I launch in front of my house in Nova Scotia, Canada. I have a routine that I have done for 25 years: finish a session, bring the board up, then the sail. The board and foil stay close to the water, the sail comes up some stairs. On May 29 I finished a session and for some strange reason brought the sail up first and left the board on the beach. It was low tide so easy to leave it. The next morning I rigged up and then realized there was no board (fanatic stingray, Sabfoil) - I left it on the beach and it floated away. I am on a bay about 9kms by 6kms with lots of coves and islands. The board could be anywhere and maybe out the bay and heading to England. I drove around the neighborhood but did not see it on the shore. I called the Coast Guard; they said try the local marina. I called the marina and they said a woman had found a windsurf board. I called her and she said she had it. I googled her address - her shoreline was all rock, no beach. Our shore is almost all rock - granite boulders left over from the ice age. I figured that the board would be in bad shape and the foil probably destroyed. The woman was was about a 2km drive from me. She saw the board float in about 10am. That meant it had been in the water for about 12 hrs. The board was in perfect shape - only a few scratches. The foil never touched the water. It floated the whole time foil up. Fortunately when it floated in the tide was going down so it just stayed on the rocks. A stupid mistake but in the end no harm done (other than a few hours of extreme stress).

Great story - appreciate that you took the time to share it. What were the odds? I wouldn't have bet on that outcome.

Was up in your neighborhood about 18 months ago cycling and found this sign on a mountain pass - not where I'd have expected a sign advertising windsurfing . I'd pulled over after a long climb in the rain to wait for the rest of the group and spotted it

Awalkspoiled said..
I had a very similar experience three years ago. Just flat forgot my board on the beach after carrying everything else, including the foil up stairs of the 20m bank below our house on Cape Cod. We have a 4 meter tide in Eastham. The water disappears for half a kilometer before returning. I panicked in the morning to see that the board wasn't with the rest of my gear, then looked down to the beach and there it was, no more than 25m from where I'd left it. The tide had taken it and brought it right back! A few dings from the rocks which line the bank but no core-shots. Amazing.

Yes that is very similar to my story. It must have been a very low wind night.