extreme holidays bust!

I flew back to England just over a week ago, after a short time stuck on the rock suddenly jobless and jeepless! Bad timing for many who’ve suffered redundancy with a uk company going into administration, it’s a little quiet there too on the job front, so from expecting to be there at least one whole year now the current thing is make new plans…With any luck I’ll land a job somewhere in the world, watch this space! It was quite bizzare, weekly checking the alarming headlines on the papers at the airport and eventually the downturn hit us too.

above- sunset at Rocky Point, no wind dusk surf.
below- Caleta de Fuste




















We were still busy as ever with numbers of guests kiting, surfing and windsurfing still at a normal level and on a positive note all the schools on the island still have plenty of custom. It is a great place to go all through the year! Also it’s not too over- touristy, with plenty to do and explore. From limited information I’ve got it just seems the like rising costs in every part of the holiday was hurting us over recent months–although fuel is cheap on Fuerte with the amount the jeeps use it makes a big difference. To carry on would have needed a bigger increase in sales than we could hope for and cater for with spaces and kit. The rapidly falling pound against the Euro finished the company off during November. The whole thing wasn’t official til recently and there are still people going out having a great time with a few for whom Fuerte is home –contact Richie- and also out to Davos, Switzerland for snow with the guys there -contact Donnie. For anyone booked the Extreme website has a number to contact. I would encourage anyone keen -booked or not -to still head on out and have a wicked holiday whatever your sport with great guys!
0041 797661658 -Donnie and 0034 630104778 -Richie




Photos: chris, apart from above of him - checking out the West Coast view. The drive to Cofete is worth a trip!
Punta below.






















Big shout out to all the crew! Hopefully things will work out good in the end for everyone. Many memorable sessions in the water and at the bar!
My mate Chris came out for a week of kiting and boozing which was around this time We got a couple of good flag beach sessions and couple elsewhere. He tends to go all out when he gets back from offshore, deciding it would be great fun to buy four bottles of whisky one after the next plus mixer for the team at the last bbq. The partying went off the scale for everyone. Thanks to those that helped us out!
We had a few days of some good size swell and bits of strong wind here and there to play with.
During the windless days each surf was special as for many it would be the last together for a while!






















My timing was good for driving out to France with the family for Christmas in the snow! Hadnt been for a while so extra special to go. Brrrrr!
Happy Christmas!
Nick

surf missions

photos : Laura

ant and alex decided hugo had been taking too many waves and it was time for a mass drop in!

from right to left

hugo, alex, me, ant

team extreme party wave sequence!<

>Alex ripping>

The lineup was a lot more hectic than it looks! We were there soon after dawn and had a few good waves each - i had my longest and most perfect wave ever! felt like playing playstation! - but within half an hour it was packed with locals and the game soon became how to not get dropped in on and to actually get a wave! Didnt get much...
This is a well known wave off fuerte, used to be ok but is just too rammed now when its good.

I managed to land on a rock on my ass not making my takeoff a little too deep and lost a fin at the end of a good wave staying on too long and taking another minor rinse!
Best morning surf in ages...
...And late in the day shared majanicho in easterly wind on 5.0 goya wave3d with slightly bigger waves, with only 2 others, squeezing as much daylight out of it before it seemed too dodgy with the fair amount of current! Best transfer day at work of the season!

Nick moffatt signing out.

yachting madeira to gran canaria, a big week off from fuerte windsurfing!

Well...i have a bit of catching up to do on here...
Packing some things late in the evening back in Corralejo, after a long hard day at the office-taking my group windsurfing down to sotavento!-and fixing the trailer lighting, i was actually feeling a bit nervous due to the big wind and swell forecast for the atlantic/canaries, and my mates laying down the banter on how my crossing might be!
After a scenic drive up and down the twisty roads surrounded by green mountainsides I found Ewan busy onboard his boat in the sunny harbour on Madeira. What a stunning place i'll have to go back! There were now 8 of us on the yacht for this leg, tight squeeze! I can’t believe the 4 of them are crossing the Atlantic in it, not big, and built for speed not comfort. After some briefing we attempted to set off and were hit by a steady 33knts and lurched into action accelerating on a beam reach. Adam, also a new recruit pretty swiftly found himself seasick! sort of funny but not for him! Ewan got 10-11knts only on the jib/headsail A few of us did have a bit of a 'what the hell are we doing/about to do here- feeling..! Back to the bar... i was on holiday after all!



The next day we were to set off again aiming for less punishing conditions on the yacht and its crew. Windguru was still forecasting 5m and 25knts out to sea...
We made it out in gentle breeze and it wasn’t until Madeira looked pretty small that we really found some proper wind and the swell size and period increased gradually but consistently the further south we got. I learnt some basic crewing as we went on and tried to keep attached to the boat helping get a sail up and down while we surfed down 4m waves, Ewan skippering. The sun set and we were into the watch patterns that
had been drawn up, which was 3hrs on 6 off for most. It all went pretty smoothly though i don’t think i got much sleep!

>above>taking in the view on deck, Duncan at helm

The next day we had larger swell with changeable wind strength and direction. We got the spinnaker up and i took a helming lesson! The yacht is pretty high tech with large repeaters showing boat speed, wind speed, apparent wind angle, bearing and other info. We were heading as downwind as possible but keeping the wind on the right side of sail is pretty crucial! It felt pretty weird to feel the boat get planing down a swell line - a fair bit bigger than my Goya 81 custom! - and to respond at the wheel to keep the spinnaker full during speed and direction changes, quite a lot like windsurfing actually! and not let it back which would flatten the boat! I got 10.6 knts in the 20knt breeze, happy with that!
Later we sailed just on full main as we had more like 25knts wind and the boys got 13.8 knts ...a new top speed for their boat, pretty quick!

It was quite cool on night watch though my Gul technical clothing kept me warm and dry enough! We had clear skies and shared stories to keep awake and alert, fun using a remote control while huddled on deck out of the wind to adjust the autopilot compass bearing, keeping a safe apparent wind angle but still trying to go as deep downwind as possible. On another watch later that night eventually getting some sleep i woke up to a loud crash, some shouting and a huge judder that shook the whole boat! I really thought the boom had just fallen off! From a steady 20knts we'd been caught up by a surprise 30knt wind that powered us up on the full main and crash jibed the sail -where it flies from fully out on one side to powering up the other as the sheet (ropes) and blocks stop it again. We had another couple in the gusty wind...luckily the boat stood up to it!

We made it to sunrise and in sight of gran canaria...the wind and swell eased as the storm system was passing and we cruised into a cloudy las Palmas. 280 miles in 48hrs was pretty good considering many periods of light winds as well as strong, and we were all pretty chuffed!








With all the northerly swell around we lucked in with overhead-high clean surf at Playa las Canteras. Was so fun to just go for it at a beach break for a few days. I got plenty of closeout barrels! Great practice for quick take offs, pulling in, and taking a beating! A few locals out were pulling some sick turns and aerial stunts...



Keep up-to-date with the crew on http://thelongsailunder.com/

including photos, video, planned journey, current position and a blog

currently mid atlantic, probably searching out bigger waves! Good luck guys!

soulsurfs, feet ups, beers out and stolen kit!

With intentions of putting some news up a couple of weeks back i've just got around to it!...
Well, september here this year turned out to be winter come early. I heard last year fuerte saw lots of wind, this year was all about the surfing. Several decent size and long period swells hit seemingly week after week. And when i say winter, anyone that's been here during this time knows that the temperature only drops a little and gradually! I only used my summer wetsuit the other day and was still too warm...Some rain here and there to keep things interesting but still mostly very sunny! I dont have any epic surf shots of those ripping to put up here yet but no doubt i will soon. There were a couple of stand-and-watch parts of the day for msyelf and others where those brave enough were carving up doubleoverhead fast rides over very shallow and harsh reef at one of the northshore spots.

I've had varying levels of windsurf group and we've had enough wind here and there for everyone to learn or improve techniques and have fun. There's also been some great conditions for surfers in the early stages.

Into October and i have to admit there's been a few days where i'm missing cornwall's beaches and sailing with the guys there at this time of year! I hear there's been wind and waves; as nice as i have it hear its always a bummer to miss it at home! Hope you've been getting it good fellas...
I couldnt make Tiree this year due to work, wish i'd been there so had to follow the action on boardseeker online...Good craic and some conditions you dont want to miss!



>bit of fun messing around during guest's lunch break! >



I had my boardbag stolen off the school trailer mid morning a couple of weeks ago containing 1 board -95 'one'- an extension/base and 2 booms, gutted! Word is spread around fast out here but not heard a thing since...

Luckily there's been some decent sessions here and there to distract myself from this stuff. Routine is tricky with every day at work being different, which is really nice! and the odd nights out just happen all over the place, some bigger than others! Its a hard life! So far most days i've been doing things to keep myself in check, fitting in at least half of my training plan and feeling the benefits...






We had our first taste of winter sailing with some strong wind days around the north, and further south at a less sailed and more localised spot where Ritchie and I scored long walling logo high sideshore at the end of a day til dark...had been in need of a special session like that!

A week wednesday i take my first holiday, a week off where i'm joing a friend Ewan for the Madeira to Gran Canria leg of his yacht journey from South Coast England to Sydney! Hopefully it will all go smoothly (Secretly hoping for wind and waves-likely!- but then what have i let myself in for?! Reckon he's good at teaching crewing on the job so lets see how it goes...!)

thanks to Hugo Valente for photos

whats the craic here then

so i've finally got my site up and running! i'll try and keep this regularly updated...
can't believe one month has gone already since i moved to fuerteventura...there's been plenty of wind and we've already had an early winter swell!
The first (a biggie!) has a round up of my year in uk just gone. Following that is some news and shots from my first month out here . Check them out in the other september posts

UK diary july 07-08 inc. UKWA and PWA comps

Reflecting on a year in UK...

my first winter in 4 years this year in 2008, and it wasn’t bad! ...and the longest I’d gone without a trip to warmer climes ever- 14 months! Re-acclimatising was ok, some good wetsuits helped!…I was sailing or surfing most days while based in cornwall til January, weekends from then on.
A natural time to pause and look further ahead seemed to happen off the back of my last season in part working abroad, in cape verde, and as mixed as some of the conditions and spells were, we had many epic days…you know that knackered but satisfied feeling you get from nothing else but a hard day’s fun on the water…pretty much always worth any hassle or low temperatures. It was great to work in cornwall, managing to not miss much, learning loads from and having great fun with the guys that sail and live down there. Returning to studies in Bath jan-july it was always worth the drive though my credit card wouldn’t agree but lets not get into the world oil crisis!
I was kind of keeping a diary here and there and thought may as well pull it together…
Take a deep breath… dip in and out! Maybe it’s so good you might fall asleep…In reverse chronological order…


JUNE/JULY 08
With a respectable swell for this time of year and light easterlies it was nice to surf again in my 3/2mm suit, though it was rammed! Cornish summer…
We also scored a few special and quite mellow days at marazion, sunny windy-and sideshore-wavy, and warm!!. Unreal… Great conditions for everyone around. Nice to all hang out post sail in the car park without getting pissed on with rain and cold like earlier in the year!


Packing up from bath…
And end of the ongoing assessments! Woohoo. The class was happy to get to the end! –though its just the beginning…5 weeks off til PGCE!

...I got a call seeing if I was interested in job in the canaries with some guys I knew…see following news !! It was the last day of my course, it had to be done so after saying yes it was then a case of putting PGCE on hold!
I requalified my BSA surf instructor's at Fistral, Newquay which was fun as they were just getting into the Boardmasters comp. Inspiring to watch world class surfing live...



MAY 08
National windsurfing week
-my news-

With no wind or waves close enough to Bath for me at the moment I decided to take windsurfing to the lab, where I’m doing a physics course pre secondary education PGCE. Our class is in there 9-4 with our tutors every weekday. 3-4pm friday afternoon is never easy so as a bit of an aside we looked at physics in windsurfing! I presented a small slideshow and movie clips from my work and travels around the world, and explain where windsurfing is at today, uk and abroad, and how to get into it, even some techniques! We got into the basics of how windsurfing works, which they all quickly grasped -as you’d hope being the next line of physics teachers!- touched on fluid dynamics around foils –only scratching the surface!- Happily I managed to maintain everyone’s attention, they even found it entertaining! Congratulations to Phil for winning the quiz!
Hope all is going well getting into the PGCE guys!

Summer hit Bath! For a couple of weeks…did it ever come back at all? My ankle was really doing my head in and I couldn’t seem to get the right levels of rest/light physio training they were giving me. At least I wasn’t missing out on any wind/waves.
I’m so bad at being forced into no training and just chilling but at least the atmosphere around town was getting right in the summer groove.


IRELAND, 2008, APRIL
3 or 4 fun sideshore days, 3 unreal flat calm bask-in-the-sun and drink guinness days, 1 epic contest, for me 1 completely trashed set of kit, couple of big nights, plenty of good craic…torn knee and ankle ligaments! this 12 day trip was my first to Ireland and one I wont forget! It had everything great and not so great!…

If you didn’t catch the mag coverage from this event go and find it!


Stuffing my ankle the day before day 1 wave comp in the unofficial freestyle heats feeling a bit cold and tight didn’t help, was broken and gutted!
Further to injury was nailing my kit after coming out the back of a wave! I know I can sail heats better if I keep my head…
It was great to see the fleet laying down turns in the cape-verde-esque break, and for some to really hit it hard! The irish lads showed everyone what they can do, as did Garry Williams break. Great to see Thorpy get hugely deserved 2nd place behind Andy King who nailed it to win - long overdue !
The atmosphere was so good and friendly everywhere we went! I have to go again, and hopefully for some storm action! photos: Rea Coskinas



FEBRUARY/MARCH 08

Winter wind…Though getting many really good days since autumn wasn’t easy, there were still a few memorable good ones, including one of the most savage storms to hit cornwall, ever? As with most sessions down here a few photos of those out nailing it in crazy wind strengths on the local photog's sites, 'guava jelly' and splashograpahy galleries...
Watching triple house size waves crash into the north coast was quite a sight! Sketchy driving...
(If only i had a good enough camera of my own!)

One weekend I joined Thorpy, Russ, Potter who were hitting the Gower. Cold on the hands! But the strong NNW swung right in N in the bowly waves at Llangenith gave us some highly smackable sideshore riding at dusk. The next day was such a gorgeous sunny day but just way too cold, I bottled it and headed home!



WAVEJAM !!
there had been 2 other successful events during the months prior to this but conditions wise this one really turned on...check out the site to find out what this free format event is all about...
http://www.wavejam.co.uk/index.php?view=article&catid=2%3Ajams&id=39%3Awavejam3&option=com_content&Itemid=6


image courtesy of Wavejam/Simon Burgess
rider: Andy King





i think as the guys had intended, it was so much fun with most who were available getting together in one spot in great conditions. The article (author-thorpy) looked good in windsurf mag and even better in full glory with all the shots online...check it out. I had just as much fun watching everyone go for big moves as sailing .

photo: Russ Tetlow







JANUARY 2008

I started a 6 month intensive science course pre PGCE at Bath Spa uni. I didnt exactly live it up as a student again! work hard durng the week, then weekend sailing...lets just say i've become a lightweight.



There was another big student event going on this time in London! We got some solid F4-5 conditions on Datchet lake making it great fun to sail somewhere unusal, the next day, again students in the hundreds making the most of great learning conditions and a great service offered by all the clubs and the boardwise team. Hangovers for all...

on borrowed sail...




for photos and more check out: SWA http://www.studentwindsurfing.co.uk/


We had a few stong wind and wave days around the south west.
I joined Thorpy and co to sail Woolacombe and I did the most swimming in one session ever! 3 consecutive swims losing my gear on the outside set all the way back to beach! Big and ugly at times…
There was one particularly memorable gwithian session in mast high with strong sideshore. It was such a moody dusk session with very low light well before dark-photographer’s nightmare!- Blackie, Fawcett, Ian Ross, Stevo, King twins, many others...everyone was going for it seemingly fearlessly and nailing impressive moves. It had been a few weeks going without conditions like this, it was coming into high tide ever closer to the rocks and the waves were just getting better all the time…once I shook the nerves out and got in the flow with the other boys it was good… And unlike the surf earlier in the day, not cold.















me-above, Jan and Andy -right

While we were waiting for the wind to fill in Sleigh and King were out tow assist surfing just at Upton, flying around at times! I got a go behind it the next day-so fun to be whipped into your first turn at 30mph!



DECEMBER 07

‘The first big swell… It was exciting for this week, pumping swell and the flat south coast of autumn transformed…
Windy..!!

Not so fun for those hit by flooding…but we enjoyed watching the tv forecast the nights before…’ the infamous words of don’t go near the sea, don’t drive…’ we all survived…



While many folk hit full on k-bay fawcett put down fast rail to rail turns and aerials, blackie styled it, and the rest of us went for it too! I tried one goiter/ponch kicking out of a wave and properly winded myself! (in video!)
















photo: Joe Cockle



NOVEMBER 07

Will we see some solid Lows? Not yet…Blocking highs for the first two weeks, getting a little frustrating. What happened to summer? And autumn?!
Apart from the East Coast surge, not much swell, some wind here and there…
(but look what we were in for next...!)



Before this came just one decent strength NW day with waist-chest high at Hayle- I’d forgotten what cold hands and feet felt like!
With all this settled weather lately hopefully this means we’re in for some solid storms December/January…Might not be that long before the hood, boots and gloves have to come out…no worries!










OCTOBER 07

1-14th
Corona Tiree Wave Classic

I’d been looking forward to this trip for months-the tiree events have such a big reputation…I’d had a bit of wavesailing but not nearly as much as I’d wanted to prepare for my first UK pro wavesailing comp. We had good down the line conditions in ok chest-head high waves. In a tough heat against John Hibbard, upcoming Adam Lewis and Richard Jones who all sailed well I had to settle for =13th, from which I know I can better for sure as I made a couple of basic tactical errors. The rest of the UK comp was very heated, with the proffitt/ horrocks/ King semi being a professional showcase... Phil landed clean and technical moves to earn the event win.













photos: Simon Crowther

The world cup round was quite something on the final day which got plenty of good magazine coverage. With a fair few UK guys already entered I was lucky enough to qualify for one of the 8 wildcards available for this, a first PWA event in scotland. It was a very special to be involved in, and a dream of mine to make it into one just to be a part of it all…everyone hanging out under one roof pretty much for the week treated to some superb Scottish hospitality. The Mitchell’s whisky flowed!
After days of forecasts that seemed to never want to come through and flu that got through everyone we got to the final day and pumping head high, side offshore. I sailed ok against Moroccan wonder Boujma Guilloul, and was even in the lead with one decent turn on one wave as he was still yet to make a move, and. Late on he certainly did with a big stylish smack expectedly he stormed through! Oh well! It was fun and I’d love to do another but would need to be able to fit in some serious pre-event training if I am to get through a first round, as of course every heat is tough! It was great to see the action go down first hand and in great waves. Kauli’s freesaling in the dusk after the comp close –when the result meant he’d won the title for the year- was so fluid, a real treat, as it was to have many of the world’s best out in a small bay way up north in the inner Hebrides that day.



Other sessions late October:

Gwenvor: good late afternoon surf, so cloudy it felt dark at 4pm mid –low tide no wind, solid head high, got nailed in outside closeout sets as the tide dropped out and it really got dark! 530pm…losing daylight.

Marazion: freestyle windsurf, Long Rock, time to have a go at learning some new tricks. Nicely powered up on 5.7 in SW wind. Some moonlight and the bright lights of St Ives and Penzance kept me out for a bit longer -Why is it I always seem to be sailing or surfing in the dark? -denial that we are approaching winter! Bad move. While I wasn’t looking someone had searched the undercarriage of my car until they found my key! Nothing stolen –not that there is ever anything in it- and the car still there, maybe I was lucky? Never leaving a key again, always put it in your suit or around your neck! So the new 5/4/3 Delta got an unexpected test and did well staving off early hypothermia stages waiting for the Tow truck to take me+car home…

27-28 SWA Bude/Roadford Lake

I didn’t take much persuading to come and help do some coaching and judging at this year’s SWA event, a big turnout was expected and a big party lined up. 700+ keen students arrived at Bude holiday park, some to learn from scratch, others to improve and some just to party hard or both. A big hand to the SWA team. Plenty of instructors at the unis organised great day with a huge number of beginners doing well in the prime conditions supervised by a fleet of rescue boats! It was good to see such a healthy numbers. Colin 'whippy' Dixon, Palmer and I held some forward loop and freestlye clinics, a shame we didn’t have the wind on the lake to really get these guys and girls right into the planing moves with on-water coaching but the on-land stuff will stand them in good stead. Next time!
The SWA team held a non-planing freestyle comp on day 2, Sunday. There was some very technical stuff going down, and some entertaining moves also, including great use of a kayak in place of their beginner board by one entrant.
I managed to sneak a late (dusk again…) sail on Saturday evening pre party at Widemouth. Getting onto low tide it was producing the harshest shorebreak I’ve experienced, barrelling overhead, with head size stones being flung around, a waist-head high surge and a 5-10m yes/no distance to make it out over it…can’t believe I dodged getting nailed, 5.3, 92, light sideshore S winds logo high and low tide made for a heavy bowly wave in places and a challenging session with some good turns to be had, most fun in a while!
The following morning before the hangover kicked in (which it fully did for one-and-all later on I can assure you …) it was round 2 at Widemouth for stronger wind, more westerly. 4.7 , 76, similar waves for some jumps while it lasted. Some crew from Exter uni were going for it which made for a great atmosphere


SEPTEMBER 07

September had some sporadic swell and wind, plenty of sun too, nice! A few evening sessions still light almost til 8pm at the end of the month. I worked on marquees for a short stint and it was as tough as I’d heard, gave me some endurance and strength training! Day 1 - 17hrs and they were surprised to see me day 2 after a bit of sleep for a mere 10hr day. Dunno how those boys do it day in day out big up, and i'm feeling soft! Tell you what it’s pretty sketchy getting one of those up or down in 30mph wind, which we did in some of cornwall’s most exposed back gardens!

photo: Joe Cockle


Of course on these days I couldn’t handle not getting on the water, just making it before dark a couple of times, one session I got to Godrevy at 735pm to see a few sails flying around in solid head high f4-5 side shore, NE. So I got about 20 mins in the dusk, and then another 15 in the dark, which was fun too with at least ¾ moon on show!…I called it a day after a swim to my kit getting nailed by a heavy outside logo high set! Oops! Was a bit sketchy but felt ok and was worth it!
Another evening session at Gwithian was ok.

The biggest day for me for a while... Perrenporth.
With a pumping W swell we’d had for a couple days that was getting at the north coast and W going N-NW winds, but nothing much at all on S coast nor great sailing anywhere really, I drove up to find, as I expected, mast high, 20-25 knt side side-on, so it was breaking all over the place, way far out and rippy as hell, must have been 8knt current inside in places... I seriously thought twice about going out but had a go in the end and my Goya 4.7 and Quatro 92 gave me the power and float when I needed it most, which got me out of some dodgy situations, rewarded with some big bowly turns. On top of that it was kind of weird the whole of Perran Sands park was like a ghost town, summer definitely had ended! One other windsurfer turned up and came out -fair play!- which was nice and took the edge off it! And a couple of beach walkers enjoying a stormy day. There was even some sunny spells breaking through, but no photog. in sight! gutted!



JULY/AUGUST 07

My first week or so back in england and we had full force storms! This turned into the Andy King cornwall training camp where i was duly punished everyday on a mission to improve and go harder! Results? For fear of being taken the p**s out of i went round my first pushies anyway, felt good! As far as Andy's sailing which is well known for being top class, anyone around at the given beach is caught standing staring at jumps of large amplitude!


I was then teaching at 'Surf's up Surf school', Polzeath, (i'd still kept my aussie surf instructor's going since WA in 06) so I enjoyed the rainy weather from my tent and just-about-still standing-caravan! The team is fantastic with some highly experienced surfers/instructors, so it was great to further my coaching and own surfing. There’d always be a few of us surfing around lessons each day. With the dodgy summer the way it was we enjoyed more waves and wind all around the uk I think! I got out sailing in Polzeath bay, avoiding running anyone over but probably scared a few water users (sorry!), and naturally copped a bit of flack from the surf school team! ‘poledancers’ but when the conditions were good for sailing a couple of them did admit they could see the attraction. Result! One session was pretty good, solid logo high swell, f4-6 sideshore from the left, S’ly, around a lowish tide.



photo courtesty of Pete Craske/Surf's Up

moved to Fuerteventura!

The time came to trade in the lush green landscapes of Bath and Cornwall for a harsh sandy rock- fuerteventura, isles de canarias…

FUERTE-VENTURA,
AUGUST 2008



While of course there are some things I’ll miss, as expected its felt good since day one.
I love it out here and was very happy to be offered a job for extreme holidays, with whom I’m mostly coaching and running the windsurfing, as well as teaching surfing. It’s a great vibe, fantastic to be doing my favourite job and coaching/teaching in the water again. Around work we play hard! There are many spots to sail and surf, and as you'd expect the very skillful team have vast knowledge and experience, as do many other locals and ex-pats who I'll also be learning from and pushing myself with. So over the coming months/year or so we shall see if I can raise my level to where I hope it can get to! I’ve been so busy since arriving I’ve not had a chance to stop and think til now, with peak summer winding down and this day off I deliberately did none of the jobs I’d been meaning to do, just went for a run and swim after a marginal session at Cotillo….


It was such a nice change from 14 months solid in neoprene... I had fully forgotten what being in boardies felt like! Memories of all those harsh winter days back home evaporated as I stepped onto the beach in the hot dry Saharan air and into the warm clear turquoise water.
We’ve had consistent wind for decent planing conditions and plenty of sporadic strong wind days, mainly N E’lies, so punta blanca and cotillo have been the spots, with occasional N-NW to play on the east coast. Full power cross-on starboard tack felt so alien after most of my time in sideshore port tack in cornwall. It was good to nail a couple of ok stalled forwards and break the tail out on the decent waves peeling in. The impression the island had made on me 5 years ago on a 3 week trip came back in full force, logo high cotillo shorebreak giving everyone out something to think about while trying to ride full speed to finish in inch deap water. One guy - a local born and bred, Jaume - amidst a few punishings trying some outrageous airs and goiters pulled a wave 360 in the pocket and back in greeted by cheers from the beach...


I had only thought about freestyle again for not more than a few days this year gone but its been fun getting back into it full-on out here during periods of small swell. There’s been Sotavento a couple of times lit on 4.4s. I was pretty happy to find my feet again especially with the ankle recovering, and nailed some better air flakas, and got my first clean switch and clew-first switch spocks-Finally! Still badly need to get on the ponch mission though. Handily these moves and more are thrown down day in day out not just during the world cup, but by a few of the local guys and instructors there too. Corky’s new bar has been firing. Amidst the big nights I’ve been developing tactics already for avoiding too many shots…
There are so many good places to eat- to mention only a couple, Sean's bbq at Cafe Lounge, Plaza, Gibsons-great food served with great craic-must be the northerness. There are many great restuarants and bars off the tourist strip to explore.
Corky, Will Ward, Ben, Steve Gibson, and others i've met so far are so positive on the water you cant help get into the go for it vibe especially on the really good days. John Skye who’s spent a lot of time here in the past was out for short trip- it was good to see some big moves landed at Punta as well as one superbly controlled double forward bail out!
Some of the SWA team have been living it up on a holiday trip going hard on the water and having fun.
We’ll see how much wind September brings and already I’m look forward to getting fully into surfing here All the windsurfers are getting excited for some special wavesailing days ahead with new powerful swells and more varied wind directions.

Thanks to Hugo Valente for these photos, as well as out-surfing most in the water he's shot several cover shots on surf mags around Europe over the years


















-a group of advanced windsurfers i had during my first week did very well learning improved wave skills in testing conditions. Well done fellas! and more forward loops!
(cant remember if he made this one?)




BALANCING ACT

Its 4 months since I tore medial knee and ankle ligaments and I’m still working hard on getting it back to 100% It hasn’t stopped me sailing at all -and at the time after injury I wasn’t missing any uk sailing really, while we had a brief premature summer spell!- but lately I have to say a huge thanks to Jules, one of my group a week ago who is a highly experienced chiropractor and got right to the root problems I’ve developed: lower back, shoulders, ankles, feet…its all linked of course! She’s giving me ongoing help with my training programme, I’m almost into full swing with it, ‘hard to find the time’ doesn’t cut is an excuse does it!


Eat, sleep, windsurf, surf, coaching, driving, organising, and socialising… all in a hard days work! But sometimes you just don’t want to drink you know? ‘No, you have to/of course you want to, here you go!’ Cue: a beer is thrust in my hand followed by round of Jagermeisters…

After physio work in England, with some advice better than other's, I now understand exactly what’s going on, why certain rehab and training levels are right and the importance of striking the right balance between windsurfing and non windsurfing activity during this time. If i find any spare time I may try and take up tennis again, not since I was 16?! Also maintaining/improving core stability, general fitness -surfing is good plus some running/swimming, and crucially foot pro-preoception; for me, balancing on one leg at a time 30 seconds eyes open /closed x 5 mins each foot. When I get better at this (ie. stop flailing around like a drunk) I’ll be moving onto a wobble board. All of this is good for anyone whose shot foot/ankle ligaments - eg. trying a lot of freestyle -and is not so young and bendy anymore- and need to build up more of all the little muscle regions around the joint to control and protect it…I think the group enjoyed me being cracked on beach a lot more than I did! All good... They were a great group of beginners, now fully hooked!
And guys I don’t think your singing to top gun album in the jeep will ever be bettered!

-Jon and his angels!