Windsurfing Magazine

Andy McKinney
2010-02-10 17:23:58 | 1341 views | 11 Comments

Is there ever such a thing as it being too windy? Disregarding hurricanes, of course. Well, it kind of depends on what you want to do and your own ability/energy level for a given day. I can say with certainty that it was too windy for me to go freestylin’ at the Buxton Slick on Saturday. Yikes, I feel old just typing it. Please, don’t ever ask me to say it out loud!

I learned that being wound out on a 3.7 is too hectic to try to get tricky, even in perfectly flat water. Of course, the loops and over-sheeted slalom jibes were as epic as ever, but any spock, grubby, or flaka attempt ended in sheer, violent, immediate disaster. But I’ll tell ya, the more I tried, the more I learned. I learned that the only way I could get through a spock was to take off on a much closer reach than I had ever attempted before. I also learned that spinning with only one hand on the rig instead of two kept the sail from overpowering. And there was that one grubby that I was able to slide all the way through. That single moment of bliss far outweighed the defeat of 30 failed attempts.

So, in the end, I guess I learned that it can’t hurt (much) to try again and again and again, because eventually, something euphoric might just come out of all that pain and defeat. Gosh, ain’t windsurfing just an awful lot like life sometimes? That right there is your daily reminder to always try your hardest out there, kids! When life knocks you down, well, you just get right back up on that horse, err, board, and sail.

Here’s a short video from another (much less windy) slick session. Perfect 4.7, beautiful sunshine, frozen fingers. What more can you ask for? Thanks for filming, Stuart!

Have a great day, folks!

Andy McKinney Rides:
Read more of Andy’s blogs at lostinhatteras.blogspot.com.