National Windsurfing Festival - Hayling Island.

OK, so the wind wasn't great, but it was enough to get just about everyone on the water rather than just sitting around the BBQ. The conditions weren't really the point though.The NWF is a brilliant mass-participation windsurfing event. Just the spectacle and carnage of 200 windsurfers launching simultaneously makes the trip worthwhile. It's a chance to catch up with friends not seen for ages, check out the latest kit, rub shoulders with the poor and famous and enjoy a sort of windsurfing 'Scout Camp' for grown-ups.

I completed one race out of six. My race 1 tactic was to stick a 10.6 on my old beginner board. Unfortunately whilst warming up, on  the water, I discovered that (due to cracked rib) I couldn't cope with uphauling it. Five mins before the start of the race I was nearly faced with the humiliation of having to call the rescue boat just to be towed out of the way of the start. Fortunately the wind briefly picked up enough to let me waterstart it and so I got ashore and out of the way ASAP.

Race 2. Same huge board but a more sensible 7.5. It was hard to find the offshore gybe mark. In the confusion, I followed the fleet, which just kept going. Only once I found myself using the same mark as an offshore yacht race was I sure I'd gone to far. Could just about see land. Then the wind dropped. I landed ashore about an hour after the start of the race, still beating about 20 other folk.

Other highlights included a full-on catapult as I misjudged depth and forgot I was sailing huge kit with a 48cm fin. Said catapult was immediately in front of the Boardseeker camera, so I suspect may retirn to haunt me.

Anyway, my crap efforts aren't the point. The weekend really is a fantastic weekend for windsurfing. Great event, great get-together, great party, great fun.

[Edited to correct date]