A date with Guy Cribb
By Sarah Linney
He's a 13-times British champion, a world authority on windsurfing technique and the founder of INtuition windsurfing coaching.
He's tried out for the Olympics, coached our national windsurfing teams and been a runner-up in the world championships. Few can teach Guy Cribb anything about windsurfing.
Here at Holiday Extras we feel privileged and proud to be one of his sponsors - and we were delighted to be invited to watch him race at Cowes Week on Tuesday, August 5.
Cowes Week, as windsurfers and sailors will know, is the longest-running regatta in the world and takes place every year at the beginning of August on the Isle of Wight.
We joined the 100,000 spectators who head down there every year, not only for the sailing and the racing but also for the live music, the parties and the festival atmosphere.
Guy was taking part in the Extreme Sailing Series racing, which is based at Egypt Point, a 15-minute walk from the pretty town of Cowes.
He and two other windsurfers were competing against one of the Extreme 40s - 40-foot-long sailing boats designed by Olympic champions Yves Loday and Mitch Booth.
The Extreme Sailing Series website describes how the duo "took the biggest, fastest sailing boat in the Olympics — the Tornado - then made it twice as big and even faster."
Guy and World Tour professionals John Skye and Ross Williams took part in four races against one of the boats - and you'd have thought the boat, which can reach speeds normally the preserve of motorboats, would win.
But an excellent performance by the three boardsmen saw them comfortably beat the boat three times out of four - even though the boat was travelling at more than 20 knots.
The boat's skipper, Nick Moloney, said: "That was awesome. We were flying, but they were too."
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