We are back in Dahab once again after a fantastic week in the mountains.

We were very lucky to be invited to Innsbruck, Austria for some snow boarding with the FTWO team (F2 but snowboarding ).

It was to be my first time on the snowy slopes and also Danielle’s first time for snowboarding.

After finding some good flights to get us to Geneva, Switzerland we arranged our adventure. Lucky for us one of our windsurf students and close friend was able to come and collect us from the airport and drive us back to Zurich where we spent the night.

It was an early start for us the next day and a morning in the car to get from Zurich to Innsbruck where we met up with Moritz from F2. Once we arrived, settled down and ditched our bags it was time for lunch and to sample some authentic Austrian cuisine. However, after ordering noodle soup we discovered that Austrians have their noodles confused as dumplings but as the noodle/dumpling was very tasty we felt there was no need to correct the Austrian’s on this J.

That night we went floodlit Sled/Toboggan racing down a mountain after drinking some Jagertea (rum, sugar & hot water) to warm us up first. It was great fun going super fast down this mountain sat on a tiny wooden sled racing the locals and often wiping out.  Congratulation must go to Danielle’s & Moritz’ combined efforts to be the first team down the mountain and with no crashes. I must have crashed at least 5 times but only because Joe and I were just too fast and mega extreme for our sled. All in all a great first day on the mountain.

Day 2 in Innsbruck we were set to go snowboarding for the first time ever!  We had a drive over to a resort called Slick2000, set up our gear and were ready to begin.  First of all I loved just to be going up to the slopes in a lift and the amazing views of the mountains and all the snow ready to play on. At the top we set off with a little practice on the heel side and then the toe side, linking a few turns and after a few goes we had the general idea. It was a matter of minutes before Danielle was cruising down the slope looking like a real snowboarder, making it look very easy, while I charged off trying to go as fast as possible, the freestyle influence in me trying to spin around lots of 360’s.

After the morning we had the basics covered and we were starving hungry for lunch. At lunch I discovered Germ Knoodle (Steamed dumpling with fruit inside and some vanilla sauce on top). It was amazing and I could have eaten at least 10 of them but we were eager for more snowboarding in the afternoon so I settled for one knoodle and we were off again.

In the afternoon we both went really well. With some off piste fun in some deep snow and a few Ollie’s to give me my first snowboard airtime!

That evening we went halfway up a mountain in the middle of nowhere to a restaurant/pub called “Buzihutte”. I don’t know what this means in Austrian but we were informed by our Hungarian friend Joe that in Hungarian “Buzihutte” translates to “Gay Hut”. As it turned out it was not some mountainside gay bar but a rather nice place that served lots of nice food and lots of good drink and our own guitar for entertainment.

Day 2 of snowboarding we went to a slope just north of town. The view on top was amazing! We were so high on the snowy white mountain looking down to the city with the river snaking right underneath. It took us a little while to get back in to the boarding because we had to warm up and forget about the aches and pains we got the day before, but once we had we got the feeling again it was time to go BIG. Well as big as you can go as a beginner. We went to the freestyle park to mix it up with the experts and try getting some bigger jumps. As it turned out the big jumps were not the issue it was the landing that was, so after a few short sessions of Phil going high then landing on his arse we decided to hit the main slope again.

Back on the main slope Danielle was shredding the turns with her distinct yet classy “shake my hand style” (to achieve this you need to always hold out you right hand as if ready to shake someone else’s). While Danielle was shaking hands I went loop training. This consisted of going as fast as I could to the corner of the slope, hitting the edge and throwing myself Kamikaze style off piste down the steep mountain side into the soft powder. They were by no means the best attempts you would have seen, in fact if you had seen them last week you would probably still be laughing about them now, but I managed to land a few and ride away from. Wooooooooo!

Time for lunch……… Danielle had a mega giant pretzel and I found some more Germ Knoodle. After lunch and a few beers we let ourselves recover before the next session. We sat in the sun on beach chairs checking out the pros on the massive kicker jump. There was some big moves going down and the FTWO team on their new 2013 boards were ripping . I admittedly don’t know much about snowboarding but the new 2013 kit looks awesome! The underside of the deck is florescent neon of either blue, green, orange or a mix of them all. When in the air you can’t miss them but even when on the snow the bright colour still seems to shine through into the snow giving off a cool vivid glow beneath the board.

After food and watching all the entertainment at lunch we got back on the boards with some more enthusiasm and inspiration for that afternoons snowboarding session.

For our last night in Austria we had a nice dinner of spetzle cooked by Moritz followed up by a trip into town for a couple of drinks where we ended up in a bar with the worst DJ’s in the world ever! Regardless of the dubious taste in music it was a fun night with good company, a few beers and some shifty looking dance moves.

The next day Danielle, Peter and I were heading back to Zurich. On the way we decided to have a bet on how many tunnels there would be from Innsbruck, Austria to Zurich, Switzerland. The result was a mind blowing amount of 32 tunnels! (Real tunnels & not the fake ones with holes in the side to let light in.)

Some of these were huge up to 16-18K long! We joked that most of the journey was underground.

While in Switzerland we also went snowboarding in Toggenborg. We spent the morning in low cloud covering the mountain, and everything was totally white. The slope and the terrain we were boarding on was really hard to see and super challenging but fun nonetheless. After the mornings hard work snowboarding, trying to see where we were going and some rather hard wipe outs we stopped for a well earned lunch break with the rest of the group we were staying with. At this time we were told that if we went to the very top of the mountain there was no clouds, fantastic sunshine and a spectacular view.

So we gobbled down our food and headed off on a short board ride across the mountain to the gondola leading to the top. On the way up the clouds just stopped at a certain height and we were greeted by amazing bright sunshine, brilliant white snow covered peaks poking out of thick white cloud as far as we could see. It was a spectacular sight to see but we could not stand and linger on the view too long as it was -7 on the top, so it was time to get warm with some more snowboarding.

That night after a short but good afternoon on the sunny slopes, we were once again treated to some lovely dinner and had some traditional Swiss Raclette (Melted cheese and grilled meat, cooked at the table) before heading back home for bed.

The last day we spent doing some shopping for some last minute treats to take back to Egypt with us. At 12 that evening Peter had the un-enviable task of driving us back to Geneva in the snow to catch our plane home so a huge thank you for that. In the airport the snow was coming down really thick and covering the tarmac and planes in a massive white blanket of snow that had Danielle and I starting to wonder if the flights would be cancelled. Fortunately for us the efficient Swiss were not to be deterred by this, they loaded us on to the plane and then began the de-icing operation. This looked like they were squirting orange juice all over the plane to get rid of the ice and snow, and before we knew it we were on our way back home to Dahab after an amazing holiday.

Danielle and I had such a fantastic time. It was really nice to experience the challenge of learning a new sport, it is definitely something we look forward to doing again once Danielle’s bruised bum has recovered (so maybe next year.) J

A massive thank you to our friends in Switzerland Peter (or Joe), Nanou, Matyas and Zazu for letting us come and visit them in Zurich, feeding us fantastic Hungarian/French food  & drink, chauffeuring us around, baby sitting us on the slopes and being all round fantastic and making us feel part of the family.

Also to Dommy the Swiss machine & his lovely family, Ximina, Pia & Beatrice for hosting two great evenings and showing us a lovely time.

And a big thank you to Moritz & the FTWO team for housing us in Austria, showing us the local places, introducing us to their friends, sorting out all the kit we could possibly ever need for snowboarding and teaching us how to do it, and of course just being all round cool snowboarding buddies!

All the fun time we have had the privilege of experiencing this week would not of been possible without our very generous friends, we look forward to seeing you all again soon.

Phil and I have been lucky enough to be invited to snowboard with the F2 Snowboard Team (FTWO) and thanks to a very good friend helping us to travel from Geneva to Innsbruck, we have just had a fantastic two days on the slopes, learning to snowboard for the very first time. Phil as expected is gong for crazy tricks and could be pro in 3 weeks, I am also enjoying it and Moritz from F2 was speechless about our learning rates, the first time I have seen him without something to say ever!! So I guess I did OK too, every part of my body is hurting but I am pleased I rode some red slopes today and am still alive, am sooo grateful to Moritz for the moral supports, helping me enjoy the views and of course the walnuts we found on the way home, perfect for tonights Apfelstrudel!!

We are back in Dahab on Tuesday ready for the wind to be back full power and until then have a couple of days in Switzerland with our friends and their kids, to be shown how its really done!!

Once back in Dahab we have a coaching week lining up in March with Oxford and Cambridge Universities, until then more photos, and more coaching an training ready for our 2012 PWA and UKWA plans….

If you are headed to Dahab or other areas of Egypt rememberto get in touch… we see you there

2012 has arrived and we would like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year. Thanks for all help and support throughout 2011, we have had a great year and are very excited about what 2012 may bring.

Our plans for the year are still unsure, but to begin with we are headed to the snow for the first time ever for Phil, as F2 have kindly invited us to join them in Austria for snow boarding lessons with their team riders!!

Following this we have some coaching weeks lined up with some UK university groups and then we are hoping to be able to enter quite a few more PWA and UKWA competitions throughout the year. We will be available for coaching all year and are looking to run coaching weeks not only in Egypt’s windy, sunny locations but more in the UK, Ireland again and also other European destinations. If you have your own location in mind but fancy some quality coaching and maybe even some awesome photos to capture your moments don’t hesitate to be in touch, why not design your own coaching week.

We will keep you up to date with our plans so watch this space.

Best wishes for the new year, here’s to many windy days!

Thanks to Markus Adrian from the Canaries for the photo above…the UK Team in Fuerteventura July 2011

It has been a windy winter here in Egypt. The days might be getting shorter and the locals might be starting to wrap up warm but for those of us who are used to less sunny climates will find the weather fantastic, with the air temp in the mid to high twenties and the water temp at about 23c.

We have been taking advantage of these awesome year round conditions to get out on the water as much as possible and train hard for next year.

Danielle has made some breakthroughs over the last few months cracking lots of new moves such as Grubbies, Switch chacho’s, Clew first puneta’s & has made progress towards cracking the Funnel too.

As for me I have not necessarily learnt any new moves but I have started to work towards doing a few extra tricks on my “Bad tack” and making good progress with my starboard tack Shaka’s & Bob’s

We are loving this years kit set up with the new F2 Rodeo 90’s that’s are just brilliant for pushing ourselves to the next level, they are fast, they spin through the moves like crazy and the pop is massive. As for our sails the 2012 Severne S1 is offering more power and lift in the moves yet somehow managing to be lighter then ever.

You will also notice with this blog update photos a little bit of Freeride action on the F2 Vegas freeride board and the Severne Blade. It’s not very often that either Danielle or I manage to go on the freeride kit but I found this session really enjoyable. It was great fun! The board was super easy to sail making the carve gybes almost on autopilot. As for the Blade sail they had the trademark Severne lightweight feeling and delivering loads of drive and stable power.

We have managed to get a few photos & some video footage together. At the moment we need another session or two of filming to be able to put together a short video but it is a project that is well under way so watch this space for our winter 2011 freestyle clips. As for now, however, here are a few of the photos, and a clip of Danielle’s first ever grubby!

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Great news, we have now received our new F2 Rodeos.  After a short wait due to the boards being a new addition to the F2 range and still in production, Moritz from F2 brought them over as he is over here in Dahab visiting.  Together we are doing lots of promotional work to help get the brand into more centres out here for the coming years.  Part of this meant we had a brilliant weekend in Eilat, Israel, where we went over to meet a lot of young freestylers an spend the day on the water with them, followed by a great BBQ on the beach thanks to the Israel F2 importer, Rotem Garabi.

Also remember Phil and I are running coaching week at the end of this month and into december, as well as being available for private group or one on one coaching for anyone who fancies some quality water time over here in windy Egypt.  P.S it’s still 30degrees too

Keep in touch

After being asked to teach for a week in Ireland, it didn’t take long to decide that we were going. We checked we could get affordable flights from Egypt, and as soon as we could we booked our tickets. The journey was a mammoth one, with an 8 hour bus trip to Cairo, followed by the flight to Dublin via Amsterdam. Due to limited choice of airlines we took little kit with us, on the understanding the group we would be teaching had all the toys and were happy to share (this was a huge understatement, I have not seen so many boys with all the toys until this trip it was fantastic to see guys so enthusiastic and well kitted out!). Days before departure the forecast looked epic, if a little intimidating to those who don’t know the location. 35knots of wind and 4.5-6.5 metres swell meant we packed just a 3.7 and 4.3 and headed on our way, with as many warm clothes as someone who lives in Egypt has got, in our suitcase. A big thanks to the guys at Spartan Wetsuits for sending us some lifesaving superwarm wintersuits direct to Ireland.

We were treated to a mini adventure in Cairo, where we were lucky to be shown a little of the student from our friend and student Johnny. Johnny took us on a hair raising journey through the city (not down to his driving but because every crazy driver in the world must live in Cairo) and we took a night boat along part of the Nile with a couple of drinks, before heading back across the city to catch our 3am flight, including quick wheel change on the way and trip to the mechanics who charged 5LE (50p) to fix up the wheel and put it back on!!

So finally we arrived in Dublin Monday morning, 26hrs after departure from Dahab. We headed into town to pick up a new video camera before meeting a couple of UCD students who promised us adventure at the end of the week when we would return to Dublin. Great start!

A bus ride to Belfast and then a cosy ride upfront of one of our students T4’s, we made it to Donegal by 10pm, in time for a pint of Guinness before much needed bedtime!

And so Tuesday morning it all began, with a full Irish breakfast to keep us warm and energized we headed to Magheroarty (a name even some Irish struggle to pronounce) to begin the wave sailing. We had met a few of the group we were to be coaching during their club trip to El Tur in Egypt and knew we had a lot of entertainment ahead, with the Irish sense humour never in shortage. The nicknames in the group leave a lot to the imagination, with Alan aka ‘the Lord’, Ming the Merciless, Wookie, Doctor Shipman, and Fanta Pants as a taste of what we had to work with for the week!

As for the conditions, for the first day we were treated to waves ranging from waist to well over head high, and wind enough to put Phil and I on a 4.3 and our students on sails between 4.5 and 7 metres throughout the day. Abilities and experience ranged throughout the group, in which we had 10 students most days with some people dropping in or out for the couple of days they could get off work or be given a pass from their families at home.
The first day gave great conditions to show what people could do, which areas people needed work on the most and also for those who had never sailed in waves, a good taste for what wavesailing is all about. The conditions I would liken to those I have seen on a good day in Cape Town in the past, cross – cross off wind, nice clean waves with good spacing and the sun even came out on and off throughout the day.
The end of the day was finished with a hearty and often banterous video debrief, giving the guys a real chance to see what was happening on the water, learn from their own and others mistakes, and enjoy a creamy pint of Guiness to help loosen them up after a long day on the water. This we later discovered was how every night was to be spent, Guinness and debrief before dinner and then well earned bed!

The next couple of days we also had great conditions at Magheroarty and so the guys really got the feel for the waves and the wind here, and much improvement was seen with more and more waves being caught, improved bottom turns all round and more people pushing themselves back up the waves to try and throw some spray off the lip. At times we were able to spend time working on gybes and bottom turns in the flatwater lagoon area which at high tide fills up behind the car park and sand dunes and allows perfect practise in waist deep water. Magheroarty seems the ideal spot for learning with the combination of flat and enclosed water and then the waves out on the front, in a nice curved bay which if you end up getting blown downwind you will most likely still be inside the bay.
The scenery also was stunning allowing for some great photo opportunities, or simply an
enjoyable day at the beach for those who don’t windsurf here.

On the 3rd day, we ventured over to the reef break this spot has to offer. For some this had been one of their dreams, to sail the reef at Magheroarty. Many had surfed it and now it was time to sail it. The break has clean waves and a fairly easy entry and exit route to the waves but still recommended only for those who know the area as there are some large rocks and can be very large waves at times which could dent your pride and your make a meal of your kit if not careful. The guys had an epic session, gradually getting more confidence to catch the waves further in and so getting more time improving their turns with each ride, with Phil and I on the cameras to get the evidence.

Later in the week we moved location for a day due to a shift in wind direction, and headed to Dooeys, a long stretch of beach in the middle of nowhere, a really special place to be and so few ever go there you would never worry about sharing waves. Even with our coaching week being the same dates as Peter Hart and sharing the same spots, with up to 24 people on the water in each location it was never too busy, there were more than enough waves to go around and good times were had by all.

The last few days we had wind every day, the waves dropped off a little but still got out and everyone, although starting to get tired from so many hours on the water already, still kept improving and working on their improved techniques! We had two more days at Magheroarty with mostly wave riding but also some flat water blasting to work on more gybing techniques. For our last night we were treated to a night in ‘Ming’s palace’, where we had a delicious BBQ with local Irish steaks and potatoes, some delicious wines followed by someone’s crazy idea to drink some Grappa…regretted by a few the next day. The final video debrief, with a little more drink inside most than normal, meant for an amusing evening and a really great end to the week. The last day was started with the committed being up at 6am to watch the Ireland rugby game, a cooked breakfast and then we headed to the beach (which we could see from the breakfast table). Unfortunately the waves weren’t getting into the spot but with a shorter day and a lot of families to get home to, most of the group stayed put as the wind was up and a freeride session was had for those with any energy left after a long windy week.

The end of the trip was a long ride back to Dublin, luckily avoiding Belfast and the bus this time thanks to Cormac, and night in the beautiful house of Ailbhe from UCD and her family and then a long walk around the city with Ailbhe doing a brilliant job as our private tour guide.

We both had a fantastic week, want to say a huge thanks to everyone who helped show us a good time along the way. We are really looking forward to returning to Ireland again for some more wind and waves in such a beautiful, perfect location.

We have been back in Dahab almost 3 weeks now and have been really busy with teaching and also photography. Things in Dahab are still rather quiet in comparison to this time last year, which is great for work and play! It makes teaching easier and more fun for the students, photography easier and better results with less people sailing in the way of our customers, and of course free-sailing is so nice when the water is quieter. All in all, good times!
Since being back we have had some exciting news, first with a coaching week in Ireland booked for September 20th-25th, (please contact us if you would like to join in) and second is the fantastic news that we are both now part of the F2 team, and so will be changing to their boards as soon as we can get our hands on them and working with the guys at F2 to help promote the kit and the company. The kit looks great and the feedback from those who have used it is even better, and the guys behind the scenes at F2 are all super enthusiastic and passionate about what they are doing, and are working hard to really make this a good year for F2.
So a great start after our trip away, plenty of coaching lined up for the coming weeks, and with the cost of flights coming down now more and more people are looking to come and join the action here in Egypt. Phil and I are always available for coaching so if you are coming over, or considering it, get in touch. As you can see by our Ireland coaching week, we are not restricted to Egypt so if you and your mates want to Getwindsurfing somewhere else and fancy a tailor made coaching week please don’t hesitate to ask!

Phil and I arrived in Fuerteventura on the 4th July, following our time in Lanzarote for the Freestyle competition hosted there, Phil’s debut on the PWA world tour. With 18 days spare to train for the next event we were both really excited to get on the water and check out the conditions. Our first day on the water was a bit of a shock, arriving at Rene Egli centre 2 to find our friends from the UK and Austria, welcomed by a sand storm in the car park and enough wind for even the bigger guys to be easily overpowered on my 3.3! Little did I realise this was the only sail I would be needing for the next 2.5 weeks as Fuerteventura delivered its relentless conditions exhausting all windsurfers who had come to play.
An important part of our training became days off, as we struggled with sore muscles, shoulders, tennis elbow and bruises from all sorts of wipeouts. Early nights became mandatory, as did a large supply of food in the car to keep us energised and help us maximise our sessions. We aimed to train at the competition location as much as possible to get good practise in the sailing area ready for the event. This area, at Rene Egli Windsurf Centre 1, has mostly cross off wind, small swell coming in with waves breaking close to the shore and on the way out swell and the most amount of chop I have ever known to test us on port tack. For my spocks on the outside it became a learning game as I began to feel like a complete beginner at freestyle in the difficult conditions. Phil, as all of the other guys who had come to train for the competition, found it hard to make moves which normally were very easy to them also and sessions were kept short and intense to try to get used to the area. Some days we would move location to a beach upwind, where the water was very flat in comparison and so we could have ‘easier’ sessions to enjoy ourselves and also allow our bodies some rest from the chop! Still this location would be incredibly windy, gusty and 3.3 was generally always full power for me!
With the event approaching, the forecast began to drop off, which was quite a relief although worrying it would drop off too much also, as we both really wanted the event to go ahead. When the days arrived, the wind and swell was low, but fortunately each day Fuerte delivered us wind enabling heats to go ahead in the afternoons, usually putting me on my 4.5 or 4.0 which was perfect!
The first day was the registration and for Phil, who had not managed to get a wild card for this very popular competition, a chance to compete in a qualifier, to fight for one of the remaining wildcards held by the event organisers. Luckily after registratiion, some of the riders entered had not come to the event leaving enough free spaces in the competition for all applicants for the final wild cards meaning a qualifier was unnecessary. Therefore an afternoon of fun was had by all with most of the entrants sailing together in the competiion area, showing their tricks and giving the audience a taste of what was to come. The news for Phil was brilliant, and also meant fellow British riders Adam Simms and Jamie Drummond could also compete as they had hoped giving a total of 6 British riders in the comp.
The next day the competition began, the first 20 heats for the men were held before the first 2 ladies heats, leaving the top 8 to battle it out in the final the next day. Phil’s first heat was against Armado a young dutch salior from Bonaire. Phil sailed well with huge shakas, an air flaka, regular kono and a forward on the way out and then smooth switch moves on the way in to ensure he got his moves on the cards. Armado sailed well also and with a smooth regular kono right in front of the judges as well as a planning kulo on the inside and so he won the heat meaning Phil had to wait for the double for his chance to improve his position on the ladder. As the day went on the wind and tide got up bringing more chop ad swell with it. By the time it came to my heat, the flat water of the morning was forgotten and unfortunately I struggled to make my moves in a heat against Laure Treboux. Laure sailed well entertaining the crowds with her consistant spock variations on the inside as well as switch moves on the way out. The other girls were also struggling in the conditions and so although disappointed with my performance I was slightly reassured by the knowledge that it wasn’t just me crashing the majority of the heat!
The second day we saw the finals of the Single Elimination, with flatter conditions and slightly less wind than the day before, but still an incredible display of talent on the water, keeping the audience amazed and resulting in Gollito Estredo and Sarah Quita Offringa in 1st place before double elimination began. In the double, Phil this time was up against Julien Mas from France. Again Phil sailed a good heat, but with gusty conditions on the inside struggled to keep up with Julians performance and so once again was knocked out.
The rest of the day we saw more sailors working hard to try to climb the ladder and many being knocked out as the top guys really showed their skill.
The double elimination was continued the next day, and so I had a second chance to up my performance. My heat was against Mio Anayama J311, who I had been sailing with over the last few weeks and had seen we both are at a similar level. I was really pleased as the water was a lot calmer, and using my 4.5 I managed to sail a much better heat landing a couple of vulcans and a really clean spock on the way out, but let myself down on the other tack as I failed to use the gusts on the way in and also struggled to remain upwind and in the area. It was a pretty close heat but Mio took the lead with a move on each tack, giving her the upper hand for diversity and style.
The finals were to be held the next day, and so on the 4th day of competition we saw the end of the double elimination. For the ladies, Xenia Kessler impressed the crowds as she climbed from joint 5th up to 4th defeating Sveta Martynova, Mio, Arrianne Aukes and then sailing a brilliant heat against Yoli de Brent V26. Yoli managed to win it though and so once again her and Laure battled it out for 2nd and 3rd. Laure was sailing well though and managed to beat Yoli with a brilliant shaka and fully planning grubby and spocks on the inside for the judges to enjoy. The final saw Laure and Sarah-Quita up against each other, and although Laure sailed a solid heat Sarah’s Kono on the way in and huge Shaka’s on the outside were unbeatable.
The mens finals saw a re-sail for Tonky and Taty whose heat had been cancelled the day before as the wind died. The brothers sailed amazing heats but Taty had an unfortunate kit breakage at the start of his heat meaning he lost 3 minutes on the beach, before trying to fill his scorecard in the second half of the heat to try to beat his brother. Tonky took the lead but couldn’t break Kiri in the next heat, and so we saw Steven Van Broeckhoven take on Kiri Thode in an incredible heat. Kiri’s planning spock kulos on the inside stunned the crowds but Steven’s massive height for his manoeuvres and also no-handed burners managed to win him the heat putting him up against Gollito for the final. It was super close with both riders pulling off massive moves, but Steven managed to take the lead and so another heat was held to decide the overall Fuerteventura champion. Again Steven managed to hold the lead and so took 1st place meaning also with only one event left for this years tour, he is now the 2011 World Champion as it’s not possible for anyone to catch him up on the scoreboard!!
With the wind only having been filling in for the afternoons, the Single and Double Eliminations had taken up 4 days out of the 5 allocated for this event and so there was unfortunately no time to run a second single and double elimination this year, and so instead the final day of the competition saw a super session arranged by the judges. This was run in heats with a final, and designed to make a fantastic show for the crowd. Each heat, the riders would have 3 runs in to the beach, where inside the marked area they had to do their best trick to impress the crowds and judges. From each heat the two best men would move to the final, where again the riders had 3 turns to show their moves, before on the forth run each had to perform a forward loop which would also be judged. They also held a women’s final for all 8 ladies who were in the competition. The supersession proved to be great fun, seeing some amazing fully planning powerful moves right on the beach as well as some brilliant crashes. The move of the day had to be a super fast fully planning spock kulo by Taty Frans, but so many impressive tricks were seen in the 2 hours of entertainment. Winners for this event were Laure Treboux for the ladies for her fully planning one handed grubby diablo, and Taty Frans won the mens finals after his stuning performance. Phil Soltisiak also was noted for the best forward loop, being the only rider to plane out of his loop towards the crowds to finish.
Fuerteventura PWA freestyle 2011 was a fantastic event and experience for both Phil and I, and has definitely left us eager to return and hoping to take part in more of the tour next year.

The first day for the 2011 Fuerteventura PWA Freestyle event, was an exciting one, with un-forecasted wind coming through to allow the riders to compete on sails mostly between 4.0 and 5.0. The day before we had expected Phil to participate in a qualifier comp to try out for the final wild cards of this event, but fortunately when it came to the time they did not need to do this as there was enough wild cards for all that were hoping to try out. So today heats were drawn and Phil had his first heat against Amardo NB20.
The conditions in Fuerte are hard for freestyle, with choppy waters on the way out and offshore gusty winds coming in, so even the best sailors in the world struggle here to make their best moves in the competition area. The wind had picked up and 4.7 was full power, as Phil sailed a good heat, making great moves including a huge Shaka and air flaka to impress the crowds, as well as really smooth switch moves on the inside. The points were close but unfortunately the other guy took the heat and so its the double to look forward to now for Phil. Later in the day, the women’s heats were held, Danielle met Laure Treboux for my first ever PWA heat. It was really great experience, Laure was sailing well in the gusty winds landing spock variations and a couple of switch moves to win the heat, Danielle tried hard to make spocks and e-sliders and flakas but found it really hard in the chop and so a disappointing heat but a great experience sailing with the worlds best. Following the ladies heats the day was over, the remaining Single Elimination heats will be held tomorrow and then the double eliminations will begin, hopefully in more wind like today.

Photos albums will be uploaded onto Facebook so check out the action and watch out for more updates coming soon!

So here is a small write up from the Lanzarote event! We are now in Fuerteventura enjoying super strong wind, challenging conditions to land moves in and also sailing with loads of friends from the UK and many other countries…good times!

Check out Facebook for all the photos from Lanzarote too, hope you enjoy!! Internet is sparse here so we’ll do our best to keep you updated but please, contact us anytime with questions, bookings or anything else windsurfing!

Lanzarote PWA Freestyle 2011- June 30th- July 3rd.

Flying from Egypt on Thursday, we visited the UK where we attended the Mumbles UKWA Freestyle event before jumping on the next plane out of Gatwick on Tuesday to Fuerteventura, picked up a car and caught an early ferry out the next morning to Lanzarote to stay for a few nights in Costa Teguise, the venue for Phil’s first PWA event. So after a very long weekend of travel it was straight into the action as we hit the water on Wednesday afternoon to check out the conditions for the competition. After a good session getting used to it, we spent the evening catching up with the other competitors over pizza and WiFi, before the event began the next morning.
Registration was done and then heats were due to begin at 2pm. The Single Elimination began and Phil’s heat was drawn, he would take on current tour leader Kiri Thode in the first round. This helped to ease the pressure and Phil was able to relax and enjoyed his first heat. Both guys sailed well, Phil making many moves on both sides to get a good score, but he was unable to match Kiri’s style as he pulled powerful moves such as spock-culo’s, air bob’s & Burners in the challenging conditions.

The single continued that day but the finals had to be held off till the next morning as the wind dropped off around 6pm. Day 2 saw really light winds, so most of the day was spent chilling in the shade, waiting and hoping the wind would increase to enough for the finals to be ran. At 5pm the wind had luckily filled in and the finalists took to the water with sails around 5.3′s, and the crowd was entertained with the guys putting in a huge effort to get the results they wanted. The Single results saw Gollito in 1st, Steven Broekhoven 2nd and Anthony Ruenes in 3rd with Davy Schefers taking the 4th spot, a great achievement for the guys.

Day 3 we began the double, the heats were drawn and Phil was up against a friend, Andraz Zan, SLO 49. The wind had filled in by the afternoon and guys took to the water with sails around 4.7 – 5.0′s. For Phil, the heat was a close one, with him and Andraz pulling similar moves but Phil got the upper hand with a big Shaka and and nice Kono off of one of Costa Teguise’s waves.

The next heat for Phil was to be Tonky Frans, a tough draw but having already retained the 17th spot there was nothing to lose for Phil. The heat started unpredictably for Tonky crashing a lot of early moves giving Phil the early advantage. Phil was sailing well pulling a mixture of powerful & safe moves but it was not enough once Tonky found his feet and started to show why he has been one of freestyles top competitors over the last decade, landing Backloops, Bonka’s (Forward loop in to Flaka) and other insane moves.

The rest of the day the wind held and so the double was continued up until the quarter finals when the judges postponed the action to be completed the next day. So the competition was finished on the Sunday, with amazing heats seeing the worlds best use the windiest day of the competition to really show what they can do. Pushloops, Air Chachos, Spock into Air Bob were some of the most impressive tricks amongst many being seen and after so really tight heats the final saw Gollito Estredo take on Steven Broekhoven again. Both competitors were throwing massive tricks but in the end even Steven’s no handed burner couldn’t beat Gollito’s massive Air Chacho and other strong moves he pulled in the 8 minute heat.

The event was brilliant, the windsurfing displayed was incredible by al the riders, the wind and waves were good and a great competition was finished, leaving the competitors excited for the next event in Fuerte, although for many doing the whole tour the next 3 weeks will give them a welcome break after 3 weeks back to back events in Bonaire, Aruba and Lanzarote.

For Phil and I we are now in Fuerte training for the next event with Adam and many other UK riders. Its set to be a great few weeks, with challenging conditions to get used to, definitely no shortage of wind!

The second day here in Lanzarote was mostly a waiting game, as the wind failed to pick up enough to run the heats until 5pm, when the judges ran the quarter finals but soon decided to postpone until tomorrow for the semi’s and finals. I spent the day playing with the camera around catching as much action as i could that took place on the water…again i hope you enjoy the pictures. We will do a full write up after the event but if you can’t wait until then don’t forget to read about it on the PWA website.

So here is the link for our photos from today.

Yesterday, after a long couple of hours delay at Gatwick, a scary landing for Danielle and finally picking up a lovely VW which is to be our wheels for the next 5 weeks, we arrived in Correljo, Fuerteventura where, thanks to a good friend Nathan, of Waveriders Surf School, we had a great nights sleep in Fuerte before making it onto the ferry to Lanzarote for a smooth crossing this morning. Following this we had an hours drive up the island to find our accommodation and most importantly to find the beach, and the PWA Lanzarote competition area. Checking in we found our budget accommodation is more than adequate and really rather comfortable, as well as very close to the beach and also Antxon Otaegui’s Pizzeria (opened just a few days before we all arrived, we have already tested for dinner and a big thumbs up from us for food, drinks and atmosphere).
This afternoon we both got out on the water, an important time for Phil to test the sailing area ready for the heats tomorrow. It was tricky conditions with fickle wind and a lot of swell as well as a number of reefs and rocks to be aware of, and a lot of people in the area, but time allowed Phil to get more used to this and also enjoy being somewhere different to Dahab’s flat water and easy sailing.
The event tent is crammed with kit as the sailors all prepare for the event to begin tomorrow. The registration will be from 10-12 and then the heats begin at 1pm, so plenty of time in the morning to prepare and get ready for the action. The event has been shortened to only 3 days now, which is unusual, but hopefully the wind will deliver and the competition will be fun and action packed for everyone. There is no live stream for this event sadly, but we will do our best to keep the updates coming, so please keep in touch and keep your eyes out for photos coming your way!

After a very windy few weeks in Dahab, we are back in the UK for a long weekend, before flying to the canary Islands to the PWA Lanzarote event for Phil, followed by 3 weeks training before the PWA Fuerteventura event where there is also a ladies competition which i will be entering too! So exciting times! Before we fly out, we are headed to Swansea to the Mumbles early tomorrow morning for the UKWA freestyle event they are hosting. Its exciting to be windsurfing in the UK after so long, and to be competing with some of the best freestylers in the country, a lot of whom are good friends, makes it even more exciting! Also I have my new Spartan ladies 5/4/3 Cyclone to test out, I know it’s summer but having been living in Egypt I think this will be the perfect suit for me windsurfing in the UK!
We will make sure we get some pictures up on our Facebook page and our news page this month to show what we are up to, how the competitions go for us and also just show the new locations we are visiting, which we hope will be future coaching locations or Getwindsurfing!

Other news, we have just also had delivery of some Getwindsurfing hoody’s, a test batch before we hopefully get more made for retail….we’l get some pictures up soon so please send us any feedback, and let us know if you’d be interested in getting your hands on one too!!

Also please don’t forget we still have spaces available for our September and December Coaching weeks, in all locations so if you fancy getting out on the water for some great sessions, learn new skills or fine tune those you have already, please get in touch and come join us! All weeks will be great fun, the windsurfing is always great in Egypt and September especially is renowned for being windy in Egypt. We also have the local knowledge to make sure if there are other activities you would like to do we can help you arrange these, and if you wish to come with a non windsurfer we can help make sure they have a great time too!
Check out the courses page for more information, or drop us an email with any questions and for a personal quote.

Last but by no means least…some exciting new from us is we are now retailing Choco Fins. This means if you need to get your hands on some of the best fins on the market we can help you do so, at good prices too. Choco are the choice of fin for many pro windsurfers, whether its for freestyle, waves, or speed they make amazing fins used by the best all round the world. Check out their website and please feel free to contact us with any questions or to place an order.

Its all go for us here in Dahab. We are still working with Colin and Marco helping promote their upcoming coaching DVD, check out the blog here..

Yesterday and today we have seen the Dahab Festival Freestyle competition, which was a great event, with 18 competitors and a very high standard of sailing all round. Phil did really well, coming first in the Single Elimination and 2nd in the Double. It was great practise for the PWA events we are training for in the summer. Thanks to all who organised it, read more about the events here and look out for more as the festival continues throughout the week.

So now, on to the very exciting news, we have just updated our course page, to announce the dates for our next coaching weeks for the 2nd half of this year. We have planned weeks in different Egyptian locations to offer variety and opportunity to all to check out new spots, and enjoy all that Egypt has to offer. Please check out the coaching weeks and be in touch if you have any questions.

The last couple of weeks here in Dahab have been windy on and off, and we have been working hard with a lot of teaching and also loads of people wanting photo service during their holidays.
We are still in Dahab, unfortunately we are not able to run the first part of the Sinai Road trip this time, but will be enjoying the Dahab festival and Blue Lagoon trip in eleven days time. Until then we are however going to be busy with coaching, photos and also the documentation of the making of a new windsurf instructional DVD by Colin Dixon and Marco Wedele during the next 3 weeks. Watch this space for updates and more information. We are also currently putting together some clinic dates for the autumn and winter, as well as taking enquiries for private bookings to suit your personal needs. Be in touch!

Its getting closer to the Road Trip, and we are hoping the wind is going to be great as it usually is in May. We have had a fair amount of wind here lately although its the turning point between winter wind and summer wind here so things are up and down! The temperature is on the rise which usually means more and more windy days will be seen! Still we have been working hard with Photography, making many happy windsurfers with some great photos to take home and show off, as well as training hard when we can to keep pushing our personal levels.
Our plans for the summer to go to the Canary Islands for the PWA competitions are slowly taking shape, and we are also looking to plan some winter courses out here so anyone interested in a coaching week August to Dec be in touch, we could arrange one to fit your personal needs, in any of the Egyptian locations. Watch this space for news of weeks planned but please, be in touch with your own requirements and ideas too and make the most of our flexibility to fit things around you!

Right then it’s been some busy times in the GetWindsurfing camp.
Last week we were back coaching in El Tur with a very keen group of 25 windsurfers of varying abilities from Oxford and Cambridge Universities.
What a great week, the wind blew through out with most days delivering a wind for sail sizes 5.8m to 4.0m.
The conditions were fantastic for those Intermediates and advanced students but offering very challenging conditions for the beginners and the improvers. However, everyone was up to the challenge and there was great windsurfing to be had by all with lots of improvement and some sore hands from too much windsurfing by the end of the week.
We would like to say a big thank you to the windsurfers of Oxford and Cambridge for giving us a very enjoyable and entertaining week.
We are now back home in Dahab working hard taking photos and preparing for the epic GetWindsurfing Sinai Road trip in may.
There are some great offers available for travel and accommodation but please get in touch soon as spaces for the trip are limited.

We will leave you now with a short video clip with some of Phils freestyle this month….. enjoy

http://video.mpora.com/watch/RvO4uqEoe/

Phil Richards March 2011 freestyle windsurfing >>

We are excited to announce we are organising a Sinai Road Trip, this coming May, to conincide nicely with the Dahab Festival!!!

So what does it entail??

The trip will be spread over 3 weeks although people are welcome to join in for part or all of the journey.  We will start in Moon Beach, north west of the Sinai, spending 5 days enjoying their fantastic centre, bar and windsurf area, before heading south to El Tur for the next 5 days, to enjoy the great variety of conditions the place has to offer, as well as great local food in town, and a trip up the local mountain for sundowners and amazing views.

We will then drive to the east coast, bringing us on to Dahab where we will be arriving in time for the Dahab Festival, set to be an exciting week including windsurf competitions as well as loads of other fun stuff in Dahab.  We will have 10 days in Dahab, to enjoy the festival, the local town and windsurf conditions, and also give us time for an overnight visit to Ras Abu Galum, otherwise known as the secret Blue Lagoon (seen in Boards mag Feb Issue 2011) Here we will be camping under the stars and windsurfing the lagoon the next day, maybe even 2 days group, weather and time permitting.

The Itinerary –

3rd May -8th May – Moon Beach

8th-13th May – Moses Bay, El Tur

13th-24th – Hilton, Dahab

Please email us for prices, which include:

Coaching by Phil and Danielle up to very advanced level

Equipment Storage,

Half board in the hotels,

Transport around the Sinai

Trip to Ras Abu Galum.

Flights are currently at great prices so why not come and join the adventure!!

The 2nd half of the coaching week in Moon Beach was great.  Wednesday gave us a morning of strong onshore wind with wind blown waves to jump off and practise our skills in.  After this dropped and swung side shore, it meant those who hadn’t managed a sail in the morning could get out on the water in a more comfortable environment while the rest chilled out after a crazy morning sail.  We really did not expect those fantastic wavy conditions so it was a real treat.  The last couple of days, brought big sail weather, and we made the most of practising gybes, non planning vulcan exercises and loads of other drills to get our skills up for when the wind increases.

For our last night we went for a walk up the wadi, which I would highly recommend, followed by some last night drinks and shisha on the decking with everyone.  The wadi walk was awesome, a fun climb, not too challenging but more tricky than a gentle walk, leading to the amazing views up and down the coastline around Moon Beach.

All in all we had a great week in Moon Beach, thanks to the staff and everyone with us.  We are really looking forward to going back and are hoping to arrange a road trip round the Sinai, which will definitely include some sessions at Moon Beach on the way round.

Watch this space for more info on this, until then enjoy some pictures from the week (in no particular order i’m afraid!) Thanks guys!

So the adventure began, leaving Dahab in the worlds fullest minibus, loaded high with tonnes of windsurf equipment, luggage, chocolate brownies, oatmeal cookies, crates of rum for the moon beach staff and 3 excited windsurfers, the first GetWindsurfing clinic of 2011 hit the road!!  Aiming for Nabq in Sharm el Sheik to pick up Andy, who would be joining us on the clinic, we quickly donned our ipod’s to drown out the lovely Egyptian music, which it was just a bit too early to handle, and prepared to relax for the first time in a busy, windy week!  All in need of a rest after a week of 4.0/4.7 weather and hurriedly selling photos to keen windsurfers, we planned to make the most of the journey to recover before a week of coaching and fun in Moon Beach, close to Ras Sudr in the Egypt Sinai.  The forecast looked mixed, a great chance for all of the guys on the clinic to push their windsurfing on and learn new skills together.  Exciting times!

6 hours and quite a few camel sitings later, we had passed through Sharm, such a contrast to Dahab with its mass of huge hotels and fast food outlets, we stopped off in El Tur for a quick lunch and leg stretch, and were hopeful of a sunset sail in Moon Beach as we got closer to our final destination.  Goals for the week were set, carves, ducks, grubbys and forwards amongst the aims, everyone arrived to Moon Beach excited to check it all out, greeted by Dan and Schelp and later joined by Les after his flight in to Cairo.

So we are now about half way through the clinic here in Moon Beach.  We have had a great time so far, the first day bringing a windless morning, opportunity to check out the centre, be briefed on sailing areas and then take kayaks and paddle boards around the bay to see where the reefs are located and just have a good look around.  The afternoon brought light winds and after some simulator time recapping various skills and techniques, we hit the water with big floaty boards and put what we’d been talking through into practice.

Everyone really enjoyed the day, especially enjoying the location as all were first timers here in Moon Beach, and we all were very impressed by the sailing area, the staff, the centre and the great setup with a good looking wooden centre with bar and decking to chill out on and watch the action when not out there ourselves.

Day 2 brought planning conditions, 6.0-5.0 saw us out planning, practising tacks, getting going techniques in the lighter patches, and also some vulcans by Andy, who surprised himself by not being as rusty as he had expected.  Les, being the oldest in the group, didn’t let his reputation down and spent hours on the water, putting the rest of us to shame as he worked on his tacking and planning control for most of the day, with much improvement seen!   In the evening Greg set up the projector for us and following some video coaching feedback we all enjoyed a movie and popcorn night in the bar.

The 3rd day we took as a day of rest for all, with some simulator time had but not much action on the water as light onshore winds didn’t entice anyone away from relaxing on the decking, a popular past time here.  In the evening we were treated to a beach BBQ by the hotel, who impressed us with a huge amount of delicious food, saying that, every night the food has been enjoyed by all.

So now its Day 4, with three more days of coaching we have some strong winds on the forecast and everyone is really excited.  Woken up about 4am this morning, we definitely have strong winds, so strong we couldn’t sleep after it woke us up!! The wind came through the night, onshore and strong, probably enough for me to use my 4.0 or even 3.3m sail.  The wind has created wind blown waves coming into the bay, its really quite beautiful to see.  The wind has swung a little now, and Phil and I excitedly couldn’t sleep and thought we’d head out for a early sail…that is until we got to the beach to rig and realised quite how cold it is!! The sun is hiding behind the cloud and at 7am in March in Egypt with strong onshore wind it actually can be pretty chilly!!  (I can hear all our friends in England in my head now telling us we are big wimps and this isn’t cold but honestly…its cold enough to stop us going out till later, so thats saying something, we have both been gagging for some wind all week!! )

We are off to breakfast instead, to join our students and get some warm food inside us ready for action. Here’s hoping the sun will come out from behind the clouds and join us!

Unfortunately the Internet connection today is not so hot, so photos will be coming later!! Watch this space!!

Things in Egypt remain calm and the effects of the change in political situation have been noticed only in the lack of tourists here in Dahab, no disturbances here have been seen and windsurfing resorts carry on as normal, except the water still remains empty in comparison to Dahab as most will know it.  The lagoon remains British majority and so do the hotels, bars and restaurants.  The Egyptians are so happy to see us here, welcoming all to their restaurants, hotels and bars even more so than usual as business is very hard for them now.

Phil and I are preparing for our Moon Beach clinic coming up in just over a week.  The weather has been good bringing plenty of wind last week, some lighter days now but good to regain energy for next week when the forecast is great.  We are really excited to be going to Moon Beach, there are still spaces available so please be in touch if you are interested, flight prices are definitely good now for coming to Egypt.  Be in touch!

Due to recent events in Egypt we have not been able to update the website recently. So apologies for this, the good news however, is that we are back online.
Danielle and I are still out in Dahab and we would like to mention that the UK windsurf resorts here have been running as usual with no problems or trouble. Right now is a great time to come to Dahab as the water is a lot quieter
We highly recommend checking out some cheap last minute deals and coming out and joining us.

Happy New Year!

We had a great stay in the UK for Christmas and New Years, and now are back in sunny Egypt, ready for a busy 2011.  We arrived back to 3 days of 4.0/4.7 weather for us, perfect to try out our new Spartan wetsuits we picked up from the factory the day before our flight.  Getting back on the water after 4 weeks off and lots of christmas food was great! Unfortunately since then we have had the classic January in Egypt, light winds.

The wetsuits are awesome, having used them a good amount of times, mine has doubled my time on the water because it is so warm, the smooth-skin makes so much difference for me.  Phil is really happy with his too, and we are both really pleased with the backing we have gained from Spartan. Thanks!

Coaching is lining up for the coming months, with our first Moon Beach clinic in March as well as some private bookings for various coming weeks.  If anyone is coming to Egypt and would like some coaching or simply advice on where to go remember we are happy to help as much as possible to get you out here and on the water!

Phil has received the dates for the PWA competitions this year, and we are really looking forward to heading to the canaries for the events there and catching some spanish wind and waves mid summer.

Until then we are looking forward to some windy weeks in Egypt, hope to see you all out here soon.

Happy Christmas to all!!  We have been enjoying the snow here in the UK, a real treat after months in the desert!!  We have also been busy planning next year, check out our courses page for news of next March’s clinics.  Please don’t hesitate to be in touch with any questions and also please remember if these weeks don’t suit then be in touch and we can try to arrange something more suitable for your needs, dates or location.

This week has been windy starting with some crazy 4.3 weather on Monday and being about 4.7 weather everyday afterwards. This has come after a bit of a windless spell beforehand and it seems everyone is aching a little as our bodies have forgot how to windsurf

Tomorrow has some 20-25knots of South wind forecast in Dahab that we are all a little excited for. It will be nice to get some bumps and jumps (and sometimes even waves according to the locals when the wind is from the South).

We will try to get some photos of tomorrow on here as soon as we have them.

We are also UK bound on Tuesday for Christmas and the New Year and we will be returning to Dahab again on the 6th of Jan.

Exciting news from Dahab, we have been lucky enough to meet John Morgan from

Spartan this week, he is out here on holiday with the Datchet waterports club trip.  It has been a great week so far, not so much wind but Datchet sure know how to travel, with 1 or 2 bottles of spirits per person, 40 + people and an emptied out hotel room made into a bar, the Gin Parties are pretty renowned and very good fun, if a little dangerous for people more used to Egyptian spirits!

Anyway!! Meeting John has given us chance to hear from him about his company,  the Spartan wetsuits and accessories in the range and also the amount of research, development and care they put into their products.  Its really exciting

John has asked us to join the team,  we have always heard really great reviews about Spartan and so we are really pleased to be joining them.

Check out the website for more information.

So the wind in Dahab has been fairly light recently but we have seen the odd bit of 4.7 to 5.3 weather here and there.

We have had lots of friends out in Dahab recently and have had some good times with them on the water and off.

One of these was a trip up to Ras Abu Gallum (Blue Lagoon) with the Tushingham sails boys. It was a really cool place that is very remote very scenic, stunning blue water and great for windsurfing. We will definitely be doing another trip up there some time soon.

We have also been rather busy with taking lots of photos this week here are just a few snaps we have taken .

Enjoy

Good times had by us in El Tur.

A very busy 2 weeks have just been spent by us teaching at Oceansource as well as videoing for the slovenien Quiksilver Windsurf school.  We are now back in Dahab with some good internet connections and so hope you enjoy some of the photos we have from this time.  The wind has been pretty light making for great teaching for lower levels, but not so much planing for the more advanced windsurfers  It was still a fun two weeks though!

We are now planning next year so watch this space for news of coaching weeks and other exciting things.

Until then check out our Kit For Sale album on facebook, and let us know if you are interested, or if there is anything else you may be after we could help with.

Oh and one more thing, forgot to mention this before…check out this feature on Boardseeker Magazine.

So since our clinic things have been busy for us out here in Egypt.  We spent 5 days last week doing our RYA Advanced Instructor course, something we have both been keen and ready to do for a long time.  It was a great week with a mix of weather, so thank you to Simon Frost from braylake.com and Sam Ross at Neilson for running that for us.

We are now both in El Tur again doing some work with the Slovenian ‘Quiksilver Windsurf School’ and also some freelance photos.  Next week Danielle will be working for Oceansource, so its a busy few weeks.  We are also trying to plan next year’s clinic dates, March will be the first official dates but if you and your friends are coming out and want to book us for some coaching please be in touch!

More photos coming soon, we now have all our new Severnes, including my 3.3 Blade which arrived yesterday, luckily with the wind to test it out!! Such a great sail for such a small size!

Now that the clinic is over, I have some more time to tell you all about it.

We had a great week, a small group with just 3 ladies, all under 26.  They were out to have fun, to improve their windsurfing, and of course get some sun! We managed all of this, the windsurfing improved loads, harnessing, stance, gybing and beach starts were all improved on, heli-tacks and other light wind tricks were achieved and most of all a lot of fun all round.  Oh and the sun tans came along nicely too, albeit with some very amusing tan lines!!

We also had some time to go snorkelling, both to the fantastic shipwreck El Tur has to offer for lightwind days, and also to the Islands dive site in Dahab, where we ventured over to before enjoying the Club Dahab party night while waiting for the last days wind.

Back in El Tur,  having said we would climb the mountain for sundowners, we were so busy windsurfing we did not have time and had to make do with sunset at the point instead.  We also managed a couple of great BBQ’s with fresh fish from town. YUM!

So all in all a great week for everyone.  Thanks goes to the students, we’re looking forward to the next clinics!

We are half way through our El Tur clinic and its been a lightwind few days but really great fun and the students have already improved their windsurfing skills loads.

Today is looking light so following our morning windsurf we are off SUPing and snorkelling, maybe some volleyball, all looking forward to some wind for the last few days of the course to put the new skills to the test.

The evenings have been good fun, we have had a couple of BBQ’s and tonight are heading up the local mountain for a sundowner with beautiful views across El Tur and over to the ‘mainland’ of Egypt before we have another BBQ this time provided by the Moses Bay Hotel.

We will be getting some action photos up soon, until then enjoy this one of our yummy homemade beach BBQ last night.

Check out this link for some of last months photos we took out here in Dahab.

http://boards.mpora.com/news/september-egypt-danielle-lucas-photogallery.html

We are hoping to get a couple of these shots in print too…check out the Boards magazine September 2010 edition where you will see us feature at least 3 times! Hoping for October too.

Next week we are in El Tur coaching, which should be a great week of coaching, BBQ’s maybe some snorkelling and also a trip up our local mountain for sundowners.  Watch this space for updates.

Last week we went back to El-Tur for a photo shoot of our kite surfer friend Brad Symington at Habibi wave beach. The conditions there are cross on starboard tack waves that tend to increase in size as the wind builds. For the shoot it was 5.3 weather for Phil and Brad was on his 12m kite, not the windiest day but as you can see through the shots there was more than enough to have lots of fun.

We have also been taking loads of photos here in Dahab including some great ones of the local staff and pro’s who have been here training. As you can see it is still nice and sunny out here in Egypt, warm enough for shorts and rash vest weather.

Other recent news is that we have received our new 2011 Severne S1 sails. We have had a few sessions on them this week and are really happy with them. They feel really light & manoeuvrable in the hands making all the latest tricks much easier to perform. They are also bright orange, easy to spot and look great on the camera.

Click on the thumbnails to maximise the images.

We have had a great week for wind here, and being off the water for most of it I managed to get some awesome shots of some of the local staff and also the pro’s here.  Once I have sorted them we will definitely be updating the gallery and letting you all in on the action.

Next week we are off to El Tur for a few days so if anyone can come and join please do.  We will be available for photos and coaching whilst we are over there, so if you are interested, or just want to come sail with us and check the place out please be in touch.

Things here in Egypt are great, the wind is up, has been for a while and showing no signs of dropping on the forecast!  Some of the worlds best freestylers are in Dahab at the moment which is awesome, its a fantastic place to sail or even just sit and spectate.

Yesterday we managed to get some photos of Phil at the end of the day, the wind was dying but in the gusts we got some good results.  Today I also got out for some photos and some video clips and will definitely be getting some more during the week so watch this space for more footage of us on our new boards, and to see Dahab at its best!

Hello and welcome to GetWindsurfing.com we will be keeping this website up to date with all happinings including, news, photos, clinics and more.

So to make sure you are up to date with GetWindsurfing add us to your favorites and check our site again soon.

Phil & Danielle