Meanwhile, above Pozo

Bozo Gran Canaria
Pozo. Famous windsurfing spot in the Canaries.

Ricardo Campello was out training the other day in Pozo and Cutre, a local windsurfing center caught it on film. It's worth watching the video for a couple of reasons: a back loop to a front loop on the same jump (I think that's what it is) and the number of times he throws some really high jumps in the same session and doesn't land them. If you're not falling, you're not learning.

I hope it will make you feel better about trying new stuff and spending a lot of time in the water. Sometimes, we wrongly associate getting wet with ineptitude.

V111

Here's a screen grab of a high jump.

Whoops, wrong pic. He's above the frame in this one.

V111 floats into frame
Here he is one second later floating back down into frame.

You can watch the video on Cutre's blog.

Five women who sail backwards better than you do forwards

Boardseeker Magazine has a great article on the top five women freestylers and their favorite moves. Not only do they describe them but also give a few tips if you want to try your hand. While you may think you'll never try one of these moves. the tips get you thinking about board and sail control.

5 top freestylers
Just for...Women
I wrote an article over the winter that never made it live but while we are on the subject of women who can rip, it's worth dusting off:

Don't ask me how I know about this stuff. It's too embarrassing.

Windsurfing, like many sports, seems to be more identified with men. Maybe, women, being generally smarter (based at least on the sample size of two in my household),generally take a dim view of an activity that involves swimming in Lake Lanier on a cold winter's day.

Sarah Hebert, this past winter, made it halfway on her attempt to windsurfing from Africa to the Americas. Not bad for a chick with a ... pacemaker. If, somehow, only making it halfway seems to diminish her effort, think about the following: How you feel after a couple of hours windsurfing at Van Pugh or Hatteras in 25 knot winds. Okay, now do that for 5 hours. In 10-15 foot swells. Do it tomorrow and the next day, and the next. Do that for a couple of weeks and get back to us on how you are doing.

An idea of what the middle of the Atlantic is like.

Another "swell" day on the water

Learn more about Sarah on her her blog. Although written in French, Google will translate it for you - the option is at the top of the pages.

Last fall, in Ireland, Noelle Doran set the 2011 World Women's Speed Record for 500 m.: 38.17 knots (43.9 mph) Please note that keeping it churned for 500 m through lulls and gusts is a bit different than your max speed while getting tossed over the handlebars. Noelle is an absolute gorilla at 5'-4" and 127 lbs. Story | Video

We have absolute respect for and are in awe of these windsurfing women. We hope they encourage other women to jump into Lake Lanier in the freezing cold take their windsurfing up another notch.

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