MG Windsurfing

We have been blessed with a rather exceptional pattern of wind these last couple of weeks. The month of August is known to be windless and flat but this year things have been quite different so far. There were just too many sessions to count in all kinds of conditions. This post is all about flatwater conditions but we also got some waves in. Check out the pictures and the video below: My windsurfing buddy Valentin Böckler made this great video: 

The northwestern tip of Denmark is often referred to as "Cold Hawaii". The spots do not always live up to the high expectations people have - but this time it all came together. The sun was out every single day. We had wind and waves. It was just magic! But I did not just drive up there without taking a look to the left or the right, like I did on my way back. On my way up north, I had several great days on the water in very different conditions. The one thing these sessions have had in common is that the sun was always out. The first session of the trip was in very light conditions but it was unbelievably flat. It made cruising around so easy. The first day in Denmark ended with a short session at Blavand. Nothing radical but great freestyle-wave conditions.  On the second day, I went to Hvide Sande as the forecast was for some northerly winds which produced rather clean condtions, especially in the evening when the wind turned NE. I met Steffi Wahl who took t...

After a little more than a year's work, I could finally finish a travel feature for the German SURF magazine. It sheds light on some hidden gems in Northern Germany. This region has more to offer than just the North and Baltic Sea. There are also numerous lakes that are great for windsurfing. They are often surrounded by deep forest and a lot less popular with tourists than seaside spots. But see for yourself and get a new copy of Germany's and probably Europe's biggest windsurfing magazine - SURF magazine. You can also watch a preview right here. (Footage on my travel report from 2:36min) http://tv.surf-magazin.de/video/Video-Vorschau-surf-5/9076ce1b8444d7fbf40c49b8e009dd16

It never gets boring. Inspiration is everywhere. You sometimes seem to just follow the mainstream for a little while but before you know it you are thinking out of the box. The mainstream says: Go to that particular spot in that particular wind direction. Go there and try the moves that the other riders try. But life is short and doing the same thing over and over is just lame. So get up and get out there, try something new. Go for new moves and discover new spots. You might have to search and wait. But in the end, it may all be worth it. Maybe it's just a brief moment in time: That green wave which you see breaking in the corner of your eye when rushing down to its bottom. That feeling you get when the wind kicks you up in the air and you land at full speed. Or maybe it's that moment when you see your friends progressing. Windsurfing is so full of possibilities. There are so many great moments out there, waiting to be lived. spock nightsession burner it's ou...

Saturday was the first day with proper westerlies in a long time. On the menu: big chop, gusty winds and a solid crowd. westcoast-pictures.de  took these great shots despite the bad light.

The weekend started out really windy! I had a quick session at Walchensee yesterday. It felt like a typical spring day if it hadn't been for the cold water. I just sneaked half an hour of windsurfing in between a lot of revising and preparing my classes. The atmosphere at this lake is always something special. However, I feel the need to have some better conditions in order to improve faster. I often watch the latest videos of the PWA guys and am keen to try stuff like double culos or air kabikuchi. But when you are just slightly powered up on 5.2 in some gusts, how is one supposed to do that? Here are some pics: no-handed flaka attempt grubby kono after a grubby

The second part of my travel podcast series is now online. It features some very different conditions: from light-wind sessions on some beautiful lakes in the mountains to well powered up freestyle-wave conditions on Gran Canaria. https://vimeo.com/86029454 This video also traces how I came back from injury. You can see how I rather take it easy in light wind conditions in the first part of the video only to come back to my old level in the second part. Even though work commitments currently have me living far from the sea, I am still 100% into windsurfing. I also want to enter more competitions in 2014 than I did in 2013. I know that I don't have perfect conditions for training but I think that having to deal with this just makes me stronger. I cannot wait to see where the next episode of my travel podcast series is going to take me. From Bavaria to Gran Canaria from Mathias Genkel on Vimeo .