they might catch me up.

So, another good course with much improvement all around. The craic was of course nearly as big as the sailors and we lost track of the amount of Guinness we drank. So it only remains for us to get the batteries charged up ready to insert next year - and for the Soup Dragon to polish up a few new recipes, maybe silver service for 2009?

THIS FRIDAY - PIER 36

This Friday is the windsurfing dinner. Already 20 people have signed on, so hurry up and let me know! No need to pay in advance or anything, just help us by telling us you are coming. Here's what's on :

Friday 24 October

Pier 36 (where else?)

7:30 for 8

Dress informal - and that doesn't mean you can wear your flares, tank tops or sandals!

Cost £20 per person

Bring partners (preferably your own)

Prize giving for the Pier 36 GPS Challenge

The Ronnie Millar Trophy

Open to anyone vaguely interested in windsurfing - non club members very welcome

After dinner entertainment by the Ming 'n' Lord (pronounced the Minging Lord). Be warned thought, we might also have some Donegal footage - expect carnage...

Last year was great craic - and most importantly not just for the windsurfers. The food at Pier 36 is always great and indeed Lewis was actually spotted out on a board - just so that we could include himself in the windsurfing category.

You don't need to pay in advance, but you do need to tell me you're going (how many in your party). This is so that we can get numbers and some other important details right. So please don't just turn up on the night without letting me know.

E-mail me on aj.watts@mylyst.com and we'll see you on Friday 24 October at 7:30.

Oh yes - and Ming has promised not to wear his shorts, however we're not actually sure if that's better or worse than last year....

PAT'S POINTY THING

There's not much to tell about the windsurfing recently, with so many of us up in Donegal. However Sunday (today) saw a good crowd out at the club. The day promised strong wind and 15 degrees, but in the event it was actually very gusty. One of those days when no matter what sail you rig, it's wrong - or in Shipman's case too small again.

The general range was 4.2-5m, so it was windy and those enjoying it included Pat, Tony, Tim, Gary, Trevor, Lee, James and David Brown. The only person to distinguish themselves was Pat who did one of those ballet-inspired crashes where you end up running up the board before hurling yourself into the water. Only problem (apart from total lack of street cred and the humorous comments of your friends) was that in passing our Pat managed to kick the mast foot just before he overtook his board. The result was great mirth - and a badly bruised toe.

Actually, while I'm having a go at Pat, he's also managed to lose his fin. He's quite famous for leaving things behind (harnesses being a speciality of his), but about 2 weeks ago he left his MFC 25cm fin on the rigging area. He tells me (between the tears) that it's black with red and yellow bits on it - it begins to sound like one of those 'lost kitten' notices you see around doesn't it? So, if you picked up Pat's fin, please return it to him (or let me know you've got it) so we can all stop having to listen to him crying on about it.

WINTER MEMBERSHIP - GET THOSE WARM SHOWERS

Just a reminder as it gets colder. Why not join NSC and enjoy warm communal showers. Who knows, you could even find out what a Wookie looks like with no clothes (answer - still hairy).

NSC operates a pro-rata membership cost for late joiners (the club year starts in March). So right now you can join right through until March ie the coldest bits for well under £100.

So don't freeze your nuts off, join quick. You can find the forms etc on

www.newtownardssailingclub.co.uk

or e-mail me for more information.

THE USUAL BITS AT THE END

This e-mail is sent out free to anyone interested in windsurfing in Norn Iron, regardless of where they may live. It is often centred around activities at Newtownards Sailing Club but welcomes information from and about anyone enjoying the sport in Ireland - and preferably sometimes making a fool of themselves as well. If you have a story to tell or some dirt to dish, please let us know.

You can subscribe to this newsletter by using the button on the NSC website at www.newtownardssailingclub.co.uk where you can also find incriminating photographs of the regulars and past newsletters detailing their many crimes.

However the best way to subscribe is by going to www.mylyst.com . You can also change you details here at your own convenience and of course unsubscribe.

If you are interested in trying out the club, contact us and come and sail as our guests. The club has excellent facilities including RYA qualified instructors and top quality beginners gear for hire and lock up storage facilities for gear, so line up your family and friends to get into the sport.

Windsurfers are a nomadic bunch, moving around to find the best winds and waves. So some question the value of paying annual membership to a club. For the many of us who do, we get excellent facilities including warm showers (all winter long!), a bar, safe launching and rescue facilities plus of course we organise the legendary windsurfing holidays. Visit us and see (and sail) for yourself, you can sail with us a guest up to 6 times before we give you choice of joining or losing your kneecaps.

THIS TIME WITH THE MENU AND SPECIAL OFFER - OCTOBER 2008

SORRY - ANOTHER ANNOYING LINK PROBLEM CUT OFF THE MENU FOR PIER 36 AND THE SPECIAL MEMBERSHIP OFFER. PLEASE READ ON ...

CONTENTS

Wind, Waves and What's Ming On?
Don't feel the Cold this Winter
The Usual Bits at the End

  24 OCTOBER - THE PIER 36 WINDSURFING DINNER!

WIND, WAVES AND WHAT'S MING ON

Don't panic, it's another quick one!

Yes, I know there's been wind - I've been out myself enjoying having the cobwebs blown off my kit after the disastrous September we had. 6m on Monday, 4-5m on Wednesday (missed that one) and then 6-7m on Saturday. My faith in global warning has been restored.

And of course some smug people are now girding their loins for a week of gentle windsurfing in the waves of Donegal with the 'Windsurfing Duracell Bunny' - that's Jim Collis for the 2 of you who don't read Boards.

However, at last we have the full gruesome details of the annual Windsurfers Dinner. Here's what's on :

Friday 24 October

Pier 36 (where else?)

7:30 for 8

Dress informal - and that doesn't mean you can wear your flares, tank tops or sandals!

Menu below

Cost £20 per person

Bring partners (preferably your own)

Prize giving for the Pier 36 GPS Challenge

The Ronnie Millar Trophy

Open to anyone vaguely interested in windsurfing - non club members very welcome

After dinner entertainment by the Ming 'n' Lord (pronounced the Minging Lord)

Last year was great craic - and most importantly not just for the windsurfers. The food at Pier 36 is always great and indeed Lewis was actually spotted out on a board - just so that we could include himself in the windsurfing category.

The entertainment will be provided by a combination of Ming the Merciless and myself. I'm not going to say too much, but expect it to be irreverent and suitable for non-windsurfers, but we'll probably avoid being sued....

You don't need to pay in advance, but you do need to tell me you're going (how many in your party). This is so that we can get numbers and some other important details right. So please don't just turn up on the night without letting me know.

E-mail me on aj.watts@mylyst.com and we'll see you on Friday 24 October at 7:30.

Oh yes - and Ming has promised not to wear his shorts, however we're not actually sure if that's better or worse than last year....

The menu is:

HOMEMADE WINTER BROTH
with house wheaten bread

Or

HONEYDEW MELON
with cranberry sorbet

Or

BATTERED MUSHROOMS
 With Chilli Jelly & Dressed Leaves

o0o

CHICKEN BANG BANG
Cajun Dusted Chicken Fillet, Peanut Butter Dip, Tobacco Onions & Asian Salad

GAMMON STEAK
Demerara glazed with Madeira & peach glaze on paprika dusted wedges

Or

CRISP BATTERED HADDOCK
With crushed peas, balsamic syrup & skinny chips

Or

ANDY'S RUMP
Should be enough to go round - served with Wookie sauce


o0o

STRAWBERRY PAVLOVA

Or

CHOCOLATE PROFITEROLES

Or

SELECTION OF ICE CREAM

DON'T FEEL THE COLD THIS WINTER

There are some who say that NSC club members look down their noses at the people sailing from the nearby carpark. Rubbish! We just feel sorry for you.

After all, Winter is approaching and we've got a nice warm club house, hot showers and a bar. And you've got, well, a carpark.

The usual excuse I hear is that it's too dear to join the club. Well, here's your chance to avoid extreme exposure - join the club now for the Winter! NSC operates a pro-rata membership cost for late joiners (the club year starts in March). So right now you can join right through until March ie the coldest bits for under £100.

Do the maths, divide £100 by the number of times you're going to sail this winter and then multiply by the Winter temperature, subtract your shoe size and then add the number of pints you'd like in the (warm) bar. The result? A great chance to keep warm and windsurf right through the year.

You can find the forms etc on

www.newtownardssailingclub.co.uk

or e-mail me for more information. Just because there's a global credit crisis doesn't mean you have to freeze this winter!

THE USUAL BITS AT THE END

This e-mail is sent out free to anyone interested in windsurfing in Norn Iron, regardless of where they may live. It is often centred around activities at Newtownards Sailing Club but welcomes information from and about anyone enjoying the sport in Ireland - and preferably sometimes making a fool of themselves as well. If you have a story to tell or some dirt to dish, please let us know.

You can subscribe to this newsletter by using the button on the NSC website at www.newtownardssailingclub.co.uk where you can also find incriminating photographs of the regulars and past newsletters detailing their many crimes.

However the best way to subscribe is by going to www.mylyst.com . You can also change you details here at your own convenience and of course unsubscribe.

If you are interested in trying out the club, contact us and come and sail as our guests. The club has excellent facilities including RYA qualified instructors and top quality beginners gear for hire and lock up storage facilities for gear, so line up your family and friends to get into the sport.

Windsurfers are a nomadic bunch, moving around to find the best winds and waves. So some question the value of paying annual membership to a club. For the many of us who do, we get excellent facilities including warm showers (all winter long!), a bar, safe launching and rescue facilities plus of course we organise the legendary windsurfing holidays. Visit us and see (and sail) for yourself, you can sail with us a guest up to 6 times before we give you choice of joining or losing your kneecaps.

MING GETS WINGS - SEPTEMEBER 2008

CONTENTS

Ming Gets Wings

Something to Look Forward To

What's Coming and Going

The Usual Bits at the End

PUT 24 OCTOBER IN YOUR DIARY - PIER 36 WINDSURFING DINNER!

MING GETS WINGS

You wouldn't think that September/October is the windiest season with us. Recently it's been woeful!

However as I sit out yet another windless weekend, I do have 2 pieces of news for you. Firstly the Pier 36 GPS challenge is hotting up. The full scores are in the section below, but we have a new leader. Yes Ming the Merciless has clearly got wings. Funny that, because if most of the TV adverts I see are to be believed it's something completely different that always seems to have wings. Maybe Ming has been spending too much time in Bog Roll Bay?

Anyway, it was a couple of weeks ago when we did have wind. A Wednesday and while knees were popping at Kearney, Ming was out for his usual Wednesday afternoon sail - don't get toothache on a Wednesday if you live in Belfast (and can afford to go private). While others were enjoying 4.5-5m, our Titanium hero rigged up a 6.8m race sail and his Freestyle Wave and went for glory. After a lot of scary runs in flat water which was much too shallow by Pig Island, he went out a lot further. Giving up he turned for home and just 'sort of went for it'. He describes it in pretty graphic terms, suffice to say it wasn't at all flat, it felt faster than he'd ever been and if his eyes had been open he would have been too scared to sail. We also suspect he may need to get the inside of his wetsuit disinfected. Whatever - he scored 33.1 knots and that's fast!

Will it be enough to win? Well there's a lot of windy days (supposedly) between now and 24 October, so all is not lost. I do hope someone else scores higher - otherwise we'll all be treated to the sight of those gruesome legs in the Haiwian shorts again, sick buckets will be provided..

One competitor who won't be challenging is Mr Wookie. While Ming flew, he and Andy were out in big waves at Kearney. All was well until he got some air off a nice wave, 12 feet up one foot came out of the strap. Normally when this happens to me both feet come out and I land with one foot on either side of the board - painful, but at least I've had my children. In this case 1 foot stayed in and a cruel gust blew the sail and Wookie round in a twist. The knee went pop on landing. And in the wind and waves no-one can hear you scream.

Faced with being crunched on the rocks, he somehow managed to waterstart on 1 leg and sail back! But since then he's been seen on crutches and has been getting regularly beaten up - by the physio, not the Wookette. It could have been worse, the ACL is not damaged but it's still 10 weeks minimum off the water. So it's OK Ali Todd, you're safe to sail for while.

And just to prove that he's as hairy as his nickname suggests - they actually had to turn up the power when they were scanning his leg because of all the hair in the way!

Now he was lucky, but it makes you think when one of our best and most fit gets clobbered in this way. So please no jokes about Long John Wookie, fitting Zimmer frames to boards or asking him if he want to put on a blonde wig and marry a former Beatle. Have some consideration please!

And a couple of days later Mr Yeates texted me saying that he couldn't stick another day of 4m weather. Terrible to be that old Alan....

SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO

With no wind around, I reckon you need cheering up - at least you will once you've stopped sniggering at Wookie's misfortune. So what about the Pier 36 Windsurfing Dinner?

Last time we had a room full, with partners and had an excellent meal and great night's craic. The good news is that I've run out of humiliating and incriminating photographs, so we're planning something different for the after dinner fun. We will of course be giving out the prizes for the GPS challenge - including the Ronnie Millar Trophy.

So clear Friday 24 October in your diaries. I'll be giving you details shortly, but it will be a reasonably priced meal deal for 2 - and I don't mean the type of meal deal which comes with a large cola and a nice toy. It's the formal closing of our year (for those of you wimps who don't keep going all year round) and the entertainment will be suitable for partners - nothing too windsurfy geekish. Can't say the same of course about the standard of sartorial elegance on display.

More soon - but plan to be there!

 

WHAT'S COMING AND GOING

PIER 36 NSC SPEED CHALLENGE

Time to print the full list - including those shameful people who have entered but not yet put in a full score - in most cases they've got scores but will only post up ones they feel are 'good enough'. Oh the vanity of windsurfers!

Anyway the scores are below :

So currently Ming is in the lead in the open section but Robbie Bin Laden is a whisker ahead of Paula in the (terminally) handicapped.

The wavesailing clinic in the Autumn - Jim Collis will be providing the expert tuition 13-18 October – is full. Book earlier if you want to go on next years!

Pier 36 Windsurfing Dinner - Friday 24 October. More info soon, but get out the best frock - oh and bring your partner too!

THE USUAL BITS AT THE END

This e-mail is sent out free to anyone interested in windsurfing in Norn Iron, regardless of where they may live. It is often centred around activities at Newtownards Sailing Club but welcomes information from and about anyone enjoying the sport in Ireland - and preferably sometimes making a fool of themselves as well. If you have a story to tell or some dirt to dish, please let us know.

You can subscribe to this newsletter by using the button on the NSC website at www.newtownardssailingclub.co.uk where you can also find incriminating photographs of the regulars and past newsletters detailing their many crimes.

However the best way to subscribe is by going to www.mylyst.com . You can also change you details here at your own convenience and of course unsubscribe.

If you are interested in trying out the club, contact us and come and sail as our guests. The club has excellent facilities including RYA qualified instructors and top quality beginners gear for hire and lock up storage facilities for gear, so line up your family and friends to get into the sport.

Windsurfers are a nomadic bunch, moving around to find the best winds and waves. So some question the value of paying annual membership to a club. For the many of us who do, we get excellent facilities including warm showers (all winter long!), a bar, safe launching and rescue facilities plus of course we organise the legendary windsurfing holidays. Visit us and see (and sail) for yourself, you can sail with us a guest up to 6 times before we give you choice of joining or losing your kneecaps.

(BOG) ROLL CALL OF HONOUR - SEPTEMBER 2008

CONTENTS

Bog Roll Call of Honour

If You've Got It, Give it to Someone Else

What's Coming and Going

The Usual Bits at the End

ANYONE WHO IS ANYBODY ON THE WATER ON SATUDAY!

BOG ROLL CALL OF HONOUR

Just a quickie this time, now where have I heard that before, to tell you that just about every windsurfer was out this weekend.

The warm up was Friday afternoon and evening when a bunch of very wet and miserable looking types gathered in the boggy grass at Millisle. NE, good waves, at times near mast high and 4.5-5m sails was the reward. Some very good sailors strode the waves like kings, Wookie flew and rode the back side, Raptor back looped (I heard double back loop but can't confirm) and Jarleth, John Adrain and Big Robert cut a fine dash too. The rest of us enjoyed ourselves including Biggles (Alan Yeates), Andy, Tourettes and myself. A couple of weeks off the water makes a big difference and I certainly found myself tiring quickly with so much time out of the harness with the inevitable mincing in the waves following.

However Saturday was the big turn out with the wind now more northerly and we took over the public car park at Bog Roll Bay. The normal users, dog molesters and elderly voyeurs (who never actually venture out of their cars) could hardly get a look in with the motley collection of vans, campers, trailers and general wrecks. The list of people rigging up amidst the dog poo was long : Big Robert, Jarleth, Fanta Pants (Nigel), Biggles, Tourettes, Russell in the bushes, Ming and Merciless, Hern Dog (Mark), the 3 Johns (Bedford, Glover and Adrain), Wookie, myself, Colin, SpongeBob Squarepants (Bill), various assorted Poles and a few people I spoke to but don't know the names. The water was covered in sails and at times it almost got 'busy' out there. In fact the only person missing was Andy who for the first time in living memory booked to be in work on a windy day.

The girls were represented by Lee and Paula.

The conditions were good, although not quite what all the forecasts had promised - now where have I heard that before? Most people were on low to high fives. I, having to carry round the odd pie and pint of Guinness made a good call of 6.3m and Colin, in his words with his bag of coal, had an excellent sail on a brave 7m. The waves weren't massive, but quite a few people ventured into the bottom corner (beside Ballyholme Yacht Club) after the waves and get caught in poor wind or massive amounts of weed.

Ming flashed by me at one stage in his new helmet. It's the usual black job but with a rather thick white padding visible between the metal and his titanium skull. The result was rather reminiscent of a 1950s women's hair salon - you know those hair dryer hats they used to use. Once I'd got this idea into my head it was very hard to see it as anything else - although it does rather beg the question of where Ming had inserted the plug...

Just about everyone had a good sail with some very smooth gybes and excellent blasting over chop and small waves in what became an increasingly nice day. Quite a few jumps too, despite the small waves. Early rain was gradually replaced by sun and you could almost believe it was still Summer.

Inevitably when everyone had crawled off the water exhausted the late Casper (Phil) materialised and headed out. And some of us rounded off the day in the local pub for a 'salty pint' and a chance to increase our future sail size. I often wonder what the regulars think of us on these occasions, unshaved, unshowered, hair windblown, dried salt on our faces and looking 100% totally happy. Oh - and talking a foreign language ie windsurfing bollix!

IF YOU'VE GOT IT - GIVE IT TO SOMEONE ELSE

Now that the new e-mail list system has settled down, despite Microsoft's revenge hitting me last time, it's time to spread the word.

Most of you were on the old (Virgin) system, basically just sent out as a mass e-mail from a personal e-mail address. You were transferred over automatically. However new people can register directly (instead of having to ask me to manually add them to the list). All you do is go to :

www.mylyst.com

and fill in your brief details. It's easy. You can also register someone else there, the system then sends them an e-mail giving them a chance to confirm. And you can of course deregister anytime you want.

So if you know anyone who is interested in windsurfing and isn't on the list (we have about 170 subscribers right now), please either pass on www.mylyst.com  to them or better still go on yourself and register them. After all, if you've got it it's your duty to pass it on to someone else - I think that's an Andy quote .....

And by the way, you'll see there is now an optional place to enter your mobile phone number. We are considering in the future providing a where to go sailing notification (by e-mail or text). So if you give this information we can use it if and when we get this up and running.

WHAT'S COMING AND GOING

PIER 36 NSC SPEED CHALLENGE

The NSC Members Pier 36 speed challenge is continuing right into the middle of October - including our week in Donegal. Expect more results soon as the Autumn winds pick up and a really great end of season night out in Pier 36 after that.

Trevor Gabbie's Egyptian (Dahab) challenge faded when he mucked up putting the battery in and his GPS filled with water. So the current top 3 remain:

Robbie Bin Laden                     30.8 knots

Ming the Merciless                   30.5 knots

The Wookie                             30.3 knots

But there is much jostling below and Ali Tourettes is coming up fast behind you ... be very scared.

The wavesailing clinic in the Autumn - Jim Collis will be providing the expert tuition 13-18 October – is full. Book earlier if you want to go on next years!

THE USUAL BITS AT THE END

This e-mail is sent out free to anyone interested in windsurfing in Norn Iron, regardless of where they may live. It is often centred around activities at Newtownards Sailing Club but welcomes information from and about anyone enjoying the sport in Ireland - and preferably sometimes making a fool of themselves as well. If you have a story to tell or some dirt to dish, please let us know.

You can subscribe to this newsletter by using the button on the NSC website at www.newtownardssailingclub.co.uk where you can also find incriminating photographs of the regulars and past newsletters detailing their many crimes.

However the best way to subscribe is by going to www.mylyst.com . You can also change you details here at your own convenience and of course unsubscribe.

If you are interested in trying out the club, contact us and come and sail as our guests. The club has excellent facilities including RYA qualified instructors and top quality beginners gear for hire and lock up storage facilities for gear, so line up your family and friends to get into the sport.

Windsurfers are a nomadic bunch, moving around to find the best winds and waves. So some question the value of paying annual membership to a club. For the many of us who do, we get excellent facilities including warm showers (all winter long!), a bar, safe launching and rescue facilities plus of course we organise the legendary windsurfing holidays. Visit us and see (and sail) for yourself, you can sail with us a guest up to 6 times before we give you choice of joining or losing your kneecaps.

NEWTOWNARDS SAILING CLUB WINDSURFING E-NEWSLETTER

CONTENTS

Bog Roll Call of Honour

If You've Got It, Give it to Someone Else

What's Coming and Going

The Usual Bits at the End

ANYONE WHO IS ANYBODY ON THE WATER ON SATUDAY!

BOG ROLL CALL OF HONOUR

Just a quickie this time, now where have I heard that before, to tell you that just about every windsurfer was out this weekend.

The warm up was Friday afternoon and evening when a bunch of very wet and miserable looking types gathered in the boggy grass at Millisle. NE, good waves, at times near mast high and 4.5-5m sails was the reward. Some very good sailors strode the waves like kings, Wookie flew and rode the back side, Raptor back looped (I heard double back loop but can't confirm) and Jarleth, John Adrain and Big Robert cut a fine dash too. The rest of us enjoyed ourselves including Biggles (Alan Yeates), Andy, Tourettes and myself. A couple of weeks off the water makes a big difference and I certainly found myself tiring quickly with so much time out of the harness with the inevitable mincing in the waves following.

However Saturday was the big turn out with the wind now more northerly and we took over the public car park at Bog Roll Bay. The normal users, dog molesters and elderly voyeurs (who never actually venture out of their cars) could hardly get a look in with the motley collection of vans, campers, trailers and general wrecks. The list of people rigging up amidst the dog poo was long : Big Robert, Jarleth, Fanta Pants (Nigel), Biggles, Tourettes, Russell in the bushes, Ming and Merciless, Hern Dog (Mark), the 3 Johns (Bedford, Glover and Adrain), Wookie, myself, Colin, SpongeBob Squarepants (Bill), various assorted Poles and a few people I spoke to but don't know the names. The water was covered in sails and at times it almost got 'busy' out there. In fact the only person missing was Andy who for the first time in living memory booked to be in work on a windy day.

The girls were represented by Lee and Paula.

The conditions were good, although not quite what all the forecasts had promised - now where have I heard that before? Most people were on low to high fives. I, having to carry round the odd pie and pint of Guinness made a good call of 6.3m and Colin, in his words with his bag of coal, had an excellent sail on a brave 7m. The waves weren't massive, but quite a few people ventured into the bottom corner (beside Ballyholme Yacht Club) after the waves and get caught in poor wind or massive amounts of weed.

Ming flashed by me at one stage in his new helmet. It's the usual black job but with a rather thick white padding visible between the metal and his titanium skull. The result was rather reminiscent of a 1950s women's hair salon - you know those hair dryer hats they used to use. Once I'd got this idea into my head it was very hard to see it as anything else - although it does rather beg the question of where Ming had inserted the plug...

Just about everyone had a good sail with some very smooth gybes and excellent blasting over chop and small waves in what became an increasingly nice day. Quite a few jumps too, despite the small waves. Early rain was gradually replaced by sun and you could almost believe it was still Summer.

Inevitably when everyone had crawled off the water exhausted the late Casper (Phil) materialised and headed out. And some of us rounded off the day in the local pub for a 'salty pint' and a chance to increase our future sail size. I often wonder what the regulars think of us on these occasions, unshaved, unshowered, hair windblown, dried salt on our faces and looking 100% totally happy. Oh - and talking a foreign language ie windsurfing bollix!

IF YOU'VE GOT IT - GIVE IT TO SOMEONE ELSE

Now that the new e-mail list system has settled down, despite Microsoft's revenge hitting me last time, it's time to spread the word.

Most of you were on the old (Virgin) system, basically just sent out as a mass e-mail from a personal e-mail address. You were transferred over automatically. However new people can register directly (instead of having to ask me to manually add them to the list). All you do is go to :

www.mylyst.com

and fill in your brief details. It's easy. You can also register someone else there, the system then sends them an e-mail giving them a chance to confirm. And you can of course deregister anytime you want.

So if you know anyone who is interested in windsurfing and isn't on the list (we have about 170 subscribers right now), please either pass on www.mylyst.com  to them or better still go on yourself and register them. After all, if you've got it it's your duty to pass it on to someone else - I think that's an Andy quote .....

And by the way, you'll see there is now an optional place to enter your mobile phone number. We are considering in the future providing a where to go sailing notification (by e-mail or text). So if you give this information we can use it if and when we get this up and running.

WHAT'S COMING AND GOING

PIER 36 NSC SPEED CHALLENGE

The NSC Members Pier 36 speed challenge is continuing right into the middle of October - including our week in Donegal. Expect more results soon as the Autumn winds pick up and a really great end of season night out in Pier 36 after that.

Trevor Gabbie's Egyptian (Dahab) challenge faded when he mucked up putting the battery in and his GPS filled with water. So the current top 3 remain:

Robbie Bin Laden                     30.8 knots

Ming the Merciless                   30.5 knots

The Wookie                             30.3 knots

But there is much jostling below and Ali Tourettes is coming up fast behind you ... be very scared.

The wavesailing clinic in the Autumn - Jim Collis will be providing the expert tuition 13-18 October – is full. Book earlier if you want to go on next years!

THE USUAL BITS AT THE END

This e-mail is sent out free to anyone interested in windsurfing in Norn Iron, regardless of where they may live. It is often centred around activities at Newtownards Sailing Club but welcomes information from and about anyone enjoying the sport in Ireland - and preferably sometimes making a fool of themselves as well. If you have a story to tell or some dirt to dish, please let us know.

You can subscribe to this newsletter by using the button on the NSC website at www.newtownardssailingclub.co.uk where you can also find incriminating photographs of the regulars and past newsletters detailing their many crimes.

However the best way to subscribe is by going to www.mylyst.com . You can also change you details here at your own convenience and of course unsubscribe.

If you are interested in trying out the club, contact us and come and sail as our guests. The club has excellent facilities including RYA qualified instructors and top quality beginners gear for hire and lock up storage facilities for gear, so line up your family and friends to get into the sport.

Windsurfers are a nomadic bunch, moving around to find the best winds and waves. So some question the value of paying annual membership to a club. For the many of us who do, we get excellent facilities including warm showers (all winter long!), a bar, safe launching and rescue facilities plus of course we organise the legendary windsurfing holidays. Visit us and see (and sail) for yourself, you can sail with us a guest up to 6 times before we give you choice of joining or losing your kneecaps.

TECHNOLOGY VS WINDSURFING - AND THE WINNER IS .... AUGUST 2008

What can I say to those of you who've received a number of confusing or rubbish e-mails from me in the last 24 hours? I think the technology has been ganging up on me, between a corrupted Word file and the strange behaviour of the PHP List system I now use for these e-newsletters, it just seems 'they' are out to get me.

If this one doesn't work I'm going to give up and become a kite surfer (don't worry, only joking, I'll become an estaTe agent instead!)

CONTENTS

Typical August Weekend

What's Coming and Going

The Usual Bits at the End

THE WAVE CLINIC IS NOW FULL (WAITING LIST NOW IN OPERATION) – ROLL ON OCTOBER!

TYPICAL AUGUST WEEKEND

It was ‘just’ another August bank holiday weekend, but actually it was a good example of why we enjoy our sport so much and in such a good locations.

Consider Donegal, Wookie and Colin were up there doing wifely things together. I could spoil this lovely image of domestic bliss by adding that their actual wives were there too… However, blissful it was with good 5m weather at Dooeys with perfect down the line and an amazing 20 sails on the water in slightly overcast conditions, SE wind and 1.5-2m waves. In fact a whole bunch were up there including Big Robert (with his Big Winnebago), John O’Drain and Neil Young (the windsurfer, not the Crosby, Stills, Nash etc one). There were also 5 French guys out – just think about this for a moment. They gave up lovely warm French beaches filled with topless women to go to Donegal and windsurf! One can only wonder if this was in fact a swap and 5 Donegal bog-trotters were simultaneously surfing at St Tropez in their Aaron jumpers with sheep in their vans?

Brendan, one of the very regular locals (by very regular I refer to his windsurfing habits, not his bowl movements) was also out when he was ‘bumped’ by something in the water. His first thought of course was Shark, apparently they tend to bump you before they attack. So actually I could have been referring to his bowel movements as they were apparently pretty acute at that moment. Next thing, a dolphin breaches right beside him. So now you know why the mad French were there, to windsurf with dolphins – even if the water state by then might have borne a remarkable resemblance to Ballyhome…

The highlight of the Saturday was of course the compulsory drunken BBQ – on this occasion held on the beach at Dooeys where a lot of this crowd and their families were pitched up. Under the influence, Robert somehow managed to simultaneously fall about laughing while also instantly falling asleep. I’m not sure if this is medically possible, but anyway he did it and knocked over the oil barrel in which the BBQ was still going strong. He then managed to sleep through the ensuring mayhem when one of the tents was almost burned out. One can only wonder at the innocent look of surprise on his face when he woke up the next morning in the remains of the BBQ, covered in burn marks and bruises where his poor wife (and probably his friends) had beaten him (while) senseless. Ah, what a picture of domestic bliss….

The bank holiday weekend continued on both Sunday and Monday at Magheroarty now with 4.5m and more great waves. The sun belted down and much fun was had by all in one of our premiere wave spots. However 2 very strange people appeared, eventually identified as Timo and Finn Mullen. Normally the haircuts (and I use the term loosely) give them away, but on this occasion Timo was windsurfing in the wetsuit equivalent of the Saturday Night Fever suit. We are talking bright white and all over. Was it a bet or a gender change? We don’t know – but it is fun to speculate, especially since as far as I know neither of them reads this newsletter. If anyone can shed light on this very strange behaviour, do let me know!

Consider then Newtownards Sailing Club. Saturday was a lovely sunny morning with a light breeze blowing. And who was out first, well naturally it was Sick Note (Paula) who, confident the wind would come up as forecast, went out on her 5.8m. By the time Wilson and I arrived (1ish) the wind was up enough to be interesting, we rigged a 7.5 and 8m respectively and went out to enjoy. Next up was Pole Dancer on 7m and Shipman who took 7.5m on his JP along with the GPS to go for his first speed. We had a lovely hour or so mostly planing and some of us at least getting some lovely flat water gybes and tacks. In fact I had such a good time that I had to come in when the rain started as it was ruining my hair – something the sea water hadn’t had a chance to do!

After lunch 3 things changed, the wind slowly but steadily increased, the rain slowly but steadily increased and the quality of the company slowly but steadily went downhill – ie Ali Tourettes appeared. Gradually the sails got smaller as people crawled in over-powered until after another very wet hour or so 4.5-5m was the order of the day. As well as a few cheapskates from the carpark, we were also joined by Lee and James – new members at the club. Lee especially struggled manfully with a 5m as the wind came up and yet she still had a good sail. So at the peak there were about 10 sails out and if it hadn’t been raining sideways it would have been very picturesque.

With the Pier 36 Challenge in mind, the GPS units were put to good use. Tony scored a highly credible 27.5m, shooting straight into 4th place as, in his own words, ‘Speedy Shipman’. So please bow to him the next time you see him.

And Pat narrowly failed to improve on his highest score (27.4) while Paula improved her handicapped score to 0.1 knot behind Bin Laden. I too went for it, taking a lead from many others I dug my oldest board out of the garage – in my case a bright yellow F2 Ride. The thing about older boards is that they’re narrower and so faster than many modern boards. Actually it’s great fun jumping between new and old kit as they feel and sail so differently.  So while others were moving below 5m I stuck on 6.5m with a really small fin and scared myself stupid on the speed reaches. I did improve my score, but only to 26.7 as the water state had got too rough for real speed.

The only downer on the day was finding that the showers were being painted in preparations for the Irish GP14 finals next weekend. Actually we were quite pleased at the thought of having to shower with the ladies, however Paula was less pleased and went to get changed in the garage. In fact it turned out the ladies were being painted too – that’s the ladies showers, not the ladies themselves.

Although Sunday didn’t offer too much, the bank holiday Monday forecasts brought out the early worms in search of the birds – or at least Ali Todd again. Finally throwing down his tenner, he grabbed the GPS and an old board and immediately clocked a very good 28.8 Knots to shoot past Shipman into 4th place. And was he pleased, well judging by his language not very, something about love making excrement I think I heard? To be fair the water wasn’t quite flat enough and the wind was a little inconsistent, so just when you got to the really scary bit of the reach it would ease off. Others out included Biggles (Alan Yeates, although fortunately without the goggles today), David Brown, Trevor ‘Steptoe and Son’ Pollen (without the son) and Spongebob Squarepants. Actually Mr Pants had us worried as he disappeared in the direction of Newtownards for about an hour. Just as the cars were being organized to look for him, he appeared over the horizon just too far out to make out if he was sailing with Tesco bags after doing his weekly shopping? After a morning of 6.5-7.5m, the rains came at lunch time and that was the end of the wind.

And consider Kearney, our pocket wave beach just 30 minutes further down the road. With the wind well above 5m, Andy, Raptor and Jarleth found some really excellent waves. Actually Andy described it as some of the best back side riding he’s ever experienced – although we can’t say if it was as good as that shared by Wookie and Colin in Donegal.  And Raptor was doing shovits as well, I’m not quite sure if this is more of the same thing…. I do know however that Raptor was ringing everyone up the next day saying that it was one of the best sessions ever – presumably referring to the windsurfing and not the back side stuff.

WHAT'S COMING AND GOING

PIER 36 NSC SPEED CHALLENGE

There are only two classes, both members only :

OPEN    Simply the fastest verified speed on the water anytime between now and early October

HANDICAPPED We will provide handicaps to anyone who wants to enter. All female members will get a boost of at least 10 knots so if you do 20 knots, your score will be entered as 30! Some of the faster men, including those who scored highly last year will be handicapped by up to 5 knots.

Please note, you can enter both classes for the single flat fee of £10, but you will only be allowed to win one of the categories.

See the regularly updated league table of speeds throughout the year.

The basic rules remain as last year ie

    You must have your speed verified by 1 NSC member if you are sailing at the club, 2 if you are sailing elsewhere

    Your speed must be verified as soon as you leave the water

    You must have paid your entry fee before you did your run otherwise your score doesn't count

    You are not allowed to win if your name is Ming, Loughridge, ugly b*****d or you are made of more than 35% titanium

Get your Tenners into Pat or myself and get those scores on the doors!

Current top 3 :

Robbie Bin Laden                     30.8 knots

Ming the Merciless                   30.5 knots

The Wookie                             30.3 knots

OTHER STUFF

    Another wavesailing clinic in the Autumn - Jim Collis will be providing the expert tuition 13-18 October – but it’s now full! Contact me if you want to go on the waiting list.

    An end of year prize dinner including various prizes you don't want given for things you did that you hoped nobody else saw – probably to be run late October.

    Windsurfing beginners night - every Tuesday evening and Saturday morning with Thursday nights as the standby (if Tuesday is too windy) at the club, with full RYA lessons and supervised beginners time on the water (kit hire available). Contact Andy on 077 6974 7860 or e-mail to info@wookiewindsurfing.com

If there's something you want to see, and especially if you're prepared to put in a little time into helping with it, please let us know!

THE USUAL BITS AT THE END

This e-mail is sent out free to anyone interested in windsurfing in Norn Iron, regardless of where they may live. It is often centred around activities at Newtownards Sailing Club but welcomes information from and about anyone enjoying the sport in Ireland - and preferably sometimes making a fool of themselves as well. If you have a story to tell or some dirt to dish, please let us know.

You can subscribe to this newsletter by using the button on the NSC website at www.newtownardssailingclub.co.uk where you can also find incriminating photographs of the regulars and past newsletters detailing their many crimes.

You can now subscribe directly by going to www.mylyst.com . You can also change you details here at your own convenience and of course unsubscribe.

If you are interested in trying out the club, contact us and come and sail as our guests. The club has excellent facilities including RYA qualified instructors and top quality beginners gear for hire and lock up storage facilities for gear, so line up your family and friends to get into the sport.

Windsurfers are a nomadic bunch, moving around to find the best winds and waves. So some question the value of paying annual membership to a club. For the many of us who do, we get excellent facilities including warm showers (all winter long!), a bar, safe launching and rescue facilities plus of course we organise the legendary windsurfing holidays. Visit us and see (and sail) for yourself, you can sail with us a guest up to 6 times before we give you choice of joining or losing your kneecaps.

RAIN MEN - AUGUST 2008

CONTENTS

Rain Men

Look out there’s GPs about

Pier 36 Speed Challenge Update

What's Coming and Going

The Usual Bits at the End

WANT TO GET SOME RIB PRACTICE? COME ON DOWN TO THE CLUB FOR THE GP IRELANDS 29-31 AUGUST

RAIN MEN

Oh woe, woe and thrice woe – it rained on Saturday! Ok it was exceptional rain, the West Link underpass flooded, roads were impassible and suddenly it was desirable again to own a big 4x4. But while Norn Iron suffered, the wind blew – so it was all right!

The scruffs collected at the Old Post Office in Lisbane thereby considerably lowering the genteel tone of this south Down eating house. Still, we may have frightened the locals, but they still took our money and provided a really tasty (greasy) fry in return. So it was in good heart that we assembled on the shore at Whiterock at the Wookie’s Lair to watch the horizontal rain being driven by a good force 5.

There are 3 problems about sailing from here –

1                   It’s hard to judge the wind out there from the sheltered shore and you don’t want to take out too small a board for the outside conditions only to sink getting out of the sheltered bay.

2                   There are so many moored boats to navigate through to get to open water it’s like trying to get round B+Q on pensioners day.

3                   Wookie still hasn’t put in heating or a Jacuzzi in his garage where we get changed

So we guessed kit size and broadly got it right. Wookie 5m on 87, me 5.5 on 100, Andy 5.7 on 110 and Colin on 6.5. A few wobbles and some scraped boat paint and we were out into lovely conditions. Plenty of hard on blasting, some very gnarly chop and even some waves down at the Mackies house – the famous location of one of our previous cross lough blasts (on sinkers) which ended abruptly when the wind dropped and all but one of us got in – perhaps Shipman is still out there?

We spent most of the day out in 3 good sessions. I saw some ducks and some duck gybes, plenty of gybes and carving tacks and a lot of weed – I seemed to attract it to my fin. Andy provided the scariest moment when he was riding a big wave which swept him ominously close to my blasting path. We missed by a few feet with much swearing by me (for *** sake Andy) and a lot of apologies from Andy – rather spoiled by the fact he was grinning from ear to ear at the time. We had one of the club GPS units with us and Colin lost his speed virginity to around 25 knots. I had a go (at the speed, not his virginity) but couldn’t better my previous 26, it was just too lumpy. In the midst of this my harness line snapped at full tilt providing what I’m told was a very amusing crash and good swim to retrieve my kit which seemed to sail better without me on it for some reason!

Colin and Andy joined the ranks of the junior felines and left to lap up some milk – but Wookie and I had a last bash until driving rain and exhaustion drove us in.

And in the mean time over at the club there was a very strange sighting of a world war 1 pilot on a windsurfer – and he looked old enough to be an original from WW1. Pat Lyner explains, although I have had to translate this from the Polish original :

Brilliant day went to the club. Kind of cross on shore. Newzealand Tim, Mr Yeates, Ali (Tourettes) Todd, Gary, and myself sailed. Russell (in the bushes) also  sailed with the poor people from the car park.

I started at 11am but some keen people were out before 10 – what, did they not stop at McDs for some grease first? Gary showed up 11:45 ish.  I sailed the morning 4.5m sails well well powered up. Afternoon 5.5-6.0m sails. Not much rain in the morning but loads in the afternoon.

The really scary thing was Mr Yeates who has now taken to  wearing Goggles. These are the horrible swimming variety and make him look scarier and even sillier than usual. A sort of superannuated Mark Spitz (well, he does still have the porn-star speedos) or a deranged airman.

All in all with the waves  in the morning and the blasting afternoon, a great day was had by all – except any passing children who might have been scared by Mr Yeates.  And I got 25.9 Knots on my wee waveboard  and 4.5m sail. Ii went for it white knuckle  sailing in the nasty chop. More wind to come Ii might wager. I say  global warming rocks!!

Sunday also saw a whole squad out at the club. Mostly 7m weather, but the rain was gone by then and some good if more relaxed sailing was had.

I’m not used to getting sick notes or excuse notes from windsurfers, but I have to say this one came pretty close. After all, we all know that Paula is ALWAYS out, but ….

Alan,

I'm so ashamed I can hardly write this. No, I didn't go to Cloughy or the club on Saturday...the thought of a day of extreme rain made me decide to stay at home and do my knitting.

I know, its an awful thing to admit, but I won't wimp out again.

Paula

Now this is a girl (just about the only one) who windsurfs all the year round and who goes out ‘for the experience’ in winds where she knows she’s going to get flattened. All I can say is that it must be the mother of all jumpers she’s knitting if it took priority. Maybe a secret present for Andy?

LOOK OUT, THERE’S GPS ABOUT

I reported last time on a great day at Cranfield – after a really frustrating Saturday morning at the club when the wind never came up. We went home at lunch time in disgust. Well foolish us, as Bin Laden takes up the tale, but first warns us of some very strange news stories about to unfold :

Hi Alan

I was down at the club last evening (Monday) and was scruffed by the Ards Chronicle photographer to act on behalf of the club in a photoshoot with the  GP14 Irish Championship sponsors. Apparently the committee members assigned for the job had scarpered and there was no-one else about. As you know the championship is being held at NSC starting 29th August.  So look out for the Bin (Laden) in scruff order sitting on a GP 14 in front of the clubhouse with a very dapper gent wearing a suit.  Fortunately I knew him as we used to share an office building many years ago.

What was all that about no wind or big sails on Saturday at the club.  I was there for about 4 hours from mid morning sailing between 6.5 and 7.5.  It did start to die off after lunch and a large shower killed it for good in mid afternoon.  Sunday was better.  6.5 and 7.5m blasting all day till about 6.00pm.

For those who could escape work the wind on Monday afternoon was great, albeit a bit gusty at times until about 6.00pm when it did its usual thing and died.  6.5m blasting for a couple of hours with some sharp lumpy bits for those who like to get some air.   Only 3 of us at the club (all very much on the water rather than airborne) and a few gypsy windsurfers in the car park.

I liked  Bog Roll Beach in the previous newsletter.  I was thinking about the beach at Newcastle - in particular the area around the old seawater swimming pool.  Stool Pool.  What do you think?

Cheers sweetie (er - melord)

Robbie

P.S  What's this I hear about you getting work in England?

So first off, we are all looking forward to seeing a well known terrorist being used to publicise the Irish GP Championships. One can only wonder how the sponsor will feel when instead of more business he gets a US army swat team bursting into his factory?

Then you can see the awful reality of us leaving in the morning – only to find that the wind did finally come up (unforecast naturally) after we’d gone. If you’re not in, you can’t win.

And from all this meandering, you’ll also now know that the club is going to be knee deep in brass buttons and annoying boats for 3 days. To be exact this is Friday 29 – Sunday 31 August. However people will start to arrive on the Thursday night. So if it’s windy that weekend and you want to sail from the club be prepared for some congestion.

However this is also a chance to help out if you fancy it. We desperately need people to operate ribs. You don’t have to be formally qualified, just competent, as I know that many of you are. So if you fancy a bit of rib practice – and we do have some very tasty and fast ribs at the club – get in touch with me and we’ll soon get you a rattle on the water. We’re particularly keen if anyone is free on the Friday.

Oh and by the way, I’m not going to work in England – the Bin got that confused with something else – so bad luck, I’ll still be writing this scandal sheet!

PIER 36 SPEED CHALLENGE UPDATE

No further leading scores recently, but a lot more people have now put down their tenner and so the middle of the league table is filling up nicely.

However there is news of potential African gentleman in the fuel store in the shape of the wife-beaten Trevor Gabbie. He was about to head off to Dahab, where as we know they have a really good speed strip. Trevor has been there before and reckons he got 32 knots (probably being chased by an irate Aveyline at the time), so he’s entered our challenge with a view to poking one in the eye of Bin Laden, Wookie, Ming et al. The problem is of course that the rules state that you need two members to verify a score away from the club. Now short of bringing along a mate on his family holiday, Trevor was desperate – actually we all know Trevor’s desperate, but this was different. So he came up with a cunning plan :

Hi Alan

Thanks for replying to my email, if I have family membership does that mean if Aveyline and Michael witness it would it count.

All the best,

                 Trevor.

Looks fine I hear you say, although Aveyline is his wife – that’s OK because Ming has also used his wife to vouch scores (I mean Ming has used Mrs Ming, not Aveyline). And Michael’s his son – again sounds OK. The only problem is that Michael is about 2 – so he might just have a few issues about signing his name. Would we accept crayon, along with a nice picture of a house with a tree in the garden (and that’s just from Trevor), maybe not.

But it does show you how seriously people are taking this year’s competition. In the end nice Mr Lord relented and I allowed him to use the signature of one of the Dahab instructors – provided I get his e-mail address to cross check.

So Trevor, you’re in. After all that trouble we all hope that Aveyline (or Mrs Ming) let’s you on the water long enough to get up some speed. It would be rather sad if he came back with 20 knots or something equally weedy. The world is watching you Trevor!

 WHAT'S COMING AND GOING

PIER 36 NSC SPEED CHALLENGE

There are only two classes, both members only :

OPEN    Simply the fastest verified speed on the water anytime between now and early October

HANDICAPPED We will provide handicaps to anyone who wants to enter. All female members will get a boost of at least 10 knots so if you do 20 knots, your score will be entered as 30! Some of the faster men, including those who scored highly last year will be handicapped by up to 5 knots.

Please note, you can enter both classes for the single flat fee of £10, but you will only be allowed to win one of the categories.

See the regularly updated league table of speeds throughout the year.

The basic rules remain as last year ie

    You must have your speed verified by 1 NSC member if you are sailing at the club, 2 if you are sailing elsewhere

    Your speed must be verified as soon as you leave the water

    You must have paid your entry fee before you did your run otherwise your score doesn't count

    You are not allowed to win if your name is Ming, Loughridge, ugly b*****d or you are made of more than 35% titanium

Get your Tenners into Pat or myself and get those scores on the doors!

Current top 3 :

Robbie Bin Laden                30.8 knots

Ming the Merciless       30.5 knots

The Wookie                        30.3 knots

OTHER STUFF

    Another wavesailing clinic in the Autumn - Jim Collis will be providing the expert tuition 13-18 October - booking now and nearly full! ' Contact me if you want in.

    An end of year prize dinner including various prizes you don't want given for things you did that you hoped nobody else saw – probably to be run late October.

    Windsurfing beginners night - every Tuesday evening and Saturday morning with Thursday nights as the standby (if Tuesday is too windy) at the club, with full RYA lessons and supervised beginners time on the water (kit hire available). Contact Andy on 077 6974 7860 or e-mail to info@wookiewindsurfing.com

If there's something you want to see, and especially if you're prepared to put in a little time into helping with it, please let us know!

THE USUAL BITS AT THE END

This e-mail is sent out free to anyone interested in windsurfing in Norn Iron, regardless of where they may live. It is often centred around activities at Newtownards Sailing Club but welcomes information from and about anyone enjoying the sport in Ireland - and preferably sometimes making a fool of themselves as well. If you have a story to tell or some dirt to dish, please let us know.

You can subscribe to this newsletter by using the button on the NSC website at www.newtownardssailingclub.co.uk where you can also find incriminating photographs of the regulars and past newsletters detailing their many crimes.

You can now subscribe directly by going to www.mylyst.com . You can also change you details here at your own convenience and of course unsubscribe.

If you are interested in trying out the club, contact us and come and sail as our guests. The club has excellent facilities including RYA qualified instructors and top quality beginners gear for hire and lock up storage facilities for gear, so line up your family and friends to get into the sport.

Windsurfers are a nomadic bunch, moving around to find the best winds and waves. So some question the value of paying annual membership to a club. For the many of us who do, we get excellent facilities including warm showers (all winter long!), a bar, safe launching and rescue facilities plus of course we organise the legendary windsurfing holidays. Visit us and see (and sail) for yourself, you can sail with us a guest up to 6 times before we give you choice of joining or losing your kneecaps.

ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERLY FRONT - AUGUST 2008

CONTENTS

All Quiet on the Westerly Front
Donegal Wave Clinic Update
What's Coming and Going
The Usual Bits at the End

DONEGAL WAVE CLINIC – JIM COLLIS IS BOOKED AND THERE IS ONLY 1 PLACE LEFT UP FOR GRABS!

ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERLY FRONT

I blame Sponge Bill Square Pants – although he prefers to be called Hot Ice. He was the one who commented that it had been a fabulously windy month – and from the moment he said it, it wasn’t!

August is always a quiet month, winds are generally gentle, some people are on holiday, Andy is in love and not a lot happens (I mean not a lot happens windsurfing wise, I can’t comment on what happens in Andy’s love life). There has been the odd day (but never at a weekend) when a few people have managed some good windsurfing, but no reports are reaching me of epic waves in Donegal, 4m at Newtownards or even any new speeds for the Pier 36 GPS challenge. Even Ming the Merciless is very quiet, although we think this is because he’s experimenting with fitting a propeller to his board in an attempt to regain the lead in the Speed Challenge…

However this weekend, despite a bad start, did finally deliver.

Saturday promised wind early on and so Wookie persuaded a bunch of sad people to meet under the Evil Arch for an 8am McMuffin in anticipation of some wind. Problem was that the wind came through in the night (no not another reference to Andy’s sex life) and so we found ourselves sitting ridiculously early at the club with 8 mph of wind getting a good sun tan. And we sat. In fact we only gave up at lunch time, by which Shipman had left, been called back because the wind came up (for 2 minutes) and left again. The craic was good, but the windsurfing was almost absent. Paula was the only 1 to go out and when we saw that she was only very occasionally planing on 7m we all gave up and went home to score some points for Sunday.

I can tell you that every forecast known to man and Wookie was carefully studied and when the white smoke came from the chimney it was declared that the further south you were, the more wind there would be. For once it turned out to be true. Wookie, Tourettes and Colin headed down to Newcastle convinced by the evil Barry that with this wind direction the sewage would be kept away and they wouldn’t all die of bubonic plague. But Newcastle wasn’t far enough south for them and on they plunged in their quest for the most southerly point in Norn Iron – until they hit Cranfield. Now I don’t know about you, but I’d never heard of Cranfield – unless they were intending to windsurf in a Hertfordshire college. But this turns out to be my complete ignorance because Cranfield is a fabulous beach near Kilkeel and just outside the mouth of Carlingford Lough. Now I have of course heard of Kilkeel – this is the famous downtown metropolis where a certain hymn-singing political party once banned the film ‘The Sound of Music’ because they considered that a bunch of singing nuns might corrupt the local youth. And Cranfield is to the south of Kilkeel and is one of those wall to wall caravan park places – from which irate caravan park owners to often chase rigging windsurfers. However there is a nice convenient road at the beach, lovely grass rigging area and a short walk to the clean sand. The bay is large with a few rocky outcrops, but these are clearly marked by buoys and there is even a light house. The views coming back in are spectacular with the mountains of Mourne sweeping down to the sea. I may be waxing lyrical here, but don’t worry I will stop short of actually breaking into song…

The inner bay is safe for early windsurfers and worked well in the SW we had. I’d say it would probably work well from west right round to SE. With such exposure to the Irish Sea, it’s got to be a good spot. I can’t say about the wave potential, as there weren’t any for us, but I can tell you that the sun shone and it was lovely. The only issue for us was the odd chop we got at one stage on the outside. I’m guessing that the tide coming in was meeting the currents coming out of the estuary and they set up what looked to me like standing waves – sorry, but I did study physics. The result was a really unpleasant set of speed ramps which jarred the knees and made large boards bounce.

We started around 5.5m, then also rigged 6.5-7.5 and spent a lot of time hopping between the two. And we had a great sail. Wookie did slalom and duck gybes, I worked on carving tacks, Colin defied the laws of physics and common sense by holding down an 8m and Ali swore at everyone. Par for the course really. Richard, one of the Lough Neagh sailors joined us later and was last seen on a 5m as the wind came up even more as we crawled off around 5pm exhausted.

And what of the club at this time? Well, being further north it got only a little wind. Pat the Pole, William and Robbie Bin Laden were out mostly on big kit. Pat reckoned he got 90 minutes on 8m before it died – but he said his tan got nicely topped up. We were also delighted that Nigel aka Fanta Pants rolled up. The scary thing is that he also brought out his brother – now instantly named Lemon-Fanta Pants and no doubt anyone watching them needed extremely dark sun glasses not be kaleidoscopically damaged.

DONEGAL WAVE CLINIC UPDATE

For the benefit of anyone who’s been living on Mars, we’re running another wave clinic in Donegal. Jim Collis is booked as our instructor and the course runs from 13-18 October.

Once again we’ve booked a great deal with the Lough Altan hotel and will be moving around the many excellent wave beaches in this fabulous windsurfing play area.

10 people are booked including most of the hard core regulars, Ming the Merciless, the Enniskillen Lesbians and the almost bearded Mr Yeates. We even have people joining us from Scotland. There is only 1 place left and I know of 3 people who say they want it – but haven’t yet sent me a deposit.

So if you’re interested in having top class windsurfing tuition in one of the best wave locations around then tell me about it quick! But don’t hang around. This course is open to anyone, not just club members.

WHAT'S COMING AND GOING

PIER 36 NSC SPEED CHALLENGE

There are only two classes, both members only :

OPEN    Simply the fastest verified speed on the water anytime between now and early October

HANDICAPPED We will provide handicaps to anyone who wants to enter. All female members will get a boost of at least 10 knots so if you do 20 knots, your score will be entered as 30! Some of the faster men, including those who scored highly last year will be handicapped by up to 5 knots.

Please note, you can enter both classes for the single flat fee of £10, but you will only be allowed to win one of the categories.

See the regularly updated league table of speeds throughout the year.

The basic rules remain as last year ie

    You must have your speed verified by 1 NSC member if you are sailing at the club, 2 if you are sailing elsewhere

    Your speed must be verified as soon as you leave the water

    You must have paid your entry fee before you did your run otherwise your score doesn't count

    You are not allowed to win if your name is Ming, Loughridge, ugly b*****d or you are made of more than 35% titanium

Get your Tenners into Pat or myself and get those scores on the doors!

Current top 3 :

Robbie Bin Laden         30.8 knots

Ming the Merciless       30.5 knots

The Wookie                  30.3 knots

OTHER STUFF

    Another wavesailing clinic in the Autumn - Jim Collis will be providing the expert tuition 13-18 October - booking now and nearly full! ' Contact me if you want in.

    An end of year prize dinner including various prizes you don't want given for things you did that you hoped nobody else saw - provisionally Friday 10 October

    Windsurfing beginners night - every Tuesday evening and Saturday morning with Thursday nights as the standby (if Tuesday is too windy) at the club, with full RYA lessons and supervised beginners time on the water (kit hire available). Contact Andy on 077 6974 7860 or e-mail to info@wookiewindsurfing.com

If there's something you want to see, and especially if you're prepared to put in a little time into helping with it, please let us know!

THE USUAL BITS AT THE END

This e-mail is sent out free to anyone interested in windsurfing in Norn Iron, regardless of where they may live. It is often centred around activities at Newtownards Sailing Club but welcomes information from and about anyone enjoying the sport in Ireland - and preferably sometimes making a fool of themselves as well. If you have a story to tell or some dirt to dish, please let us know.

You can subscribe to this newsletter by using the button on the NSC website at www.newtownardssailingclub.co.uk where you can also find incriminating photographs of the regulars and past newsletters detailing their many crimes.

You can now subscribe directly by going to www.mylyst.com . You can also change you details here at your own convenience and of course unsubscribe.

If you are interested in trying out the club, contact us and come and sail as our guests. The club has excellent facilities including RYA qualified instructors and top quality beginners gear for hire and lock up storage facilities for gear, so line up your family and friends to get into the sport.

Windsurfers are a nomadic bunch, moving around to find the best winds and waves. So some question the value of paying annual membership to a club. For the many of us who do, we get excellent facilities including warm showers (all winter long!), a bar, safe launching and rescue facilities plus of course we organise the legendary windsurfing holidays. Visit us and see (and sail) for yourself, you can sail with us a guest up to 6 times before we give you choice of joining or losing your kneecaps.

BIN LADEN DOES A BOMB - JULY 2008

CONTENTS

Bin Laden Does a Bomb!
Andy’s Steamroller

July Weekend Delivers

What's Coming and Going

The Usual Bits at the End

LEAD CHANGES HANDS AS ANOTHER PERSON PASSES 30 KNOTS AND WOOKIE!

DONEGAL IN OCTOBER IS NEARLY FULL - BOOK OR JOIN THE WAITING LIST!

BIN LADEN DOES A BOMB

Do you know, I’ve been really hoping that Robbie Bin Laden would have a golden moment in the Pier 36 GPS Challenge – some headlines have just got to be believed to be seen. And the man has delivered!

For those of you reading this who aren’t familiar with our nicknaming system it’s pretty simple. Andy thinks of the most devastatingly accurate (and insulting) name for a person – and it sticks. It’s only official of course if Andy dishes it out – hence I’m stuck with being The Lord (and proud of it) and Wookie is, well, just Wookie (that’s Mr Wookie to you). Now Robbie is a nice quiet unassuming bloke with a great sense of humour (well, he’s been on holiday with Andy so he must have) – who just happens to look like he should be an Arab terrorist. It could be the dark hair, the Islamic beard or the strange array of head gear he wears to protect himself from the sun. But he’s Robbie Bin Laden to us, or Bin Laden for short. The poor old Americans are searching the mountains of Pakistan and Afghanistan in vain – the man’s hiding on Strangford Lough!

Now you know that the Pier 36 GPS challenge has been neck and hairy neck between Ming the Merciless (see the film Flash Gordon – he’s a dead ringer for the chief baddy) and the Wookie (see the curse of the werewolf or any Starwars film). Then this happens – in Bin Laden’s own words translated from the Arabic –

Hi Alan

At last getting up to date with admin having been away for pretty much all of the past 5 weeks.[Afghanistan – I don’t doubt] 

So far as speed is concerned I managed a reasonable 25.9 kts the day I was down with you and an unwitnessed 27.4 on Sunday evening (7.5m with my RRD freestylewave board).  Yesterday was awesome and I was out on the water for over 5 hours (with one short break for a cuppa).  A north-westerly wind about 17mph at midday building to 26mph at 5.30pm (gusting higher a bit) before easing back.   So 6.5 m all day in water that was not bad for the wind because the tide was outgoing throughout.  Some good flat areas of water on the far side of the lough.  Was consistently managing 26/27+ kts in the chop but the slapping, banging and general lack of control made it impossible to bear away and get the speed that was very obviously there.  So with the tide nearly out and the wind at its strongest decided to risk all at 5.30 and take a blast over the lough (which was well over max in the chop) to find flat water.  It was awesome.  Coming out of the chop into flat water I bore away onto a broad reach and just took off like a bullet - almost killing myself trying to gybe at the end of it.  My eyes were streaming but I thought I read 30.6kt on the GPS. 

After a difficult return journey I arrived to find the GPS still on my arm but switched off!  It had been showing battery low all afternoon and had finally died.  Andy told me to put it on charge and that the readings would still be on it.  They were.  30.8 - witnessed by Mark.

I have managed to wreck my back so I'll not be surfing for a week or so.  Not the only thing damaged - my Tushingham Raptor 6.5 eventually exploded spontaneously and is beyond economic repair!  So I've ordered some new kit from Andy (even Andy had been tempted out of his hole by the wind!).

Just about to leave for Donegal for a week's rehab.

Cheers

Robbie

So Ming is in a distant third and Wookie has lost his ‘rightful’ position on the leader board. Best of all, Wookie was actually out on the day this happened, but went home early having ‘had a good sail’. So he missed the flattening of the water and his chance to do even better. I had the pleasure of informing him of this and his response was typically short and sweet –

rrrrrgh - you now have an angry wookie - its not pretty

Well – he got the last bit right!

Now I missed this day, but Pat filled me in with a few more details :

Hi Alan

Just to confirm my score was 27.4Knotts and Gary’s score was 25.5 Knots. Sailors were Wookie and Ali to start with. Then myself Gary and Robbie and Paula. Casper arrived later as did Jarlaf and Mark and even Andy was tempted out with an 8M but had to retire as wind came up and was maxed out. He disappeared for ages and turned up later after sailing all round the lough.

Lovely sailing sunny 6.5-7.0m weather got better all day also as the tide dropped sailing got faster. I had what looked like fish attack my board not funny at 25knots+_ broad reaching. I don’t know who was more startled – me or the fish.

All in all great day.

All the best

Paddy

What Paddy failed to mention (yes, I have multiple spies) was his own clever attempt to improve his speed. I’ve talked before about using a smaller fin to get the speed up – Pat took this advice a little further. Realising he wasn’t going as fast as he should, he zoomed in to stick on a smaller fin. However he misjudged the depth and ended up hitting the slipway at speed and really grinding his fin on the concrete. Now with his fin a couple of centimeters shorter, off he sailed again and added a further 0.5 knots to his top speed. So you see it works, although I’d recommend using the more conventional method of unscrewing and fitting a smaller fin – it’s a lot cheaper.

So what are the current top scores :

Bin Laden           30.8

Wookie              30.3
Ming                  29.9
Pat the Pole       27.4
Lord                  26.5

Plug ( Gary)         25.4

And Paula has slipped in the handicap despite improving her speed – her 30.2 is behind both Bin Laden and Wookie…..

There should be 2 club GPS units to use – or at least there will be 2 again when Andy pulls his finger out. So why not stick in your tenner and join in? The prizes are great and the banter and abuse is even greater. And don’t worry if you’re not that fast, we’re very generous in the handicap section – so anyone could win.
 

ANDY’S STEAMROLLER

Saturday 5 July saw a whole bunch of hopefuls assembling at the Old Post Office for what was planned as a classy day – so naturally it didn’t quite work out that way. 9 of us started well with a superior class of ‘greasy fry’ (certainly a lot better than the usual McDs McMuffins) and an amazing split of 4 woman to 5 men. It says something about our women that more of them will turn out for a good fry than will turn out to dip their expensive hair do’s in nice salty water – hard to understand really.

The next touch of class was getting changed in the Wookie’s garage – well it beats most car parks and he is talking of installing showers – or possibly a sheep dip… So by this time the wind had died down – all according to plan of course. We’d the choice of getting up really early and hitting the east coast by say 8 am (this is a Saturday for God’s sake) or having a leisurely breakfast, missing the expected force 5 and just setting for a good steady easterly F4 all day. So naturally we chose the breakfast! However a few brave souls took the early start option and John Cunningham was reported on 6.5m at the crack of dawn but sailing wasn’t apparently that good. Andy too headed over early but for some reason preferred to help a girl to rig rather than sail himself – hard to understand I’m sure you’ll agree.

The rest of us piled out at Whiterock and spent a not so happy time battling our way out through all the damned boats that some annoying people had moored in the bay. Anyone would think it’s a yacht club, oh, actually it is. Wookie, with the advantage of local knowledge fired straight to the one spot with wind while the rest of us struggled to get planing most of the time. After an hour or so it had died completely and we wobbled back in through the boats. Still, it was a nice breakfast and we all headed home.

Wookie and Andy stuck around to do some paperwork and against all odds (and all forecasts) suddenly realized it was getting windy again. In fact it hit 30 knots for a couple of hours and in Wookie’s words ‘ I was maxed on 6.5m and Andy was out of control on 8m’. Can’t think why? Wookie managed to break 30 knots again, but didn’t quite beat his own top score – yet.

Now you all know the pride of Andy’s eye, the one thing he values above all other things – yes, this precious van – the love of his life. Indeed he loves it so much he’s now arranged to sleep with it, well at least in it. He got Mr Yeates to put a fabulous new racking system in it which stores loads of kit – and has a sleeping bunk above. Informed sources tell us that it is wide enough for two to sleep – but trust me, none of us are going near enough to find out. In fact, the guys putting it together were tempted to spray it pink instead of the cool black that Andy specified – but sadly, because we’d love to have seen the look on his face, they wimped out at the last moment. There is a lot I could write about who might end up sharing this bunk with Andy, but suffice to say I wouldn’t want to be a sheep at Magheroarty …

So it was that Andy was reversing his precious van out of the Wookie’s drive after enjoying the unexpected 30 knots. And of course he was desperately trying to avoid the trees in case any of them might scrape his lovely shiny black paint work. This, we are reliably informed, is the reason he backed over a GPS unit and Wookie’s helmet. Sadly Wookie wasn’t wearing it at the time – otherwise the rest of us might have a chance of winning the GPS challenge. But it was a pretty bad ending to a great session for poor old Andy.

And by the way, Andy has risen to the occasion and is in the process of replacing the flattened GPS. He says.

JULY WEEKEND DELIVERS

I know all the boring people ie those who don’t windsurf, are complaining that the UK weather this July is rubbish. But these muggles don’t realize that it’s actually great weather – it’s windy!

I’ve already told you about Tuesday when the speed record fell. Later on that day a big crowd gathered at Whiterocks which is a great beach near Portrush. Finn Mullen was out (didn’t you know he was gay – well, look at that hair?) and was seen looping. Colin and Big Robert were braving some pretty big waves and Wookie was playing one of his favourite games – ram the surfer.

But for most of us it’s the weekend which counts and this last one was a corker. The inevitable McDs was followed by a trip to the club where there was a lot of wind but far out from the shore – it was NNW. So we decided to risk our health and decamped over to Ballyturd where it was seriously windy. Ballyholme, to give it its proper title, is a lovely sandy beach which works well in most northerlies and delivers some good waves on occasion. The only problem is the sewage, supposedly now a lot better as they invest in the treatment plants – but I still saw plenty of evidence of human detritus – I mean the sewage not the windsurfers.

The wind was up and down in roughly 30 minute cycles actually over both Saturday and Sunday. The windiest was Saturday around lunch time when 4.5-5m was actually quite hard to hold down. And it turned into a 2 day reunion as various strange and wonderful people (OK, just strange, I lied about the wonderful) that we haven’t seen for ages came out to bathe in the magic waters. People like Russell and Richard – the former gay fireman – he’s not a fireman anymore, other than that I can’t comment. Nigel aka Fantapants (think red hair and a colour scheme that reminds you of Fanta) was back on (and in) the water. Ronnie Lough, these days looking the picture of fitness and health in excellent contrast to a few years ago – mind you the contents of Ballyholme bay could soon fix that. And Shipman was out again – we’ve missed those classic crashed gybes and his constant picking of a sail too small. Steptoe and Son (Trevor Pollen) were displaying their range of vintage windsurfing gear – although Trevor has splashed out and bought a new trendy ear protector cum head band thingie. He now looks like a superannuated rugby player – still it’s more stylish than that famous old coat he used to wear.

And talking of things making you sick, Barry was up from Newcastle where he tells me all the wise windsurfers (oxymoron or what?) are refusing to sail Newcastle beach. You may remember it was on the news that the health authorities shut the outdoor (sea water) pool down because it had more bacteria than a McDonald’s Happy Meal. Well, for once the nanny state was right. Apparently a whole dose (correct collective pronoun I think) of windsurfers who went out there got very ill. Barry himself, a tough old boot you might think, felt sick even while he was sailing there and was off work for a week. Sail Tyrella, it’s fine, but we recommend you don’t sail Newcastle!

Well, back to the tampon tidal streams of Ballyholme – on Saturday most people had a good sail. The seriously windy time was 1ish on Saturday but there was still good 5m weather to be had for most of the day, although in 30 minutes bursts.

Sunday saw a fine windsurfing tradition going to the wall when Wookie got out of bed too late and we missed the breakfast at McDs. Filled with remorse, Wookie guided to us to the Pitstop where, surrounded by dubious looking truckers and motorbikers, we had a real Ulster Fry. Then it was back to bog-roll bay just as the wind came up. Once again it was 30 minutes and then all change. For example I spent the day oscillating between almost all the combination of 2 sails and  2 boards – 6.3m/7.5m and 100/120 ltrs. Wookie had another great sail, although there were no waves to speak of – but some big swells outside. With no surfer to aim for, he had to content himself with ripping through the large phalanx of yachts racing from Ballyholme YC.

Once again Tourettes was out turning the fine sunny air blue. Colin blasted about on some big sails. We also saw Sponge Bill Square Pants – he really prefers to be called Hot Ice, so clearly he’s Sponge Bill to us. Ashley was another returner spotted on the water as was Jo. Now some of you may remember Jo – possibly because attractive young (female) windsurfers are pretty thin on the ground (well, just look at the unattractive, old, male windsurfers to see why) and possibly because she was one of the finalists in Boards X-factor competition. Despite a provocative choice of photograph for the competition she didn’t win the Simon Bornhoff coaching trip – personally I thought the fishnet stocking and basque were a bit over the top, unless of course Andy was wearing them….

Jo specifically asked me not to mention that she’s been working as an instructor overseas in between her studies to be a doctor (now they all do wear fishnets – and that’s only the men). Since she’s not been on a board for 6 months, she didn’t want anyone to see how rusty she was. I can only say that when I saw her she was sailing along nicely. Although I did notice that when she was working in the shallows at her moves there always seemed to be a large crowd of males around eager to lend her a hand. I guess windsurfing in that bikini was probably not a good idea.

Others out and variously enjoying themselves included James and his sister, Pat with an excellent after-wedding hangover and inevitably when everyone else was finished Casper materialized and rigged up.

And where was Andy while all this excellent windsurfing was going on? Apparently in deepest Southern Ireland trying out his newly adapted van/sleeping bunk. We’re all dying to hear who he and Suzy got on  and what it was like sleeping above a set of smelly, wet sails and boards…

 WHAT'S COMING AND GOING

PIER 36 NSC SPEED CHALLENGE

There are only two classes, both members only :

OPEN    Simply the fastest verified speed on the water anytime between now and early October

HANDICAPPED We will provide handicaps to anyone who wants to enter. All female members will get a boost of at least 10 knots so if you do 20 knots, your score will be entered as 30! Some of the faster men, including those who scored highly last year will be handicapped by up to 5 knots.

Please note, you can enter both classes for the single flat fee of £10, but you will only be allowed to win one of the categories.

See the regularly updated league table of speeds throughout the year.

The basic rules remain as last year ie

    You must have your speed verified by 1 NSC member if you are sailing at the club, 2 if you are sailing elsewhere

    Your speed must be verified as soon as you leave the water

    You must have paid your entry fee before you did your run otherwise your score doesn't count

    You are not allowed to win if your name is Ming, Loughridge, ugly b*****d or you are made of more than 35% titanium

Get your Tenners into Pat or myself and get those scores on the doors!

OTHER STUFF

    Another wavesailing clinic in the Autumn - Jim Collis will be providing the expert tuition 13-18 October - booking now and nearly full! ' Contact me if you want in.

    An end of year prize dinner including various prizes you don't want given for things you did that you hoped nobody else saw - provisionally Friday 10 October

    Windsurfing beginners night - every Tuesday evening and Saturday morning with Thursday nights as the standby (if Tuesday is too windy) at the club, with full RYA lessons and supervised beginners time on the water (kit hire available). Contact Andy on 077 6974 7860 or e-mail to info@wookiewindsurfing.com

If there's something you want to see, and especially if you're prepared to put in a little time into helping with it, please let us know!

THE USUAL BITS AT THE END

This e-mail is sent out free to anyone interested in windsurfing in Norn Iron, regardless of where they may live. It is often centred around activities at Newtownards Sailing Club but welcomes information from and about anyone enjoying the sport in Ireland - and preferably sometimes making a fool of themselves as well. If you have a story to tell or some dirt to dish, please let us know.

You can subscribe to this newsletter by using the button on the NSC website at www.newtownardssailingclub.co.uk where you can also find incriminating photographs of the regulars and past newsletters detailing their many crimes.

You can now subscribe directly by going to www.mylyst.com . You can also change you details here at your own convenience and of course unsubscribe.

If you are interested in trying out the club, contact us and come and sail as our guests. The club has excellent facilities including RYA qualified instructors and top quality beginners gear for hire and lock up storage facilities for gear, so line up your family and friends to get into the sport.

Windsurfers are a nomadic bunch, moving around to find the best winds and waves. So some question the value of paying annual membership to a club. For the many of us who do, we get excellent facilities including warm showers (all winter long!), a bar, safe launching and rescue facilities plus of course we organise the legendary windsurfing holidays. Visit us and see (and sail) for yourself, you can sail with us a guest up to 6 times before we give you choice of joining or losing your kneecaps.

LOTS OF PERFECT WIND AND WAVES - JULY 2008

CONTENTS

Perfect Wind and Waves - Far Away
Perfect Wind and Waves (well almost) - Nearby

Regatta and Wind

30 Knots - No Problem!

Kit for Sale
Bashed your Board?

What's Coming and Going

The Usual Bits at the End
Mauritius - the full story

30 KNOTS BARRIER BREACHED - THE COMPETITION HOTS UP!

DONEGAL IN OCTOBER IS NEARLY FULL - BOOK OR JOIN THE WAITING LIST!

PERFECT WIND AND WAVES - FAR AWAY

I don't normally write about my holidays, other than the very occasional article in Boards, but this year word got out that we were going to Mauritius and quite a few people asked about it. Not surprising really when you see the blurb of a seemingly luxurious hotel suitable for all the family coupled with top notch windsurfing and good waves.

The short version is that it's an excellent wave location and at this time of year (their Winter) you'll get great wind. I spent a lot of time on 4.2-4.7m and I'm not the smallest of chaps. Everything your family could want is there too, but it's not cheap.

So for those of you who'd like to know more - just go to the end of this e-mail. You'll get, without the added joy of my family and windsurfing photographs (available on request to those of iron constitutions), the full low down.

PERFECT WIND AND WAVES (WELL ALMOST) - NEARBY

OK - enough of the travel log - what's been happening a bit closer to home. Well quite a lot really. The perfect wind and waves were last week and a few selected people managed to get up to Donegal for it - others of us of course had to work...

You'll not be surprised to hear that the AA were there (Andy and Alan Yeates) aka alcoholics anonymous. Wookie and a couple of others were there too. In the words of the ever accurate and never known to exaggerate Mr Tease -

Lord

We are just back from Donegal some serious wind and good waves on our 2 day surf trip, we even had the pleasure of the Wook.  We are talking about 3.7m/3.3m weather the windiest I have been out in for quite a while.

Andy

I cross checked with others who confirmed Wednesday was seriously windy and Magheroarty was the place. Andy however failed to mention the most interesting bit of crack and craic - which is that Big Robert managed to crack his head off the front of his board, apparently in some form of jump. The good news is that the board was undamaged, the even better news is that Robert is to be seen sporting an egg shaped bruise on his forehead. I'm tempted to run a competition for you to guess which board has the right shaped rails etc to produce an egg shaped bruise... Incidentally, we have now solved the mystery of why he's known as Big Robert - it's because of the size of his Winnibago, which right enough is huge.

After a night sharing all sorts of (bodily) fluids together our intrepid crew enjoyed an even better day on Thursday. The wind wasn't quite so strong but was compensated by perfect down the line waves, again at Magheroarty. Makes you feel good to know that most of us were stuck in our offices while all this was going on. The only person to suffer was the rust-coloured Alan Yeates who sailed well but was not getting any waves. Indeed he took so much stick that he's now signed up for the October Donegal wave clinic - so it's Nabaree for Jim Collis this Autumn!

Actually the other person to suffer a bit was uncle Andy who was seen again practising the admittedly very difficult cult form of wavesailing where there is no board apparent and you have water up to your knees.

The other fun was the hard working windsurfer who should have been working and then got caught out when the office rang demanding an important document be completed. Given the choice between perfect down the line and his career, he worked the small hours to complete it, then sailed and was then stuck to send it to work - Internet access isn't too good on the sand dunes. He apparently drove down the road stopping at frequent intervals until he found a house with unprotected wifi and did the foul deed from there. His office never found out - or at least they didn't until they read this newsletter that is....


REGATTA AND WIND

The previous weekend was the NSC regatta and a good turnout of windsurfers ensured that the largest sailing class was in fact windsurfers. Paula neglected her exam marking to organise a series of races for us and we got some wind. Actually it was pretty awful wind, up and down like the proverbial lower undergarments of the lady of the night. No sail was right as it shifted both in strength and direction. And it was unseasonably cold. Actually the thing which really sent shivers down our spines was the apparition which was Ali Todd. He looked awful! How can you tell, I hear you ask, he always looks awful - but no this was pretty grim. Apparently he was doing the old corporate bit at Down Royal the day before and took his professional responsibilities rather far. 'I'm still drunk' he whimpered as he struggled to sail out for the races - and from the way he sailed we believe him. It's the first time I've seen a zombie on a sail board. It also seems that his wife made quite a lot of money that day too - we assume by betting on horses although Ali didn't actually make the method clear.

Despite the conditions the regatta races were great fun and were largely a 2 horse race between Maurice Owens and his friend Fintan Day - although Wookie lurked as only he can lurk and nearly surprised them a couple of times. In the end Fintan took the races 2:1 and proudly carried off an NSC shield - which he promised to sleep faithfully with and to cherish for all time. The rest of us had to put up with an excellent spread of sandwiches and buns and of course the obligatory pint in the bar.

By Sunday the wind had steadied and was forecast to come up at 1PM. And at 3 minutes to one, up it came. 4.5-5m was the size and no-one needed more than 1 sail. Quite a crowd were out, mostly from the club but a few cheapskates from the car park too. Andy pleased the crowd by actually showing his ankles and feet while blasting at speed on 5.7m. Some really nice laydowns too. Wookie on 4.5 was gybing around anyone that fell in the water and Colin Kelly was controlling the conditions really well. At times it got mental and the swell cum waves were pretty good. Maurice reappeared with his brother and then seemed totally unperturbed when his sibling broke his sail near the Boartrees. It was a long swim in, but he made it.

By this time I was out on 5m (very well powered up!) on my 78l wave board - and I was having a miserable time, I just couldn't get comfortable. As ever, it was Andy who was my saviour, this man knows his kit. He pointed out that I normally sail the wave board with 4-4.5m and probably my fin was too small. Dugh! How stupid was I - and of course a quick change from 22cm to 24 just made my day. Suddenly the board felt right, the gybes came and the sun came out. It's easy to forget how important the fin is and how big a difference size makes - remember this if you're having a bad day!

Ming the merciless went out with the speed challenge in his sights. He fairly took off in very far from flat conditions and ended the day posting a proud 28.9 knots - some feat in those waves. Actually it was some feet as well - as he managed to make not one but two holes in his foot. Just how he did this (on rocks) while doing such speed we're not sure - maybe the blood reduces the drag and helped the speed. But as he drove off to get his titanium repaired, Wookie took out the GPS and immediately recorded 29 knots. So it's open warfare now in the challenge...

We saw Hearn Dog (Mark Heron) really knocking out the jumps and gybes and Jarleth was doing much the same. Others out included Casper (Phil), Trevor Gabbie and myself enjoying 5m. Also our were that well known family of scrap merchants Trevor Pollen and Son, proving that antiques still sail (I refer to the kit, not to Trevor).

By 4 we had all retired knackered and/or bleeding - nothing another pint in the bar couldn't solve.

And where was Pat Lyner this lovely weekend. Well, off marrying his Pole dancer - so we won't see him anytime soon on the water ....

And while we were playing at Strangford, Ross tells me of strange rotations at Lough Neagh -

Howd the regatta go BTW as I was doing the “family” thing till lunchtime. Sunday was 4.7 at Lough Neagh with Finn (Mullen) doing forward loops and other things I don’t know what are called spectacularly….. Timo as well but his knee has been “rebuilt” so only taking photo’s.

Speak soon

Ross

It'll be good to see Timo back on the water. After all he's been responsible for the one (and only) time I got passed off as a pro-windsurfer! Actually a dodge to get some of us in to see the first indoor windsurfing in London a couple of years ago. Mind you, he also got our WAGs through as well so I guess anyone can be a pro these days...

And the other spot of news is that a bunch of miscreants were out mid week in good wind - which then died totally. Most spotted it and got into shore - all except poor Mr Yeates who wobbled, swam and ended up miles down wind with a long walk of shame...

And bringing you up to date, this weekend turned out (despite poor forecasts) to be really great. Saturday saw a big turnout at the club for some very steady 7.5m wind in very warm conditions. Although I missed it, my spies tell me that no-one disgraced  or humiliated themselves which is very annoying. Those seen out included Wookie, Mr Yeates (sailing, not walking), Paula and Colin. No speed records broken, but just a lovely day on the water.

And Sunday had a worse forecast, so naturally it was an even better day. Things started about noon with some up and down 7.5m weather and fairly flat water. The wind built a little over the afternoon with some very strong squalls coming through just to keep us on our toes - or gasping in the water. The club GPS units are now fully working and were put to good use. Paula was out, putting windsurfing before church, and increased her personal best so she's knocking on the door of 20 knots. Clearly God is a windsurfer.

I had my first try and managed a creditable 25.7 knots - actually I  got rather excited when I thought I'd done 29 but it turned out that unit had been set to mph instead of knots! Robbie Bin Laden was out and beat my speed - and then proceded to gybe in 6 inches of water and do a rather spectacular crash - serves him (W)right! William had been fooled by the forecast into having too big kit with him, but still scored some respectable speeds. And Casper appeared (from nowhere as ever) and rigged his 6.5m and was seen blasting away very respectably. The top prize however must go to the Wookie who really went for it and knocked out a leading 30+ knots score - more below and how it's done.

So all in all another lovely warm, sunny (most of the time) day when everyone enjoyed themselves at what is clearly the king of sports.

30 KNOTS - NO PROBLEM

The Pier 36 NSC Speed Challenge is hotting up nicely. The prizes include £100 cash, crate of wine and other goodies and the competitive element is really kicking in.

First let me remind you that there are 2 GPS units stationed at the club. Kindly donated by Pier 36, these are in a locked box and can be signed out by any member at any time to use. Contact me for details of the combination to get in.

Now to the fun part. Ming has, as in last year, been setting the pace. Titanium Man did 28.9 knots last Sunday and was elated. We were amazed because he did it in conditions when the rest of us were on wave boards - we now realise his balls must also be made of titanium. But his joy was shortlived as Wookie immediately paid his tenner and within 30 minutes had put 29 on the clock. Ming's reaction by e-mail was 'Must try harder!' to which he might also have added 'or die in the process'.

Now the Ming Clan have decamped to Mongo (see Flash Gordon if you're confused) for the month - the rest of us know it as Donegal. But still I got a text on Saturday informing me (and the by now growling Wookie) that Ming had hit 29.3. The rules allow you to post scores from other locations provided you have more witnesses.

And so it was that this Sunday Wookie went out, literally muttering about Ming as he sailed to motivate himself. But try as he might he could't improve on his score. And then a further text comes in from Mongo - Ming has 29.9 - all legal and decent. It turns out that he's been really trying (really?) and even borrowed kit from Maurice Owens - not something he'll be doing again since he then broke Maurice's boom. On the plus side Ming had a 45 minute swim in as a result.

So the pressure was on the Wookie who still couldn't make an improvement. Once again it was Andy who provided the magic - despite not actually being there. I too was struggling to get a good speed (7.5m on 120 Z-ride) when I remembered Andy telling me that you needed a big sail and small fin to get fast. So I replaced my 40 cm (normal for 7.5m) with a 32 and wondered if the board would sail. It did, with some adjustment in technique, and put about 3 knots on my score. Still not huge at 25.7 but much better. I told Wookie this, he was also on 7.5m (on 115) and he did the same. Next thing he's grinning like Robert Mugabe at a good police beating and he's got 30.2 knots.

This is the first time anyone at the club has broken the 30 knot barrier officially and it's a real achievement. It's such a landmark that Wookie got as near as he physically  can to looking happy. Ming has been informed and is rumoured to be fitting rockets to his board - we shall see.

So what are the current top scores :

Wookie 30.2
Ming 29.9
Pat the Pole 26.7
Lord 25.7

And Paula still leads the handicap at 29.7 but Wookie is nibbling at her behind - now that would make your eyes water...

As you can see, this is whole lot of fun - and all generously sponsored by Pier 36.

There are GPS units at the club and a tenner gets you into both classes. So if you're a member when are you going to enter?

KIT FOR SALE

Word from Bill McCartney - who obviously does a good line in sales patter -
 

Hi Alan,

I am selling my 2007 Starboard Carve 133 board for £499.

That's a saving of over £300.

It is like new and I have only used it a few times.

Ideal for the light summer winds or beginner / intermediate.

I would be grateful if you put the details on your next news letter.

Anyone interested contact me on 07849752588

BTW, it's been the windiest week of the year while you're on holidays. Monday and Tuesday wave sailing Donegal. Early Thursday morning and late Thursday evening Ballyholme Northerlies. Friday all day Ballyholme Northerlies.

Here in good old Ireland over the last 11 days I have windsurfed 9 times. Imagine 9 times windsurfing out of 11 days in June in Ireland, that must be a record

Best Regards

Bill

See what I mean? I wouldn't buy double glazing or insurance from him - but I'm sure the board is as good as he says it is. I also wonder if he lives in the same Ireland as we do - where is he getting all this wind from?

BASHED YOUR BOARD?

Let's face it, we've all done it. Bashed, dented or in one notable case sliced (in 2) our board. And what do you do when you've wrecked your pride and joy? I faced this recently and got Ross Traylen to do the necessary. I found out that a lot of people have used Ross for board repair and all sing his praises mightily.

Ross works out of his father's garage in Lisburn and I can now testify to just how good a job he does. You'll know how much I use and abuse my FV1 and he has taken 5 years off it - for a very modest fee as well. I wonder if he could take 5 years off me as well?

So if your nose is bashed or your side chipped, Ross is your man. I reckon he could even make Trevor Pollen's kit look new(ish). You can contact him on gaastrani@hotmail.com

WHAT'S COMING AND GOING

PIER 36 NSC SPEED CHALLENGE

There are only two classes, both members only :

OPEN    Simply the fastest verified speed on the water anytime between now and early October

HANDICAPPED We will provide handicaps to anyone who wants to enter. All female members will get a boost of at least 10 knots so if you do 20 knots, your score will be entered as 30! Some of the faster men, including those who scored highly last year will be handicapped by up to 5 knots.

Please note, you can enter both classes for the single flat fee of £10, but you will only be allowed to win one of the categories.

Once again we will publish a league table of speeds throughout the year.

The basic rules remain as last year ie

    You must have your speed verified by 1 NSC member if you are sailing at the club, 2 if you are sailing elsewhere

    Your speed must be verified as soon as you leave the water

    You must have paid your entry fee before you did your run otherwise your score doesn't count

    You are not allowed to win if your name is Ming, Loughridge, ugly b*****d or you are made of more than 35% titanium

Get your Tenners into Pat or myself and get those scores on the doors!

OTHER STUFF

    Another wavesailing clinic in the Autumn - Jim Collis will be providing the expert tuition 13-18 October - booking now and nearly full! ' Contact me if you want in.

    An end of year prize dinner including various prizes you don't want given for things you did that you hoped nobody else saw - provisionally Friday 10 October

    Windsurfing beginners night - every Tuesday evening and Saturday morning with Thursday nights as the standby (if Tuesday is too windy) at the club, with full RYA lessons and supervised beginners time on the water (kit hire available). Contact Andy on 077 6974 7860 or e-mail to info@wookiewindsurfing.com

If there's something you want to see, and especially if you're prepared to put in a little time into helping with it, please let us know!

THE USUAL BITS AT THE END

This e-mail is sent out free to anyone interested in windsurfing in Norn Iron, regardless of where they may live. It is often centred around activities at Newtownards Sailing Club but welcomes information from and about anyone enjoying the sport in Ireland - and preferably sometimes making a fool of themselves as well. If you have a story to tell or some dirt to dish, please let us know.

You can subscribe to this newsletter by using the button on the NSC website at www.newtownardssailingclub.co.uk where you can also find incriminating photographs of the regulars and past newsletters detailing their many crimes.

You can now subscribe directly by going to www.mylyst.com . You can also change you details here at your own convenience and of course unsubscribe.

If you are interested in trying out the club, contact us and come and sail as our guests. The club has excellent facilities including RYA qualified instructors and top quality beginners gear for hire and lock up storage facilities for gear, so line up your family and friends to get into the sport.

Windsurfers are a nomadic bunch, moving around to find the best winds and waves. So some question the value of paying annual membership to a club. For the many of us who do, we get excellent facilities including warm showers (all winter long!), a bar, safe launching and rescue facilities plus of course we organise the legendary windsurfing holidays. Visit us and see (and sail) for yourself, you can sail with us a guest up to 6 times before we give you choice of joining or losing your kneecaps.

MAURITIUS - THE FULL STORY

As promised above - here's the full low down on Mauritius.

The resort is known as Indian Resort and is on the bottom left hand corner of the island, about 45 minutes from the airport. It's a 12 hour flight from London BTW so it's a fairly serious trip. Le Mourne is the large mountain behind the resort which both aids the local conditions and gives you something to aim at when you're way out the back and panicking to get home!

Firstly the windsurfing, it's probably the best I've ever found. It's Winter there now and so the wind is reliable. We had 3 days off the water in 14. And we had good stretches of 4-4.5m wind, cross or cross off. There is a reef about half a mile out and on windy days there are good waves inside this reef. On other days there are few waves here but it's never flat water. So hopefully gone are the days of doing great moves when on (flat water) holiday which couldn't be repeated back home. People still rib me about my first duck gybes in Aruba which took 2 years to repeat in Ireland (this could also be something to do with my lack of ability of course).

There is a large gap in the reef and getting out through it isn't too difficult. On smaller days you can do it non planing, on big days you'll be able to get some serious air. Outside there are some big waves and usual impact zone. Further out it calms down to just huge swells but there is a further break about 2 more miles out. You can go to this, but they organise you in groups of 3 or more and give you a radio (so you can listen to nice music while you drown).

I have to say something about safety here. I've had issues with at least one other Mistral centre before, but this was excellent in all respects. They have a watch tower, always manned and 2 ribs on tap. On bigger days they also have people near the reef in a rib in order to respond even quicker. I never felt in the least danger - except when going through the rinse cycles on the reef when frankly I wasn't thinking too much about anything except trying to breath!

The wave conditions were very good and even non experts like me could go down the line. The good guys went up in the air and smacked like fetishists at a wife swapping party. There were a lot of kites on the water, but I found them to be considerate and helpful to windsurfers so they were never an issue. I also watched one guy kite in with his dog under his arm - how the dog got out to the reef baffles me...

The equipment was very good, thanks to Andy Tease's advice I spent a lot of time on a Mistral Synchro 104 ltr Red Dot - and loved it. Big days I changed down and on smaller days I even tried SUPs of which they have 6 in 2 sizes. The final clincher for me was a mixed (girls and boys) changing room - clearly heaven on earth.... Sail sizes for me were 4.2-6.5m but most of the time was 4.7-5.7. You could take your own kit (but of course not on British Airways ... spits venom and curses loudly) and many did. But frankly I wouldn't, there's such a good variety of kit there and very well rigged.

Lastly on the windsurfing, I should explain that the centre is 30 yards from one of the 3 hotel pools. So you can leave your partner by the pool with music, bar and food to hand and just stroll to the water. Very civilised and very useful when trying to give the appearance of being an attentive loving partner (no, seriously, don't laugh - well at least not out loud) while actually spending the maximum time on the water.

OK - so windsurfing is perfect, but what about the family. Great news all round here, this place has got it all. 2 main pools (not heated) with excellent attentive service. A spa doing everything you can think of to any part of your body. My wife had 2 massages for example. There's even a pain relieving massage - I mean for the windsurfer who's over done it - not as some of you have suggested for my wife to relieve the pain of having to be there with me. There's a kids club with its own buildings, adventure playground and staff. Tennis, fitness centre, shops - I think you get the picture. The main restaurant is great with a huge variety and changes every night. And you can maintain that solid windsurfing tradition of sailing on a greasy fry type breakfast! (Sadly no McDs breakfasts). There are also 3 other speciality restaurants (Indian, French and Italian) where you can put on your posh frock (as I know so many of you like to do) and score a few bonus points to assist gaining more time on the water later.

The only drawbacks I can see are the winter weather and the costs. The seasons are reversed here and it's currently winter. This means that when the sun is out it's like a really good June days at home. But when it vanishes, especially as a squall comes through it can appear almost cold. With Le Mourne in the background, weather moves quickly. You can have a squall come through, dump huge rain for 10 minutes and vanish just as quickly. It's good, sunbathing is nice but it's not your Caribbean island summer. And drinks and lunch (we went on half board) can add up. We did the sums and probably picked the right package. You can go all inclusive (depending on your alcoholic throughput basically) and just relax and drown in food and drink. Many people did and had a ball.

Costs will vary and may well increase with higher oil prices, but we met people there paying £1200 each for 1 week all inclusive including flights ( UK) and kit hire. Our cost was nearer £1500 each half board including kit for 2 weeks. So it's not cheap - but oh those waves.

I hope this is useful to those interested in this fabulous location. If anyone wants more detail - of can even stomach those dreaded holiday pictures - you know how to contact me. It will of course cost you a pint!

SEEING DOUBLE I HOPE - MAY 2008

CONTENTS

Seeing Double - I Hope

May Day

Nose Job

Speed Challenge Update

Kit for Sale

Donegal Waves III - Booking up Fast!

What's Coming and Going

The Usual Bits at the End

DONEGAL IN OCTOBER IS NEARLY FULL - BOOK OR JOIN THE WAITING LIST!

SEEING DOUBLE - I HOPE

I'm really hoping you get this twice and if you do all is well. The reason is that I'm migrating this e-newsletter to proper newsletter software instead of just sending out from my personal e-mail account. This will hopefully be of benefit to all of you because -

    There should be less spam issues

    I can handle the inevitable e-mail bounces more efficiently so you're more likely to still get the e-mails even if your e-mail goes through a bad patch

    You can update your address and other details on line without having to go through me

    You can get off the list easily on line

    And now I can use colours and other exciting features - bet you can hardly wait!

And just to make it clear, only the listowner (ie me) can send out e-mails so there is no chance of someone grabbing the addresses and sending you a load of stuff to enhance your manliness (probably too late for most of you anyway).

So this is hopefully the last time you get an e-mail from alan.wattsNSC@virgin.net and also the first time you get one from mylyst@mylyst.com . You should get it twice - if you didn't get the virgin one then that address was blacklisted by your e-mail. If you don't get the mylyst one, then you've got a problem and you should e-mail me to let me know.

And if you want to change your details, or subscribe someone new to the list just go to www.mylyst.com . Because I have mass subscribed you all to the list, you haven't received a confirmation e-mail from the system. This means that to change you details you need to go to unsubscribe and then when it gives you the choice follow update your preferences instead.

The system holds a little more information about you. This is :

Your first and second names

Whether you are a member of NSC or not (you don't have to be a member)

Your sailing location (NI, S Ireland or further away)

Anything else about you - could be a nick name or anything (you can choose to leave this one blank)

Your windsurfing level - choice of beginner, early intermediate, intermediate or expert

The reason for holding this information is purely so we can send out more targeted e-mails on occasion EG to club members only or to beginners only.

Now the important bit - please WHITELIST mylyst@mylyst.com - so that you continue getting the e-mails!

If you have any problems, just let me know.  

MAY DAY

Still no westerlies but in the run up to the second May day holiday, the Wednesday stood out. Firstly Wookie and I did Whiterock, conveniently where he has his nest or should that be cave? Anyway, fortified by a good fried breakfast at the Old Post Office, we tackled the relatively light wind with 7.5 for the fur ball and 9.4m for me. Since my FV1 is having some TLC from Ross (too many nicks, cuts and dents, that's my FV1, not Ross), I'd borrowed an EVO 360. At 140l it's a good big sail carrier - but oh so much heavier than my FV1 - so it was quickly christened the Ark Royal. It was dead slow to plane and took a lot of technique but (very) well powered up it did shift and, being made of reinforced concrete, woe betide anything that got in its way once it was going. Actually, we worked out afterwards that it had actually gone faster than the real Ark Royal. The 2 of us did a tour of the small islands near Whiterock, classic cruising but with some d irection and purpose. The sun was out and it was just a lovely way to pass a morning. As the winds freshened, we went for a blast across to Greyabbey - much to the fright of the locals. And then a scary downwind blast home. More wind and we changed down to 7.5/6.5 and took off. Pity we hadn't got a GPS on (come on Lewis, hurry up!) but whatever we did it was very fast - it had to be because by then we were hanging on by our teeth.

Meanwhile the medical crew plumped for Newtownards, despite the largely easterly wind. Pat and Chris rocked up for lunch and Russell and Mr Yeates were seen slumming it from the car park. How art the mighty fallen. Actually we're pleased to report that Alan was supposed to be meeting Andy to do some serious iron work for him - that's for his van, not for his truss by the way. One can only be saddened at the thought of poor trussless Andy waiting in vain for Alan to show - while all the while Alan was blasting on the lough. Could this be the end of their cosy two-some trips to Donegal we speculate? Ming had his 116 JP supersport and a 7m and apparently did some good speed. Unfortunately he hasn't e-mailed me the score on the door so we don't know if he's managed to overtake Paula yet. Pat however has e-mailed me, 25.7 knots on his S-type, again on 7m. No-one has broken the 30 knots barrier yet - but it's coming.

And we have to bits of medical information to pass on to you about the day - 1 good, 1 bad. The first is that Tony Egerton (aka Harold) had his first venture on the water after a long lay off for medical reasons. So the good news is that the sex-change has been a big success and Antonia as he is now to be known sailed well with no adverse reactions - other than to the pink taffeta number he insisted on wearing over his wetsuit. The bad news, considering he's about to be married, is that Pat's attempt at self castration failed. Apparently he gybed, held on too long, back winded and  then fell off - nothing new there then. But in doing so he attempted to mate with his fin - and ended up with a nasty cut in his wetsuit very close to his family jewels. Better luck next time Pat!

NZ Tim was out (bet you didn't even know he was gay), but apparently had a pants sail. He'd clearly have been better to use a regular windsurfing sail.

The wind was odd, as you might expect being from the east. Most of the time it was fine, but every now and then you'd hit a Bermuda Triangle (yes, Barry Manilow should be shot) - an area with just no wind at all. Once you swam out of it, you were OK again.

Saturday saw the club lessons taking off, I arrived down to find some of the new recruits from the Try day out on the water doing their RYA course. Paula and I rigged up (9.4m and 7m) which gives you an indication of the lack of wind. Actually in the rigging area there was no wind and you marched down the slipway thinking you must be nuts. But about 100m out there was wind, actually quite good and we both had an excellent sail. Mind you it did take about 30 minutes to get back in again afterwards. After lunch Paula went out again and this time got caught out badly. We were all sitting around, enjoying the sun and watching her struggle in. We did consider taking out a boat to help her, but the craic was too good. Even when she gave up and swam for it, we figured she wanted the exercise anyway.

And then Sunday Cloughy was taken over. Actually a couple came up to me on the beach and asked if there was a competition on - and well might they wonder. About 10 windsurfer and the same again in kite surfers. The usual odd bunch of horse riders, squealing families and courting couples were nearly crowded out. The sun shone and it was actually a pleasure to expose ourselves getting changed at the cars. Initially the wind wasn't that good, most people took out around 7.5m and it was patchy and up and down. However it built up steadily during the day and by late afternoon many people crawled off the water saying they couldn't hold it anymore - I imagine they were referring to their sails, but in at least one case I'm not so sure. Robbie Bin Laden turned up with a William Hague-style baseball cap pointing backwards. A clever disguise for an international terrorist, but there was no mistaking those gybes do we still knew it was Robbie. Colin lab oured with 8m and the after effects of the flu while Andy sank to his knees and left before the good wind appeared. Wookie, Pat, Tourettes, Raptor and I had a great sail which only got better when I got the camera out and we took it in turns to stand waist deep and snap. It's funny how the most fluent of gybers and carving tackers go to pieces when a camera is pointed at them - and we have the multiframe shots to prove it. It was another lovely day only ruined (for Wookie) when he heard that he'd missed 4.5m at Newcastle. The rest of us didn't care as we'd had a ball. Not even a road blocking accident on the Portaferry Road which delayed out homecoming could spoil another perfect day.

NOSE JOB

I told you about a recent weekend down at Cloughy when the wind didn't really appear until most of us had left. However Ming and Marti stayed on more in desperation than hope - and got lucky. But for Marti it was an expensive day out - he's now sent me the full sordid details in the words of our favourite lobster -

Not ashamed to admit I was doing at least 25/6 knots when I hit a buoy attached to a lobster pot.... YES, I stopped dead in my tracks and bang went the front end on my JP 120 and crack as the Boom departed company to the bottom of the Ocean.  So my everlasting memory of Northern Ireland was a embarrassing wipeout with the Ming giggling like a 10 year old and a long bloody swim in... Not just content with laughing at me his fitness advice was to do more work on my shoulders for next time when when paddling in!!  Oh and YES its was a great afternoon on the water Tee Hee. 28.4 knots aint bad for an oldie!

Regards to all and please keep me on your mailing list as I am working on how to get back out there (but do not tell my lady that)

Marti (aka the Lobster... Before anyone else starts calling me it)   

So there you are, please can everyone not tell Marti's lady that he wants to get back to windsurfing in N Ireland - oops, these e-mails are put up on the club website and so the entire world can see it!

SPEED CHALLENGE UPDATE

The Pier 36 NSC Speed Challenge is up and running the early scores on the door are coming in. Remember there are in effect 2 competitions, open (fastest) and handicapped.

Leader in the open section is last year's winner Ming the Merciliess with 28.4, although Pat Lyner is nibbling at his titanium with 25.7 knots. While Paula is leading the handicap with 28.7.

With prizes including £100 cash, crate of wine and other goodies, when are you going to enter?

KIT FOR SALE

Bad news - another otherwise perfectly good windsurfer is going over to the dark side and turning into a Thunderbirds puppet.

Hi Alan,

I have gone over to the "dark side" and is now the proud owner of a couple of kites. I plan to go windsurfing only in winds where kitesurfing becomes suicidal (35mile+) and I have therefore some second hand windsurfing kit for sale:

Board:

2004 F2 Maui Project FW 94 - Pretty battered but still useful as a light wind wave board or for freestyle. £50

Sails:

2006 Tushingham Storm 6.0 - good condition just used 1 year. £100.

2005 Gaastra Manic 5.3 - ok condition. £70

Mast:

Tushingham 430 C75% - used one year. £60.

Booms:

Neil Pryde Matrix 180-220. £40.

Neil Pryde Matrix 145-195. £40.

The prices are just suggestions - I'm happy to negotiate!

I would be grateful if you would circulate round with your next e-mail. If anyone are interested my contact details are:

Peter Jakobsen

Mobile: 07825140037.

Peter.Jakobsen@dfpni.gov.uk

Thanks

Peter

DONEGAL WAVES III - BOOKING UP FAST

The bookings are coming in brilliantly for the wave clinic this October in Donegal.

The basic details are :

13 - 19 October

Expert tuition by Jim Collis

Tuition will cost £150-200 per head depending on numbers

Great package deal for bed and breakfast at the Loch Altan hotel E240 (same price as last year for 6 nights B+B and with 1 free dinner thrown in)

Possible 1-2 day packages may be available for a select few who can't spend the entire week with us

£100 deposit required to secure your place and £100 deposit for your accommodation - both non refundable

Numbers are going to be limited - places are still available, but not for much longer. This isn't something you can just leave and think you'll be able to book in September or something. If you want to go contact me now, otherwise you will be on a waiting list.

And just to be clear - this holiday is open to non NSC members as well!

WHAT'S COMING AND GOING

PIER 36 NSC SPEED CHALLENGE

There are only two classes, both members only :

OPEN    Simply the fastest verified speed on the water anytime between now and early October

HANDICAPPED We will provide handicaps to anyone who wants to enter. All female members will get a boost of at least 10 knots so if you do 20 knots, your score will be entered as 30! Some of the faster men, including those who scored highly last year will be handicapped by up to 5 knots.

Please note, you can enter both classes for the single flat fee of £10, but you will only be allowed to win one of the categories.

Once again we will publish a league table of speeds throughout the year.

The basic rules remain as last year ie

    You must have your speed verified by 1 NSC member if you are sailing at the club, 2 if you are sailing elsewhere

    Your speed must be verified as soon as you leave the water

    You must have paid your entry fee before you did your run otherwise your score doesn't count

    You are not allowed to win if your name is Ming, Loughridge, ugly b*****d or you are made of more than 35% titanium

Get your Tenners into Pat or myself and get those scores on the doors!

OTHER STUFF

    Racing at the NSC regatta 21 June - details coming soon!

    Another wavesailing clinic in the Autumn - Jim Collis will be providing the expert tuition 13-18 October - booking now and nearly full!

    An end of year prize dinner including various prizes you don't want given for things you did that you hoped nobody else saw - provisionally Friday 10 October

    Windsurfing beginners night - every Tuesday evening and Saturday morning with Thursday nights as the standby (if Tuesday is too windy) at the club, with full RYA lessons and supervised beginners time on the water (kit hire available). Contact Andy on 077 6974 7860 or e-mail to info@wookiewindsurfing.com

    A slalom/speed training course

If there's something you want to see, and especially if you're prepared to put in a little time into helping with it, please let us know!

THE USUAL BITS AT THE END

This e-mail is sent out free to anyone interested in windsurfing in Norn Iron, regardless of where they may live. It is often centred around activities at Newtownards Sailing Club but welcomes information from and about anyone enjoying the sport in Ireland - and preferably sometimes making a fool of themselves as well. If you have a story to tell or some dirt to dish, please let us know.

You can subscribe to this newsletter by using the button on the NSC website at www.newtownardssailingclub.co.uk where you can also find incriminating photographs of the regulars and past newsletters detailing their many crimes.

You can now subscribe directly by going to www.mylyst.com . You can also change you details here at your own convenience and of course unsubscribe.

If you are interested in trying out the club, contact us and come and sail as our guests. The club has excellent facilities including RYA qualified instructors and top quality beginners gear for hire and lock up storage facilities for gear, so line up your family and friends to get into the sport.

Windsurfers are a nomadic bunch, moving around to find the best winds and waves. So some question the value of paying annual membership to a club. For the many of us who do, we get excellent facilities including warm showers (all winter long!), a bar, safe launching and rescue facilities plus of course we organise the legendary windsurfing holidays. Visit us and see (and sail) for yourself, you can sail with us a guest up to 6 times before we give you choice of joining or losing your kneecaps.

WHERE HAVE ALL THE WESTERLIES GONE - MAY 2008

NEWTOWNARDS SAILING CLUB WINDSURFING E-NEWSLETTER

CONTENTS

Where Have All the Westerlies Gone?

Lots of Newbies

Speed Challenge Update

Donegal Waves III - Booking up Fast!

Great Website for Wind near the Club

What's Coming and Going

The Usual Bits at the End

HAVE YOU GOT SOME OLD KIT TO DONATE TO THE CLUB? 3-4.5m SAILS, BOOMS AND MASTS - SEE BELOW AND GET THEM TO US!

CAN YOU PUT UP A POSTER AT WORK FOR OUR BEGINNERS LESSONS - REPLY TO ME AND I'LL SEND YOU ONE.

DONEGAL IN OCTOBER IS NEARLY FULL - BOOK OR JOIN THE WAITING LIST!

WHERE HAVE ALL THE WESTERLIES GONE?

Regular readers will be well used to me moaning about the weather, but no more nor less than all of you moan. As for weather forecasters, well shooting is clearly too good for them (except of course for Sian Lloyd, who was once brave enough to kiss Wookie - clearly a cheeky girl... and who used to windsurf). But what happened to May being windy? Every Spring and Autumn we are supposed to get lots of wind, that's the British and Irish weather. Except this year it hasn't happened - and a number of people have come up with an interesting theory. Our prevailing winds are westerlies of course. We are still getting the odd easterly and some notherlies as usual. It's just that all the westerlies have all disappeared - and I think they're right. Has George W stolen them, well I don't think he's that clever. Can we blame Gordon? Well yes for most things, but not for this. Whatever the reason, the fact is that good wind is ridiculously hard to find this season.

We did get some a couple of weeks ago when a bunch of us headed up to Donegal. It was a mad Friday night dash to Portnoo - not to get the wind, or even a dose of drink - but to get there before they stopped serving food. Fortunately Colin was part of the advanced party and talked the bar into chaining their chef to his cooker until the main body arrived. Fair play to them because they served us (some rather good steaks) a full hour after they were supposed to stop the food. Naturally we repaid them in the number of Guinness ordered. So Saturday saw a significant chunk of NI camped at Lettermacaward. While most of us slummed and changed in the back of our cars or vans, Big Robert had brought his mega-vehicle with him complete with generator, kitchen and family. We munched sarnies and slurped coffee from a flask while he no doubt sipped a fresh cocktail and returned to a 3 course meal. The whole purpose of the trip was waves and good wind. So naturally when we arrived at one of the best wave beaches in Ireland, the water was nearly flat. There was however wind, 5-5.5m was the usual starting call and Andy, Wookie, Colin, Robert and others were soon blasting around at speed. Wave sailing it wasn't, but at speed the mini waves made it interesting and the sun was shining. And then it got windy! Wookie was on 4.5 and I moved from 6.3 to 5m. Wave boards came out and everyone was prepared to forgive the lack of waves. An hour later it started to drop, Andy was seen in his all too familiar pose cut off at the knees with a submerged board and people struggled in. By lunch it was over and Big Robert was free to enjoy his caviar and frois gras. We spent twice as much time driving that weekend as we did windsurfing - but still we did get to top our tans.

The next weekend was windless, but at least that was great for the Try day. And then this weekend it was almost the same. Jem Hall, the Yoda of windsurfing, often says good windsurfers are made on light wind days. That being the case Paula, Ming, Marti and I must be great windsurfers. Despite the forecasts we found ourselves at the club on Saturday morning contemplating 5-8 mph of easterly. So we set off on a grand tour of the east coast, finally ending up at Cloughy. 7-10m and large boards were broached, despite only about 10 mph of wind, but someone had seen 1 forecast that said it would come up - honestly, windsurfers are so gullible, we're probably the only people who actually believed that Iran had weapons of mass destruction and that Caitríona Umbridge (aka Ruane) was prepared to listen on the future of post 11 education. So, out we went and yes, Jem would have been proud of us as we practiced all the non planing moves you can do in what soon became about 5 mph. After a while even that died and we left the beach and everyone lvanished except for Ming who just sort of thought it might come back - actually he felt the day owed him something after he'd put his titanium head through his 10m sail while carrying it from the beach. And really annoyingly he was right! I got a text an hour later to say the wind had come up and he was maxed. Marti came back and the 2 of them played with each other for quite a while - Ming even recorded 28.4 knots on his GPS, which puts him in the lead on the challenge. While it's annoying that Ming and Marti (sounds like a children's comic duo) got some good windsurfing in when the rest of us missed out - it was at least at a cost. Ming put his titanium head through his sail on dry land and Marti managed to break his boom and board - one can only wonder how - but had a very long swim because of it.

OK - so there was some wind, but it still wasn't from the west.

And what of the fur-ball I hear you ask? Well all we got from him was a typically taciturn text saying there was no wind so he was going to a christening - no doubt to eat a few babies. One can only wonder if it had been windy whether he'd have gone windsurfing and to hell with the family - stupid question really.

LOTS OF NEWBIES

I'm really pleased to be able to tell you that the Try day went really well - in fact we're entered into a competition within National Windsurfing Week because we did so well. We had 37 new people out on the water and made a good sum for the club in doing it. The conditions were ideal and Wookie, Andy, Raptor and Marti were kept seriously busy running waves of taster courses for all the keen new recruits - a big thank you to all 4 of them. There were also a host of other people who weighed in with a pile of help including Robbie, Pat, Paula and her Mum, Colin (who risked life and reproductive organs by helping on his wedding anniversary) and John - an especial thanks to Mr Cunningham who did loads and isn't even a club member - now that's the true spirit of windsurfing!

We were also pleased to see a member of a very rare species - the Gabbie family. Now we've occasionally seen Trevor on the water and also marvelled at the sight of his wife belting him for doing it at Pras. But the reasons for not seeing Ian on the water were apparent - 3 of them, his kids. We did our best for him, Wookie took them out for a rib ride, but it didn't work out because all 3 came back (and loved it - not many people say that of Mr Wookie).

The really good news is that we've tapped into a pent up demand, lots of people are keen to try our great sport and so beginners lesson are starting on Tuesday 20 May and will run every Tuesday and most Thursday until we get caught up. So if you know anyone who wants to learn, just contact Andy on 077 6974 7860 or e-mail to info@wookiewindsurfing.com .Full information on the courses will be up on the website shortly.

The team are really going for it this year and a strong marketing campaign is under way. You'll see a new permanent banner on the club fence soon (that's how we got most people for the Try event) and posters are going out to most places of work and even tourist offices. So if you have somewhere at work where you can put up an A4 poster, please reply to me and I'll e-mail you the poster  - come on, do your bit to help your sport!

And while I am appealing (some chance) - has anyone got any old booms and 3-4.5m sails? We're looking for some kit to help out with the lessons - when I say old, I mean 3-4 years, nothing the age of Trevor Pollen's kit. And we're looking for small booms and sails. What have you got that you never use? Donate it to the club and we'll ensure it's used to entice new people into our sport. And indeed, if you've changed to skinny masts, what about your old non-skinny masts - say around 400-430mm? We'd love them!

SPEED CHALLENGE UPDATE

The Pier 36 NSC Speed Challenge is getting started. Remember the basics are :

    Prizes include £100 cash, crate of wine and other goodies

    1 prize for the out and out fastest verified GPS speed by any member

    1 prize handicapped to even out men, woman, Andy and anyone who was 'too fast' last year

    £10 to enter (both categories) and a prize giving at Pier 36 in October - you've got all season to win

Pier 36 are generously providing 2 new GPS units for the club, not as prizes the way we did last year, but for permanent use at the club by club members. They'll be installed just as soon as Lewis gets off his posterior and gets them.

And the first speed is in - Ming the Merciless has done 28.4 knots, first time he tried after he entered. So get your money in and stop the man with the stomach churning legs from winning for the second year in a row!

DONEGAL WAVES III - BOOKING UP FAST

The bookings are coming in brilliantly for the wave clinic this October in Donegal.

The basic details are :

13 - 19 October

Expert tuition by Jim Collis

Tuition will cost £150-200 per head depending on numbers

Great package deal for bed and breakfast at the Loch Altan hotel E240 (same price as last year for 6 nights B+B and with 1 free dinner thrown in)

Possible 1-2 day packages may be available for a select few who can't spend the entire week with us

£100 deposit required to secure your place and £100 deposit for your accommodation - both non refundable

Numbers are going to be limited - places are still available, but not for much longer. This isn't something you can just leave and think you'll be able to book in September or something. If you want to go contact me now, otherwise you will be on a waiting list.

And just to be clear - this holiday is open to non NSC members as well!

GREAT WEBSITE FOR WIND NEAR THE CLUB

I got this from John Cunningham, I'll let him describe this great website in his own word -

Alrighty there, Alan
 
Stumbled across this site, and why I never thought to check before escapes me, (apart from my small brain and limited intelligence)..
 
So if you like it, please broadcast it to your fellow 'posh-clubbies' with compliments from one of the 'car-park (we-like- to expose-our-shrivelled-frozen-bits-to-the-public) crew' =o)
 
http://www.ulsterflyingclub.com/wx/
 
Cheers, big ears,
 
John

Have a look, it's a great site and really useful.

And I never knew that John was such an Enid Blyton fan too!

WHAT'S COMING AND GOING

PIER 36 NSC SPEED CHALLENGE

There are only two classes, both members only :

OPEN    Simply the fastest verified speed on the water anytime between now and early October

HANDICAPPED We will provide handicaps to anyone who wants to enter. All female members will get a boost of at least 10 knots so if you do 20 knots, your score will be entered as 30! Some of the faster men, including those who scored highly last year will be handicapped by up to 5 knots.

Please note, you can enter both classes for the single flat fee of £10, but you will only be allowed to win one of the categories.

Once again we will publish a league table of speeds throughout the year.

The basic rules remain as last year ie

    You must have your speed verified by 1 NSC member if you are sailing at the club, 2 if you are sailing elsewhere

    Your speed must be verified as soon as you leave the water

    You must have paid your entry fee before you did your run otherwise your score doesn't count

    You are not allowed to win if your name is Ming, Loughridge, ugly b*****d or you are made of more than 35% titanium

Get your Tenners into Pat or myself and get those scores on the doors!

OTHER STUFF

    Another wavesailing clinic in the Autumn - Jim Collis will be providing the expert tuition 13-18 October - booking now and nearly full!

    An end of year prize dinner including various prizes you don't want given for things you did that you hoped nobody else saw - provisionally Friday 10 October

    Windsurfing beginners night - every Tuesday and Thursday at the club, with full RYA lessons and supervised beginners time on the water (kit hire available). Contact Andy on 077 6974 7860 or e-mail to info@wookiewindsurfing.com

    A slalom/speed training course

If there's something you want to see, and especially if you're prepared to put in a little time into helping with it, please let us know!

THE USUAL BITS AT THE END

This e-mail is sent out free to anyone interested in windsurfing in Norn Iron, regardless of where they may live. It is often centred around activities at Newtownards Sailing Club but welcomes information from and about anyone enjoying the sport in Ireland - and preferably sometimes making a fool of themselves as well. If you have a story to tell or some dirt to dish, please let us know.

You can subscribe to this newsletter by using the button on the NSC website at www.newtownardssailingclub.co.uk where you can also find incriminating photographs of the regulars and past newsletters detailing their many crimes.

If you are interested in trying out the club, contact us and come and sail as our guests. The club has excellent facilities including RYA qualified instructors and top quality beginners gear for hire and lock up storage facilities for gear, so line up your family and friends to get into the sport.

Windsurfers are a nomadic bunch, moving around to find the best winds and waves. So some question the value of paying annual membership to a club. For the many of us who do, we get excellent facilities including warm showers (all winter long!), a bar, safe launching and rescue facilities plus of course we organise the legendary windsurfing holidays. Visit us and see (and sail) for yourself, you can sail with us a guest up to 6 times before we give you choice of joining or losing your kneecaps.

Everyone on this e-mail list has indicated at some time their interest in windsurfing. If however you do not wish to receive these e-mails, please reply and let me know.

CONTENTS

Where Have All the Westerlies Gone?

Lots of Newbies

Speed Challenge Update

Donegal Waves III - Booking up Fast!

Great Website for Wind near the Club

What's Coming and Going

The Usual Bits at the End

HAVE YOU GOT SOME OLD KIT TO DONATE TO THE CLUB? 3-4.5m SAILS, BOOMS AND MASTS - SEE BELOW AND GET THEM TO US!

CAN YOU PUT UP A POSTER AT WORK FOR OUR BEGINNERS LESSONS - REPLY TO ME AND I'LL SEND YOU ONE.

DONEGAL IN OCTOBER IS NEARLY FULL - BOOK OR JOIN THE WAITING LIST!

WHERE HAVE ALL THE WESTERLIES GONE?

Regular readers will be well used to me moaning about the weather, but no more nor less than all of you moan. As for weather forecasters, well shooting is clearly too good for them (except of course for Sian Lloyd, who was once brave enough to kiss Wookie - clearly a cheeky girl... and who used to windsurf). But what happened to May being windy? Every Spring and Autumn we are supposed to get lots of wind, that's the British and Irish weather. Except this year it hasn't happened - and a number of people have come up with an interesting theory. Our prevailing winds are westerlies of course. We are still getting the odd easterly and some notherlies as usual. It's just that all the westerlies have all disappeared - and I think they're right. Has George W stolen them, well I don't think he's that clever. Can we blame Gordon? Well yes for most things, but not for this. Whatever the reason, the fact is that good wind is ridiculously hard to find this season.

We did get some a couple of weeks ago when a bunch of us headed up to Donegal. It was a mad Friday night dash to Portnoo - not to get the wind, or even a dose of drink - but to get there before they stopped serving food. Fortunately Colin was part of the advanced party and talked the bar into chaining their chef to his cooker until the main body arrived. Fair play to them because they served us (some rather good steaks) a full hour after they were supposed to stop the food. Naturally we repaid them in the number of Guinness ordered. So Saturday saw a significant chunk of NI camped at Lettermacaward. While most of us slummed and changed in the back of our cars or vans, Big Robert had brought his mega-vehicle with him complete with generator, kitchen and family. We munched sarnies and slurped coffee from a flask while he no doubt sipped a fresh cocktail and returned to a 3 course meal. The whole purpose of the trip was waves and good wind. So naturally when we arrived at one of the best wave beaches in Ireland, the water was nearly flat. There was however wind, 5-5.5m was the usual starting call and Andy, Wookie, Colin, Robert and others were soon blasting around at speed. Wave sailing it wasn't, but at speed the mini waves made it interesting and the sun was shining. And then it got windy! Wookie was on 4.5 and I moved from 6.3 to 5m. Wave boards came out and everyone was prepared to forgive the lack of waves. An hour later it started to drop, Andy was seen in his all too familiar pose cut off at the knees with a submerged board and people struggled in. By lunch it was over and Big Robert was free to enjoy his caviar and frois gras. We spent twice as much time driving that weekend as we did windsurfing - but still we did get to top our tans.

The next weekend was windless, but at least that was great for the Try day. And then this weekend it was almost the same. Jem Hall, the Yoda of windsurfing, often says good windsurfers are made on light wind days. That being the case Paula, Ming, Marti and I must be great windsurfers. Despite the forecasts we found ourselves at the club on Saturday morning contemplating 5-8 mph of easterly. So we set off on a grand tour of the east coast, finally ending up at Cloughy. 7-10m and large boards were broached, despite only about 10 mph of wind, but someone had seen 1 forecast that said it would come up - honestly, windsurfers are so gullible, we're probably the only people who actually believed that Iran had weapons of mass destruction and that Caitríona Umbridge (aka Ruane) was prepared to listen on the future of post 11 education. So, out we went and yes, Jem would have been proud of us as we practiced all the non planing moves you can do in what soon became about 5 mph. After a while even that died and we left the beach and everyone lvanished except for Ming who just sort of thought it might come back - actually he felt the day owed him something after he'd put his titanium head through his 10m sail while carrying it from the beach. And really annoyingly he was right! I got a text an hour later to say the wind had come up and he was maxed. Marti came back and the 2 of them played with each other for quite a while - Ming even recorded 28.4 knots on his GPS, which puts him in the lead on the challenge. While it's annoying that Ming and Marti (sounds like a children's comic duo) got some good windsurfing in when the rest of us missed out - it was at least at a cost. Ming put his titanium head through his sail on dry land and Marti managed to break his boom and board - one can only wonder how - but had a very long swim because of it.

OK - so there was some wind, but it still wasn't from the west.

And what of the fur-ball I hear you ask? Well all we got from him was a typically taciturn text saying there was no wind so he was going to a christening - no doubt to eat a few babies. One can only wonder if it had been windy whether he'd have gone windsurfing and to hell with the family - stupid question really.

LOTS OF NEWBIES

I'm really pleased to be able to tell you that the Try day went really well - in fact we're entered into a competition within National Windsurfing Week because we did so well. We had 37 new people out on the water and made a good sum for the club in doing it. The conditions were ideal and Wookie, Andy, Raptor and Marti were kept seriously busy running waves of taster courses for all the keen new recruits - a big thank you to all 4 of them. There were also a host of other people who weighed in with a pile of help including Robbie, Pat, Paula and her Mum, Colin (who risked life and reproductive organs by helping on his wedding anniversary) and John - an especial thanks to Mr Cunningham who did loads and isn't even a club member - now that's the true spirit of windsurfing!

We were also pleased to see a member of a very rare species - the Gabbie family. Now we've occasionally seen Trevor on the water and also marvelled at the sight of his wife belting him for doing it at Pras. But the reasons for not seeing Ian on the water were apparent - 3 of them, his kids. We did our best for him, Wookie took them out for a rib ride, but it didn't work out because all 3 came back (and loved it - not many people say that of Mr Wookie).

The really good news is that we've tapped into a pent up demand, lots of people are keen to try our great sport and so beginners lesson are starting on Tuesday 20 May and will run every Tuesday and most Thursday until we get caught up. So if you know anyone who wants to learn, just contact Andy on 077 6974 7860 or e-mail to info@wookiewindsurfing.com .Full information on the courses will be up on the website shortly.

The team are really going for it this year and a strong marketing campaign is under way. You'll see a new permanent banner on the club fence soon (that's how we got most people for the Try event) and posters are going out to most places of work and even tourist offices. So if you have somewhere at work where you can put up an A4 poster, please reply to me and I'll e-mail you the poster  - come on, do your bit to help your sport!

And while I am appealing (some chance) - has anyone got any old booms and 3-4.5m sails? We're looking for some kit to help out with the lessons - when I say old, I mean 3-4 years, nothing the age of Trevor Pollen's kit. And we're looking for small booms and sails. What have you got that you never use? Donate it to the club and we'll ensure it's used to entice new people into our sport. And indeed, if you've changed to skinny masts, what about your old non-skinny masts - say around 400-430mm? We'd love them!

SPEED CHALLENGE UPDATE

The Pier 36 NSC Speed Challenge is getting started. Remember the basics are :

    Prizes include £100 cash, crate of wine and other goodies

    1 prize for the out and out fastest verified GPS speed by any member

    1 prize handicapped to even out men, woman, Andy and anyone who was 'too fast' last year

    £10 to enter (both categories) and a prize giving at Pier 36 in October - you've got all season to win

Pier 36 are generously providing 2 new GPS units for the club, not as prizes the way we did last year, but for permanent use at the club by club members. They'll be installed just as soon as Lewis gets off his posterior and gets them.

And the first speed is in - Ming the Merciless has done 28.4 knots, first time he tried after he entered. So get your money in and stop the man with the stomach churning legs from winning for the second year in a row!

DONEGAL WAVES III - BOOKING UP FAST

The bookings are coming in brilliantly for the wave clinic this October in Donegal.

The basic details are :

13 - 19 October

Expert tuition by Jim Collis

Tuition will cost £150-200 per head depending on numbers

Great package deal for bed and breakfast at the Loch Altan hotel E240 (same price as last year for 6 nights B+B and with 1 free dinner thrown in)

Possible 1-2 day packages may be available for a select few who can't spend the entire week with us

£100 deposit required to secure your place and £100 deposit for your accommodation - both non refundable

Numbers are going to be limited - places are still available, but not for much longer. This isn't something you can just leave and think you'll be able to book in September or something. If you want to go contact me now, otherwise you will be on a waiting list.

And just to be clear - this holiday is open to non NSC members as well!

GREAT WEBSITE FOR WIND NEAR THE CLUB

I got this from John Cunningham, I'll let him describe this great website in his own word -

Alrighty there, Alan
 
Stumbled across this site, and why I never thought to check before escapes me, (apart from my small brain and limited intelligence)..
 
So if you like it, please broadcast it to your fellow 'posh-clubbies' with compliments from one of the 'car-park (we-like- to expose-our-shrivelled-frozen-bits-to-the-public) crew' =o)
 
http://www.ulsterflyingclub.com/wx/
 
Cheers, big ears,
 
John

Have a look, it's a great site and really useful.

And I never knew that John was such an Enid Blyton fan too!

WHAT'S COMING AND GOING

PIER 36 NSC SPEED CHALLENGE

There are only two classes, both members only :

OPEN    Simply the fastest verified speed on the water anytime between now and early October

HANDICAPPED We will provide handicaps to anyone who wants to enter. All female members will get a boost of at least 10 knots so if you do 20 knots, your score will be entered as 30! Some of the faster men, including those who scored highly last year will be handicapped by up to 5 knots.

Please note, you can enter both classes for the single flat fee of £10, but you will only be allowed to win one of the categories.

Once again we will publish a league table of speeds throughout the year.

The basic rules remain as last year ie

    You must have your speed verified by 1 NSC member if you are sailing at the club, 2 if you are sailing elsewhere

    Your speed must be verified as soon as you leave the water

    You must have paid your entry fee before you did your run otherwise your score doesn't count

    You are not allowed to win if your name is Ming, Loughridge, ugly b*****d or you are made of more than 35% titanium

Get your Tenners into Pat or myself and get those scores on the doors!

OTHER STUFF

    Another wavesailing clinic in the Autumn - Jim Collis will be providing the expert tuition 13-18 October - booking now and nearly full!

    An end of year prize dinner including various prizes you don't want given for things you did that you hoped nobody else saw - provisionally Friday 10 October

    Windsurfing beginners night - every Tuesday and Thursday at the club, with full RYA lessons and supervised beginners time on the water (kit hire available). Contact Andy on 077 6974 7860 or e-mail to info@wookiewindsurfing.com

    A slalom/speed training course

If there's something you want to see, and especially if you're prepared to put in a little time into helping with it, please let us know!

THE USUAL BITS AT THE END

This e-mail is sent out free to anyone interested in windsurfing in Norn Iron, regardless of where they may live. It is often centred around activities at Newtownards Sailing Club but welcomes information from and about anyone enjoying the sport in Ireland - and preferably sometimes making a fool of themselves as well. If you have a story to tell or some dirt to dish, please let us know.

You can subscribe to this newsletter by using the button on the NSC website at www.newtownardssailingclub.co.uk where you can also find incriminating photographs of the regulars and past newsletters detailing their many crimes.

If you are interested in trying out the club, contact us and come and sail as our guests. The club has excellent facilities including RYA qualified instructors and top quality beginners gear for hire and lock up storage facilities for gear, so line up your family and friends to get into the sport.

Windsurfers are a nomadic bunch, moving around to find the best winds and waves. So some question the value of paying annual membership to a club. For the many of us who do, we get excellent facilities including warm showers (all winter long!), a bar, safe launching and rescue facilities plus of course we organise the legendary windsurfing holidays. Visit us and see (and sail) for yourself, you can sail with us a guest up to 6 times before we give you choice of joining or losing your kneecaps.

Everyone on this e-mail list has indicated at some time their interest in windsurfing. If however you do not wish to receive these e-mails, please reply and let me know.

NATIONAL WINDSURFING WEEK AT NEWTOWNARDS - APRIL 2008

CONTENTS

National Windsurfing Week at Newtownards

Speed II - Full Throttle

Donegal Waves III

Easterlies

A Little Italian Know-how

A Little Irish Know-how

Kit for Sale

What's Coming

The Usual Bits at the End

NATIONAL WINDSURFING WEEK AT NEWTOWNARDS

You may have seen some of the publicity, but National Windsurfing Week is coming - and some of it is coming to you! You can find out more about the entire week at http://www.nationalwindsurfingweek.org/

Great - but what does this mean for you? Well the answer is simply that we're running a TRY event at the club on Saturday 10 May. This is one of those great days out when you, your friends, you family, your kids (as if windsurfers were allowed to propagate the species), anyone can turn up and get a taster for windsurfing, or sailing for that matter. Here's what's on offer :

    Taster windsurfing lesson, all tuition, kit,safety equipment - for a tenner!

    GP14 taster - again for only £10

    Rib rides to terrify the children - they love it - for £10

So what we need now are people to come. We're arranging publicity, but this is the time when you can get your friends to try the sport you've been raving about. Fed up with your wife/girlfriend/dog whinging about you going off windsurfer? Then get her hooked on the sport. Problem solved!

Please pass the word round. We'll also be officially launching the Speed Challenge (see below) at the event.

We'll have posters ready shortly. If you are in a position to display one, please let me know and I'll e-mail it to you. The more the merrier.

The event will run all day, although the rib rides will mostly be in the afternoon. In the event it's too windy, we'll simply reschedule for Sunday 11th. We couldn't possibly get two windy days in a row - could we?

SPEED II - FULL THROTTLE

Last year it turned into the Mr and Mrs Ming show - not forgetting Paula of course. Well it's back - bigger and better than ever (unlike Ming). Yes, the Pier 36 Newtownards Sailing Club Speed Challenge is back!

Pier 36 are generously providing 2 new GPS units for the club, not as prizes the way we did last year, but for permanent use at the club by club members. They'll be installed shortly in the same locked box as we used last year (back door near the kitchen) and can be used under the same rules - to be signed out always and if you loose it, you replace it. So the  prizes this year include - £100 cash, a crate of wine and other goodies. Once again we'll be giving these out at an end of season bash at Pier 36 - provisionally set for Friday 10 October. This was a huge pile of fun last year and once again we hope to have Jim Collis there to present the prizes. And will there be more photographic character assassination - well, wait and see....

We've simplified the classes this year and also restricted it to NSC members only. There are only two classes :

OPEN    Simply the fastest verified speed on the water anytime between now and early October

HANDICAPPED We will provide handicaps to anyone who wants to enter. All female members will get a boost of at least 10 knots so if you do 20 knots, your score will be entered as 30! Some of the faster men, including those who scored highly last year will be handicapped by up to 5 knots. So last year's winner (Ming the Merciless) has to do 35 knots to score 30. Handicapping will be done by a top secret team of highly paid advisors - or Wookie, Andy and myself - so you know who to buy loads of drink for don't you.

Please note, you can enter both classes for the single flat fee of £10, but you will only be allowed to win one of the categories. This is to spread the prizes and maintain the interest.

Once again we will publish a league table of speeds throughout the year.

The basic rules remain as last year ie

    You must have your speed verified by 1 NSC member if you are sailing at the club, 2 if you are sailing elsewhere

    Your speed must be verified as soon as you leave the water

    You must have paid your entry fee before you did your run otherwise your score doesn't count

    You are not allowed to win if your name is Ming, Loughridge, ugly b*****d or you are made of more than 35% titanium

Get your Tenners into Pat or myself and get those scores on the doors!

DONEGAL WAVES III

Yes, we've done it again - the wave clinic is running again this October in Donegal. And this time strong winds have been personally guaranteed by Robert Mugabe - so we know we are in for a good time, although food may be in rather short supply!

The basic details are :

13 - 19 October

Expert tuition by Jim Collis

Tuition will cost £150-200 per head depending on numbers

Great package deal for bed and breakfast at the Loch Altan hotel E240 (same price as last year for 6 nights B+B and with 1 free dinner thrown in)

Free shark repellent supplied by Mr Wookie

Possible 1-2 day packages may be available for a select few who can't spend the entire week with us

£100 deposit required to secure your place and £100 deposit for your accommodation - both non refundable

With no Summer windsurfing holiday this year, demand is expected to be high for this reasonably priced, high quality holiday. You already know just how good Jim is as a coach, even when the wind has not been kind to us, he's still managed to improve us so much. Numbers will be limited and we already have 4 firm bookings before it's even been announced! So don't hang around, get those deposits in to me quickly.

And just to be clear - this holiday is open to non NSC members as well!

EASTERLIES

The nicer ones amongst you have asked politely, while others have simply complained - what's happened to the windsurfing e-mails Alan? The answer is a combination of non-windsurfing things, even your humble scribe's wife is allowed to have the odd birthday weekend (well, perhaps once every 10 years to be fair) and then I got the bug. I know a number of you have had it - and that's without sharing bodily fluids between you, well in most cases. And it's a real flattener. I took 2 weeks to recover (yes, yes, I know - old age), but young ones like Pat took nearly as long. Wookie recovered quickly, but then he has a wife these days to look after him. So yes, I missed the northerlies that most of you were enjoying at Ballyturd - I know because I'm sad enough to sit at home and watch you gybing on the Ballyholme web cam. You can actually see people crash their gybe and then the evil Wookie deliberately gybing round them.

So it was that this weekend normal service was resumed - and we got a period of easterlies. The double As (that's Andy and Alan Yeates - not a reference to their cup sizes) were loving it up, playing hunt the sausage in Donegal together.  It turns out that they had a great time together, both on and off the water. Ballyness bay worked well in an easterly and they got up some speed. If you've sailed this bay (at the back of Magheroarty) then you'll know it's very tidal and in fact is dry land for part of the day. Well Mr Yeates misjudged his time and hit the sandbar at absolutely full tilt. Apparently it was a really spectacular handlebars job - his kit just stopped dead and of course he didn't. Fortunately the only damage was to his boom which is now well bent, but it appears he was lucky not to break anything - like his arms or legs. Splat! In fact it could have been worse because just before he went on this run, Andy offered him his concept 90 ltr for the run. Now in case you don't know, this is Andy's pride and joy. It's a weird board with all the float in funny areas and really hard to sail, but very rewarding once you get the hang of it. Effectively you have to be a mutant with the grace and balance of a ballerina to make it work - so clearly designed for Andy then. We reckon if Alan had hit the sand bar on this and no doubt wrecked it, he'd have been walking home from Donegal.....

But the rest of us hot footed it to Cloughy on Friday afternoon. Despite only 20 mph being forecast it was a lot stronger than that with most people on 5 - 5.8m and enjoying some reasonable sunshine too. Russell once more deserted the drawing office and was first on the water and first away - claiming to be totally satisfied. Jarleth and Foul-mouthed Todd also had a good sail before guiltily sulking off to face the music. Wookie landed from New York - did he  tell you he flew business class, he certainly mentioned it about 20 times to us - and decided windsurfing was a good cure for jet lag. By the time he went home for a gentle rub down from the Wookette (probably with coarse sand paper - applied with an electric sander) - he'd had his usual excellent sail and even managed some very respectable jumps in what were pretty flat conditions. Pat and I arrived later (at least some of us do some work) and I rigged a 6.3m - to the huge amusement of all and sundry who said I'd be flattened. Ya boo sucks to you guys, I had a great sail - the extra speed fairly sling-shotting me round the corners. It was 7 by the time the last of us crawled off the water - secure in the knowledge that there was more to come.

And there was more - Saturday saw the usual ramshackle collection of vans, trailers and wrecks (both cars and people) fairly fill the car park at Cloughy. The forecast was only 20 mph and dropping, so I got it dead wrong when I rocked up with only my 120 ltr and a 7.5m sail. Much begging and offers of gratuitous bodily favours later, I managed to get out on Andy's 110 lts FSW, Wookie's 5.5 and various other borrowed bits. I may slag off windsurfers just occasionally, but when it comes to the point they never let you down! And I had a ball too.

It was good to see Nigel aka Fanta Pants back out - being a rugged fireman type it's too cold for him in the Winter. So don't set your house on fire in the Bangor area unless the air temperature is above 10 degrees, otherwise no-one will come. So flushed with the Spring air, Nigel shot out, crashed and landed on his sail - taking out a complete panel. Once more the windsurfing friends rose to the occasion and applied masses of duct tape where it was needed - that's on the holes in Nigel's sail, not to any of those on his body. Others out and enjoying good 5 - 5.5m conditions and some waves included Big Robert, Pat, Gary, Paula of course, Wookie and Mr Yeates (clearly devastated that Andy was at work).

Sunday came - and there was still some wind. I don't know if any hardy souls returned to Cloughy, but Mr Wookie and I headed out at Whiterock on Sunday afternoon. It was another lovely day, sunny, relatively mild making it almost fun to play dodge the boat mooring. It was deceptive, from the shore which is sheltered at Whiterock it didn't seem that windy so we rigged big. But once out into the speed channel between the islands it was windy! Wookie rocketed about on 7.5m while I had to put on maximum outhaul and then hang on with my teeth on 9.4m on an FV1. It's a pity the Speed Challenge hadn't started yet, as I think we'd have set some pretty good scores. I know many of you haven't sailed this area, but we're going to have to organise a mass sail there the next time we get a good set of easterlies. Once we'd had ample time to frighten ourselves, we then cruised the islands there. It's lovely to sail an area with intend, rather than just blasting around in the middle of Strangford Lough. There are plenty of small islands to explore and wild life to disturb. So look out for this when we put the word out - it's a lovely spot.

A LITTLE ITALIAN KNOW-HOW

I got this from Declan Caddell -

Cheers for the info Alan.
 
I'm off to Lake Guarda on the 3rd of May for a week - do you have any windsurfing location recommendations?
 
Rgds, Declan.

So the question is - have any of your good folk been out to Lake Guarda and do you have some info which could help Declan? If so, please contact me and I'll pass it on to him.

A LITTLE IRISH KNOW-HOW

I got this from Maurice Owens - at first I thought it was in Serbo Croat, but actually I'm told it's in a kind of English -

Hi ALan,

Dood to see your wit never dry's up, afraid to sail any where near n'ards for teh slagging.... LOL. Any chance of a plug for a few of teh events happening this yr, calendar is up on http://www.sailing.ie/dynamic/pdf/windsurf/2008calendar.pdf
 
 
The first event teh 'fleadh seoil-windsurfing festival' should be of great interest basically a festival set up in Malahide(2hrs away) with racing, beginner lessons and bbq's etc, usually lots of gear to demo from the suppliers also.

I'm reliably told it means there are some great windsurfing events on the website and that you may well be interested in going down to Malahide near Dublin to enjoy them yourself. Please check out the website and support what Maurice and the team are up to.

Kit for Sale

More stuff for sale, this time from Iain Kirkpatrick who can be reached on 07973310235 or mail@ikcbc.com

2006 F2 Hornet 135l    £250

2006 JP Supercross 106l    £250

2006 Neil Pryde V6 6m    £100

2006 Naish Evolution  7m    £100

And the ever insane John Bedford has a Goya Wave 78 (2006) for sale. He says 'it's in very good condition with bag' - I clearly wouldn't want to comment on anything he might have done with it, but look out for odd screw holes where he might have attached it to his mountain bike!

He's looking £375.

If you're interested, contact John on 07894 751250 or john.bedford5@tiscali.co.uk

Another reminder that Lynne Bloomfield has some great kit for sale. If anyone is interested you can contact her via l.bloomfield@hotmail.co.uk 

RRD FSW 80                                     £475
BIC TECHNO 283                               £200
EZZY WAVE SE 5.2                            £150
NORTH TRIPLE X 5.8                          £125

WHAT'S COMING

2008 plans are being discussed. Some of the likely suspects include :

    Another wavesailing clinic in the Autumn - Jim Collis will be providing the expert tuition 13-18 October - booking now!

    Start Windsurfing event - get your friends lined up to come and try windsurfing, rib rides for the kids - Saturday 10 May

    The 2008 Pier 36 GPS Challenge - prizes include £100 in cash and a crate of wine. Open class and handicapped class - anyone can win!

    An end of year prize dinner including various prizes you don't want given for things you did that you hoped nobody else saw - provisionally Friday 10 October

    Windsurfing beginners night - every Tuesday at the club, with full RYA lessons and supervised beginners time on the water (kit hire available)

    A slalom/speed training course

If there's something you want to see, and especially if you're prepared to put in a little time into helping with it, please let us know!

THE USUAL BITS AT THE END

This e-mail is sent out free to anyone interested in windsurfing in Norn Iron, regardless of where they may live. It is often centred around activities at Newtownards Sailing Club but welcomes information from and about anyone enjoying the sport in Ireland - and preferably sometimes making a fool of themselves as well. If you have a story to tell or some dirt to dish, please let us know.

You can subscribe to this newsletter by using the button on the NSC website at www.newtownardssailingclub.co.uk where you can also find incriminating photographs of the regulars and past newsletters detailing their many crimes.

If you are interested in trying out the club, contact us and come and sail as our guests. The club has excellent facilities including RYA qualified instructors and top quality beginners gear for hire and lock up storage facilities for gear, so line up your family and friends to get into the sport.

Windsurfers are a nomadic bunch, moving around to find the best winds and waves. So some question the value of paying annual membership to a club. For the many of us who do, we get excellent facilities including warm showers (all winter long!), a bar, safe launching and rescue facilities plus of course we organise the legendary windsurfing holidays. Visit us and see (and sail) for yourself, you can sail with us a guest up to 6 times before we give you choice of joining or losing your kneecaps.

Everyone on this e-mail list has indicated at some time their interest in windsurfing. If however you do not wish to receive these e-mails, please reply and let me know.