Pozo day 1/2 and move to RRD sails


It’s not really going off here in Pozo at the moment, the wind is there (stacked on 4.5 yesterday afternoon) and all the pros are out still busting the usual tricks but off waves that are no more than two foot at best! Didn’t stop Koster, Campello and Fernandez busting out doubles and tweaked pushies all over the place!

It was a good intro to the place for me though but now keen to see it really go off!

If you didn’t catch my video up on boards and/or boardseeker, then here is the link:
http://video.mpora.com/watch/m25Na7jyH/

It’s a short video clip filmed and edited mainly by Josh Willmot at Whitstable on Kents ‘North Shore’.

Few more days left in Pozo before heading over to Sotavento…

More updates soon!

3…2…1…outta here


Off to the canaries tomorrow for 6 weeks. First stop Pozo for one week then we are staying in Costa Calma right by Sotavento. I’ve got a few hours to pack now, I’ll see if I can’t get some pics/a list of it all and get it up on here just before I leave tomorrow.

Did something completely different yesterday, my girlfriend took me to go-ape, some sort of high wires course thingy, which was awesome fun. Going down these massive 100m+ zip wires and throwing yourself off platforms into a free-fall and then into a cargo net! Think I’m making it sound a bit lame really but was really good fun, definitely recommend it for a day out/light wind day!

Anyway forecast for Pozo doesn’t look too bad, now bring on 3.7 port tack jumping….hahaha.. :s

Sunset sessions


So this week we have had wind basically everyday from the north east! I decided to venture north to Whitstable to sneak in some evening sessions as I heard it was going to be good at the Street.

It well and truly fired. Tuesday, I arrived about 6.00ish and met up with my friend Josh Wilmott who was as keen as I was to get some footage as the sun went down. We couldn’t have asked for better conditions, it was sunny, I was in my summer suit and rigged a 4.5! Josh and a few of the locals went out on 4.0’s and were planing happily. I got out for about 3 hours that evening, wasn’t home till 11pm!!

The next day it looked to be a tiny bit windier but all the same with the tides running that bit later. I got rigged (4.5 again) and out on the water by about 8ish and again there was an amazing sunset as the tide dropped and at about 9.15 the sky turned pinky-red and there was me and one kitesurfer out. I had about 45 minutes before the end of my session. It was absolutely awesome and we got some wikid pics and vid clips which I’ve almost finished putting together and will put out soon.

I did unfortunately finish the Wed session on a downer though as I put a nice deep slice in the bottom of my big toe running all the way across the crease, so here I am sitting with my toe curled and steri stripped up..since Wednesday, in the hope that it will be healed by the 28th (when I leave for the Canaries)!! I was wearing boots as well with about 8mm of rubber on the sole, just a clean slice straight through, from an oyster or something!

Anyway so much for no wind…

Wind!!


Having looked around the forums lately there are a lot of depressed and negative people at the moment… a lot of complaints about a lack of wind… Don’t really understand why, well maybe I do a little bit but there is still some about, I’ve got out pretty much every week even if it’s just for an hour.

Anyway good forecast ahead, even if it’s not 30-40 knots every day, still a good week ahead so hopefully see you all on the water instead of reading about complaints on the forums!! Bit drastic, talking about selling up all your kit and packing it in isn’t it? How about getting a new (bigger) sail or board and getting out more often than you ever would have? Anyway off windsurfing, see ya all on the water hopefully… ‘keep positive’

Update…


It’s been pretty light here in the UK so have been getting down to some hardcore work which isn’t all that bad. Despite the lack of wind I have actually managed to get out quite a bit, keeping the moves up but not really learning anything new. Anyway I’m off to Pozo and Fuerte for that in two weeks..
Something completely different, went out last night with my family to seen Keane at an open air concert in the middle of a forest. Despite not listening to his music that much it was actually really good fun and to top it off I got his plectrum which he threw into the crowd right at the end.
Watched a bit of the EFPT Vass event live yesterday and hoping to catch it today, what an awesome idea that is. Maybe I’ll go compete next year?!

BWA Ireland Amateur wave champion


Got back from Ireland a couple weeks ago and had an amusing trip… check the boards mag for a full write up on that by George and Muzza from team tushingham. In short, a lot of emptying eachothers vans, turning things upside down, putting wheelie bins in vans, playing golf, windsurfing, windsurfing, windsurfing, surfing, pub, pub, egging and prizes!

Yeh so I won the event,  I think it was a good call to go in the Amateurs although having previously competed in the pros as I got a lot of heats and more importantly I got to experience my first double elimination come back, finally beating Scotty McDowell twice.

Check pic below taken by Mike Archer, one of the bigger waves of the week…

1st UKWA Freestyle Round 1, Poole!


So the event had about 15 knots maximum of wind and that was for about 2 minutes once we had all packed up and finished for the weekend… either way it was good to catch up with people and see how things are going to be for the up coming year.

So Saturday we did a bit of professional mincing which was pretty ideal after sending it hard the night before, then we sacked it in and did some turfdogging for a while, shredding up the concrete down at sandbanks! Then crashed at Al and Nick Bentley’s place, had a goooooood meal and a late start the next morning thanks to a few bottles of wine! Got down to the beach to some light winds on Sunday but we gave it a shot and they ran some heats. Al and I were drawing after the first two heats so it was down to the final round, somehow I managed to get planning a couple of times and put in a semi e-slider…if you can call it that…. and a radical duck tack, then a few geckos, upwind 360’s and clew first upwind 360’s later and I managed to nab it! Unfortunately Sam Neal got stuck in a bit of a tacking trance and came consistently third, good consistency though.
Anyway a fun weekend and still really enjoy going to events even when there is no wind, always something to do. Thanks to Trevor Funnel and the team for organising it all and Duncan and Hugo for judging.
Wales next weekend, then Ireland! Hopefully get some pics for then and maybe some video if I can get a new camcorder in time (left my other one in Funny Mummy’s Restaurant in Dahab…)!

Pimp my ride anyone….



So just before I went away I got my van wrapped in a Matt black vinyl, its a very quick way of getting your van colour changed and cheaper than anything else, unless of course you spray it yourself. Anyway at first I was pretty unsure when I first saw it, but then it only took a day or so for it to sink in and I reckon anything beats a white van, although I guess I no longer have an excuse for driving like a absolute pen15!!

Anyway I took them less than a day to do and cost a good part under a grand. If anyone is thinking about getting it done though, book your van/car in for the sunniest hottest day you can, as the vinyl shrinks when it gets hot, causing it to grip tighter to the panels, but it does pull the edges in. It’s not been too much of a problem except for one corner which has pulled itself in to show some of the white underneath.

Got a few extra bits for the outside coming, but one thing it seriously needs is some alloys… any ideas/donations…

El Tur 2010


Been in Egypt for something like a month now, had some massively windy days and not many days of now windsurfing, we made a tactical trip to Dahab for a few days a week ago which paid off with some nice 5.2 conditions! Then a couple days off just after I sliced my toe open on my footstrap screw which exploded out as I landed a burner dead flat…always favourite!

Had a brilliant time so far with my girlfriend being out here for two weeks for the last two weeks, but she has left just now! Two weeks of intense practice now and then home for a bit before heading out to Fuerteventura!
All in all having a good time and learning some new moves, watch out for vid soon!



Xpression – DVD Trailer and news!


So here is a link to the first Xpression DVD, named the imaginative Project ONE…(leaving it open a bit for possible future plans) and this is an Xpressions

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE TRAILER

It’s nothing to rave about, none of this four dimensions malarky but it is a lot of good moves by a lot of good sailors who you may hear about in the mags and online and not really get to see very much. A few of these vids have gone up online already but this is a collaboration of all the UK Freestyle windsurfers on one disc, in one place and some bonus footage, including unseen rider videos, move clips and a short movie dedicated to the UK freestylers who trained hard in Brazil this winter.

This is just the trailer…the DVD is available as of Friday 19th March. So to pre-order please get in touch with myself or willy@freestylexpression.co.uk

The final cost is £6.75 for the DVD all proceeds go to covering costs of the manufacturing of the DVD and   if there are any profits then these will be put into the running of the freestylexpression.co.uk site and their meet ups!

Enjoy…