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..

All Along The Watch Tower.. Day 4

Pendine Sands.
Cross off.
Chest High Surf
Simmer Icon 5.3 with No Limitz Sumo
Fanatic Quad 94 with Black Project 15/8

Its pretty hard to score this place as 5 days a week they use it as a Military Firing range but when you can get at it...

Seven miles of beach make it ideal for downwind wave runs to Ginst but a lack of time and organisation that day meant we missed out this time. Ten plus bottom turns a wave even at chest high make it worth the gusty slog out. Its a slow, reforming, gutless lump at times but by heck can it be fun. I love swapping turns here.

Even on the bigger days you never feel like your out of control. You can hit the lip here at any size and not really ever give it two thoughts. When it does have size you can turn here until you cant hold on.

However Saturday wasn't quite one of the classic days but fun non the less. Northy was back in the conditions he revels in, its always classic sailing with good mates here. I love to watch people ripping down the line as you sail out. It was a good day for trying out some different moves or a different move any how. I'm not really into flappy free style in waves but Ive long admired a solid goiter so Saturday was the day. Not that i got far with them but i can see where i need to be heading with it better now. One for 2012.

One other thing that i noticed Saturday was how a quad gives you so much drive and projection in slow waves in comparason to a twin. Fanatic Quad 94. Its a absolute weapon in these conditions.

After 3 hours my arms gave up and work was calling so we knocked it on the head.

Highlights.

• Northy back to form after months stuck in the office
• Goiters- working project.
• Last wave of the day... Long

Im working on Father Christmas for some new video/photo machinery to try an get some sailing related media in here.. Stand by...


 Just to end here, have a look at the turn at 2.58...

South Wales Slabs. Day 2

These slabs create one of the best rights we've got here in South Wales. It doesn't work too often but when it does it puts up one of the most rippable long waves you'll get here in the UK. No photos of the sailing and no hint of the spot though, as i'd have a Sheldon at each ankle if i did.

Up at 5.30 am and on the road to meet up with a few of the boys for 8am. On arrival it was looking fun 4.7 head to logo cross off. Once it starts hitting the point it glasses off into the first bowl then turns into a long right wall good for 5 or 6 bottom turns. It was super fun for 2 hours but hell cold..
The standard of sailing up there has been going through the roof the last few years. Local chargers the Sheldon Twins and Gethin Edwards are getting pushed. Jim Brookes of Puravida put his local knowledge into full effect and tore into it as usual linking from the point to the inside. Pete Bird and Dej Serra, 100% commited in every section which makes good viewing for us but expensive for Pete.. 3 masts in 3 sessions.. 


I spent the rest of the day having a guided tour of the Puravida HQ by Jim and Tanya Brookes. Got to hand it to them, its an impressive set up. Custom board factory, repair center, hot tub, demo center, offices and a stacked shop. Check it out  http://www.puravidaboardriders.co.uk/homenew/  

The second reason for heading over to Puravida was to pick up my new masts of my new sponsor. Cheers No Limitz.

 Seem to look like a farmer in these profile shots. Something to work on there.


 

In YOUR Back Garden..

Welcome to my blog.  I hope you enjoy reading about the days im going to post in here as much as me and the crew did sailing them.. I can hand on hart say that ive had days sailing this year that are with out doubt as good as wavesailing gets...

Ive always banged on to people how good Wales can be but 2011 has been an  insane year for the sheer amount and quality of the conditions we have had. I started to keep a log of sessions. By June i was up to late 80's by September it was  pasted 100, now ive just lost track. The last 3 months have been a blur of water time. 95% of days have been down the line on 5.3 or less.

Its pissed me off that i didnt keep better track of it so this year im going to keep a blog.

The storeys will be about days me and my friends score week in week out and the company's that made it possible..

Im going to tell you how good Puravidaboardriders.co.uk is for all you windsurfing needs.

How Fanatic boards get you into deep gauging hacks like no other boards.

The way my Simmer Icons are light feathers in my hands.

Ill rave about the strength of No Limitz masts as i bend them off every reef Wales can offer and still come out in one piece.

And how Black Project Fins are bring it all together to project me into perfect welsh lips..

Hope you enjoy it...