Laure Treboux / SUI-4

Waow, I just got back from 2 and a half weeks super busy but great weeks in Holland. Coaching in Amsterdam to start with, on Amstelmeer the following day, in Brouwersdam the following 2 weeks and finishing up with the Mission XL this last weekend... What a great time!

In the last post I was talking about how good the weekend in and around Amsterdam was, and how promising the forecast looked for Brouwersdam. Well it actually kept getting better and better, and we scored a whole week of wind, between 20 and 30 knots pretty much every day! I had a group of 11 super keen people to teach, on the water all day, and still managed to squeeze some free sailing in the evening, stacked on 4.2. I love that spot, there's good big chop outside, dead flat water inside the little lagoon, perfect.

The 2nd coaching event was the girls special. 10 girls joined in, again of all ages and levels, which always makes it fun and interesting. We weren't as lucky with the wind unfortunately, but still we spent a lot of time on the water every day, learning all kind of light wind freestyle moves, and we managed to go through a lot of other stuff with theory sessions, video analysis and so on. Everyone was really motivated the whole time, it was great to see.

A big thank you to Herman from www.boardguru.nl for all his help and support during the coaching events - with the organisation, the boards, sails, SUP's, ... And of course for organising the best windsurfing event of the year - the Mission XL!

There's something about this event that sets it apart from the others. It's all about fun. There's this massive race open to everyone with categories for the youngest ones out there to the masters and pros, and freestyle shows by the PWA pros. It's also lots of windsurfing brands putting their efforts together to promote windsurfing, showing their latest gear, giving it to people to test, and giving away so many great prices for the tombolas, from boards and sails to harnesses, wetsuits and so on. This year stand up paddling was also added to the windsurfing, with boards to test and fun races. And of course, it's the legendary Mission party on Saturday night...

It was a massive weekend and everyone loved it. I especially love to see all these kids out there who are into windsurfing. So good to see the new generation pushing!

I will post more pictures about the Mission XL very soon, as well as some videos... Make sure you come back and check it all out!

After a quick 3 day stay in Switzerland I was hitting the road again. This time I flew to Amsterdam, where I was running a coaching weekend with the Amsterdam Windsurf Club.

Saturday was light but we still managed to do quite a lot - light wind freestyle, theory sessions, etc. Sunday way epic - 4.2 outta control. We drove to Amstelmeer with the club's instructors. That spot is so much fun, big chop outside and a protected pool with the flattest water I have ever seen. Sick place. We had an awesome time, windsurfed all day and all of us slept well that night I think.

I had a great weekend in Amsterdam thanks to everyone there. Thanks to all for looking after me so well, showing me around and making sure I wouldn't get totally lost on my bike somewhere on the wrong side of the city! Awesome.

I am now in Brouwersdam for the next coaching events - a coaching week open to all and a girls camp. The first one just started. I have a super nice group of 11 people, from Holland, Norway, Switzerland and France, from 10 to 40 years old. The forecast for this week is really good too, looking forward to it. Then it'll be the Girls Camp, and then it's the Mission weekend again! This time in XL format... You really don't wanna miss out on that weekend, trust me, so make sure you sign up for it here and we see you there!

Surf Mag (Germany) chose a shot from the Fanatic / North 2012 photoshoot in Dahab for their August cover, pretty cool! The photo was taken by Tom Brendt.

Sorry for the lack of update since the Carribean events, I have been on the road a fair bit as well as enjoying some good windsurfing in the Canaries.

After some boardbags mission at the airport in Aruba the flight back was actually easy and this time my bags followed - lucky as I had 24 hours at home before taking off again for the next part of the summer: the Canary Islands. I flew to Tenerife to meet Simon. We stayed there for a week and got some fun waves. Really good to catch up with the guys there too. During that week we flew over to Gran Canaria for a day, for Nayra and John's wedding, which was awesome. Big congratulations to them both!!! They looked amazing and it was great to see everyone there. A couple of days later we went to Gran Canaria again, with the ferry this time. A nice wavey ride 35 knots winds...

So we're now in Pozo for the first PWA wave event of the season. The first day was pretty epic. The guys were trying to hold onto their 3.6's and I was on 3.0 overpowered. The waves were really good and the show was awesome. They ran the first 2 rounds of the guys single elimination and everyone was going massive. The following day was flat and a lot less windy. So I just went out to train a bit of freestyle. And yesterday was ok again for a little while, just enough to run the first round of the girls. I was against Sarah Bibby, an English girl who's here for her first event and sailing well. The wind wasn't too strong which I was happy about. I landed a couple of loops, got a few good rides and made it through to the next round.

We'll run the following rounds this afternoon I'm sure, the wind is pretty strong already, just waiting for the tide to be right so that the waves get better. I'm against Silvia next who sailing really well, let's see what happens, I'll just give it my best!

I'm running 2 windsurf coaching weeks in Brouwersdam, Holland, this summer, from the 8th to the 13th and the 14 to the 19th of August. The first week is open to everyone, guys and girls, and the second one is a girls special. There are a couple of spaces left in both weeks. Fancy stepping up your windsurfing with some intensive coaching and have a great time on and off the water for a week? Email me for more details or sign up directly onto www.boardguru.nl!

Last year was such a success, we have to do it again in 2011!

Whether you are a windsurfer and you wish to improve your skills or you have never stepped on a board before and want to learn all about it, this is the opportunity for you to spend 5 days on the water worrying about nothing else than windsurf as much as you like, improve your skills and have a great time.

These Elevate Windsurf Camps will take place at the Zeil & Surfcentrum Brouwersdam at the Brouwersdam / Ouddorp (near Port Zelande), Holland, from the 08th to the 13th of August 2011 for the open week (mixed men / woman), and from the 14th to the 19th of August 2011 for the girls / ladies exclusive week. This means they're right before the MissionXL - we made sure you wouldn't miss out on anything!

You will get accommodation directly on the spot, with breakfast and dinner included, and everything you need to improve your windsurfing and have lots of fun on the water: 5 days of tuition, safety, and equipment for those who don't have their own (please bring your own if you do).

The courses are opened to all of you, there's no minimum level required.

The number of participants is limited to 12 persons per week so that everyone gets quality teaching every day, throughout the whole week, and has the chance to learn as much as they wish.

Using a comprehensive coaching method and thanks to many year of teaching experience, I will teach you how to windsurf using balance and technique instead of strength, and how to make it easy and fun out there. You will improve lots of aspects of your windsurfing by understanding key movements, sailing in an efficient stance, learning how to trim your equipment and lots more.

We'll never run out of things to learn, whatever your level or the wind conditions. Even light wind days are a very efficient in the learning process. So we'll be spending as much time on the water as we physically can, and when you can't hold onto your boom anymore, we'll do theory sessions and video analysis.

We'll be busy windsurfing, but it's your holiday so it's up to you how much teaching and windsurfing you can handle each day. These courses are there for you to enjoy windsurfing for what it really is: have a great time on the water and at the beach.

The weekend of the 20st and 21nd of August will be packed with action too with the MissionXL happening at the exact same place and being the best windsurf event of the summer!

So there you go, I think that's enough reasons for you to jump on your computer right now and send us an email via the contact form on www.boardguru.nl to subscribe to the 2011 Elevate Surf Camps in Holland!

For more information don't hesitate to email me on laure@lauretreboux.com

The photos below were taken by Jasper van Overbeek on a sunny light wind freestyle day. Thanks a lot Jasper!

All pictures ©Jasper van Overbeek

Awesome photo by Jasper van Overbeek, with all the girls of the Girls Camp in Holland, Brouwersdam, and the sick new 2011 Fanatic boards! See ya next year!