On the wings of the wind

While most water-loving, adrenaline junkies are thrashing through the waves with their kites, one lone ranger hits the water with a more old-school but equally exhilarating toy.

“In the 80’s, windsurfing was the sport of the times. Back then I lived in Pretoria and learnt to sail at the various dams. I got sick of dams eventually, because there was not enough wind and not enough of a challenge,” said Paul Stephenson.

The Salt Rock adrenaline junkie said sailing a windsurfer in the sea was unheard of back then, making it the perfect challenge for him.

He moved to Durban in 1999 and later headed north to Salt Rock in 2010, where he fell in love with “wave sailing”.

“There are multiple disciplines in windsurfing: speed racing on very flat water; slalom sailing which is usually in a figure of eight; freestyle where guys do mindboggling tricks on flat water and wave sailing which is jumping, and wave riding in the sea. Wave sailing is basically surfing, as you catch a wave and use it like a ramp to lift you in the air to do tricks.”

During a daring, big back loop in August 2015, Paul had a serious injury, forcing him to get back to shore with one “floppy” leg.

“While I was coming down from a jump, my leg bent at a 90 degree angle snapping two ligaments. It was such a weird feeling. I managed to put my floppy leg back into the foot strap on the board and get back to the beach. I would have been in a lot more pain and trouble if the ligaments had just torn, so I was lucky in a way. Serious injuries are not common in windsurfing. I have had a lot more injuries from snowboarding,” said Paul, who had to have a shoulder and hip operation thanks to some snowboarding fails.

While Paul said there is a small revival of windsurfing in Durban at the moment, it is generally people who are just getting back into it rather than newcomers.

“It is very difficult to start windsurfing from scratch here.

It is extremely expensive, there are no lessons and it is almost impossible to find a beginner’s kit. There are no suppliers in Durban, only one in Johannesburg that I know of and the rest are in Cape Town.

Also a windsurfer needs about 20 knots, which does not often happen in Durban.

There are probably only between 20 and 30 windsurfers in KZN, whereas there are hundreds in Cape Town.”

Regardless, he said he will take his windsurfer over kite surfing any day. “I have tried kite surfing and while you can jump much higher than with a windsurfer, you end up just hanging with the kite all the way up there in the air.

When you are on a windsurfer it is like being on a motocross bike, with the power right there in your hands.”

>>> Looking for a church? Check out our Churches on the North Coast feature. 

>>> Need some ideas for things to do? Check out Holiday Vibes.

Do you want to receive news alerts via WhatsApp? Send us a WhatsApp message (not an sms) with your name and surname to 061 718 4438.

Please read our WhatsApp broadcast list disclaimer.
Join us on BBM at 59015786
Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.