GIRLIE WEEK FINAL REPORT
For the first dedicated girls windsurfing week I think it was a big success. We had no idea off what we were letting our selves in for, but we managed to get 25 women of different standards, from absolute beginner to competent sailor further along there windsurfing roads.
The wind wasn’t ideal towards the end of the week but that didn’t stop us trying to teach the old fave the carve gybe along with the other classics!!! We did lots of simulator work which helps drum the theory into the girlies heads without the distraction of waves, tides and boys coming to see chicks in bikinis on boards!!.
I think the biggest achievement of the week was the amount of girlies who lost some of there mental blocks about the harness and footstraps. By the end it was impressive how many could get into the harness and start to get into the footstraps, and of course conquer the dreaded the water start – which Girlie Jo taught very well, although I think it was her lesson that cursed the wind!!!!!!!! Or perhaps it was Justin one of the instructors who insisted on rigged up his new 4.4!!!
The end of the week was also not without its party moments. The BBQ was a huge success on the Friday night – the theme was glam rock, but being girlie and insisting on being girlie and different (awkward some would say) we went for the pink girl theme – which admittedly worked really well and looked ace. And in pink or not no night would be complete without a visit to the Zeus bar where all the girls had a dance on the famous shelf and looked forward to the next girlie meeting. Then as if in a few seconds it was Saturday (well a bit later than early Saturday morning when we rolled home) a non teaching day, so we just let our girls get on with it, and practice what we had taught them. Of course then we went out for a few good bye drinks and a nice meal. And then all that was left was Sunday – lots of sad goodbyes and swappings of email addresses and off they went, leaving the odd straggler behind (with a few evil looks) for the second week.
LUCY’S HOLIDAY
You wouldn’t believe it but I haven’t been on holiday since I was 14 – (no racing isn’t a holiday, its work – so the whole concept was a bit weird) What do you do with yourself, can I really be a pool side lizard, a sightseer, a REAL TOURIST!!. Or will I wake up in a cold sweat gagging for 7am run and stretch with coach and the boys. Some of Beck’s friends from home came over and her brother (not Dan) was already here, they were drafted in to help with settling into this new holiday concept – I HAD SOMEBODY TO HANG WITH, apparently this is an important point of a holiday…. At first I minced on the beach talking to the instructors and generally getting in the way trying to be helpful, when my mentors sore this they looked scared, I’ve got no chance they said. They insisted that at least half the time on holiday had to be spent sitting by the pool, (that’s what the German towel jokes about!!) OK pool lizard I must become; I rocked up, put my towel on a sun lounger, lay down and slept! Wow that must have been at least half an hour…. NO NO NO 3mins I lasted and I was already bored stiff… – Luckily I was saved by the wind god. This sort of holiday I can live with. For the next 4 hours I had an awesome sail on a FANATIC SKATE 90, a beautiful board that just wants to do a freestyle move, even if the riders not of that persuasion! – Beck’s has got one and I think I will have to add it to my quiver of Formula boards!!
The rest of the week panned out the same – get up, try to be a tourist, mince around the beach chatting, massaging aching shoulder, talking free style moves (that I can’t do) and waiting for wind. The next time the wind kicked in I found out about the GOYA 74 – oh my goodness, if I thought I really needed the SKATE, I had suddenly found another awesome board – cheers fanatic, great effort – I’ll put my order in when I get home. The Skate wants to freestyle but the Goya insists on getting air, for a wave board designed by a wave ridding legend it aint half fun on flat water and it can be driven at a fair speed after all that racing practice!!!. Oops I was getting back into work mode, I’d basically given up on the whole pool thing, how the hell can you spend more that five minuets there? So I joined in a lesson with Pete who aimed to teach me to jump – I spend all my time keeping that Formula board in the water, the whole concept was a bit strange. Credit to him though, I think I actually did 3 proper jumps one of which was almost considered to be a Vulcan attempt!!!! Heli tacks and down wind 360’s are also on there way into the freestyle repertoire if I ever get more time off the old race board.
I had an awesome second week in Vass, I would recommend it to everyone. The sun shines, the beach buzzes with windsurfing girls and boys with big smiles on their faces, the wind generally blows in the afternoon, and the cocktails in the bar are a great way to unwind at the end of a hard day on the water (thanks to Elsie and Jimbo who make the cocktails) and if you like Pizza, Martin the chef makes a mean one. I did also manage one day of sightseeing (really weird concept), we headed off on mopeds in the morning to get a boat from the next town. We were heading to the island of Kaffalonia on the horizon of Vassiliki bay to check out a few land marks and other touristy things. On arrival to Kaffalonia a couple of Beck’s mates summed up the whole holiday concept with a classic. No Lie the first thing they wanted to do was find a pool to hang by……….
I have been asked to come back soon, so I am really looking forward to organising, Girls windsurfing week 2 The Return to Club Vass…… . Next time we have even more planned that will really build on the foundation laid last week. With hopefully 50 odd girls all dedicated to windsurfing. By the end of The Return to Club Vass I’ll crack the table top forwards (with a bit of help from Pete), and all the girlies will be carve gibing without a second thought.
Hope to see you all there really soon, in the meantime get practising and dream of the next time you are in Vass.
Thanks to all the staff at Club Vass – the house staff, the bar staff, the reception staff, the chefs, and of course the instructors mincing on the beach, Tony and Roger the big scary bosses!!. Without of course forgetting Beck’s without whom the whole thing wouldn’t have been possible and Girlie Jo who completed the terrible 3
I would also like to thank my sponsors – FANATIC, GAASTRA, SOLA, BOARDSEEKER.COM, LIVING WELL HEALTH CLUBS, LIZARD CLOTHING
