In Cape Town, South Africa, they will remember 18th of January 2020 for a while ..... Anemometers in the city have reached 60 knots. In the Northwest windsurfing spots of Cape Town, the wind was a little less strong, but in the afternoon, in Big bay, only a few, mostly professional, riders entered the water for a pure adrenaline windsurfing session...

 

Windsurfing, session report: Big Bay, Cape Town, South Africa, 18 January 2020 - over 40 knots!

For days, the forecast had predicted a weekend with strong winds. And in fact, when we wake up in the morning, the wind already shakes the trees branches and leaves very well.

On our tour of the spots, we start from Big Bay, at around 9.30. The image of the spot, as usual, is very pleasant: sun, warm, beautiful colors, and wind already good, but still reasonable, with small but regular waves, not exceeding one meter. Here, on the water, there are some professional freestylers who are training, including the French Adrien Bosson - F256, and Nico Akgazciyan F400. They are sailing with sails around of 4-4.5 square meters.

 

Here, we make the mistake of the day ..... We snub the spot, which would have given us a fun session, and still with acceptable wind strenght, and we move with the idea of going to see the other spots. The freestylers come out of the water, around at 11.00, commenting that the wind is already becoming very strong.

 

 

 

Many, after the beautiful session of Friday 17, were convinced that Yzerfontein, on Saturday, would have given an encore. And instead, when we go to see the spot, the scenario is very different: cloudy sky, cold (no more than 20 degrees), waves not as beautiful as the day before, and wind already strong here too.

We go back to Cape Town, and try an exit to Melkbos, a spot that, personally, I don't like very much: a large sunny and hot asphalt parking lot; very deep beach, which makes it difficult to transport the equipment along it, and enter into the water; near the shoreline, the seabed descends very slowly, and causes a long series of foams to form before reaching some decent waves (however, it is a beach break); very strong current near the shore .... However, even here the wind quickly enters very strong, and it is not worth unrigging the Ezzy Elite 4.2, with which I tried the session, to switch to the 3.7, since this latter would be unmanageable too. On the beach, the sand flies and hurts when it hits the skin. We go back to Big Bay, hoping to be able to go out there at sunset, with the wind falling ......

Once arrived in Big Bay in the mid-afternoon, we take a beer with Max, Margherita and Alessio, and then we lie comfortably on the lawn in front of the beach to admire the few riders in the water with very strong wind (over 40 knots), who mainly exercise in a a series of high jumps. I take some photos. We recognize Ben Profitt (K800 - Simmer), Alessio Lucca Stillrich (also passed to Simmer), Francesco Capuzzo (I-333), Matteo Guazzoni (marketing manager RRD), Amado Vrieswijk (NB20 Severne). Stillrich, in particular, makes exceptional jumps, very high, even one foot, and also some push loops. He's out with the 3.4 .... Checking the equipment in the air, with such strong wind, really requires a remarkable technique.

 

 

At some point, I see two riders entering into the water, that I know very well, and that I never imagined I would see in action in these conditions: my friend Livia and Elsa! They defend themselves as they can, but the conditions are really too demanding for them ...

We understand that we will not go out this afternoon, and, as mentioned, we regret not having gone out here this morning. Learning by doing errors....

We get away from the spot, and console ourselves with a dinner based on fish, at Ocean Basket.

Ciao. Fabio

Click here, for the morning slidegallery at Big Bay, with freestyle riders.

Click here, for the afternoon slidegallery at Big Bay, with very strong wind, and pro riders in action.

 

 

The video taken at Big Bay