thursday 28 december 2023

The wind had turned more to the south. Sailed with the Banzai 4.7 on the Goya One 95. Outwards almost sailing square into the waves. But that also offers opportunities: front-side wave riding. It turned out to be a great day for front-side wave riding. Collision with Henk: no damage. After high tide is was lovely. Amazing how many times I was able to ride front-side today. Often 2 or 3 times per run: learned a lot. It was extremely gusty, but the 4.7 was a good choose. In retrospect, the last hour was perhaps the best hour of the day. [Read...]

thursday 21 december 2023

First day of my Christmas holidays, 11 degrees and wind force 7 predicted: Storm Pia. Sailed with Banzai 3.7 on the Goya 81 with K4 Scorcher 20/10cm thruster set I found Pia disappointing this afternoon, 3.7 with minimum trim was just too small at the end. Temperature was not disappointing, sailed without gloves. Had no rain. Even a short bit of sunshine. [Read...]

saterday 02 december 2023

In the background I have been working for years to create a modern version of my windsurfing website. A website that works well on mobile phones. The old one didn't work on phones and tablets with smaller screens and touch screens. The website is now also available in English. [Read...]

thursday 23 november 2023

Forecast 25 to 35 knots southwest, about 13 degrees and probably dry, perfect for the Blokkendam. Not early on the dam. It was quite busy. Saled the Banzai 4.7, first on the Goya One 95, later on the Fanatic Grip 93. Sailed on until the wind began to die down and it became dusk. Amazing afternoon, not really cold yet, good wind and especially last hour really good waves. Very happy with the Grip. [Read...]

thursday 16 november 2023

Wind at the Grevelingendam just not quite west, just a tad too much south. On the Brouwersdam, just a little north. So not really great anywhere. The Brouwersdam with a little north is always better than the Grevelingendam with a little south. Used the Banzai 5.3, first on the F-Cross 113, later with the Goya One 95. It was lovely, wind fairly constant, lots of sun: delicious. Next time with this direction: start at Brouwersdam itself, and sail from there towards the lighthouse. [Read...]

saterday 11 november 2023

Forecast was: west wind 25 to 40 knots: Grevelingendam. Unfortunately, the wind turned out to be just a bit southerly, so there was hardly any wind near the shore. When I arrived, the wind wasn't there yet. There were also a lot of showers, so I doubted I should turn around and go home. Did a lot of equipment trimming. Sail with the Banzai 4.7 on both the Goya One 95 and the Fanatic Grip 93. Tried a lot of different fins. Luckily the rain wasn't too bad, wind wasn't super gusty. Unfortunately, the direction was just not right, so we really not possible to plane near the shore. It was nice on the water. [Read...]

sunday 05 november 2023

Strong wind predicted in the coming days. Yesterday storm, too much for surfing: 45 - 75 kts. Good wind and SW forecast today. Sailed the Banzai 5.3 on the Goya One 95 with MFC 22.5/10cm fins. Unintentionally caused a problem for a kiter, bummer. Wind direction was only good for a short time, usually bit too south. Luckily almost no rain. Wind was wonderfully constant. [Read...]

thursday 19 october 2023

Prediction: WNW: so Grevelingendam. Started with the Bazai 6.0 on the F-Cross 113, tested different fins, long runs to the other side of the lake. Later switched to the Bazai 5.3 on the Goya One 95A lot of jumping, sometimes some waveriding. Just enjoyed and played. Sailed on until my energy ran out. Clearly colder than yesterday, but in the sun it was still wonderful. Had no rain. Wind was nice and constant. Lovely day! [Read...]

sunday 15 october 2023

Forecast was 25 to 42 knots SW Sailed with the Banzai 4.2 on the JP Slate with MFC QS300/11cm Just before high tide onto the water. First bit of bobbing, then planing. Wind was just a little too south for the best conditions. Later rain and very strong winds! Sailed until the wind was gone and had to float back to the shore. Bizarrely gusty. Bizarrely different waves, Bizarrely heavy shower. But sometimes really enjoy the waves. Lots of waveriding. If it was good, it was really really good! [Read...]

thursday 12 october 2023

Couldn't leave early, had to leave on time, but forecast looked very good. Sailed with the Banzai 4.7 on the Slate 94 with MFC 300/10cm quad fins. Good choice, especially in the beginning: great. Even sailing out already some waveriding: I don't do that enough. Back to the beach a lot of nice waves for 1 or 2 back-side hits. Many beautiful waves up to a meter high or just a little more. 2nd run in, 2 attempts front-side because the waves were so beautiful. Finished with sail on minimum trim and last bit of bobbing back to the beach. [Read...]

sunday 08 october 2023

Forecast: WSW 20 to 25 knots, slightly decreasing. I had to leave on time, so went for a short session. It was very busy on the dam, a lot of surf friends. Sailed with the Banzai 5.3 and Goya One 95. Started with the MFC 21/11 fins and ended with the Makani 26/8 fins. I had to leave on time. Wonderful saiing. Not the nicest day at sea, very flat water. But good wind and wonderfully warm. Hopefully waves again next time. [Read...]

wednesday 04 october 2023

Wind would turn from SW to WNW. Around 12:00 to 13:00 the wind would be WNW. So from 13:00 perfect for the Grevelingendam. On arrival a shower had just passed and the wind was gone. Lots of 5.3 sails on the water. Chosen to start with 6.0. Sailed with the Banzai 6.0 on the Patrick 113. Tried different fins: Select Supercross 34cm, Select Freecarve 31cm and MFC Freewave 29cm. Very impressed with the jibing qualities of the F-Cross 113. In the beginning it was very gusty because of the showers and I was afraid that it would never really get dry. Fortunately, after 14:00 the weather was wonderful, still had quite a lot of sun and not cold at all. Had a great afternoon. [Read...]

friday 22 september 2023

Finally wind again. Unfortunately, the forecast on the day itself was less than hoped for, but enough to sail nicely. Opted for 5.3, but in the beginning I should have taken the 6.0. First sailed with the F-Cross 133, later used the Goya One 95. It was very gusty. Wind direction not best for the Blokkendam, but this makes it possible for down-the-line waveriding. Apart from the very heavy shower, the weather was wonderful. [Read...]

saterday 12 august 2023

Not a perfect prediction, Grevelingendam best for this prediction. Started with the Banzai 4.7 on the Goya One 95, wind was disappointing so switched to the F-Cross 113. Then the wind really came through and rigged the 3.7 on the Goya 81. Wind fell away again: not cool. No desire to wait or rig. With only 14/15 degrees it was not warm. A lot of showers and therefore very variable winds. Often just made the wrong choice in terms of stuff. Not my best day. [Read...]

friday 11 august 2023

Today's forecast: 36 knots of wind from the southwest. I started with the 4.2 sail on the JP Slate 96 board with a quad setup with my new MFC rear fins. The wind was strong, great for testing out the Slate as Quad. Waves were plentiful for back-side waveriding. As the tide came in, waves got bigger, up to 1.5 meters. Eventually, the wind became too strong for the 4.2 sail: switched to the Goya Custom Thruster 81 board but then the wind had dropped. I returned to the JP Slate 96 as the wind picked up. Overall, a great day on the water. Made a mistake with the Goya 81, would have been better to use it earlier. [Read...]

thursday 13 july 2023

Finally good wind from the right direction: WSW, perfect for the Brouwersdam. Sailed the Banzai 4.2 on the Wave Slate 96, first as thruster, later tried quad setup. Not expecting that we would really get 40+ knots. Impressed with the control of the Slate 96. With 40+ knots still just golfing, board never felt too big. First time sailing the Wave Slate as a quad, I liked it quite a bit, I'll try it more often. It was wonderful to have a really good wave session again: enjoyed. [Read...]

tuesday 11 july 2023

Finally good wind for the Blokkendam. Wind forecast: WNW turning to WSW and increasing. On arrival disappointing wind, had just decreased considerably. Sailed the E-Type 6.6 on the F-Cross 113 with Select 35cm. Long runs towards the lighthouse of Ouddorp, jibing and back again. I could easily get upwind so I was further from the dunes and the wind was better. Less wind than predicted and hoped for, but wonderfully sailed. Lovely sun wind not too gusty. The F-Cross works very well with the 6.6, so this iSonic 101 is now for sale. [Read...]

saterday 24 june 2023

Prediction disagreed. Standard spot not reachable. Sailed with the Banzai 6.0 on the F-Cross 113 with Select 35cm Wind was disappointing: Really only bobbing. For a while constantly planing. Later, the wind subsided again. No other windsurfers seen. Unfortunately I only had 3 sails with me, I had left the trailer at home because I could not easily get it out of the garage today. With 25 degrees clear blue sky, it was wonderful weather. [Read...]