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Book review of Round Britain Windsurf, a "windsurfing classic" or moldy, golden oldie.
Back in May of 1984 the English windsurfer Tim Batstone began an epic journey around Britain on a windsurfer. He recounts the story of his adventure in Round Britain Windsurf (David and Charles, 1984). Surprisingly, and by his own admission, Batstone was not an experienced windsurfer when he started his epic journey, but by the end of it he had been exposed to some truly horrendous windsurfing conditions. The whole trip took about seven weeks.
On thing the Batstone makes apparent in his book is the amount of planning required. You have to read the charts ahead of time to know where you can "put in" for the night, what the tidal conditions are, what geographical features may cause problems for you. Money plays a role, obviously. The French champagne producer Charles Heidsieck sponsored Batstone and allowed him to distribute champagne at some stops along the way. Part of his preparation included training at a gym in London for weeks before the trip. Still, the exertions of the day often left him physically exhausted.
He had a support team, which consisted of a sail-powered vessel, the Morningtown and a power boat, the Bumble, that stayed close to him throughout the trip. Or tried to, at least. Maintaining contact between sailboard and the crew was sometimes a problem in bad weather. Naturally, a crew - volunteers, of course - was required. One crewmember served as cook; another took responsibility for public relations, arranging press and publicity at stops along the way.
Like every windsurfer, Batstone had to sail when there was wind. When there was no
wind, he typically stayed on the sailboat, which was big enough to sleep several people
and had cooking facilities as well as radio and radar. If the conditions were too severe
for windsurfing, they were usually strong enough to keep the sailboat tossing in the
waves. Seasickness sometimes prevented them from enjoying the lulls, the rest, and the
food.
Sometimes the crew docked and took in the local scenery and the local pubs.
When there was wind, however, he tried to take full advantage of it. He frequently sailed for 8 or 9 hours a day. Because the British Isles lie so far north, it remained light until about 9 p.m. One night he even sailed until 11 p.m. trying to make time. On a good day he could sail for 50 miles. Even though it was spring, he had to wear a full wetsuit most of the time.
Batstone used Klepper boards mainly. He sailed a longboard with a daggerboard and a shortboard when the wind was good enough. Frequently he had to change sails on the water, but his account doesn't say exactly how this was done. The support crew assisted in changes of board and sail.
During the trip he encountered whirlpools, sandbanks, and 12 foot waves. The truly amazing variety of weather and geography makes the book more interesting - and of course the odd place-names in England are interesting as well. By the nature of the story, there is a lot of getting in and getting out which becomes repetitious after a while.
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