FIRST TIME WAVE HEADS

Of all the steps in wave sailing journey, the first one is the hardest. With the help of folk who have recently made that journey, Harty answers the key questions and tilts you in the right direction.

- Peter Hart

The mood on the Tiree ferry was a tad funereal. The forecast couldn’t have been any worse. Relentless vertical rain deflected by not one knot of wind drizzling down over a mirror sea? No. A 7m swell was due to roll in from the west accompanied by F7-9 winds for the entire week.

And the problem was…? Well had this been a ‘Red Bull Storm Chase’ training course, people would indeed have been dancing a jig on Caledonian MacBrayne’s fine canteen tables. But no, this was an ‘introduction to wave sailing’ clinic. We were about to take ‘learning to swim in the deep end’ to an obscene level. How did they do? Do read on…

WHY NOT?

Autumn is upon us and with it the prospect of some unsettled weather and the opportunity to tick off that thing which has been at the top of your ‘to do’ list for years… try sailing in waves… or even wave sailing (aren’t they the same thing? No not really.)

There are SO many reasons to delay the plunge.

• Not got suitable kit.

• Conditions never quite right.

• Afraid of… mostly humiliation and… actually… just a bit… of drowning.

All of them are real excuses – but let’s begin by confronting the central question.

ARE YOU GOOD ENOUGH?

There is no blue kitemark standard of necessary competence. So much depends on the individual and the general scenario. But as a guide for people wanting to join a wave course I suggest:

• able to plane in the straps and harness on the open sea; on a sub 110L board with ‘wave’ somewhere in the title.

• 100% waterstarting.

• Physically fit, a strong swimmer happy bobbing around, in and under breaking surf.

However, the last point is the arguably the most important.