23 days in Vass, a trip report

By overwhelming popular demand (thanks Bristol) here is my wall of text Vass trip report!

23 days in Vass, a trip report.

(Disclaimer: I'm a windsurfing noob and have nothing to compare things to.)
Why Vass?

Originally, I had wanted to go somewhere windy for 1-2 months to get over the beginner hump ( www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/General/What-is-the-quickest-way-to-progress/ ). My choices were:

1) Maui. Eliminated rather quickly - no clubs operating on the beach. (I believe there used to be one that did so illegally and was shut down over 10 years ago.) No good for a noob like me.
2) Dahab. I know the Sinai is not Cairo, but the Australian Government travel site said "do not travel", and that was the major reason not to go. Off-shore wind and reports of wind-shadow in front of the hotel did not help things either.
3) Bonaire. A real pain to fly to. Expensive. Need to rent a car. ka360 really pushed it as the ideal beginner destination. (And he was probably right).
4) Mauritius. Weird currents, the fact that it would be Winter there just like in OZ (short days, possibly chilly?), expensive to stay right on site... The fact that there is only one club operating made me weary too. (When an eatery has no competition in the area, they invariably serve crap).


tldr; So for these reasons, and for reasons I cannot even explain, I suddenly settled on Vass.

The "2 months" evaporated, as I finally landed a job just before I went.

The spot

The wind is thermal. The mountain on the North side of the bay gets heated during the day, and releases the heat as a gusty cross-shore wind from 2-4 pm until the sun goes down. It's pretty damn gusty. It felt strong close to shore. Really strong a little out and less so further out. There was a very experienced windsurfer from Perth who told me "this is hard sailing and Perth is better overall". Mornings are quiet and onshore. I was told by a couple of people there that Dahab's water at its windiest was flatter than Vass at its quietest. It was really choppy in the afternoon - I imbibed half of the water in the bay learning to waterstart, swimming around my board. Wearing one of these ( www.neilpryde.com/accessories/vests/vest.html ) certainly helped. Thank god I had the foresight to bring with me one of these as well ( www.surf-store.com/brands/np-hydration-backpack-2018/ ). It really helped to wash the brine out of my mouth. I used to drink almost all of 2 litres at the beginning, but hardly any towards the end. On a couple of days there was no afternoon wind at all. Someone told me that the recent construction on the side of the mountain was disturbing the wind generation, making it gustier than in years past.

Though it usually lasted till sundown, the wind could just as easily switch off a few hours before sundown. It happened to me on a couple of occasions. Once - just as I made it back to shore. Another time - 500 metres out. So I got a boat ride back (as did many others that day). Although you do get some forewarning as the wind weakens, it can be hard to tell since there can be so many lulls and it does drop off further away from the mountain.

There are like 5 windsurfing clubs operating in the bay (Club Vass, Neilson, Ocean Elements...) Club Vass is the furthest downwind from the mountain and borders the windsurfer "no-go zone" (where the yacht and scuba clubs start). So you have to walk upwind to launch when it's blowing in the afternoon. If they see you getting too far downwind of Club Vass, the rescue boat picks you up pretty quickly. I ended up using their services... a lot.
The launch area is rocky/pebbly. I got these babies ( www.kitepower.com.au/np-edge-reef-split-bootie.html ) because of the supposed superiority of split toes. But small pebbles getting stuck in the open toe split made me regret the purchase.

In the afternoons people launch closer to the mountain, but come back in further downwind and walk back up upwind. A conveyor of sorts. A huge number of windsurfers on the water at any one time.

I only saw a couple of kitesurfers there. As I was struggling with waterstarts, swimming around my board, bad thoughts were creeping in as I watched them waterstart and change directions with the greatest of ease. Usually they were strictly downwind. Once, however, a couple of them went upwind to into the midst of windsurfers. Man, one of them takes the space of a dozen windsurfers! They were promptly chased away by the rescue boats.

The water was beautiful - emerald, turquoise or azure depending on the time of day and distance from shore. But it could have been warmer. A young Italian girl who had just finished her Flying Fish course there and had been sailing in Bonaire all her life told me, that earlier that summer at Vass was the first time she ever wore a wetsuit, and yeah, Bonaire is warm as piss, flatter, windier, etc.. When I was there virtually everyone was wearing board shorts + rash shirt at most.

This particular sun-smartarse was kooking it up in full-length lycra and Indo surf-hat. My supply of sunscreen hardly used. I got reverse tan lines (now faint bands on my wrists and ankles). I only saw a couple people wearing spring suits. One told me it's because he hated to be even "a little bit cold". Hey, me too! Maybe because I was spending so much time in the water learning to waterstart, but I felt cold. After a week, I succumbed and got one of these ( http://westsurfing.com/wetsuit/ls-thermalite-2/ ). One size too big, but that's all they had. (There is a single shop where you can buy water apparel: helmets, harness lines, harnesses, gloves... But stock is rather limited.)

As the sun goes down it's pretty surreal to sail in the mountain's shadow.

Equipment

You must wear a harness or a PFD to hire. A few "Germans in Speedos" seemed to evade this rule from time to time. You hand in your card, they give you a UJ, and you pick up your equipment. The club staff are very helpful with getting the gear back when you come back on land. (Especially when you are the last person off the water.)

Boards: heaps of new or newish Fanatic and Starboard boards. A bunch of SUPs. Even a tandem board. Beginner boards with daggerboards were pretty dog-eared however. (Fanatic Viper (75,80,85)). What I've used: Vipers, Starboard WindSUP (the chop makes it resonate!), Starboard Shark 140 and 120, Starboard Carve 141.

Sails: Mostly Severne wave sails. A few Severne Freek freestyle sails, and a few freeride sails, but mostly wave sails. I don't think I used anything bigger than a 5. I don't think I saw anyone using anything bigger than a 6 (but maybe my memory is faulty).

Harnesses, NP PFDs, wetsuits: really haggard looking and in very limited quantities. Bring your own!

Other activities

Mountain biking, yoga, etc.. All the stuff you can do back home.

Getting there

Most people fly via charter flights into Preveza, which is a one hour drive away. A lot of Vass guests were from the UK, so it's a flight from Gatwick for them - easy. MrCranky likes pain, however, so no holiday packages for MrCranky. I flew to Athens, then a 30 minute taxi ride to the dusty bus terminal (you can get to it by bus in an hour), then a 5 hour 10 minute bus ride to Lefkada - the capital of Lefkada Island, then a 1 hour bus ride from Lefkada to Vassiliki. Apparently Olympiakos used to fly from Athens to Preveza before 2010, but the bus is now the only option.

The buses are airconditioned and comfortable, but the schedule is sparse, and you have to get to the bus station at least 30 minutes before departure to get a ticket. On weekends and public holidays you may even have to prebook. (Some sites mistakenly state that the Athens-Lefkada is 3 hours and 10 minutes. That is definitely a false. It's definitely 5h10m). If you have to take the earliest bus from Lefkada to Athens, then a taxi from Vassiliki to Lefkada is your only choice. Mine turned up late. The driver floored it, and we got there in 30 minutes.

Staying in Vass

The whole place is basically a bunch of hotels, so no problems there. (Beware, "Greek toilets" are the norm. But as the say, when in Rome do as the Romans... When in Greece, do as...). I stayed in the harbour, right next to where the ferries docked. About 15 minutes walk along the beach to the club. Food was OK. For a "fishing village", suspiciously all seafood was frozen (I guess an EU regulation to write that in the menu) and surprisingly tasteless. So I stuck to souvlaki. (I am not a fisherman, but the bay felt dead. All the fish must have been fished out years ago). The restaurant are pretty much all the same. If you like Lonsdale St Greek restaurant fare, you'll be fine (grilled this and that). The same 4 types of beer everywhere. Young emaciated cats begging for food. A small "Euro supermarket" not far from the club with most things you would need. It would have probably been better had I stayed right at the club, as I was totally buggered at the end of the day. (You can hire a scooter, but not a good idea to ride one when exhausted.) They had a lot of social things going on in the evenings, but I only had the energy to partake in the Friday night BBQ, because it was a huge feed. Anyway, you have to book well ahead to stay at the club hotel + it would have been more expensive.

Photos

I'm a crap photographer, and my phone camera is crap. The photos on Dave White's website (July 2013) tell it like it is.

Instruction

Beginners, Improvers, Intermediates (split between "low" and "high") and advanced run Mon-Fri.

Beginners

I had done a windsurfing course in Sandringham back in February (6 hours over 2 days). Honestly, I think I learnt more there than I did in the first week at Vass. It was basically an hour or 2 on the water a day and very leisurely paced. Steering (sail forward to turn downwind, sail back to turn into wind) taught on... day 3. I probably should have gone directly into the Improvers group. But decided to play it safe, because I hired a Viper 85 on the weekend preceding the course and found it very hard to stay up at all compared with the JP Funster 205 I had used at Sandringham (those things are like aircraft carriers honestly).

The people who were there just for the week were surprisingly... lazy. Most did not even bother to go out on the water outside of lesson hours. Those that were in the Improver groups or were there for 2 weeks were a bit more motivated. Me? I didn't spend 30 hours getting there to lie on the beach. I can get all the skin cancer I want back home... So I went pretty ape-****, trying to be on the water as much as possible. I learned to beach start on day 4 after about 100 billion attempts. I worked down the Viper 75 after 4 days, but honestly I felt like there was little point in going so small for morning light wind sessions .

The instructors themselves were very good sailors. In the afternoon they would showboat their mad freestyle skills in front of the club (it's all Vulcan to me). Apparently the speed giant Dave White was also there, but I was too busy learning to waterstart to notice.

Improvers

Taught the gybe, fast tack, beach start, wind-running. Helicopter tack. A couple of afternoon sessions. Introduction to the harness. Towards the end of the second week one of the instructors was fed up with me getting a Viper 75 and forced me to take a Shark 140. "Progress, bra!" ("did he just call me a piece of women's clothing?!")

Intermediates

Split into two groups. The Low and the High. I was in the Low Intermediate group. Many there were of the sort "I spent 2 weeks here 5 years ago, did nothing in between, and now I want to crack waterstarts and footstraps!".... OK... Mostly afternoon sessions. Went over non-planing gybes a bit more, as well as waterstarting. Also planing, footstrap use and how to adjust to the lulls and gusts (watch ahead an spot them - something I never managed to do). The instructors re-iterated that this isn't bootcamp ("It isn't?!"), if you don't feel like hitting the water, don't worry, relax on the beach. SHQ Tim's words burned in my mind. "4 weeks in Vass is like 3 years in Melbourne. Whatever you do, learn to waterstart! learn to waterstart! waterstart! waterstart!

"

I spent pretty much every moment I could on the water. I quickly realised that my afternoon sessions would be pretty short, if I don't learn to waterstart. Uphauling was exhausting in the strong wind and chop. In fact, sometimes it was almost impossible and simply got me further downwind. I would do a couple of runs out, but I would get exhausted from uphauling and spend the rest of the afternoon attempting waterstarts. So very little tack and gybe practice in strong winds. But plenty of catapults!

My feet were cut up during the first week and I never gave them enough time to properly heal, wrapping the wounds with electric tape to give them a chance to stay dry. I took 2 Saturdays off, because I was simply too knackered. During my first week, all muscles hurt and spasmed, especially my back and neck. After that, as I learned not to tense every possible muscle in the body, it was mainly my forearms, lower legs and general exhaustion. During my last week I stopped the morning sessions, because I thought I'd drop dead in the afternoon otherwise. My forearms and hands were absolute murder after the first week to the end (and beyond). I would actually wake up at night from the pain. I discovered Voltaren (I guess that officially makes me old. Watch the actors in the Voltaren TV ads). It helped... a little. At least I had no blisters (the gloves really worn out, however).

I got a bunch of windsurfing DVDs on my laptop, but I was too pooped to watch any of them. The only one I managed to watch was "ABCs of Waterstartng" by Dasher. It did help.

At the end of the second week something like two-feet-dragged-way-downwind waterstarts started happening closer to the beach. Out of sheer desperation I managed deep-water waterstarts on the first couple of tries, but that was beginner's luck. But the whole staged deliberate, one foot up, then head over, then the front foot, then let the sail out a little to avoid a turning into the wind... thing only started happening towards the end of the 3rd week, and only on the starboard tack. With 3 days to go I realised to my horror that I cannot even beach-start on port tack. But a miracle happened and I did zero uphauls in my last 2 days and waterstarted on both tacks after not too much swimming. I hardly drank any water from my camelback as well. My second last day was my best day. Maybe it was the board: Fanatic Gecko 135 - very wide and thin, but it was probably the somewhat weaker and more consistent wind on that particular day. I managed some long planing runs hooked in (but with only one foot in the straps). Planing is fun!

What I achieved

Waterstarts, rudimentary harness use, a bit of planing. Light wind gybing and tacking. The instructors emphasised that it's better to fall back than get catapulted, but I still could not commit my weight back and got catapulted far more than I fell back. I felt overpowered much of the time. So you waterstart... only to get catapulted after another 100 meters. Adjustng to the gusts and lulls was a huge problem.

What I should have done differently

Gone into the Improvers group from week 1
Tried a few more boards.
Tried SUPing.
Given how much I got catapulted, probably should have worn a helmet, as many there did. But the one I brought with me was too big. (One guy who was there for 2 weeks smacked his head on the mast and burst his ear drum on day 1 and was told to "stay out of water for 10 days".)

EDIT: html junk removed

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Mark _australia said...

MrCranky said..
[/b]What I should have done differently



Gone into the Improvers group from week 1Tried a few more boards.

Tried SUPing.

Given how much I got catapulted, probnaivelyably should have worn a helmet, as many there did. But the one I brought with me was too big. (One guy who was there for 2 weeks smacked his head on the mast and burst his ear drum on day 1 and was told to "stay out of water for 10 days".)

Gone to WA for a month in January at half the price and less gusty unpredictable wind...?

Probably.

BTW, I still think the place was great. The unpredictable gusty wind was kind of fun. And if you have kids it's a great place. 2 of my instructors were 19 year old nationally ranked freestylers who had started there at the kids club... It's great if you live in Europe I guess.

Great review.Thanks for making the effort.

Great write up, really enjoyed it. Any chance for a link to the photos? Had a quick look but could not locate...

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MrCranky said..
By overwhelming popular demand (thanks Bristol) here is my wall of text Vass trip report!

Thanks for making the big effort to post, Mr Cranky. You don't sound cranky at all. It's always interesting to read other peoples' experiences in places such as this.

I had a days' sailing at Vass in September, 2010. We were island hopping down the Ionian group; Corfu to Paxi to Lefkada to Cephalonia, before heading inland to places of historical significance including Meteora and Delphi. The Cephalonia ferry left from Vassiliki; we had no choice but to go there - well, that's what I told Mrs. Bristol anyway. Ultimately, ended this trip with 2 weeks in Dahab (I posted about that experience some time ago).

Coming into Vassiliki by bus made me wonder if in fact this was a windsurfing mecca; no sandy beach, just a u-shaped harbour with a rocky foreshore and pristene water. Plenty of waterfront eateries, and lots of quaint Greek charm. Despite being late in their season (Club Vass shuts down early September, I think), I was lucky to score a day with reasonable (6 sq. metre) off-shore wind and no crowd. Sailing in off-shore conditions is something I would not normally do, but they assured me that if I got into trouble, they would come and rescue their gear, at least.

Vass was an interesting place to visit and sail. As to whether I would go back there for a dedicated windsurfing holiday, vs. going to Dahab or Bonaire or Alacati (Turkey) or elsewhere, I am not sure.

Thanks again for posting.

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Bristol said..

I had a days' sailing at Vass in September, 2010. We were island hopping down the Ionian group; Corfu to Paxi to Lefkada to Cephalonia, before heading inland to places of historical significance including Meteora and Delphi. The Cephalonia ferry left from Vassiliki; we had no choice but to go there - well, that's what I told Mrs. Bristol anyway. Ultimately, ended this trip with 2 weeks in Dahab (I posted about that experience some time ago).

Getting around Greece is part of the charm I guess. The 5 hour bus ride on winding mountain roads with views of the sea was pretty scenic. It feels like no place in Greece is more than 10 km from the water.

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Bristol said..
Coming into Vassiliki by bus made me wonder if in fact this was a windsurfing mecca; no sandy beach, just a u-shaped harbour with a rocky foreshore and pristene water. Plenty of waterfront eateries, and lots of quaint Greek charm. Despite being late in their season (Club Vass shuts down early September, I think), I was lucky to score a day with reasonable (6 sq. metre) off-shore wind and no crowd. Sailing in off-shore conditions is something I would not normally do, but they assured me that if I got into trouble, they would come and rescue their gear, at least.

Vass was an interesting place to visit and sail. As to whether I would go back there for a dedicated windsurfing holiday, vs. going to Dahab or Bonaire or Alacati (Turkey) or elsewhere, I am not sure.

Never experienced an off-shore while I was there. BTW, I heard that just a few weeks prior to my stay there, they had crazy strong winds starting from 9 am to sunset. Anyway, next time it'll probably be one of Maui, Mauritius or Bonaire.

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John340 said..

Fantastic commitment. Have you built in this base once you got back home?

I've been dragging my feet a bit (and they took an unusually long time to heal since then as well. I fear they'll never be their old lily white selves ever again).

I hate, I hate the cold, and I didn't realise how cold Melbourne was until I came back. (Vass: 20 at night, 33 during the day, and not a drop of rain the whole time). I've been meaning to start "in the next couple of weeks" for the last 2.5 months. And as my luck would have it, it seems to have been quite windy every since I came back. The WA bloke I met there told me he had moved to Perth from Melbourne back in the 90s because Melbourne sucked. "It's only windy when it's a cold front coming through, but then it's rainy, cold and miserable. Almost everyone I know back home is kitesurfing now." ( A joke I was told by a British sailor there. "Q) What's the difference between a kitesurfing beginner and a master? A) About 2 weeks." He was lamenting the fact that he'd been sailing for 20 years, could carve gybe and duck gybe, but according to the Tricktionary he was only level 2 on a 7-level scale. Vulcan is level 3, BTW.)

Anyway, the main reason is that I need my transport and gear sorted out. I think I've settled on a car (kitesurfers have it so easy). Not sure about the gear.

The best board I used was a Fanatic Gecko 135, but since I've used one only once, maybe it was just the wind being less crazy on the day. I weigh around 75 kg. I was told to get a 120 L Fanatic Shark or similar when I get home. Anything bigger and I "would be bored". Maybe they have a point. Would I be able to uphaul one in light winds? Maybe go a bit bigger? Like a JP X-Cite Ride 135 or maybe a Magic Ride 132 (it seems more Gecko-like).

The long-term goal is wavesailing, so might as well have rigs toward that goal. Would wave sails be be OK (the only ones they had at Vass, and nobody complained)? Would freeride sails make any difference? The 120-140 L boards I used had 6-10 m2 sail recommended stamped on them? How is that even possible? I don't think I saw anyone on anything bigger than 6 in the afternoon? Or does that mean the boards are too big for such strong winds?

Mast, boom - carbon everything? What length?

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MrCranky said..

NotWal said..

That was a joy to read MrCranky. Thanks for that.

You are too kind. I just reread it and thought I sounded... cranky. Dunno, when I came back my parents told me I looked like sh!t. "You call that a holiday?! Holidays aren't meant to be a trial, you know!"

Ahh, they've got it wrong. Being at work is for the recovery period!

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MrCranky said..

NotWal said..

That was a joy to read MrCranky. Thanks for that.

You are too kind. I just reread it and thought I sounded... cranky. Dunno, when I came back my parents told me I looked like sh!t. "You call that a holiday?! Holidays aren't meant to be a trial, you know!"

Yes but learning to windsurf demands a bit of application and what you had to say took me back. I could identify with everything you said.

Thanks for the link to the photos.

When I was starting out I thought there was bugger all info for a beginner let alone travel. It was almost like there were no beginners in this sport. Not much info and very few if any beginners sailing around. If I wasn't hell bent on learning, would have easily switched to something else.