Following the PWA event in Sylt, which unfortunately didn’t give any wind for the wave competitions to take place, I had been invited by Mick Kleingarn to his home in Gromitz, Germany (Baltic Sea) until the Big Days event in Rügen.
North wind was showing on the weather maps, something very unusual for the autumn season but normally only happens in the beginning of the season during spring time.
On Friday we went to check out a spot called Dahme, but the waves still had to build so we made the call to drive straight to Rügen to the spot Mukran where the contest would happen the next day.
As we arrived we were a bit disappointed as the condition was quit onshore and flat, something which didn’t promise much for the following day! However we stuck around for a few hours during which the wind increased so we could get out for a session with waves at around 1.5 meters.
The next day the skippers meeting was at 7.30 and I quickly realised it would be a hard day for me as the waves where no bigger than 1m and with the wind almost dead onshore…
I grabbed my 5.2 Salt and the 104quad as the set of the day. The wind was quite gusty so I could not go with a bigger sail because that would be deadly in the stronger gusts.
I managed to squeeze myself through the heats but in the quarter finals the wind really dropped so I couldn’t perform as in the earlier heats and finished in a 5th for the event..
It was shame the competition was not put on hold as the wind dropped, as the forecast showed it would pick up later again, which it did and which i then enjoyed with the local windsurfers!
But that’s how it is and all ill in all it was a great trip!
Martin Ten Hoewe
H 999
