What it means to be a windsurfer
Written by Bryony Shaw | 19 March 2014
One of the best things about windsurfing is there are so many different types.
I’m very focused on my racing, and that’s what people know me for. But it was brilliant to go over to the beautiful west coast of Ireland last month to film this new ‘First Up First Down’ video for Volvo about what it means to be a windsurfer.
There is something really special about the experience of going off the beaten track, finding an unknown place, checking it out to make sure it’s safe and feeling like you’re maybe the first person to have ever sailed there.
We had that experience filming the video on Achill Island, in County Mayo. It wasn’t a place I personally was familiar with, but it really was a hidden gem. The forecast was fantastic and we took the Volvo on to the beach for a bit of off-roading.
The waves were really big and there were lots of them, so I got out there with my wave sailing kit and had a great time, getting some awesome shots. Then we changed location to a flatter piece of water later that day, to show the two equally enjoyable but different types of experiences you can get from windsurfing.
It’s quite rare I get to do that now. I spent some time in Maui in 2004 and really got into shortboarding over there, which I developed as a skill alongside my racing. But last summer I moved to Poole and that gave me the chance to get out and do more shortboarding and wave sailing than at probably any other point during my career.
The timing worked. Because our RS:X Worlds were in February last year, I ended up having quite a short season.
There were still events I did at the back end of the season to keep my racing ticking over, but autumn was always about having a bit of time off and I really enjoyed getting my wave sailing up to a higher standard. I’d love to be able to learn some of the freestyle elements too, like forward and back loops off the waves.
Read Bryony's full blog here