Robby feels the heat
in Pozo...
August was a month of mixed emotions for
me. I had a couple of good results in the Canaries
and a couple of really bad ones! Some fun times
off the water and some pretty miserable ones too!
We had a nice two-week break to train in between
Fuerte and Pozo and my foot was feeling a little
bit better, so I was more confident going into
the event. We didn’t really get any wave
sailing conditions, but everyone’s freestyle
was coming on and it was looking like we were going
to see the most spectacular competition this year
so far.
Ricardo Campello was doing unbelievable doubles,
and so was Victor Fernandez. There were a lot more
sailors going for more powerful, high speed manoeuvres
like fruit loops and air chacos’s. I have
to say that I much prefer watching that kind of
freestyle rather than the more intricate, switch
stance, clew first moves.
Pozo Freestyle: Yeah!!!
I did pretty well in the freestyle there (4 th
overall) and I was happy to get a solid result,
albeit right at the end of the season. It has motivated
me to train even harder this year in preparation
for next year’s tour! Hopefully I won't get
injured next year either, and I will be able to
get myself back up in the top 3!
Pozo Wave: booooo!!
“We both had a battle to see who could
do the least stuff and I came out on top!”
The wave event was quite another story for me.
With no decent wave conditions half way through
the contest, the organisers were getting a bit
worried that there would be no wave result at all;
which meant everything would hinge on Sylt, which
is so unpredictable for wind. So on the fourth
day they decided to run three wave heats; one being
mine, and the other being Kauli Seadi’s,
in probably the most marginal conditions I have
ever seen! I literally sailed around for ten minutes
without seeing a breaking wave!
I was against Ben Proffit, and I don’t think
he was that impressed with the conditions either.
We both had a battle to see who could do the least
stuff, and I came out on top! Ben went through
and then they called off the waves for the day!
I was pretty broken myself but Proffitt made up
for it by battling his way all the way up to 5
th in the single elimination!
I have to take my hat off to him as well because
I was his room mate and I don’t think he
ever got in before five in the morning! Definitely
the winner of the 4th discipline and an extremely
good result in the waves at the same time!!!
Apres Pozo
“I did a few nice push-loop-table-tops
which is a new trick for me that feels really cool!”
After the event was finished everyone left, but
I thought I would hang around for a few more days,
and we had two of the best days I have ever had
in Pozo! There were nice four foot waves rolling
in, a very rare occurrence this year in Pozo, and
I was fully powered on a 3.7m Combat. After a contest
is when everyone usually sails their best as you
are always a little frustrated with your result,
and motivated to get better. I saw Kevin Pritchard
do one of the biggest back loops ever! Jonas Ceballos
was going huge as always and Victor Fernandez sails
with more style than any other sailor. It really
was a pleasure just to sit there and watch everyone.
I did a few nice push-loop-table-tops which is
a new trick that feels really cool! I also did
my best ever double and it was right in front of
all the boys, so I was pretty stoked!
Bank Holiday journey from hell to reach
Blighty’s shores
“I don’t think that Mum and Dad have
ever seen me smiling so much about being home!”
After those two days of brilliance, the weather
changed and the wind disappeared. It was boiling
hot and nearly unbearable. Everyone else had left
and Pozo became a very lonely place after all the
World Cup activity. I decided that it was time
to leave but I still had to take the van that I
had borrowed off my friend Mike back to Lanzarote.
I had to get the ferry from Las Palmas to Arrecife.
It leaves at midnight and gets in at about 8:30am
in the morning. There were no cabins left and every
time I lay down on the floor to sleep I was told
that I couldn’t sleep there! Finally we landed
in Lanzarote and I thought I would just drive to
the airport quickly to make sure that there would
be a flight for me before returning the van to
Mike.
But forgotten by me, it was August Bank Holiday
weekend! That meant that there were about 50 people
on the standby list in front of me and the lady
at the check-in desk was not optimistic about my
chances of getting on a flight until the next Thursday!
I was tired as a dog after the long ferry ride
and slightly irritable to say the least! I unloaded
about half of my windsurfing equipment into the
airport and parked the van, determined to sit there
until a seat became available!
I think there was one flight every half an hour
to Luton, Stansted or Gatwick so I was pretty hopeful,
but every time a seat became free, there would
be someone on the list in front of me! I was completely
broken by about 3 o’clock but then I finally
heard the nice lady call out my name! It was all
a big rush but I got most of my stuff on the plane
and was on my way back to England before I knew
it! I don’t think that Mum and Dad have ever
seen me smiling so much about being home!
Urgent call from the boss at JP
It was not to last long though. I went to Christchurch
on the Saturday to help out with the kid’s
freestyle training camp, and while I was there
I got a phone call from Martin Brandner, the boss
of JP, asking me to go out to Rhodes to do a Super
X photo-shoot….. on Sunday! Of course I
agreed, and that is where I am now! I am very tired
because the flight was overnight and I hardly slept
at all and I have been sailing for about 5 hours
today! All is good though, I was sailing on a 5.0m
which was fun and the people are really cool, so
hopefully tonight I will get a bit of a chance
to relax!
Most of the other English boys are in Guincho
at the moment competing at the IFCA Production
Worlds. I am a little jealous because I heard that
the conditions are supposed to be really good.
But not to worry, we have about 3 more weeks before
Sylt, so when I get back from here, I will hopefully
be able to get in some training with the boys down
on the good old south coast of England!
I’m looking forward to the Poole Windfest.
Every year, most of the boys make it back to the
UK for that event so it is a good chance to get
together and have a laugh. So, I would recommend
it to anyone who is thinking about going down there!
That’s all for now! See you in Poole…
Robby |
Main
Page 
