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| "Hope you're feeling strong” said
the caddy when he shoved the surfboard and quiver bag through the big hole at Perth
airport and disappeared before I could ask him any more favours. Dead tired after a 24-hour flight, I started out by first
carrying the board, keeping an eye on my quiver bag and suitcase, to then go back to drag
the bag and the suitcase along, keeping an eye on my board. By the time I had reached the
long and winding queue for customs, I had caused such a chaos that the airport officials
stopped procedures and waved me through. My polite thank you was grimly responded by
“no, we want you out of the way”. Welcome to Australia! However, the hotel staff made up for this. When they saw the bags, they gave me a triple room instead of the single booked beforehand. And I fell asleep immediately after having ripped off 3 layers of bubble foil and the card board used for wrapping, finding all my gear undamaged. Must have been due to my “fragile“ stickers plastered all over the bags. In spite of extensive research beforehand, checking out car rentals in Perth took a whole day, as long-term rates are subject to negotiation and vary considerably, at least 30 percent. So I finally decided on a five-door sedan, which could be comfortably loaded from the boot and offered enough space for my windsurfing equipment and a big suitcase. Not being used to driving on the left hand side, getting onto the Northern Freeway from the city centre of Perth can be stressful, but cruising up to Lancelin (120 km north of Perth) on Wanneroo Road in mid October is a fantastic scenic drive leading straight to the LSSR building (Lancelin Sea Search & Rescue Group), next to which the local windsurfers have their well kept premises – rigging lawn, changing rooms and even barbecue facilities.
Time to rig up and finally try out the JP freestyle wave ( 85 l ). But first a little chat with the locals is a must and quite enlightening as well: “How far out can you go?” “When you see the rocks sticking out you wouldn't want to go any further." Also, you can rely on their expertise when somehow the battens of your new sail (North Ice) refuse to rotate properly. But apparently you should not rely on the LSSR to rescue you, as they concentrate their activities on trawlers and fishing boats. As there is comparatively little water in the picturesque bay in late spring and early summer, you have to walk out – and in – a fair bit before you can start picking up speed getting an idea of the various rocks popping up unexpectedly and taking a closer look at the highly impressive waves breaking on the reef. Of course, this is where the locals have fun, however, just following them might not be a good idea, not even when they sail back in, because often their boards have 3 fins, so they might get over rocks and sand bars that a board with 1 fin is bound to hit. Also the rental boards (Starboards) available at Werner's Hot Spot right at the edge of the windsurfers' premises have only a single fin. So, after 3 days (out of 7) of surfing in moderate winds (5.3 sail) there were a few scratches on my fin, but I had gained confidence in my equipment and it felt good to be on the water again, planing, though I was never quite at ease because of all the obstacles to watch out for and the terrible stories told by the locals about who crashed into the rocks, before they carelessly threw their gear into the back of their cars, or, even more cool, pedalled away on their push bikes towing their gear behind. to be continued... |
text & photos: Eva Marie Drape-Huelsemann © windgirls 2006 |
