LADY LUCK
On the last day, the unexpected happened! The wind arrived even with the rain forecast and we were sent out on the water. The conditions were very tricky and in my quarterfinal heat I didn’t have the start I wanted; I played it too safe and just as we started the wind increased. I was overpowered and couldn’t make it back into a qualifying position. I was gutted, and frustrated. I should have taken a smaller sail, I knew it was my fault, a bad decision and now I had to sit and await my fate. The next few hours felt like the longest of my life, sitting watching as the heats slowly progressed with a podium position at stake. Then the real rain came and killed the wind and it looked as if I would be safe, but you can never be sure and with the time ticking slowly away, my hopes were raised. After a small break in the rain the wind appeared again. Now I was sure they would be able to finish, I had accepted that I was not going to make the podium. So I watched as they tried and tried to complete the round. It was very tricky conditions; lots of re-sails and general recalls saw many top guys also suffering the same exit as I did. They eventually reached the position where one more heat needed to be run for the result to count. It was a pretty cruel situation to be in and I was helpless to do anything about it. Finally around 5pm, the wind died off and so I had escaped. The relief was awesome. It had been a hard week and I was very fortunate to finish third. I am sure many would agree that I was super lucky, and in one way I agree but in another I believe I deserved my 3rd place. I had only made one mistake during the whole event, the rest of the time I was always up there in the top group, looking sharp on the water, even in the heats that were cancelled.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
When you compete, you normally hope that events will have enough wind for at least a few decent rounds. That way you feel the result is more deserved, but in this case it all boiled down to one race. And so I think it’s these events when it’s probably even more important to be ready in your mind, body in shape and equipment tuned for whatever nature throws at you. At the closing ceremony I did buy a few drinks for the guys who were not so fortunate as me with their result. I left Korea the next day with a headache and hangover but happy nonetheless. I was lucky and gave most of my gear to ‘Benny’ Van der Steen so I didn’t have to pay any excess baggage. After a short three-day stop over to spend some quality time with the wife in Maui, I packed my remaining bags and boarded my flight back to the UK and to the next mission in Costa Brava. I heard there were 160 large windsurf bags checked in on Benny’s flight and they all made it. Big thanks to Turkish airlines who continue to be one of the few good windsurf friendly airlines! Now the battle for the PWA slalom crown begins in earnest and this tale is to be continued..hopefully with a happy ending!”
