Turkey trip is over
It was a great time being in Turkey for about 16 days. This time we were three people on the trip. Kerstin, myself and my Mum. We joined Turkish airlines, which turned out to be great. They charge you 30 € each bag, which is fair deal. This time I brought four bags. The whole Slalom kit, Alacati can be superlight and it can blow with 25+ knots. My smalles sail for Slalom was 6,2, which I sometimes rigged, but never used in competition.
The competition started good for me, but on day 2 I thought I should take my 122 plus the 8,1. This combi was just to big and I lost massively ground. I tried to fight back on the following two days with wind, but was a bit unlucky missing the next round by some meters in 3 rounds. I sailed most of the time on the 7,0 Code Red and the iSonic 101, which felt a bit underpowered sometimes.
I tell you, Alacati is so easy to sail, but in the race it´s so difficult to sail easy. The locals are quite strong sailors and this fact made it hard to pass the first round. My plan was to finish in the top 30, but finished only in the top 40. I was definitely a bit dissappointed about my 39th endresult. In the PWA overallranking I am still in 24th position.
After the race we rent out a car. Husnu Baylav, the owner of the Seasnow group and importer of Starboard in Turkey, helped us to rent a nice car. Rental cars are quit eexpensive in Turkey, especially in the hig season. We drove up to the northwestern parts of Turkey to check out some less known spots. The trip turned out to be great and we had great conditions, on land on at the water. Hope that some windsurfing mags will like the report and the pics. Kerstin made an awesome job. For the firts time she used her dome for wideangle lenses on the waterhousing, while producing a travelstory. And we were lucky: 100 % of the time the wind was up.
Now I am back home in Austria, working on office stuff, do reading and writing, updating and training, to get some fitness and coodination. And on Saturday the forecast shows wind for my homespot Podersdorf.
The final PWA Slalom event will be started on the 25th of September at Sylt. Almost a month to get in a great shape. From the 8th of September on Kerstin and myself will head to Fuerte for wek, to get some good sessions on the water and test the latest Starboard models.
Chris
At the international airport of Istanbul, 06:32 a.m., workers handle my windsurfing gear. Just 30 minutes are left to get it on the other plane. (pic: myself)
Sitting in the bus, driving to the national terminal. 6:35 a.m., still dreaming of the last sessions and great impressions, like seeing Troja or the temple of Assos. (pic: myself)
The view to the sea somewhere in the mediteranean sea. I miss it. (pic: Helga Pressler)
On the flatwater in the bay of Alacati. Powered up on 7,0 and 101. (pic: John Carter, PWA 2009)