Sailed at Auckland, Coniver Grove
Rated a 1 of 10

Wind from the NW (knots)

average: 8

gusts: 14

Board: BIC Nova
Sail: NP V8 8.5 2002
Suit: Short sleeve.
Air Temperature: 20 C

I didn't sleep much, was very worried about my gear. Maybe we would get a storm, or maybe the tide would get so high that my gear would float away, although I had stored it in a dry place at high tide.

At 6:40 I left bed. Checked the wind, NW, perfect to windsurf to the opposite side. SW or S would have made this journey impossible. At 7:15 I arrived at Coniver Grove. Rigged the gear and there I went. Wind picked up and I flew in minutes to the opposite side where I started to windsurf along the coast to find the location of my gear. Suddenly I heard the fin scraping, board rocked, a tearing sound, and I thought" "this isn't good." And indeed, my big board had a much bigger fin and it had hit some rock with fatal results: "Fin lost."

And there I was, now with two, hopefully the other board was still there as I hadn't found it, boards and sails on an uninhabited island. No mobile. No way to get back.

I first decided to find the other board, so I walked back along the shore and thank God, after a few minutes found my small board and sail safe and well.

Now I had to get back to the opposite side. I had learned my lesson: "Never abandon your gear". So I derigged, put the boom, mast and sail on each board and tied it safely to the board. Then I tied the boards together and started to swim.

To pass the time I counted every stroke, till I reached a hundred, after which I started again. Hundred became a familiar number, but I could see I was making good progress. Tide was getting lower, but I wasn't sucked away or put of course, could swim across the estuary quite well.

When I had almost reached the opposite shore, I saw someone rowing towards me. His neighbour had seen me swimming and he came to check if everything was alright. I assured him it was ok as far as these things could be ok. I had reached the shore in the mean time, so now I could walk along the coast to the car park, towing my two boards behind me.

Map here: http://wwww.pobox.com/~berend/windsurfing/coniver-grove-2.png

What a journey. I was on the water around 7:30, and back around 9:30. The only thing left to do was to pack up and drive home. And buy a new fin of course.

Anyway, the lesson is: never abandon your gear and let your wife check the wind speed when you're late. You might be swimming instead of windsurfing.