Exact Location: RHODES GREECE. Ialysos in the north of the island near Rhodes town 

Duration: One week

Purpose: Running an intermediate windsurf clinic

Companions: 10 intrepid applicants from as far afield as Estonia, New Zealand,  England and Scotland.

Kit taken: Kode 103 plus 6.2 Storm and 5.7 Rock

About the place: The north coast of Rhodes is strangely unpopulated by UK windsurfers who tend to flock to Prasonisi in the south.  But it’s a real gem of a coastline with a great wind record and, with a lot more going on for families and non-windy partners.
I counted 5 centres between Ialysos and the town of Rhodes, all of them flourishing.
We based ourselves at the Blue Horizon hotel which is clean, classy and friendly and is right next to the PRO CENTRE, which is run with Swiss efficiency. 

Conditions: My chubby chum Dave White, who did many dealer trips to Ialysos, described the conditions as ‘Clacton with bluer water and a lot more sun!”  He wasn’t actually being rude (he LOVES Clacton) but was just describing classic sideshore bump and jump conditions -  wind from the left typically around 20 knots with lovely swells and jumping ramps.
It was one of those civilised winds that didn’t get up too early, let you have breakfast in peace and then built gradually from 9 am onwards. And then dropped  in the early evening to allow you to drink your first beer without getting froth in your face.

So what happened: It’s joyful teaching on the mirror flat waters of  Dahab or Vass because people appear to  make such progress; but when they return to the brutal chop of their home waters, they find they haven’t improved as much as they thought! Sailing here really prepared them for real sailing. Conditions weren’t dangerous but made you up your game.
John Hodgson said it gave him  just the kind of practise he was after as  conditions were much the same as him home waters of Auckland. Learning to sail and gybe in chop is as much about tactics as technique. Where so many people improved was in choosing exactly where to gybe or tack and learning to use the waves and seeing them as friend rather than foe.

Susie Gambol joined us from Scotland barely able to waterstart and just beginning to use the straps. By the end she was waterstarting AND using both straps fully on the plane. But the moral of the story was that when she got back she was fully prepared to handle the waters off Tiree. 

Tips and advice: I’ve got very little negative to say about the place. It’s an easy journey – 4 hour flight and just a 10 minute transfer – and that laid-back Greek atmosphere.
IN Rhodes town avoid the town centre cafes where we paid €20 for 4 fruit juices. There’s a host of excellent eateries if you seek the side streets.

I mentioned the PRO CENTRE is run with Swiss efficiency to the point where our group found themselves being chastised for a variety of heinous crimes (like getting their  sails before putting their suits on etc.) To begin with it riled with the laid-back Brit attitude to holidays until a few days later where they realised that thanks to the rules, the kit was immaculate and there was plenty of it whenever you needed it. Perhaps a degree of ‘anality’ bears dividends!

I’ll almost certainly be returning to Ialysos in June 2013
Keep an eye on www.peter-hart.com for details.