CONTEST BUZZ
First day of the contest was buzzing. We had wind and waves and 58 registered riders from around the world who were ready to demonstrate their skills and compete against each other for a spot on the podium in six different divisions. Wave riding windsurfers of all skill levels were rigged, suited up in their event jerseys and pumped to get on the water. The excitement kicked off at 10 am with the horn blasting from the judging tower. My heat was scheduled one hour into the start of the day, but I wanted to make sure everything was running smooth before rushing to the tent to struggle into my awkward wetsuit and collect the beautiful brand new gear I was borrowing from Boujmaa for my heat. I had not gotten a chance to test the spot and as my feet touched the water, I realized that in all the excitement, I had not even bothered to ask anyone if there was anything special I should know about the spot such as currents, rocks, urchins, or places to go or not to go. Oops. Oh well, I was off and running. My heat had started and I put my best effort in to advance into the next heat, which to my amazement, I did! Yippee! Seeing as there were 6 women competing, we had 4 in the final. My performance in the final was not anything to write home about, but I did have fun sailing with Tatiana, Sarah, and Annamaria. I was so proud to see these women who have put so much energy and effort into their training, ripping the waves apart around me. It always makes me smile to be close to such beauty. The rest of the week was filled with adventures with the local community. We had a beach clean up day with the local kids, beach workouts, demonstrations, exhibitions, greetings from the local supportive government, surf sessions, beach walks, nighttime fires with banging drums and dancing. My cheeks ached from the never-ending goofy grin on my face.
