Laure Treboux / SUI-4

I just got back to Switzerland after over a month in Egypt. It's been great. I spent 3 weeks in Dahab windsurfing on 4.0 every day and getting lots of training in, then went over to Soma Bay for the North and Fanatic photo shoot. The whole trip has been great. It's difficult to explain it all as so much happens all the time, but basically the windsurfing's been epic, I met some amazing people and caught up with lots of good friends.
The only down side in all this is how hard it is to always have to leave these friends. You get to spend such good moments and before you know it's time to move to the next place. Not easy, but definitely worth it!

I have now been in Switzerland for less than 24 hours and already scored a good sail on 4.5. We went up to a spot nearby and everyone was there! It's always so nice to sail at home. Hopefully it's the start of a windy season and there will be loads more good days. It was a bit cold with northerly wind, but luckily I had my ION 5.5mm to keep me warm. I just wasn't quite sure if my hands were still there though, couldn't feel them the whole time.

Ah and I got the cover of Windsurfing Journal year book.

Although it hasn't been the best summer wind-wise, the whole season in Western Australia was amazing. Not that is has ever not been. It was very hard to leave, but I'm lucky to be able to go back to Switzerland to my family and friends.

I am now in Egypt for some freestyle training. And it's serious training too! We've had lots of wind already and it looks like it won't stop for a while.

Coming back to Dahab always feels like coming home. It's so good to see everyone here and get back into the Egyptian lifestyle. We've been up the coast for a bit of trip and scored such a good day: overpowered on 4.0 from 7am till sunset. What a great trip. Great people in a great place. And only 5 of us on the water.  My friends Vic and Mat from home, Alex Seyss, and even Sarah-Quita who finally made it to Dahab! Yep, learning from the master herself.

Good times!

I finally made it over to the East Coast! It was on the list for a long time and we just did it. It was absolutely amazing. Surfed every day, got to see all these famous breaks, swam with a huge manta ray (the picture doesn't do it justice) and sharks, and just got spoilt for a week. I love the tropical weather and forest over there, it's all so green, amazing. And I still can't believe how there's good surf anywhere you stop along the coast!

Back on the West Coast now and it hasn't been bad either. It seems like the swell is back and we've had some super strong wind lately. We drove up to Gerladton last week as the forecast was looking pretty epic. Just as we got there the wind doubled in strength, it was flat unfortunately, but freestyling was awesome fun. I did the biggest switch konos ever, totally stacked on 4.0, jumping off little ramps rolling in, you could go as high as you wanted.

The next day we woke up and could just about see the outside reefs from the house, it was breaking everywhere... the swell had hit!
The wind picked early and Coro's was going off. Good waves rolling in everywhere, 30 knots, and no one there! I sailed for 6 hours that day, landed my best backie ever, and just didn't want the day to end. We came out of the water with a huge full moon shining over the dunes, long after the sun had gone down.

The next day the forecast was for 44deg so we headed back down and stopped for a surf to make the most out of the leftover swell. There were still some head high sets coming in, and we surfed by ourselves, somewhere on the West Coast, until our bodies couldn't take it anymore.

Looking at this week's forecast I have a feeling we're about to have some more fun...

3 more trips to the South Coast, a long weekend in Lancelin and a few thousand kilometers later, we're back home for a bit more than 3 days in a row. It feels good to slow down and just enjoy being at home after weeks of chasing wind and waves all over the place.

The South Coast has been going off, the Lancelin Ocean Classic was heaps of fun (I won the wave event too!), and I've got this big smile on my face just thinking about all the good moments we've been through and shared with amazing people.

Here a few shots by Ben Pallant, from Gunfire Images. Check out his brand new website www.gunfireimages.com.au. It's full of amazing shots and stories from all over WA.

We're all in Lancelin at the moment for the Lancelin Ocean Classic. The wave comp was on yesterday, unfortunately the conditions weren't very epic, but at least we managed to complete a full elimination for each category. Not sure how I did but I guess I'll know soon - the results are kept secret until the prize giving on Saturday... Tomorrow the big downwind Ledge to Lancelin race is on. There should be just enough sea breeze to run it, looking forward to it - I'm not racing but always good to watch. And then, from there it is all happening at the tavern. Big night ahead that's for sure.