Yum Yum

We finally got some of the wind Dahab is famous for today. I was fully powered to overpowered on 5.3, Nina switched from 4.2 down to 3.7. We sailed for a bit more than 3 hours; the wind stuck around for most of the afternoon, but dropped from high 20s (mph) to around 20. I'll use my GPS tracks to explain the three windsurfing areas here:

The area on the top left is the lagoon. The wind towards the launch at the left is partly blocked by windsurf centers and hotels, and gusty. The main advantages of the lagoon are that it's close the the biggest windsurf center, Harry Nass, and that you can stand at the right end.

The area in the middle is "Speedy", with a big reef on the right, a small reef on the left side, and about 800 m of relatively flat water in the middle. It gets flatter the closer you get to the shore, but there is a small reef behind the sandbar, so windsurfers tend to stay about 50 meters from shore. As you might guess from the tracks, I like this area a lot.

The third area is on the right side, past the reef. There's big swell there, about head to logo high today. The waves sometimes ramp up and topple over a bit, but don't really break. That spot was quite popular today. But if you have gear issues there, you drift downwind quickly, and you'll be virtually invisible between the swell. That why most centers suggest to go there with at least 3 windsurfers - one to stay with the windsurfer in trouble to "mark" him, and one to sail back to the center to get help. The Harry Nass centers actually hand out walkie-talkies so you can call for help if in trouble.

Windsurfing was a lot of fun today, but the highlight of the day was once again the evening. We first stopped at the funky Every Day Cafe for some excellent cake, and then had a beer at Churchill's bar. But the last stop topped it all: Yum Yum Falafel for the best falafel sandwiches I ever had. The cost of 4 sandwiches and two bottles of water? 28 LE, about $1.50. Ridiculously cheap, ridiculously good.