9 Year Project. Puravida Custom.

Back in the day of single finned boards, I remember regularly ploughing my way through a perfect line up knee deep on a 74 litre wave board waiting for the looming clean up set on the horizon to engulf me. I also remember discussing my predicament with a young Jim Brookes who was fresh back from a spell learning his trade amongst the likes of Witchcraft out in fuerteventura. We were both of similar build so faced similar issues with having enough float to get out back yet still have a board perform on the faster waves that we get in our neck of the woods. There were literally no boards that were combining floatation with performance at the time.

Roll on 9 years and between us we have sailed, measured and discussed the vast majority of larger production wave boards out there. Ill admit I couldn't tell you what works for what design wise, just what i like from a design. Jim however analysed and absorbed it all and set about building prototypes that have finally evolved into the Puravida Rockstar 90 I got to sail in typically fun, gusty, cross off, head to logo Newgale a few weeks back.

It's clear to see that the Rockstar 90 has had a craftsman's hand put to it. The finish is immaculate. Jims own CAD system dictates to the CNC machinery forming crisp clinical lines. Rocker,  outline and bottom shape all flow like I'd pictured. Custom paint job, custom straps, sanded back to carbon hull, pre offset front fins and a dragon to fly the homelands flag to complete the visual decadence. 

A 9 year project in the making. All the background work that's gone in, late nights talking ideas in the pub, many a swapped email. 

The anticipation for water time with the board was immense. I could see Jim picking off some beltas on it so was keen to get a few for myself.

Picking up the wind line outside the break first thing that struck me is that its unbelievably fast for a waveboard. Like a rocket about the break, electric under foot. Very direct in feel. A fact that unnerved me a little, in my experience few boards combine speed and the ability to turn hard off the rail. It's a difficult marriage.The Rockstar combines the two attributes seamlessly.

Pulling into the first wave I took the first turn to feel my feet. Its quite clear that its the type of board that excels in good conditions, a board for sailing good waves with cross shore winds. A light foot isn't the right key for unlocking the drive this board can deliver. I pushed it down the line and it returned all I could give it. Fast hooking turns. The type of board that generates its own speed on the wave. It handles speed effortlessly and turns as a 75 litre board would. It would be easy to forget your riding a 90 litre machine. To me that poses the question whether i would even need a smaller board.

As I hiked back up wind a smile was thick across my face. To see an idea evolve and grow into something that not only works but excels in every way is pretty special. Puravida Custom Boards have grown into the promise they always offered with this board. 

Hats off. Top job.

3 Before Lunch.

3 Before Lunch..

Id of preferred '112 Allday' but my battery died after the first 3 so '3 Before Lunch' it is.

12 Months Deep.. 2012..

Late in 2011 i thought id have a crack at documenting all the Windsurfing and Surf that me and the rest of the Southwest Wales crew were getting done. A year in and 15 or so posts latter and im pretty happy with where its at. So cheers for taking the time to look through it.

The original plan was to keep track of sessions but i lost count by May.. So as a rough guess id say its up around 130 days sailing and 120 or so surfing. From those days i thought id choose some that have stuck in my mind as some form of end of year round up.

1. Mid Wales Reefs.. November..

This place went mental mid November. As good as wavesailing gets. Its a fickle beast but the 1 in 20 ratio i seem to get at this spot gets paid off ten fold when it works. As the crowd thinned out and the tide pulled back the waves got longer and longer till exhaustion was the only limiting factor.

2. Freshwater West.. All year...

I moved to the village next to this beach for one reason. The surf has been good all year but 3 days in October were probably the high light. This day and the days either side served up the best 3 days surf ive ever had. Light offshore 7 foot at 18 seconds and wall to wall sun.. It was the end to an incredible run of conditions.

Have that..

3. British Wave Tour.. 

The standard on the British Tour is crazy these days. Half the fleet are World Cup regulars so 12th overall for the first year in the Pro division is more than i was expecting. Wales, Ireland and Cornwall all offered up something different but the Ireland leg was a standout. 6 days from 6 in the water either surfing or on the windsurf. Love the place.

Alf getting the overall in Ams 2012.

Proffit flying high.

Ireland Surf.

Thanks to Stenna for the trip and tour around the ship.

4. Surfers Ear Op.. June..

Ive suffered with bad ears for the last 12 years. It got to a point where deafness was starting to be an issue so i finally got them drilled out before my wife killed me. 

5. Aquatic Allies.

A huge thanks to Jim and Tanya at Puravida Boardriders, Simmer, No Limitz Masts, K4 fins and Patagonia.

Stenna also deserve a huge pat on the back for supporting the Tour and for hooking me Alf and Captain Cox up.. Thanks..

A good year.. 

Ive got something a little different planned for the blog in 2013 so should be an interesting one i hope.

Good As It Gets...

4 points of interest....

1.. You know its good when you pull a muscle claiming a wave. That's how good it was the other day.


The Puravida band wagon was rolling west on what I thought was a dubious forecast for this particular spot as its incredibly swell sensitive. Turns out that captain Brookes nailed this one spot on.

Probably the best day ive had there since i first stumbled across it 8 years back. Logo to mast and breaking from the out side bombie to the main point. The last one I had went all the way through to the beach. That's along way and a long time to be making turns. The longest wave I've ever had. I'd tell you how long it was but it would sound like bullshit so I won't.

Dej Serra is quickly becoming a standout. Fully committed under any size section. Some big hits out there fella. The whole crew were on fire all morning Jim Brookes, Jony Price, Pete Bird all had some screamers, it was like a conveyer belt of perfect walls. Classic watching every one ripping as you sailed back out the channel.

Epic day.

2..

Ross Williams at Whitesands.

Last week this man took a pretty average day at Whitesands and smashed it to pieces. One of the most impressive shows of waveriding I've ever seen.

3..

Simmer windsurf boards.

Every now and then a board comes out that takes the imagination of the windsurfing public, the first Mistral twinzers, Starboard evo 74 etc.

It took me 3 months to wrestle the Simmers boards out of Jim Puravida's hands. I can see why.

The Quantum 95l performs like no other 95 l wave board of any manufactures 2012/13 line up. Fact, I've used them all. I sailed it in the British Champs down in Cornwall a few weeks back in pretty dire conditions. It holds speed and hooks off the top harder than you could believe for a board of this size. I sailed it against what thought were the top performing 90 ish wave boards at Whitesands last week too, it's in a different class.

Stand-out, classic in the making.


4..

K4 Asymmetric Ezzy Line..

They just work better. I don't know why the board manufactures don't put more toe in as standard, it seems crazy after using these pre offset K4's. Noticeably better in a quad and essential for the majority of the tri fins I've used..

Top job..

6 Hours Of That...

Unbelievable spell of conditions died out with this...

Pic . Billy Webber.

Hands down the best waves I've had all year... Incredible day...

Consumed By An Ocean..

Funny old autumn so far.

The only true standout was this little session below..

That eventually turned into a touch off 20 foot.. 20 foot a 9 seconds = 20 foot chop. The entire Fresh bay was a close out but the odd gap was there so I sailed it anyhow.

60 minutes of chicken gybes, out running sections and frustration delivered me to a gap. Sets were breaking so far out it was pretty unsailable so I thought better of it. Still being a mile out and still feeling like its the inside is a pretty strange feeling at this spot. It felt like sailing in valleys of liquid.

The quality of riding these days isn't what it's about for me, it's just being the feeling of being enveloped by an ocean. Sadly I came a little too enveloped by it an ended up with a epic swim and a trashed rig. 

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Modern Day Pirate..

This lives at the bottom of my road....

Hello Autumn..

Aquatic Allies.. K4 Fins...

Ive had sessions on these K4 fins the last few weeks that have blown me away. Its not often that ill try a piece of equpment and it work as i pictured it too. Ive driven these things into mast size and some, scored perfect down the line, i don't think i've ever felt something hook up quite like it.

Ive long surfed with a G10 alternative and often mused over the pros of their attributes. I could preach their performance all day, quad and twin but thats not what this blog is all about so ill keep it brief.

Stored energy?

Ability to over power them at will?

A few ideas ive heard talked about.

I dont know. Just feel right works for me.

Surfboard set up..

Longboard K4 Flex rear.

Twin K4 Stubbies.

Happy cat..

Sunset mist..

Cheers K4.

Top job.

Ireland...

Pic. Dave White BWA

'Ireland is the best wavesailing destination in Europe'...  A bold statement..


The rolling green hills of Brandon Bay paint a pretty perfect back drop. Combine that with a horse shoe bay, a variety of reef and beach break options, unhindered Atlantic swell and wind and you have all the ingredients of a windsurf/surf wonderland. Europe has many good destinations but where else can offer the variety and quality with in a 10 minute drive that you can get on the shores of Brandon. This not even taking the North West Coast reefs into account.

To have conditions of that caliber on our home shores just a short ferry ride away makes this a place far too convenient to miss for the British windsurfer.

I need little excuse to go on a trip out there, the Irish stop on the BWA tour is a annual fixture in the diary. This year http://www.stenaline.co.uk/ferry/  stepped up and put some incredible support into the tour. They have backed not only the Wave Tour but have also come aboard on the Racing Circuit to. Its great to see a company such as Stena putting their faith into our passion. They treated us like kings. Stena Plus is a level of comfort that I'm not accustomed to on surf trips or any trip come to think of it. Good food, comfortable seats, quiet and relaxed atmosphere made the trip feel far to short. A escorted trip to the bridge to see the Capitan, i was like a 10 year old kid all over again.

Meeting the Capitan

So..

Myself and good friends James Cox and Alfie Hart decided that we would do abit of a video diary of the trip for them. Now Alf is a first rate camera man, Capitan Cox and my self however are a duo that have issues with focus.. How Alf made any sense of the hours of footage is beyond me. I don't think I've laughed that much for a long time. Road trips like this are like gold to me. 

Ireland never fails to inspire me. Six out of six days on the water. Its a destination that offers something a little different from your average windsurf holiday.

A place that ill be returning to.

Ear He Isn't...

Deafness is an experience that id prefer to be brief.

I've just had my second and hopefully final operation on my ears to eradicate the bone growth that is the result of years of excessive use of the cold Pembrokeshire waters.

The first ear had some sort of reaction and the second ear is now full of packing after the Op and therefore my hearing is at an all time low.

Out of commission.

I always remember someone saying to me 'You should wear plugs' but at the time i thought the plugs effected my balance (they don't but they do take some getting accustomed too). 8 years of infection, uncomfort, time off the water and just general awkwardness before the Operations. And now with infection, skin grafts, stitches and the procedure it self, its not that pleasant to be fair. I wish id taken that advice.

So what else has been happening,

Team www.puravidaboardriders.co.uk continue to dominate the British competition scene.

British Wave Tour, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Ams and current Womans Champion on Puravida custom boards. British Racing Tour 4 of the top 5 on Team Puravida kit. So good to see the returns coming on all the effort thats gone in.. Well done Jim and Tanya..

Ben Proffits web casts from Pozo.. Why has it taken so long for someone to do this.. Im sick of seeing high light reels of the same old boring shit that every one seems to do.. Hats off to Ben for getting off his arse and doing something alittle different. Id go as far as saying its the most important thing to happen in windsurf scene in the last few years, i loves it...

See link... Proffit Gold..


The endless spell of summer wind and swell.... Thats definitely been happening..

Phil and Dave Horrocks came down with a few friends last week to do some filming with Alf. See link..

Phil Horrocks Out West Video..http://mpora.com/videos/AA68VeATenZ

Phil is standout at the national level at the minute, style and power is a difficult marriage that Phil has dialled.

Alf Hart, what can i say. Jules and me scored the first 30 minutes that they sailed at Freshwest last week and he was smashing it. He cant put a foot wrong it seems, first Am on the British Wave Tour and a full page shot in Windsurf.. Ripping mate..

Phil Horrocks

Phil....Wolll-appp...

Alf Hart..

 On the surf side of things....


Local man Al Morris is probably one of the most committed surfers down here. His water time is paying off with a 3rd place in the Welsh last weekend. Good work mate.

On the bike side of things..

Nothing much as ive been rough.. Changed over to 9 speed on the mtb. Saved just over a pound in weight which is canceled out by the 5 that ive put on..

On the wife side of things...

Big thanks to Jules for looking after the grumpiest patient ever at 7 months pregnant too.. Your a star..

Surfers Ear...Drilled...

20 years of cold water has taken its toll, my ears have given up the fight and closed them selves off from any more of it. The inevitable date with a surgeon has long loomed.

Surgery went well, not too painful. Bit disorientated when i came round. I remember my wife ringing and giving her morphine induced ramblings down the line. I do remember a text to see if i was coming sailing in the morning, that perked me up no end. Cheers Stubbs. Not really looking forward to getting the other done but hopefully these Ops will set up another 30 years in the water.

Post surgery thumbs up.

Ive been delaying this day for a long time. There never seems to be a good time to get your ears drilled out so 6 months back I decided that the usual flat summer period was the time to go for. However.

Day one laid up. Logo high plus cross off down the line Fresh and Newgale. Sounds like Alf, Neil and Northy cleaned up. The pain of the operation i can cope with, missing good days drives me crazy.


The whole month has been insane surf wise so cant really complain, some of the best surfing I've had for along time. I tried to use this month to get my fill and but i think its just made me more hungry for it. How can you resist this?

More N. Bier.

Wear your ear plugs..

3 Weeks..

Getting back to life at home.  

Photo Nick Bier.

More Nick Bier Gold.

Fun size 3 Peaks, Ireland.

 

 

14 from 20 days in the water, 2 trips to Brechfa, one to Betws-Y-Coed on the bike and work in there somewhere..

3 weeks doesn't get much better.

The Freedom Of Isolation..

Competition was never really a place where i wanted to take my sailing. I sail to bang waves where and when conditions are to my liking, where the only timing i need is to hit the section in such position as not to get consumed or project into a new direction.  

Last year chance, luck, skulduggery and a small hand full of skills i got myself into a position of promotion from the Am fleet into the Pro side of the draw on the 4 stop cyclone that is the British Wave Tour.

Scribe bending one round.

As the 2012 season rolled in i was starting to question why id put the pressure of competition back into my life. Competition sailing can be a pretty humbling experience, half the year i sail in my little west wales bubble pushing turns into what i believe is perfection. 8 minute heats in 2 foot hack tend to send a pretty big needle deep into that bubble.

However......

When Jim at Puravida suggested i join his British escapade as a team sailor and tour around competing the 4 corners of the country my mind reverted back to the 13 year old reading tales of Coomes, Farrel and Seals battling it out. They were heros to me at the time, pictures lined my room walls. Tiree was my Hawaii, Ireland my Indo.

Competition has turned into something a little different this year. Last season confirmed to me that the UK has the potential to rival wavesailing anywhere in the world. This year im keen to experience that amongst good friends.

Certain characters stand out to me. My travel partners Alf Hart and Coxy, i dont think ive talked more bollocks or laughed so hard for a long time, travel with personalities of this calibre is like gold to me. Rob Jones living a dream existence on the shores of Brandon. Jack Hunt a style i can appreciate, Tom Bennit coming through, Jeff Scott, Ian 'Chucky' Ross, Nigel Tracy all in it for the love as well as the world tour elite such as Proffit who treat each man as a friend.

Alf Hart Eagle King..

The whole Ireland trip this year was a classic. Stena Lines hooked us up with a faultless travel experience so a huge thank you to them. Some times i forget how close west coast Ireland and its conditions is. If you have never been.... GO....... Ive fallen in love with that place.

As i rolled away from Rd2 i think im sitting 11th and pretty happy with that as a fresh man to the Pro field. A big thanks to all the crew who helped me out. Puravida, No Limitz, Simmer, Fanatic, Patagonia and Stena Line.. Couldn't do it without you. Diolch.

Line this up...