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MARC PARÉ:  WINDSURFING DILEMMAS

The Epic, the Awkward, and the Hilarious…

Life is full of tough decisions, but nothing compares to the drama in a windsurfer’s life. Have you ever promised your partner a candlelit dinner, but then the forecast for gale-force winds at the weekend scream your name? Or you have missed filming your partners best ever move while you were busy scrolling through Instagram! Do you take the moral high ground with these dilemmas or do you tell a tiny white lie? Tough decision right!

Fear not! Marc Paré is here to help navigate these stormy seas of moral quandaries and awkward moments. Grab your notebook to take some notes, while we dive into some of the most relatable situations every windsurfer has faced…or pretends they haven’t!

Photos: Carter/pwaworldtour.com and Benoît Légier.

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Epic Forecast…

The weekend is fast approaching and the swell is supposed to be pumping with side offshore winds at your local! But you have promised to go for a romantic meal with your girlfriend far away from the epic conditions! Do you go for the meal and sit there miserably looking outside at the trees waving in the wind or come clean and tell her you would rather be windsurfing and hope she doesn’t throw her soup in your face.

Marc Paré

“I am definitely not missing out on an epic day of windsurfing to go on a romantic meal, no chance! Being a surfer herself, I think my partner would most likely understand and even make use of the waves coming with that forecast to enjoy some water time herself! Windsurfing for the win!”

Missing the Moment

Imagine you’re filming your partner’s best session ever, and suddenly, she lands her first forward loop. The scream of victory rings out across the water. But at that very moment, you’re scrolling through Instagram, completely missing the action. Do you pretend you nailed the shot, but blame a “corrupt memory card” later, or come clean and admit you were checking Alice Arutkin’s latest post?

Marc Paré

“I would definitely blame it on that corrupt memory card, otherwise it could be a murder scene ha ha. But I have to admit that, in reality, I am the one who get angry, if my girlfriend misses any footage or clips of me… It’s that windsurfer ego kicking in. It is a top priority for my girlfriend not too miss any moves and action when she is filming…she know that!

 

Change Mix-Up 

You’re heading to the beach and stop by the store to pick up some après sailing snacks. You hand over a crisp 20 note, and when you check your change, the shopkeeper has mistakenly given you the change for a 50. Do you keep quiet and walk away with some extra beer money for later, hoping karma doesn’t catch up with you, or do you give back the cash back and head to the beach with a clear conscience?

Marc Paré

“Good question… I don’t think I could keep a clear conscience, so I think I would give it back. I don’t want Karma to kick me in the ass afterwards!”

 

The Pub vs. Family Dinner 

It’s 4:30 PM, you’ve just had one of the best wave-sailing sessions of the season, but you promised your partner you’d be home for dinner with the in-laws at 5. The lads are heading to the pub for post-session beers. Do you fake a flat battery excuse and head to the pub for more banter, or take the hit and endure an evening of polite smiles and overcooked vegetables, while everyone else is at the pub laughing at your absence?

Marc Paré

“That sounds like a familiar situation which I experienced recently. Unfortunately, that one time I just had no way around it (even though I tried) so I had to go for the meal! Maybe I just need to work a bit more on my excuse book for the next time!”

 

Competition Quandary 

Your mate just finished a heat at the local windsurfing championships and insists he crushed it. But you know one of the other competitors was tearing it up and stole the show with a killer wave 360 in the last seconds. Do you hype up your mate’s performance, blaming it on “corrupt judges” later, or do you tell him the truth and let him know he got schooled?

Marc Paré

“I think I’d tell him the truth but in the smoothest way possible. Being a competitor myself I know how it feels when you lose a heat. It is important to analyse objectively what happened to learn from it and move forward! Everyone can have an awful heat or an amazing heat and still get beaten, so you gotta embrace both whenever it happens, as annoying as it is!

 

Wave Snake!

You’ve had a rough day on the water, but suddenly a perfect set comes in. Only problem: a local kook is deep down the line and it’s obvious the wave is his. Do you let him have it, cheering him on as he totally wastes the best set of the day, or do you pretend not to see him, steal the wave, and make a show of shredding it, sending your spray in his face?

Marc Paré

“Tough one… In normal circumstances I’d feel too bad about taking someone’s wave, so I wouldn’t do it. But… if I’ve had a horrible session and I’m just fuming, there’s definitely the chance that I would lose my head and it could happen ha ha. I just hope if that was the case, the person would appreciate the riding and wouldn’t get upset. But, like always…don’t do what you don’t want to happen to yourself!

 

Mast Track Mishap

You move your mate’s mast track to the front of the board as a joke. Sure enough, on his first wave, he goes over the handlebars and totally destroys his sail. Do you own up to the prank and help pay for the repair, or do you let him think it was just bad luck?

Marc Paré

“If that was to happen, I’d feel completely awful ha ha. I would most likely offer to help if he went over the handlebars because of the base being in the wrong spot. I’ve had someone tamper with my rig as a joke before and it got me really upset. With that, I learnt to always double check your rig before going out….and to not trust anyone! Ha ha!”

 

You Missed it!

“You just scored an all-time epic session for the last hour but then all of a sudden the wind dropped to zero and swung onshore….at that precise moment another local rocks up and asks you how it was?…Do you rub it in his face and tell him it was all time and he missed it completely (as he would most likely do to you) Or would you be the nice guy and tell him it was garbage when you arrived and he did not miss anything!

Marc Paré

“I would 100% tell him how epic it was and probably explain a couple of the amazing waves I just rode! It’s the classic situation, whenever you rock up at a spot and there was someone already sailing, it’s always epic before you show up!”

SIMMER STYLE

O’SHEA

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