The 2007 Fat Face Night windsurf was as opposite as you can get from last year’s super windy event. It was flat, calm, hot and sunny But despite being flat, calm, hot & sunny it was quite possibly even more of a success than the '06 event.

The Racing

There was no wind so everyone got on with the Master Blaster on whatever gear they could find, beg, borrow, steal etc and they all took part - almost 300 hundred entrants! Everyone got in the mood, pumped round the pretty long course and then wrecked their feet on the sprint up the beach to the finish line. It was really quite hard stuff, but everyone got on with it in amazing spirits..

The Organisation

The organisation was fantastic. Well you would expect military precision from event organiser Captain Allan Cross. There was a tight schedule with many races, clinics and night series qualification Super X races. Every half hour from 10am until 10pm there was an event. On top of that, after every race there was a prizegiving with prizes handed out by the sponsors. Allan Cross and Peter Hart kept everything to schedule with constant microphone announcements.

The Participation Factor

It was all about feeling part of windsurfing and no one could say they got short changed from this event. There were free clinics, races, exhibitors, a pub to chill out in, a mini beer festival and the Nik Baker board give away. The family atmosphere was also great with plenty of picnics on the beach. Probably the best thing was that no one really minded where you camped, how long you stayed up or how much noise you made.

Takes All Sorts

Well if you’ve not got the best kit, then get the best dress from the four Elvis’ to someone in a skin coloured wetsuit not forgetting the Roman Gladiators, Old age pensioners and many more. There was also such a diverse range of kit on show from the original windsurfer to the latest Formula board, tandems, Serenitys, Konas…even some wave boards.

Night Racing

This year it was for the Pros and the amateurs. The amateur master blaster set off in absolutely no wind. You can imagine the carnage as 30 odd set off into the pitch black.. The highlight was a seven year old girl finishing the course on an old Mistral Flow.

The Pro Super X turned into a course racing pumpathon Super X and was actually quite good. By this time most Pros had scrounged a raceboard of some description. The offshore winds and proximity to the beach combined with the clear evening skies made for an exciting and surreal spectacle of a pursuit race. With positions changing many times due to the moves (a downwind 360, duck gybe, upwind 360, duck tack) and an upwind stretch back to the shore, it was exciting light wind racing. Xavier Ferlet on a Starboard Serenity just eclipsed Ben Proffitt to take first place, whilst former National Racing Champion, Alan Jackson came in third.