PETER HART MASTERCLASS
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ROWAN WILSON, 50S, PSYCHIATRIST,
LIVING IN WEST WALES.
Rowan surprised, worried and then impressed me. The surprise was that he
bears an uncanny resemblance to comedian Michael McIntyre - his looks,
his laugh, gestures, everything. It’s quite spooky. The worry? He presented
himself on my general skills course to Rhodes last year as a low intermediate
sailing a 130 freeride barely on the plane and only part time waterstarting.
And then shortly after declared he wanted to come on my Kerry wave clinics
the following spring. Whoa! That’s a big leap. But ... as his chosen profession
suggests, he’s no fool. His approach has been exemplary. Firstly in seeking a lot
of advice before the trip – like the board, rigs and skills needed before to make
the challenge both safe and realisable. The advice I gave was to get the smallest
fsw he could uphaul (103) and three wave sails to match, 5.7 down to 4.5.
“I hadn’t realized I’d need a far smaller board than the one I first trained
on. I got the new kit well in advance so I could get some hours on the water
on it - three months in advance of the course in my case.
I had no surf experience so being told when and where to launch was
crucial. It was a lesson brought home to me at Inch Beach (Kerry) when
I thought the waves looked the same as the previous two days until it was
pointed out that they were “closing-out” along their entire length – and the
wind was the wrong direction. By myself I would just have gone out and
surely trashed my kit. On Windguru I’d only ever looked at wind speed and
direction. I realized that wave period (“look for double figures”), and wave
direction were now something to start looking at to decide whether a session
was potentially worthwhile.
Don’t get lofty goals, getting in and out in one piece is number one! I did
get a feel for riding some waves, but it was very much a case of being in the
right place at the right time by luck rather than being able to deliberately work
out where to be. You realized that this was something you’d – hopefully – get
better at with experience.
The take home message was that you have to work on core skills – reliable
fast-tacking and quick gybing – to get the most out of wave sailing. And don’t
set yourself up to fail. I think it would be very easy to have a bad experience
that puts you off wave sailing. Get good advice about equipment and sailable
conditions and go for a session with experienced people.”
112 AUGUST 2019
Rowan Wilson had a one board approach –
a 103 freewave, and it worked perfectly.Paul Hudson using his 9’ windSUP on which
he mastered all the key skills of wave riding.PAUL HUDSON 55, SOFTWARE ENGINEER,
LIVES IN HINKLEY.
Although having a sedentary job, Paul is a Taekwondo instructor and there-
fore fit, flexible and active – and by the same token considered and methodical.
Most of his windsurfing was done on Draycote reservoir until wave sailing
slid into his consciousness. In the 5 years he’s been coming on my course, his
progress has been steadily upwards to the point where he ’s now embracing
the finer arts of wave riding.
“It was a challenge I was apprehensive about doing. I thought I needed to
address that. My first experience was in Donegal where actually I spent most
of the time avoiding the waves and trying to sail between them. It was confus-
ing. I couldn’t find them and didn’t know how to catch them.”
Using the SUP was a game changer but it wasn’t love at first sight was it?
“I was aware of them, but had no interest standing on one. In light winds,
people got them out and I thought ‘I haven’t come here for this.’ Then I
realised I was a bit too wind driven. I had to reprogram. And it was on the
windSUP that I leaned all the tactics and wave sense and now I find them just
as much fun as the real thing. And what’s made the biggest difference is being
able to practice and nail fast tacks and gybes in light winds. That appeals to
me because I can work on that anywhere.”
So what were the big light bulb moments?
“Realising you can hold back on the lip and wait and that you can decide
when to take the drop depending on the shape of the wave. When I have tried
surfing I’ve taken the drop too quickly and have either gone end over end or
outrun it. I could never work that out for myself – I needed someone to point
that out.”
You got into it at classic wave spots like Ireland. Can you now adapt to
the lesser, wind-blown conditions of the UK and can you immediately clock
what you have to do with regards to getting on a wave and timing bottom
and top turns.
“The grounding has served me well. It’s just another set of conditions. The
more you do it, the more it becomes instinctive what to do. Like yesterday
when the wind was really offshore, I knew I couldn’t get enough speed to
catch the wave if I headed straight into wind. So I had to bear away and then
head up onto the wave – driving the board down the wave rather than waiting
to be picked up.”
You’re really into the waves but have stuck with the freewave design (103,
94, 86)
“I like their all-round qualities and I don’t think they’re holding me back
in the waves. I’ve seen the promo videos for the boards I have and when I see
what they’re doing with them, I recognise that any problems are a ‘me’ issue!
Also I lost 5 kg over the winter – so my boards have effectively all gained 5
litres – that’s made a big difference.”