Sitting under the blankets after another day in Sylt, Gremany. Our first thoughts are; what happened today? Why are we so cold, the calendar shows July 4th…
But back to the beginning!
I got back into racing last year and this year I talked my Canadian friend Carrie Strangway to join this Formula racing. The two of us meet in the mid-nineties racing in the warm and sunny Caribbean. She now has come over to Europe to race the Sylt and Miedzyzdroje events. And now we are here in Sylt… sitting in our room listening to the wind that howls outside.
Ever since we got to this event and place it has been raining non-stop and blowing way above Formula. The little shopping we could afford ended up being for raincoats and warm socks… The beach brakes have already showed its force on our equipment… but conclusion for that is that we are just a little big to short…
Yesterday we got on the water for the first time here. We had just a little time to get to the first start, with no room for mistakes! Our day ended up like this; Carries sail got caught in the beach-brake and broke some battens, Lills outhaul system got into a new strange position and neither managed to make it out in time for the second start and the one race that finished.
But we are holding in. Trying to keep organized on this thing I am sure they can use as a beach if the sun ever comes out. Right now the sand is just giving our face and our equipment a natural scrub!
We have a picture in our heads – so let’s hurry and get the numbers of women doing Formula up on a decent level so we can set down some minimum demands for women on racing sights…
– A dry place to change and keep warm (no more nakedness in the parking lot)
– Big “caddies” to help us out on the waters if there are shore brakes (maybe also to carry our stuff down to the beach)
– No rainy location
– Only warm waters
– Rigging areas without wet sand
– And just a little more time to get out to the start
On the other side we did enjoy the great Freestyle/Wave event today. The men are ripping. And the
beach-promenade is full of stands, spectators and flags, with a huge screen that shows live-action from the water. Our hats of for the surroundings of the event!
But we have to say that Sylt might not be the best location for formula windsurfing, especially women (probably why so few made it here…). This is a place more perfect for Wave/freestyle and the racing like it was done before… on smaller equipment!
We cross our fingers for the sun to shine tomorrow and that the conditions will get a little less rough. And give us and this place a chance to show what we are good for!
Carrie & Lill
