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..