Latina in Dahab 2006

In Octobre 2006 the new Planet Windsurf Center at the Swiss Inn Hotel in Dahab invited us fort he Opening Event and now I of course I couldn´t resist. After nearly five hours flight from Germany to Sharm El Sheikh, the one hour Transfer and many Tips later, we arrived at the desert Village in the Gulf of Azzalah .

The fact that we had to pass many controls and that we travelled the whole way together with Andre Paskowski, who just had been in Dahab a month ago, made me feel much safer and relaxed and I could start enjoying the great Landcapes and Ambience also when the Airtemperature at our Arrival was still thirty three degrees centigrade, but with an atmospheric humidity of just 35 % instead of the almost 90% I know from my Homeplace, also that was nothing to worry about.

At our Arrival in Dahab the Planet Windsurf and Happy Surf Crew was already expecting us for a warm welcome and when we entered the first Beach Bar at the Club Dahab Centre, it seemed like we would have to say hello for the whole night, something we didn´t expect. So many well known faces, friends from the World Tour, Instructors from many places, wow ! Now nothing could Stopp a great and funny time here in Egypt , if the wind would play game as well.

Unluckily the wind helped us to get more time to rigg up our Equipment than we wanted and just didn´t want to appear at our first day. After rigging up I wanted to check all the new Spots, also when there was no wind, a big Beginner Board should bring me everywhere. All the new Spots, because Dahab got a whole variety of Spots, starting with the Lagoon, than the Speedy and super Flatwater Baby Bay up the the Spot with some round Waves rolling whe the wind gets stronger, the Kamikaze. Cruising on my Fat Board I could easily figure out the dangerous zones of the Spot, though there were not too many, but with those huge Sea urgents I knew I never wanted to get in contact with, they looked like monsters compared to our mini venezuelan ones.

After nearly two month with less Windsurfing, longing for perfect conditions and so for long and good Training Sessions, the Landscape, colours and just the whole Village made me enjoy every single second of this day, also when I got the feeling, that a longer windless time could get me pretty bored, though with excursions to Sharm El Sheikh, to the Beduins, Moses Mountain, Divers Dream the Blue Hole and many more you still get enough to do.

Luckily I could push the No wind Program aside, the wind should no longer stay away and already at our second day in the Orient I noticed that, inspite of all thoughts which Sails we should bring to the Red Sea, I might have packed the wrong Equipment, because the wind was blowing for the 3,7 sail, something nobody told me before and the statistics did not neither.

Also the „Locals“ told us that the wind especially between August and Novembre blows that strong over the Sinai Mountains and after some more days where the 4,2 was just too much I can just confirm what they told us. But also in Dahab, like everywhere on Earth, the wind is followed by another windless period, which gave us some time, to discover snorkeling the two Reefs Seven Towers , which is located between the Spots Lagoon and Speedy and the Neptune Reef, which seperates the Speedy from the Kamikaze and is well known as the Fin Killer by many Windsurfers. Dive into the world of Nemo, another of my dreams came true and almost has been interrupetd abruptly when I came a little to close to a Fire Fish. I learnt something new that way, enjoy and watch the Underwater World but never try to get in contact, at least when you don´t know too much about your opponent.

Turn up, back to the world over the Water. After some time under water it was time time for more Action on the water and right on time for our „Improve your Skills“ Event at the new Planet Windsurf Center, the wind came back in the strength we already got to know it before and the 4,2 became to my standard Sail.

Theory and Sailing units in the morning and in the afternoon with our clients and between those Sessions some private Training fort he next worldcup Season, that was my plan and the conditions just helped perfectly to folow my Plan. The perfect Faltwater in Baby Bay guarantees Easy Learning and the Choppy Water in the Speedy is the next step to perfectionize the Moves in more difficult Conditions.

Dahab mens to satnd up early in the morning, if you want to fill your day with Windsurfing. Sunrise is already around four thirty in the morning, something you´ll see and feel same as hear, depending on the direction of your Room to the wind. Each Sunrise and Sunset the arabic Prayers sound through the immense Speakers over the whole Bay and it seemed like the wind came with the Sunrise and the dissapeared with the Sun.

Nothing should stand in the way for a good morning Sessions, before the Breakfast and the first Lessons, maybe just my mind and my bones, which were not really used to stand up so early in the morning. But also tired minds and bones are forgotten rapidly once Cruising and Freestyling with constant winds and in front of this breath taking Landscape, with the dark red Sinai Mountains , which seemed to hang over the green and blue water. Every morning in Life should start that way, when I wouldn´t miss so many more Travels and Countries and, above all, my Home Country with my favourite Spot El Yaque.

Dreamed enough, back to work. With all the beautifaul Impressions from the morning and after a huge Breakfast, starting to work was made easy and since it is our passion to instruct people of different age and with so different Levels in Windsurfing, it´s always a big pleasure to go to work and bring those people to their always wanted Moves, no matter if this is the waterstart or some kind of High Technical Freestyle, when we can make people even more addicted to the Sport, we´re happy.

And between the Teaching Units in the Lagoon of Dahab, which was our main Teaching Area, I went straight into the Baby Bay ort he Speedy to work on my Moves.

The Nightprogram which started with a Video Night with the Presentation of the newest Fanatic Video Addicted to Ride 2 and our selfmade Video Clip about the event, where everybody got his own part, followed by an oriental Dancenight and the excursion to the old Centre of Dahab, Masbat, brought all of us closer to the arabic Culture, something we missed in our first, partly windless, week.

But first back the oriental Dancenight. During the week we didn´t see not even one woman and also the complete Hotel Staff were men, so we expected something super conservative and were more than surprised when we first saw the arabic guys and girls, dancing in super modern Style and clothing and the rythm of the equal modern arabic music went straight into our blood. Type and Style of the dances remembered me more on some of the MTV Hip Hop Videos, just the oriental way and I couldn´t see one single men without stearing eyes.

The Exhibition to Masbat, shopping, walking along the BeachBoulevard still created some strange feelings in all of us, since this was the place of the Bombings in April. But just arrived in Masbat all those feelings and maybe fears dissapeared straight away. Many Controls, Policemen and Soldiers in the Background gave us the safe feeling back and we could finally relax in one of the hundred Bars, drinking some Coffees or Teas and some smoking a Schisha, the typical arabic Waterpipe and maybe export gift number one.

All those friendly Arabs at all Places we visited and at the Beach did all to guarantee a great stay for anyone and I´m pretty sure, that most of the guests haven´t visited Dahab fort he last time.

We will be back for sure, to enjoy, to train and for the next Event at Planet Windsurf in Septembre 2007. we got many places in the world where we always love to go back to and for sure ahab will be on Top of that list now as well.