I must be mad.... I just returned from competing in my first PWA contest at Guincho.  Having arrived at the very scenic and much spoken about competition beach just over a week ago, it was fair to say that I was a little apprehensive and nervous!  For the first 5 days there was absolutely no wind whatsoever and my days were spent simultaneously calming my nerves, checking forecasts religiously and hanging out at the beach cafe, the monotony of which was alleviated only by surfs at the north end of the beach where a great left-hander works through the tide and was good for venting frustration!

Aside from getting a lot of surfing in I did meet some very cool and fun windsurfers that compete regularly on the PWA tour, in particular Tiffany Ward and Anne-Marie Reichman who kept me amused with their anecdotes and pool side laughter!

And it was as the event was drawing to a close that on the very last day the wind showed.  As I checked the heat sheets it seemed that I was going to be tested further as I was up against Karin Jaggi in the single elimination.  Now I'm not one to complain that much or berate my lack of luck but really I reckon the judges could have been a little kinder!  Karin is a great windsurfer and really inspiring.  It was on our first run out on the green flag that she did a huge end over end forward right in front of me just to boost my confidence further!  I tried to match this with some nice wave rides and threw in my best moves whilst battling the challenging conditions, but ultimately experience gave out as I expected it too!  Still a great competition and I'm looking forward to building on this experience at the next event in Pozo in the coming month!