It´s a new record!

No, I´m not posting about Antoine Albeau´s crazy new world speed record (although it´s very impressive indeed- well done) but apologising for what must be a new record in laziness on my part, having neglected my poor old blog for an amazingly long time. I recently met up with a good friend of mine (hi, Mike) and he gently slapped my wrists for not keeping more up-to-date with my blog entries. Oops.
In fairness, not much has actually been going on over here since the end of August windsurfing-wise. We always have a wind drought between summer and Winter and this year´s has been extra long so far- we´ve had one day of wind since August and that was a SW storm with tons of rain so I elected to stay in the confort of my own home with the curtains drawn :-) . The weather has been incredibly hot and still until last week really when the rains started, signalling the end of summer and, hopefully, the onset of Winter and the accompanying winds...
So, as there has been no windsurfing action, I´m forced to leave you with a couple of pics from a days´ SUPing at Rocky Point last week until I get some real news/photos... I have to say it was quite nice to be back on the Prowave again after a lengthy spell (last Winter was so windy I didn´t SUP after November!), and even more so to be out in just boardies in the blazing sunshine.

Freesailing again...

It´s been a long, very busy, but great fun, month of virtually non-stop clinics so it was fantastic to have a layday yesterday and get out for a freesail at Glass. Conditions were tricky with the wave difficult to read and the peak so far up the reef meaning most rides ended up with a swim or a visit to the rocks :( . I have to say I am now very much in love with my new North Sails Hybrid Hero- it proved to be very powerful and stable at Punta last week and waveriding at Glass is a joy as it is so light in the hands, powerful in the bottom turn yet switches off exactly when needed during the cutback or aerial. I love it. Can´t wait to get the rest in a couple of weeks...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2015 kit for sale

I´m selling some of my 2015 kit at the start of next month- Quad 89l, Skate 101l and a 4.5 North Hero. Email me for prices...

Hero Hybrid

Lucy zipped back to the UK last week and came back with a couple of new sails (we get the rest in August). I got mine out the other day for the first time at Glass and realised it´s the new North Hero Hybrid- an interesting concept where you can remove one of the 5 battens leaving you with a 4 batten sail which feels very similar to a 3 batten! I was a little sceptical at first but after a couple of (tiny) waves I started to really enjoy it. I rigged it as a 4 batten and found it to be very powerful but light and easy to depower at the top of the wave during a top turn or aerial. Most impressed. I´m looking forward now to trying it out for jumping tomorrow as it does feel quite grunty and I think it´ll be great for jumping. Watch this space...in the meantime here are a couple of pics of the new Hero Hybrid in action (plus a couple of Lucy).

Freetime.

Inbetween all the teaching I managed to squeeze in a day of freesailing (well, actually just an afternoon as I´d baan teaching in the morning already) and made my way to Punta to be greeted by fairl ferocious winds and decnt waves. The general consensus on the beach was for 4.7 and, as I have the choice of 4.5 or 5.0 I opted for power (as always) and rigged up my 5.0 Hero. Halfway through my first run out it quickly became apparent that 4.5 or maybe even 4.0 would have been the order of the day but I just stuck with it and sailed very overpowered. Made for some great jumping though...

Backloop? No problem...

Next up were Andreas and Thomas who wanted to dial their forwards and start stalling them more. Punta delivered once again (although the spring tides were a bit of a nuisance cutting down the optimum sailing times) with good size swell and wind for 5.0/5.3s. Almost immediately the forward class turned into an impromptu back loop clinic as the ramps were so perfect for backward rotations. A bit of theory, sound effects and van diagrams followed then it was back on the wáter to put it all into action. I just happened to look over my shoulder as I was heading out behind Andreas to see Thomas land a perfectly rotated dry back loop after about 15 minutes! Amazing! Thomas is the same guy who learnt forwards on his first run with me a few years ago and now he learns backloops in 15 minutes? Hahaha, he is now elevated to ´most legendary student´status.


To top off a fantastic day, Andreas also landed his first ever back loop a couple of hours later in the afternoon, and this one I caught on camera when I was filming the boys. Great work both of you!

From Norway to Fuerte

Next up on the summer clinic front was Elin, who came all the way from Norway to have an introduction to wavesailing. Where she sails at home is predominantly flat wáter so she was keen to get into small waves and Fuerteventura was the place she chose. During her stay we managed to sail at Glass (small waves, just like she wanted but I think she was a little nervous at first, having never really experienced any kind of down the line waveriding), and then some glorious days and evenings at Punta Blanca, with much bigger waves than she would have wanted at the start of her holiday, and I have to say she dealt with it magnificently! We sharpened up all aspects of her sailing, from turning and waterstarting to quicken her up and spend less time in the wáter, to jumping and riding. The improvement in her sailing was a joy to watch, especially from a coach´s perspective :) and I think she had an absolute blast! She´s already planning next year´s trip! See you then...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First summer clinic

Last week Fuerteventura welcomed three motivated Irishmen and they spent their week here honing their windsurfing skills, the last four days with myself. Blessed by the wind gods, they sailed every day of their stay and, although we were disappointed to not get a day at Punta to crack their forward loops, a great time was had by all and, more importantly, there was a noticeable improvement in everyone´s sailing over the week (which I guess is kind of the point of having a coach ;) ).

 

The last few days were spent at Glass Beach, which was pretty much flat but was the perfect place to work on most points of sailing but specifically early planing, gybing, a bit of waveriding and spinloops. I think they can all be proud of their efforts, and I hope to see them again next year for more fun in the ocean...