Soma Bay Experience

For a couple of years now, I wanted to visit Soma Bay, a famous windsurfing spot near Hurgadha, Egypt. On at least two or three occasions I already booked the trip, but I had to cancel it due to... Well, there were reasons, for sure. Already started to think it is not meant for me to go, but this year, the chance presented itself, and I took it.

Beginning of August is not a high season in Egypt. People think it is too hot, and rightfully so – it was hot! However, the Palm Royal Resort (5 stars) is equipped with big and beautiful air-conditioned rooms, so no problems there.

No problems also while windsurfing (thinnest lycra for sun protection), except if you want to refresh yourself with diving into the sea. The temperature of the water is 27-29 degrees, but it feels like diving into a hot tub. Better stay onboard and let the wind cools you.

The Surfmotion station is well equipped with new JP boards and mostly NeilPryde sails. It is located near Palm Royale; if you stay at any other hotel or resort, you will have to take a taxi because the distances from resort to resort are huge.

The members of the stuff (mostly Egyptians) are cooperative, always in cheering mood and with a good practice of carrying your sail to the water (you have to take care of the board.

The spot... well, it is smaller than I excepted, at least the official part. From the entrance up to the flags on the reef (don't go further, they say) is less than a kilometer, and the whole windsurfer's area is some 200 meters wide. The (huge) rest of the Soma bay is reserved for kiters. Surrounded by thousands of teabags in the air, I couldn't resist the feeling of being an endangered species.

Are windsurfers an endengered species?

To go further out and explore the rest of this Red Sea diamond, apparently you should bring your own equipment, which I didn't, so I restricted myself to freeriding up and down over the gentle blueness. I did enjoy it, no problem, but after seven days of such pleasures, I would give a lot for my slalom board and sail and a nice long ride far away outside the official area.

The wind was sweet, gentle, and surprisingly predictable. It started blowing around 10:00 in the morning (average 18-20 kt, quite constant), went down two hours later and died entirely after 13:00. I booked JP SuperSport 113, and it served me nicely three out of seven days with NP Speedster 7,2. The four other days, I took JP SportSport 125 and NP Speedster 8,2. All rather big, but it was full seven days windsurfing out of seven days stay! No complaints here.

You might say that two hours per day is not much, but somehow it was enough for me. Maybe it was the heat, who knows. The rest of the days I spend resting in a cold room, swimming in a pool (the sea was too warm for my taste) and otherwise enjoying all-inclusiveness of Palm Royale.


As a vegetarian gourmand, I enjoyed the food. It was plenty and sufficiently diversified. Each day Palm Royale have a different dinner theme, so in seven days we went all over the world from Asian to Mexican. No complaints here, either.

The only complaint is – no internet. Of course, they advertise free wifi everywhere. Apparently, there is wifi, and you can connect, but it is simply not working except for messages and, if you are lucky, somedays for mails. So, don't count on that; if you depend on internet connection and you need it, better buy some internet voucher on the airport (before you exit the terminal because after that you probably will not have a chance).

Luderitz - My personal challenge

by: Alberto Possati

Since I've been able to windsurf (I've started back in 1978) I've  always been fascinated by speedsurfing. To go fast is fun, I kept saying to myself. Back then, my windsurfing activity was restricted to 2-3 weeks every summer, in which when possible I looked for the windiest spots I could find, to maximize my time into the water.

As years passed by, my love for windsurfing was always pretty alive and when, a few years ago, a good friend of mine asked me to attend to a Speed World Cup event with him, the first thing I thought was that I couldn't match up the situation. "It's too late", I said to myself, I thought I should have started earlier. But, somehow, in a few months I found myself on a Fuerteventura beach waiting for some wind. That was the 2006 Speed Word  Cup which was held in Sotavento together with the Fuerteventura PWA slalom event. I was not alone: there were all the top slalom sailors in the world, wanting to test their speed as well, as well as a few 'down to earth' guys like me. I never saw these top guns if not in windsurf magazines, and to be in the water with them was bit intimidating. But I was there, I spent money to be there and...yes, I had to go down the course, and I did it. And I was hooked. Hooked! That event really changed the last ten years of my life. I realized I could do it, there was a lot to learn but I could do it. Great!

Every year I started to attend to all the speed events that I could, together with a bunch of very good friends that I met during the events. UK, Ireland, Greece, Namibia, France, we crossed the sky many times to follow our passion. Results were nor very good neither really important to me, I felt more like the competition was in between myself and the speeds I recorded, instead of winning over somebody else. In other words, even now I like to see my speeds improving, but usually I'm happy if a friend is faster than me. In the end, he's been better than me, and I feel it more like a push to improve myself than a defeat. But it was interesting to see how slower I was compared to the experienced riders, so to have an idea of my performance.

Back in 2008, I started to think that a record attempt could have been closer to my expectations, so I registered for the Masters Of Speed event in the Canal of Saintes Maries De La Mer, the fastest sailing spot in the world, at least back then. But the event didn't go through, and my last competition was in Karpathos, Greece in 2009. Then, somehow, speedsurfing stood still for a few years: no more races, no more calls. A pity, I thought.

In 2012, I heard about a new speed canal in Luderitz, Namibia. They were organizing a speed

event in this newly dug channel that I heard to be

extremely fast. I tried to place my registration and...I was in!! First thought was obviously "will I be able to fly down the strip without killing myself?", second thought was "I'm too old for that" and so on. Lots of excuses, lots of little fears crossing my mind. Final thought, luckily, was "let's go there and see".

Luderitz is hard to reach, especially with 3 quiver bags. I flew 14 hours, drove alone for 2 days for 1.200 km through 2 unknown southern Africa countries and when I got there I said to myself that the record attempt was going to be "bread and butter", compared to what I faced during the trip. Actually it was not really like that, but the excitement I started feeling the day I reached Luderitz was really a great, great feeling.

The next morning I was at the canal at 10, with many other speedsailors. The atmosphere was nice, with many friends welcoming, and that was really helpful. That fist day was really windy, something like 35kts gusts, and I ordered myself "now you have to go". Not an easy task, when you see the the canal in some spots is probably no more than 6m wide and you are told it can have shallow spots here and there. But if they were going, why not me?? I only made one decisions: no harness on the first run: in case I fall, I thought, at least I'm free to fly (hopefully, in the water).

From then on it all was very quick: jumped in the water, made my waterstart, started planning. Footstraps in, you gain speed with wind on the side then, when the canal bears left, you slingshot yourself down the strip, with the wind pushing you with a 130 degrees angle. No harness, no breathing. Shhhhhhhhhhh, the water boiling under my 49 iSonic. Some 20 seconds after I stopped (actually I crashed, with no consequences) and my GPS was showing 39,5 knots average over 20s. With no harness!?! No you kidding….WOW!

So I finally wore my speed seat and threw myself down the course again and...42.xx knots showed up. And again and again. Then in 2013, 2014. And I'm ready for 2015. My best result, in 2013, was 45.87kt/500m, officially registered by WSSRC. If in 2010 you were telling me that I'd be going that fast I would have laughed and said "forget it". But it is true, and sometimes it still sounds a little weird to me.

Buried into the (too many?) words that I've written in this post,

there's a couple of messages I would like every speedsurfing fanatic to listen to, and the first one is: “YOU CAN DO IT". If I did it, my friend, you can do it. Because I'm an average amateur windsurfer, that has got some better recently thanks to the experiences I've just written about, with the help of many friends. I’m old enough to try to use my head better than when I was 25 but too old to get the best out of my big body. Provided you have the money and time, your windsurfing skills are reasonable and you like going fast, you can do it, and I’d swear that if you’ll be there you’ll have some veterans trying to help you to get the best out of your experience. If I’ll be there, I’ll be one of them for sure.

The second message I’d like to send you is that, at the end of your stay in Luderitz, you’ll probably find that GOING DOWN THE COURSE AT 40+ KNOTS IS ONLY PART OF THE OVERALL EXPERIENCE. The incredible place, the different culture. the riders from different countries, the spirit that keeps them together, all these things make this venue much more valuable than the speed attempt itself. Moreover, the Luderitz Speed Challenge is not a race, it is a record attempt. So there’s no official ranking, and basically you
race against yourself, or your GPS if you prefer. And this is what I like so much.

If you go to Luderitz, I’d swear you will never forget it.

PS: my first year in Luderitz I used my Starboard iSonic Speed 49 with Severne Reflex III 5.6. Now I know that to go faster you need a 40-44 board, 5,6+6.2 slalom sails and a few 18/19/20/21 asymmetrical fins. Sizes depend on your weight, too. Helmet, Weight+flotation jacket and spine protection are a good advice. And your GoPro, obviously.

Marsa Alam, Egypt; March 2014.

piše: Davor Stančić

How did I finish in Marsa Alam?

Well, during my last visit to Dahab, I was thinking that I found a perfect winter place for windsurfing. I booked a stay in Dahab during February. But, just a week before my trip, there were some unfortunate tourist killing on Sinai, some 100 km north from Dahab. Also, there was a terrorist warning to tourists not to come to Egypt. The goal is to destabilize Egypt economy which is largely depending on tourism. And, they were successful – most of the tourist’s trips to Sinai were canceled.

So, what now?

Hurgada was open, but I was not impressed when I was there last time. And there was Marsa Alam!

Well, I thought, why not?

I heard about Marsa Alam before, as attractive destination for English windsurfers. However, it is in the middle of nowhere, quite south, towards Ethiopia.

The trip was... well, 5 hours of drive from Zagreb to Vienna, couple of hours waiting on the airport, 5 more hours of flight to Marsa Alam, hour and a half drive through the desert plus half an hour more by walk!

The Mistral windsurfing Centre is run by nice Italian guy – Ivan, with his Russian girlfriend, Snježa. Of course, there are few of those Egyptian boys serving at the Center, helping with the equipment and being nice to customers.

The Center is big and well equipped. Even with 40 active windsurfers on the water, there was no shortage of boards or sails. The rental prices are somewhat higher, due to remote location. There is a hotel near the beach – Shar, but it is very modest, so due to my picky girlfriend companion, we stayed at hotel Gorgonia, some 3 km far away.

Due to that little inconvenience, I was walking every day from the hotel to the windsurfing Centre. It was 15 min walk through the desert, or 25 min along the beach.

The windsurfing spot is mostly good for wave riders. Flat area is small: some 50 m depth and 250 m along the beach. However, it is enough for practicing jibes and other moves when there are not so much people on the water. Beyond that – waves, waves and more waves!

During two weeks of my stay the wind was usually between 15 and 30 knots. It is side shore thermal wind, quite constant. The strongest wind

is around 14:00, going weaker later in the afternoon.

I had some close encounters with see cow and turtles – big animals, fortunately harmless. The only danger is if you hit them in full speed. However, outside, among the waves, I tried not to think what kind of creatures live there, in the blue depths!

You have to watch for the rif when going out for the waves. Bad for windsurfing, but great for snorkeling!

Marsa Alam is not the destination for beginners. The range of conditions is not wide – the happiest windsurfers are definitely wave riders.

I made some photos on no-wind day. The rest of the time I was quite busy. :-)

Boa Vista

piše: Davor Stančić

All limbs healthy and accountable? Well... if you think about see creatures – there are plenty of them in Boa Vista and you can eat them all the time. They serve them for dinner. Every single day.

Who knows how Cape Verde got its name... there really is not much greenery. Maybe climate has really changed drastically from time the first sailors came there. Or they came in August when it’s rainy season and desert blooms. Or, maybe it was just some kind of irony. Whatever it was, the wind blows on Cape Verde, day and night. No matter, down or sunset – it’s windy, anywhere from 17 to 28 knots. It’s gusty, and it’s always from the same direction.

Cape Verde is some 600 km from the west coast of Africa. It was uninhabited until pirates made their home base there. When the Portuguese succeeded to root them out, Cape Verde was made a slavery trading port. The population is mixed, mostly black, speaking many African dialects. The official language is Portuguese. Tourism brought increase in population, which are now around 700,000 souls.

From the very beginning I made some comparisons with Dahab and other spots in Egypt. Life conditions are similar (below European standard), but you can immediately sense that social atmosphere in Cape Verde is more relaxed. I believe, it is mostly due to the fact that women here are free to work, move around and show their sexy bodies in very tight clothes! (I got an inspiration to sing the praise of beautiful buttocks and charming almond colored eyes of Creole women there!)

One interesting thing is local dance called Funana. It is quite erotic, maybe even more than erotic. The ladies tale a stick under their squirts and then make a well-known movements and sounds imitating the intercourse. The Church tried to ban the Funana, but fortunately, it’s still there!

Windsurfing

Well, back to the topic... Cape Verde is good for windsurfing from mid October to mid May. I was on Boa Vista, bigger, but not so much visited place, from the two main islands in Cape Verde.

Since I was satisfied with All Planet Sport Center in Dahab, I went to their place there, too. On Boa Vista there are only two windsurfing Centers. Unfortunately, the number of boards, sails and the rest of the equipment is not as I expected (half the numbers from, let say, Dahab). I was informed that on Sal, the other touristic island, 60 km far from Boa Vista, the windsurfing centers are much better equipped.

During my stay in Boa Vista, two last weeks in January, there was only 5-6 of us in the Center, and maybe some 10 more in neighboring Center. Kiters were in somewhat larger number. Even with such a low visiting rate, there was a shortage of larger sails. We used mostly 5.5 to 6.5 sails. There was only one sail in 7.5, but sometimes we needed it.

Flat zone in front of the Centre is cca 700 m in length. On the other side of the reef there are some surfs for wave riding. Temperature was like during spring in Europe. We used short sleeve wet suits, or even lycra. However, in the afternoon the temperature dropped due to clouds, so I found full wetsuit more comfortable.

Very attractive Czech woman who leads the Center explained to me there are sharks around, but since the water is shallow and there is not much food for them, only smaller specimens (1.5 m in lengths) sometimes come near the shore. The bigger beasts are usually on the south side of the island.

Unlike the other places I’ve been, you have to carry your equipment from the Center to the beach and back. The two "bellboys" there are mostly spending their time sitting and watching. Well...

All in all, if someone is longing for a warm and windy destination in December and January, Cape Verde guaranties everyday windsurfing in shorty. But, you will have to settle for poor equipment offer (or take your own with yourself).


Expenses

The whole package costs (via Italian tourist agency from Verona) between 1700 and 2000 euros. That includes travel expenses from Zagreb to Verona, two nights in Verona hotel and 14 nights in Cape Verde (4 or 5 stars hotel), all inclusive, parking on airport in Verona, flights, visas, transportation from airport to hotel, health insurance. Flight from Verona takes 6 hours directly to Boa Vista.

Latter I heard about another option Zagreb-Lisbon-Cape Verde for 1000 -1400 euros.

Renting of windsurfing equipment was 400 euro for two weeks (including transportation from the hotel to the Center – otherwise you have to walk for 40 minutes; taxi for that time would cost me cca 70 euros)

The hotel was very cozy, relaxed, with self-service for three meals per day. I usually skipped launch, because I was out there, windsurfing.

Since the arrangement was all inclusive, there was not much need for extra spending. Fish is very cheap, but the rest of food comes with European prices. There is no food production on Boa Vista – everything comes in with ships.

Is it expensive?

Well, I was thinking about that while watching other guests in the hotel. Mostly, they are fat, looking sick and lazy. They work for years under who knows what kind of stress, and then they buy one or two weeks off in such a place.

Local workers are getting 100-200 euros monthly salary. But they are looking much healthier, relaxed and livelier. They live without modern civilization, with the nature. (Well, in spite of that, their smartphones were better than mine!) In villages, there is no water in the houses. However, it is warm, they do not need heating. Basic expenses are low. You can talk and make love in the dark, too.

And when you expose yourself to the experience of endless sandy beaches, hypnotic rush of the waves, unlimited power of the wind, the broadness of the see and the sky... all that makes you think about the purpose and meaning of life; about how small you are in comparison to the Universe.

Your worldview expands and you notice how small is the very planet you are standing on, in the middle of the vast space. The breath stops. The thoughts stop, too.