Windsurfing has been a real love-hate relationship for me ever since I moved to Vancouver from Victoria. I started with big-board lessons taught by Dave Fishwick in Cordova Bay in 1993; then progressed to a 180l Hi-Fly bought out of the parking lot of Ocean Wind in Victoria in 1993; I’ve met many people through windsurfing – some of my best friends indeed. I only get out maybe 3, 4 times a year but every time I get out it is sweet. Here are some old photos from days and gear gone by and then some photos from a great session in Nitinat Lakein Summer of 2004.
This brings back memories of a 4.5 day in Willows Beach blowing a typical cold SE’er. The old North Face sail and gear puts this at about 1995-96. I was sailing 50 + days a year during those years and spending summers at the Gorge.
Cook Street on a Rushwind 5.7 on a nice mellow westerly. Photos are probably circa 1996 – 1997.
Body drags were all the rage
I’ve since then spent the requisite winter in La Ventana in Baja, improved and then stagnated in my sailing since moving to the Mainland and acquired new gear. Here’s some pictures with a spanking new digicam on Nitinat in June of 2004.
Dave Fishwick going for, I think, a hoss-tack
Randy doing a carve 360 while Barbara sails by.
Steve Hutchison – mr smooth – with the carve gybe
Barbara going into a carve 360
Steve getting some air close to the beach
Fishwick air
Fishwick carve gybe
Lee with a bad duck gybe – told you my timing was off.
Trying for a one-handed laydown and missing badly
More Fishwick air
Lee coming into the beach
Trevor comes out to play – freestyling vulcan
Randy gets some air too
Robin mid-vulcan
Typical beach scenes at Nitinat. Tangle of windsurfers and kiters
A beautiful clear morning looms
Sunset on the ferry heading back to Horseshoe Bay
