It’s just a couple of weeks away! But if you think there’s a chance you might not make THE BIGGEST WATERSPORTS FESTIVAL OF THE YEAR, we don’t want you to feel that you can’t cut it with the IT crowd, so here is the essential guide to bluffing your way round the coffee machine on the Monday morning after!

OK, you may not be an Olympic standard watersports person, but that is what the NWF is about. There are plenty of competitions on the National circuit, but the NWF aims to give kids, seniors, novices, people with antique kit – in fact EVERYONE – a chance to have a go at fun competition in the most uncomplicated format – with oodles of prizes. There is also the chance to boast around the coffee machine that you were racing alongside some of the greats of the sports! Everyone who is anyone in SUP, Kitesurfing, Windsurfing and Kayaking comes to the NWF and all of these top professionals offer free coaching sessions and advice through the weekend. So, if you want to enhance your bluffing rights further, you can pretend that you spent the weekend rubbing shoulders and being coached by Olympians, former Olympians, World Champions, World Record Holders and the leading professional coaches.

You may never have tried watersports, but have always wanted to give it a go. There are taster sessions available in all of the featured sports, so if you don’t want to big it up too much and play the ‘beating the Olympic Champion in a race’ card, you can always say that you had a go at wobbling around on a watercraft of your choice at the spiritual home of windsurfing. (Windsurfing was invented in Hayling Island by Peter Chilvers, who is always at the NWF, so you could always up the game slightly by saying that you met a global phenomenon.)

If you want to cut the mustard as a bluffer, I would check out the top manufacturers’ websites to make sure that you are as up to date as possible with all the latest, brand-new 2016 kit. This is because anyone who did actually go to the NWF will have had the opportunity to see all the latest toys in the flesh, chat with the designers, manufacturers and team riders, as well as actually trying the kit out on the water, so you don’t want to get caught out here.

Of course the NWF beach parties on Friday and Saturday nights are legendary, so you need to know all about those. This year, NWF favourites The Heathrow Jets will be back to provide live music, along with Andy Lewis’s Perfect Blue, with Mods and Rockers as the fancy dress theme on Saturday night. The floodlit night events are also an NWF stalwart, with night races and tow-in freestyle windsurfing, which in previous years has included jaw-dropping demonstrations from the likes of 5 x World Champion, Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo.

But the NWF is not one to rest on its laurels, so as a bluffer, neither can you. This year there are several new and exciting events that you need to know about, such as the SUP Polo tournament, the Chimet Challenge (a race around the Chimet Tower for the pros, with two x 6 mile legs) and the XL challenge, featuring a fleet of the largest SUP’s – with 8 people on each board, the aim is to finish the race with all your team mates still on the board!

As with any big festival there are food stalls, pop-up shops and attractions for visitors, plus, of course, the whole stretch of beach and the fabulous Inn on the Beach for optimum viewing and festival chilling! It is completely free to spectate**, although if you purchase a ticket for the NWF, pretty much everything is included; race entry, parties and even camping for the whole weekend!

So there you have it, you are now completely briefed to bluff it that you came to the biggest and friendliest watersports festival in Britain.

Although, there is always something unexpected that happens at the NWF. The best way to have a great deal of fun and do yourself a big bluffing favour is to come along and experience it for yourself…!

Jackie Lambert

*Watersports for Cancer Research

**Parking charges do apply on the beach at Hayling Island