Ready, steady, go.

My summer season really kicks off tomorrow with the arrival of my first clinic, the boys from Ireland. The forecast is looking fantastic and they are in for some top coaching from myself and the legendary Oisin Van Gelderen. Looks like conditions will be perfect for this full-on wave clinic and I´m hoping to see some amazing results by the end of the week. Apparently it´s all about forwards, backloops, pushloops and goiters. Can´t wait! Keep an eye on the blog for pics, vids and updates. In the meantime, here´s some more photos from this incredible month down in Puerto Lajas https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151049075331894.489804.533171893&type=1&l=25bdb44c9c

June so far...

I think I might already have mentioned (about a thousand times) but, yeah, this June has been one of the best ever so far. Instead of posting up all the pics and boring you all for months I´ve stuck them in a facebook album. Check it out here... https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151038758151894.488613.533171893&type=1&l=97ac5393e7

A Brief Respite.

Well, the wind has finally gone light for a couple of days giving my aching body time to recuperate at least a little before it comes back with a vengeance on Friday, coincidentally the first day of my 8 week summer holiday! I say holiday but anyone who has been in touch asking for tuition or spot guiding will know I am actually extremely busy this summer, so hopefully I´ll have a lot of stuff and pics to post. For now, I´ll leave you with a few more photos of my last day at Lajas. Punta on Friday methinks...

Still going...

Yeah, still windy (and sunny, ahem) over here. It´s been an epic summer already and it hasn´t even truly got going yet! This was yesterday...

And there´s more...

...and another nice aerial sequence from the next day- smaller, but giving a nice perspective of the wave down there and the "rubbish" we´re having to sail in at the moment, haha...

Aerial Antics...

I was hoping to get a few pics from this week and I now have too many! Don´t know what to do with them all! I won´t bang on about how fantastic this June has been, suufice it to say that it is still firing over here and looks set to continue. I´ve had some of the best port tack riding I´ve ever had and feel as though I´m improving quite a bit (port riding has never been my ideal conditions), although I freely admit I´ve a fair way to go before I´m a true wave ripper, haha. Anyway, feast yer eyes on this aerial from earlier in the week down the coast, loads more to come, I´ll keep sorting through them...

Summer is definitely here...

Yep, it´s here at last. After a long and very windy winter/spring, the summer trades have kicked in and it looks like it´s here to stay- great news for my upcoming clinics at the end of the month. Last week was pretty epic again with a couple of days at Glass and then two amazing days at Puerto Lajas, port-tack jumping and riding. Once again, due to work commitments through the week, I was first on the water and leaving just as all the boys were rigging for their session, and looking at the photos it looks as though it got even better after I left. Puerto Lajas is a joy after the madness and stress of a crowded Glass Beach, waves aplenty and no waiting in line and getting screamed at by the "Glass locals" (they know who they are- it doesn´t happen to me but I see some very bad on-water etiquette from certain sailors up here towards the tourists). Anyway, today was light but it´s kicking in extra strong from tomorrow so I´ve prepared my small sail and I´ll be heading along that dusty old northtrack tomorrow to Punta and then back to Puerto Lajas hopefully for the rest of the week (hopefully I´ll strike lucky and get some decent photos...). Having been witness to some crazy aggro antics and near-misses at Glass earlier in the week, I thought this near-miss video from Eva Ophius sailing at Pozo was pretty relevant. Now this is close...

Glassy...

What can I say, last week was one of the best weeks I can remember in my time here at Glass Beach. Fully powered on my 5m North Hero with logo-high waves every day and, quite unusually, blowing from first thing in the morning! Anyone who has been here and sailed at Glass will know that it gets pretty crowded when it´s good, but everyone seems to arrive at about 3 or 4 in the afternoon so, with this in mind and also the fact that I start work at 4 through the week, I got myself down to the beach at 11am every day and scored epic Glass with no crowds. Awesome. Just me and two or three other guys out with constant waves and wind, taking any wave you wanted for two and a half hours at a time. By all accounts the afternoons were extremely crowded with all the usual aggro and bad attitude which make me not the greatest fan of Glass Beach. The downside, however, was that the photographer posse tends to turn up in the afternoon aswell so I missed them and got zero pics to post up. Never mind, next week looks even better with bigger swell and even more wind (looks like 4.5m weather coming our way!) so maybe I´ll get lucky and have some photos to show you.
On another note, it looks like I will be collaborating with someone this winter to provide week-long SUP camps, including accomodation, equipment, transport, and evening meals and BBQ, similar to my windsurf clinics. Watch this space for more info, we should be starting in September when the wind drops and the first decent swells arrive...