For the third year, students came to Southampton for a weekend of windsurfing and partying. Barely a minute after the first universities had arrived, we made the trek down into Portswood and to the Hobbit-themed cocktail – pub 'The Hobbit.' Drinks flowed, and spending an evening with new and old friends was great. Rumour has it that some even wandered over to the palace of dreams to finish the night….
Excitement could barely be contained as the new day began on Saturday morning. Safety briefing underway a mere 1.5 hrs late, a flock of students made their way onto Southampton water with a delightful 10-15 knots of wind, perfect for the 'morning' beginner session and some lovely intermediate racing. Well done to Caity Morley (Exeter) for first place, Imi Feeney (Bristol) in second, and Will Barnard (Bristol) in third.
In the freestyle comp, well done to Nat Little (UWE) in first, Immi Feeney (Bristol) in second, and Will Barnard (Bristol) in third. You'll notice it's almost the same result as the intermediate race…
Before long, Netley Sailing Club's galley was providing enough Chilli to feed 500, and it's fair to say this was well received by all! The breeze provided some great foiling weather, and it was great to see so many flying around on wind and wing foils.
With the desire to party again returning, efforts were put into interpreting the 'Disney' theme. Top points go to Swansea for their Disney princess costumes and Bristol for their Cars-themed boxes, which both gave some funny looks on the bus ride into town.
Once again, we had the Washroom on the decks, lighting up Café Parfait's 'Midnight suite' (whatever that is)… Cardiff managed to distribute enough chef's hats from their Ratatouille costume that by 11 pm, every single person was wearing one!
Waking up slightly less early than on Saturday, we returned to Netley Sailing Club for another excellent day's windsurfing – this time with a dreamy 15-20 knots, perfect blasting weather!!
Not before too long, Southampton Water was once again filled with a sea of free sailors and racers, and the smell of pizzas kept everyone happy – Pizza Sorina were doing a supreme job as usual. Toby Cunliffe shared his knowledge in his excellent winging clinic, and Lucas Booth talked us through some carve gybes.
The team racing was first up, and what a competition it was! Well done to Southampton team 1, who were still in the carpark 1 minute before the start. Sam Williams managed to get into his wetsuit in less than three minutes, and they were still rigging up their Boardwise 7.5m tushy at 'GO'! Despite this, by some miracle, they came home in first place!
The advanced race was next up, and well done to Tom SB (Cardiff) for first place, Ed Clark (Exeter) second and Sam Williams (Southampton) in third.
Last but not least, SUWC president Tom had one previous experiment – can we attempt a 'DEFI WIND' style long-distance race without getting in the way of too many ships??? It was great to see 25 people lined up on the rabbit start, and despite the wind dropping as soon as we started (classic..), it was a really impressive feat to see so many intermediate and advanced windsurfers and wings taking on the mile-long course, well done all!
Once again, thanks to everyone who came down! A huge thank you goes to all our sponsors and supporters: Boardwise and Club Vass, our support team who made the weekend possible and maintained the high standard of safety needed to operate in proximity to a busy shipping lane, and Netley Sailing Club and UoS Watersports provided fantastic facilities and equipment.
