Most people can make plans for a weekend, but when you are married to a windsurfer, you won’t know until Friday what you are going to do.
Words & Photo Kate Hollis
Some people haven’t got a clue what I’m talking about when I gently try to explain that my weekend decisions all depend on the strength and direction of the wind. The long planned barbeque with friends can be cancelled last minute if it’s going to be windy. And I pray there won’t be any wind on special days such as my Open University graduation ceremony. I may have go alone. Our family and good friends are used to it by now, that is, you won’t see my hubby if it’s windy! We are not separated, I’m just married to a windsurfer. It’s that simple.
WINDY LIFE
The other day the wind was good enough to go, so my husband started packing. First the windsurfing gear, then some sandwiches and last, but not least, me! Being a windsurfer’s wife doesn’t mean you can stay indoors and watch girlish movies while your hubby is out in the wind. It means your hubby is going to enjoy hours on the water, while you are going to stay on the beach, equipped with a camera, filming, cold to the bone, the wind blowing away your long hair. As a windsurfer’s wife you can also only dream about well-moisturised skin and beautifully blow-dried hair, you get used to looking like a witch after spending a day on a windy beach.
SHOOT ME
The problem with windsurfing is that it has to be windy and that means the camera sometimes wobbles and the shots taken by amateur wives don’t come out clear. And so, no, you won’t get any appreciation for freezing your bones; as a wife you are more likely to be told off for not trying harder to catch that special moment. Then on the way back home you hear all about the conditions, the masts, the jibes and the other turns (oh dear, I will get in trouble again for forgetting what is it called, a tack?). For the next two hours in the car there won’t be any other subject worth mentioning.
TRUE LOVE
Saying that, being married to a windsurfer is not all bad news. On one of my Valentine’s cards my hubby wrote that he loves me as much as his favourite black Point7 sail. Now, that’s true love, you can’t get a love confession better than that. If a man loves a woman as much as windsurfing (and you get that written down in a Valentine’s card) you know you are the one and this relationship in his eyes is for keeps. Occasionally the days are sunny and warm and while sitting on the beach as a wife you start thinking that this is better then being married to a football fan. At least you get your husband sober, happy and well exercised.
MOWING
The problem only arises when the grass in the garden needs cutting and your husband comes to you with very sore hands, which means you have to get lawn mowing. All that hard work windsurfing means that your hubby gets blisters on his hands and can’t do any work around the house.
WORTH IT
About a year ago, an ever-returning courier asked me what is it that he is delivering all the time in those long tubes. I told him that those are windsurfing sails and masts. ‘It must be a pricey sport’, he commented. Yes, I replied, if only my hubby spent as much money on diamonds on me as he spends on his hobby, I would be diamond-loaded like Elizabeth Taylor. Since then, every time I open the door to the same courier, he smiles and says ‘Hello Mrs Taylor, no diamonds delivery again’. No, I didn’t expect any …
BLAME GAME
I guess I have myself to blame. 10 years ago I booked my hubby his first windsurfing lesson for his birthday because he was bored on the beach and drove us both crazy. I naively thought that just this time I will send him out on the sea and glue myself to the deckchair with a book. I didn’t realise what I had got myself into: that was the last lazy beach holiday we had.
HAPPY MAN
Yet with all that I wouldn’t have it any other way. There is nothing more beautiful then my hubby’s smile when he comes out of the sea after a cracking day of windsurfing. His overjoyed face sparkles more then any diamonds I could have had. It’s always easy to buy him a birthday gift. A windsurfing mug from e-bay is always a good last minute choice. And if you happen to have a silly argument, it’s always easy to slip back into friendly conversation just by starting a windsurfing chat. Being married to a windsurfer means that you are involved in the sport as much as he is; yes, there are definitely three of us in this marriage.
HAPPY WIFE
Despite the fact I have mown the grass every weekend, I still believe that the windsurfing lesson was the best present I got him. It keeps him fit, happy, relaxed and healthy when his stressful job gets the better of him. Windsurfing definitely makes him look even sexier as he is getting older! After 15 years together, I’m not married to an old grumpy coach potato, but a man who catches the eyes of all the girls on the beach. Now, thinking about that, being married to a windsurfer is truly the best place to be. You can take my word for it.
“If you think windsurfing is hard work, try being married to a windsurfer!”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kate and Lee Hollis are members of Bewl Water Sailing Club near Tunbridge Wells. Kate tells us, “It’s only a 40 minute drive from our home in Bromley, South London, so it’s easy to pack and go. We also have a holiday home in Spain near Malaga, 2 minutes away from the beach, so no surprise, this garage is also full of windsurfing equipment, ready to rig as soon as it blows. We have been together 15 years and have a 6 year old daughter, Megan. When not windsurfing, Lee designs comms. systems for Riyadh Underground in Saudi Arabia, while I study history with the Open University.”