After a year off, Brum returned in spectacular style for a magical weekend of windsurfing!
Universities from up and down the country made the journey, with special mention going to Edinburgh, with travel that could safely be described as a “f-ing trek”.
After rolling up to the “classy” neighbourhood of Selly Oak, one hundred and fifty windsurfers hit the bevs and kicked off the sesh.
After making their way down to Circo - a fine watering hole with some of the cheapest drinks in Birmingham - much dancing and drunken antics were had. Propelled home by the legendary powers of Rooster’s chicken and chips, the merry windsurfers returned to the warm cosy floors of their lovely hosts’ houses, stoked for the rest of the weekend.
In the morning we all awoke, bleary eyed and with fond - albeit somewhat fuzzy - memories of what happened the night before.
Brum treated us to a delicious cooked breakfast - which eased the hangover a tad - before heading off to a day of very chilly windsurfing at Chasewater.
The beginners had outrageous fun being taught by the glorious David, Amy, Laura and Gus while Tom and Luke ran through carve gybing and planing in preparation for the HOWLING forecast promised.
A special mention goes out to Chase Sailing Club who provided not only a warm, filling lunch that chased away any trace of the cold, but also plenty of cups of tea!
We were also kept well fed by a rather tasty cake sale – a big thanks to everyone who baked for it.
By mid-afternoon big gusts started to roll in giving everyone a chance to get moving.
Beginner and intermediate racing kicked off with Rory from Bristol winning the beginner race and Klaudia from UWE winning intermediate.
Beginner race results:
- Rory – Bristol
- Hetty – UWE
- Ed – Brum
Intermediate race results:
- Klaudia – UWE
- Harriet – Swansea
- Robin – Swansea
With hangovers safely evicted, the windsurfers headed back to Brum to don mystical, mysterious, magical garms and prepare for the biggest night Birmingham has seen in living memory.
With beverages (mostly) safely consumed the fancy-dress-clad partiers ubered to Broad Street to boogie the night away.
Highlights include taking some free drinks from the loos by a certain student from Nottingham, several disgruntled wizards having their staffs confiscated by bouncers and in Taffy-worthy style, Jimbo flashing some racy garments. Rather a lot.
Up again in the morning, we began with another cooked breakfast, at least for those who felt like eating after the previous night.
We then headed back to the lake to face a baltic wind gusting nearly 50kts, which was enough freeze some faces, often in the ecstatic smile seen on windsurfers when its windy.
Despite these crazy conditions the windsurfers were not deterred and a few beginners lost their planing virginity alongside the slalom guys struggling to hold down their boards.
Again a huge, huge, huge thanks to the sailing club who provided safety cover on both days. They braved rough water and biting cold to save a fair few windsurfers getting stuck in the middle of the lake.
Advanced racing and freestyle took off (literally) that afternoon with Tom from Brum yeeting himself across the lake to win the advanced race and Brum winning the team racing too. Charlie from UWE showed us his absolutely spectacular moves to win the freestyle.
Advanced race results:
- Tom - Brum
- Nick - UWE
- Graham - Edinburgh
Team race results:
- Brum
- Bristol
- Leeds/Liverpool
Freestyle results:
- Charlie – UWE
- Jamie - Edinburgh
- Jake – Swansea
With that, everyone dragged tired, soggy, cold backsides away from the fun and drove home.
Again, a massive thanks to Chase sailing club for providing excellent food and safety as well as providing the clubhouse and being all round lovely people! We couldn’t have done the event without them.
Also, a massive thanks to Boardwise for providing racing kit and being there to nerd out about windsurfing with.
And finally, a huge thanks to all the drivers, hosts and everyone else who helped organise the event.
See y’all at the next one.
