NEW FIRSTS FOR MAX ROWE

The National Windsurfing Festival is still the UK's biggest windsurfing event to date and this year saw some 400 competitors fend off the rain take to the water and make the most out of the 15-25 knotts of wind. Due to Rowe's commitments with Club Vass, which takes him all over the world to places such as Egypt, Greece and Venezuela, 2011 was the first time he's been able to attended the event. 

Max’s weekend achievements included a 1^st in the Night Tow in session and a 2^nd in the Freestyle event.

K66:  It was the first time you'd been to the National Windsurfing Festival, have you been to an event of this size
          before and how was your first experience of it?

MR:   I haven't been to a windsurfing event of this size in England since they used to run the indoor in London.
          It (NWF) was an amazing event and great to see so many sails out on the water.

K66:  The night 'Tow in session' can be quite daunting, have you ever raced in the dark before? 

MR:   I've done a the tow in a few times but never in the dark!

K66:  Was it a little bit scary at times or were you pretty relaxed about it?

MR:   I was actually quite relaxed about it because when we had a practise run at lunch time it was high tide and
          extremely choppy making it really difficult, but by the time it got dark the tide had started to drop and was
          really flat which makes life easier.

K66:  You got a first in the 'Night Tow In' and a second in the 'Freestyle', how did that make you feel? Did you
           celebrate in true NWF style at the saturday night party or did you want to keep you focussed for the
           next day's racing?

MR:   I was really stoked to get a first in the 'Tow In', especially as there was tough competition and also with
          Brawzinho being there. I would say that I celebrated at the party as I knew the Freestyle wouldn't start
          until the afternoon, so I had plenty of time to get focussed. I was happy to take second in that race.

The following weekend, Rowe was back on the water at Poole’s Windfest. For what the event has lacked in recent years in terms of wind, the weekend certainly makes up for it on the Saturday night with the infamous Windfest party. Known for its eccentric dress code and ‘party’ antics, getting the right weather conditions for the event was the only thing needed for a perfect weekend. 

Luckily, this year, the wind made an appearance and a pretty good one at that. With 20 to 25 knotts of wind throughout the weekend, it certainly made for good competition conditions. In this competition, Rowe certainly didn’t disappoint, taking a win on the first round and two seconds on the following rounds, insured an over all event win.

K66:  And onto Windfest, congratulations on your first ever event win, you must be really proud.

MR:   I'm really happy to have got my first ever event win! It means a lot to me as I've been working really
          hard to get to this level over the last few years. It was great to win Windfest because I had attended
          the event before I started competing and always remember Bubble winning back then, so it was an
          amazing feeling. 

K66:  The sailing conditions where you usually windsurf can be quite different from those here in England,
          did you manage to practise much here before the event?

MR:   I think I had possibly the best practise week in the UK could offer, I got out on the water every day.
          So I felt fully dialed into the conditions by the time the event came around.

K66:  After your really positive outcomes at the last two events will you be coming back next year to compete?

MR:   As long as everything goes to plan, I'd love to come back next year. It's been a great reminder that 
          Windsurfing is still a big sport in the UK. Hopefully some more event organisers will take take note of 
          what Allan Cross from the NWF has achieved. 

To follow Max's progress and catch up on what he's been up to, go to Max's Blogspot.