I'm from Vancouver, BC, Canada, the best place in the world for windsurfing if you have enough dedication. I started windsurfing many years ago on long boards at the local beach and had great fun doing that. I did that on and off for several years. In the fall of 2002 I bought my first short board, a Bic Vivace 282, and a couple of Hot Sails. The next sunny weekend I headed up to the fabled Squamish to try out the new gear. Arriving at the spit was all exciting, surrounded by tree covered mountains and shear rock faces on either side, the place was like no other. Seeing all these people flying around on the water in what I thought was an incredible amount of wind made my heart beat fast with a rush of adrenalin. After a couple tries rigging up, I finally managed to rig up the mid 90s sails on a one piece mast. Upon hitting the water I beach started as I wasn't able to waterstart. I headed out to the windline and when it hit I had the biggest rush of power. After going a hundred meters without planing I decided to turn around, so I dumped my rig and tried to waterstart for the first time. After struggling to get my rig flying I powered it up and was thrown straight over to the other side of the board. This wasn't going to work, so I seceded and tried to uphaul my rig. After several attempts I managed to get up. I pointed the board downwind on the way in and it happened. The board popped up onto a plane. I was flying, no better feeling in the world. Before I knew it, I was back at the Spit, albeit quite far downwind. I lugged my gear back to the rigging area and packed up. I was so worn out from that one run but it had made the difference. I was hooked. 

::elliot english - ripping the wall/columbia river gorge :: (c) thewindsurfer.com

You are living in the metropolitan area of Vancouver. Nearby Squamish River is one of your local playgrounds. What makes sailing there so special?

Locally, it's one of the few places that consistently gets high wind during the summer. It blows every sunny day up there. First thing in the morning it'll be calm maybe even a light outflow. Then on a good fully sunny day sometime between 10 and 12 a light southerly breeze will begin and within half an hour it'll be up to 15-25 knots and perfectly steady. If there's a marine layer covering Vancouver and Georgia Strait the wind can get up to 35 knots though this is pretty rare only happening a handful of times per season. Launching from the spit you sail in either the river on the south side of the spit with it's glass smooth water and cranking winds perfectly for practising your lay down gybes or other tricks. Otherwise, you can sail out into Howe Sound and cruise about sailing up to the rock face which is responsible for the accelerated wind in Squamish. It's a beautiful place to sail with grand scenery and cold glacial fed water coming down the river mixing with the salt water of the inlet. 

:: click to play - short video clip of elliot (~4 MB) :: (c) thewindsurfer.com

What other favorite playgrounds do you have?

Quite a few. My favorite time to sail in Vancouver is the winter because we are directly in the path for low pressures on the northern pacific during those months. It's the season of high winds, big swell, small sails, and small boards. The two main places we sail from are Centennial Beach in a southeasterly wind and Acadia Beach on a northwesterly. I've sailed over 2m waves at either place on the bigger days. The setup is onshore at both locations, though when the wind is nuking you can get huge airs.

What is your favorite aspect of sailing and why?

The whole feeling of windsurfing is what attracts me to it, the sense of speed and the feeling of flying over the surface of the water. I admit that I'm not really a freestyler, more what I like to do is go fast and hit steep ramps to go up. Currently I'm working on looping, both fronts and backs. 

:: ripping at tsawwassen ferry terminal / Vancouver :: (c) thewindsurfer.com

What boards and sails do you ride?

For boards I ride Roberts. They're a local shop based out of North Vancouver. Nothing I've sailed so far has the same slipperiness in the water and the limitless speed I get from them. I have two, a 70l bump and jump board for getting big air and a formula board. For sails I've got a few from Sailworks, Neil Pryde and Northwave. The Northwave is a 3.7 I picked up for free in the gorge. The Neil Pryde is my primary summertime sail, a 5.4 2003 Raf Jet. I've got a Sailworks Hucker 4.2 and Retro 6.5. The Hucker is my favorite with loads of power and no lack of guts. You feel every gust and just keep on accelerating.

Your latest magic moment on the water?

Today, I was sailing 4.2 fully lit at Centennial Beach. The waves were over 2m on the outside with the opposing tide. I hit one face about to break and headed up into the wind straight into a massive back loop. I slowly rotated until I landed on my back in the water start position. It was my first full backloop. What a great feeling.

About your life and your future?

It's only mid april and I've already had 37 days on the water, not much time for anything else. Currently, I'm a student at the University of British Columbia studying computer science. The plan is to get my masters and doctorate and take the research route so that I will have the freedom to windsurf as much as I can. 

thanks to Elliot for being ripper of the month !

please check out his cool website www.thewindsurfer.com !!

:: ripping boundary bay/Vancouver :: (c) David Clutton (C36)