Watch for the wipeout at the end!

Yet another lousy day in Africa, I’m afraid…

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Way back in 1983, three keen windsurfers from Saldanha, Malcolm McGregor, Kevin Wilyman and I, sat down and planned a 17-20 km windsurfing giant slalom from Langebaan to Saldanha. We dubbed it the “Downwind Dash”. It would feature a “LeMans” start on Langebaan’s beach and zigzag down the bay powered by the bay’s prevailing summer southerly. The sailors would finally round Dial Rock and sprint up the beach at Saldanha to cross the finish line. I came up with the original concept (after reading about the Molokai Crossing windsurfing race in Hawaii) and the course is probably very similar to the one I originally designed, which is shown on the Google Map below. But it was Malcolm, who is still Race Director (that must be another world record), who mobilised the yacht club members to man the marks, organised the rescue, arranged the communications and logistics, etc., etc. He has been the tireless driving force behind the race’s success and its longevity over all these years.

Original Downwind Dash course

We ran the first race in January 1984. There were 70 entries I think, almost unheard of in those early days. I think it was during the first race in 1984 (we ran a second one later in the year) that the wind swung into the west and the fog rolled in, forcing us to use the NSRI to track down lost sailors using radar! Originally the Dash was followed by a race from Saldanha to Langebaan and back on the Sunday (known as the Longhaul) to satisfy the course-board lobby – but I always knew that the main attraction was, and would remain, the Dash. Originally, the event – consisting of both the Dash and the Longhaul – was marketed as the Saldanha-Langebaan Longhaul and only later was it renamed the Downwind Dash. That probably explains why the press release refers to the “24th year” of the event. In fact the Dash has been around for 26 years.

I left Saldanha in 1987 by which time it was notching up almost 150 entrants annually. I have attempted the race three times but completed it only once – in a 30+ knot gale on a wave board holding down a 4.1 m² sail only because the board was controllable on the broad reaches. There were many rescues and bruised egos that day.  The race is challenging because of the variability of windspeed across the course (inside the harbour it can drop alarmingly) and the fact that one sails on a very broad reach. I suspect that the point of sail is much more suited to kites than windsurfers.

Long may Malcolm and the Dash grace the magnificent sailing waters of Langebaan-Saldanha.

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Langebaan Lagoon is blessed with a micro-climate that virtually guarantees 15+ knot southerlies almost every day in summer. Even though the surrounding areas may be experiencing calm, the lagoon seems to have lungs that suck the air up its length.  The water is shallow for miles and relatively warm compared to the frigid seas off the coast. And pristine.

This is not extreme windsurfing; the lagoon is a mellow place for older sailors, where the family can enjoy the sun in the windless coves north of the point.

Using my trusty old F2 Axxis and a 5 sq m sail in about 20-25 knots of breeze, I have managed to coaxe it up to 30+ knots, but can’t squeeze more speed out of it.

Back in 1984 we could be sure that there would only be two of us sailing there. Lately Kraal Bay has been “discovered” by the braai brigade and on most summer Sundays parking and a site on the beach are problems.

As for windsurfing in the surf, in the early days we used to frequent Big Bay at Blouberg, but these days I only sail at the Strand and only when the wind is blowing South. This direction is clean and side-onshore. Unfortunately, it’s usually a solo effort as I have run out of friends who still sail in the surf…

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Kraalbaai is also one of my favourite places. It is located in the West Coast National Park and is the site where 117 thousand-year-old human footprints were recently discovered. We have stayed on the Park’s houseboat many times before it was privatised. It’s a great base for kayak trips. The lagoon, a Ramsar wetland site, is a big expanse of water where one can paddle plenty of km’s.

The 3D map shows the track of a paddle further out in the bay:

If the track doesn’t appear in the window above or you don’t want to install the plugin in your browser, then download the Google Earth Langebaan file and view it in Google Earth (download Google Earth)

Calm days are unusual for the west coast in late spring and summer – usually the southerly kicks in at midday like clockwork, making Kraalbaai a favourite dragstrip for mellow, older windsurfers and their families. I can remember pioneering windsurfing here when I lived nearby during the early eighties. Then there would be two of us sailing in solitude…

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