Matanzas

This is a unique opportunity to experience an upcoming windsurfing paradise with the pros. The conditions and lifestyle in Matanzas and Chile in general is so good that more and more pros are now calling it home.

Coaching
We have teamed-up with one of the top professional windsurfers on the PWA circuit to give you a week of wave-sailing bliss. Robby Swift has been a highly respected personality within the PWA for many years and when he isn’t out there perfecting his double-forwards, you will usually find him on a live streaming channel presenting the events. A s a Matanzas resident himself, Robby will take you to the best spots in the area and introduce you to the local Chilean culture whilst tuning your windsurfing skills in the process.

The Location
Matanzas boasts the strongest, most consistent conditions and the world-class wave of Roca Cuadrada, while just a couple of hours south Pichilemu hosts the longest windsurfable wave in Latin America at La Puntilla. From the beginning of Spring until Autumn, the Surazo wind usually kicks in strong around midday to offer ideal conditions for windsurfing. Extend your Chile holiday by adding unique experiences including the Atacama Desert, the breathtaking Chile Lake District or magical Easter Islands.

The Action
With great cross shore winds and high waves, Matanzas and its nearby offers some of the best wave-riding in the world. We will be covering everything from jumps and wave riding to forward and back loops. But it won’t just be windsurfing that’s on offer. The surrounding countryside offers many alternatives including sampling the local wine now famous the world over. We will have 4×4 vehicles at your disposal (excludes petrol, insurance and any liability) ready to take you anywhere for some serious action!

Equipment
No need to bring your own gear as there will equipment available to rent from Goya. However, due to limited supplies we recommend booking in advance to ensure you are fully covered. If you decide to bring your own equipment, then please inform us as we can advise on the best airlines to use.

Photography/video
All Oceansource clinics and camps include video coaching and photography.

Visa requirements
A visa is not required by UK citizens for tourist stays of up to three months.

For more details on costs, dates and how to get in touch head to – Oceansource.net

For more on Robby Swift check – robbyswift.com

Oceansource Chile

Travel specialist Oceansource brings you another new frontier in what promises to be a sought after destination for many years to come. Matanzas and Chile will load your senses with a cocktail of breathtaking scenery and action sports to suit the intrepid traveller. Extend your Chile holiday by adding unique experiences including the Atacama Desert, the breathtaking Chile Lake District or magical Easter Islands all available as ABTA / ATOL protected flight-inclusive packages.

A land stretching 4,500 kilometres from deserts to glaciers and only 250 kilometres wide, this is diversity to the extreme – where else can you ski in the mornings and go windsurfing that same day?

From the beginning of spring until autumn, it is frequent for the wind (Surazo) to start blowing strongly around mid-day to offer ideal conditions for windsurf and kitesurf. Matanzas has the strongest and most consistent conditions for the practice of these sports in spots such as the world class wave of ‘Roca Cuadrada’. In Pichilemu, you will find the longest wave in Latin America for Windsurf and Kitesurf: ‘La Puntilla’.

To celebrate the launch of this exciting destination, Oceansource are running a double-pro adventure camp hosted by PWA pros Klaas Voget (G4) and Phil Horrocks (K303). Cruise around in 4×4 vehicles to the best spots in the Matanzas/Santiago area whilst being based at the ‘uber-chic’ Surazo boutique hotel. 27 November to 4 December 2011.

Full details: www.oceansource.net

To book: Call +44 (0)1243 374615 or email bookings@oceansource.net

BOARDS 261

Covershot: John Skye breaks his Jaws virginity, by Nayra Alonso

features

IN FOCUS

Time to set aside the pâté aux poires and get stuck into a good old Cornish pasty with some Brit grit photography from Matthew Burridge

HO’OKIPA HIGH JUMP

How high can they go? Give a bunch of pro windsurfers on Maui a state-of-the-art multi-dimensional GPS and the sky’s the limit

MINI TEST

Time to consult the Tricktionary as RRD’s Twin Tip 100 comes under the test team’s scrutiny

GIRLS ON TOUR – BRYONY SHAW

With 2012 fast approaching we put our raving reporter on a bus to Weymouth to catch up with the UK’s very own Olympic Bronze Medallist

BURNING RUBBER

Our essential guide to sartorial sailing excellence for summer – with a little help from the world’s top windsurfers

TESTED – 115L FAST FREERIDES

The test team twist the throttle to the stop on nine blasters to speed you through the summer months and beyond

Being a Wavesailing Amateur

Like the idea of entering an event but have some niggling worries? Damian De Backer suavely assails and dispenses with a few myths

CLASH OF THE TITANS!

Veteran buoy dodger Fred Willis reports from the British Slalom Association season opener at Tenby

CHILE – POWER OF NATURE

Robby Swift reports from the epicentre of the world’s fifth largest earthquake in recorded history

regulars

STARTLINE

NEWS

Mullen it Over

SkyeChat

SB WINDWISE

HOME GROUND

WANNABE A WAVESAILOR

READERS’ PIX

NEXT ISSUE

OVER & OUT

The last two days have been probably the most frightening of my entire life.  The violence of the initial earthquake was quite unbelievable, they say it was the 5th most violent on record, and it was quite astounding. I was in bed asleep when the house started creaking. Then the whole place started shaking and bouncing Heidy and I around on our bed as we clung to each other. The heavy bed that was hard to lift with three people was thrown around the room like rag dolls for about a minute and it seemed as if the whole house would fall down.  We could hear glass smashing as every window and glass wall in the place fell down and once the shaking had stopped, we ran outside only to see all the water emptying out of the bay below and then rushing back in to destroy the village.

Thankfully, we hear that all of the people in the village of Matanzas were able to run to high ground before the tsunami came, and they escaped with only minor injuries. The buildings and roads however were another story. Cars had been picked up and deposited 500m up the river, and others had been sucked into the sea. The hotel Surazo has been completely destroyed and many houses have slipped down the cliffs and been crumbled into rubble.

There was a very touching moment when everyone gathered together on the high ground, lighting fires and comforting each other but the true devastation wasn’t seen until the morning and it is obvious that it is going to be a long time until things are back to normal. There is no electricity and no water in the village, or anywhere near. Many of the roads and bridges connecting it to supplies from Santiago have been destroyed and hundreds of electricity pylons have been crushed by landslides or torn down by the force of the earthquake.

We made it to Santiago and are buying water, petrol, food, tools and generators to go back to try to help as much as we can.

It is heart-wrenching to hear the reports on the news here. Humble people who would never ask for anything normally are driven to tears asking for help simply to be able to regain a way to work and provide food and shelter for their families.

The people in the village have lost everything. It is the same story all over southern Chile, and I am sure that there will be a big international drive for aid, but we thought that we should try to do something to help the people we see affected with our own eyes, so we have set up a charity to try to raise money for the town of Matanzas in an attempt to try to help them rebuild the humble way of life that they had two days ago.

[My  brother] David has set up the charity to ask for donations which will be used to help rebuild the village and the people there will be immensely grateful for any donation, no matter how small. Matanzas is a well known windsurfing town and while the whole country needs our help, we thought it only right to try to help, in any way we can, the lives of the people we live beside and who provide such a kind welcoming place for people from all over the world to come and enjoy the windsurfing, surfing and kitesurfing conditions.

Anyone who has been to Matanzas will tell you that it is one of the friendliest places in the world. The people will go out of their way to help you to enjoy your holiday, so if we can help in any way, it will be a great way to say thank you and to hopefully enable them to eventually enjoy life as they did before this catastrophe.

The link to the charity is as follows. Thank you in advance for your support.

www.justgiving.com/ChileEarthquakeResponse