Tanya Saleh - K297

AMAZING new wetsuit

2012-02-04T03:04:00.000-08:00

For all girls out there looking for a new wetsuit I think I just found my favourite ever.

It's the Animal Animator and it's a 5-4-3 so it's super warm and really stretchy at the same time. Perfect for both surfing and windsurfing all year round. Had an awesom session at Saunton; small but fun, and most importantly, warm in my new wetsuit!

AWT Cactus Cup Video

2011-11-20T13:40:00.001-08:00

For some reason I never posted the link to the video from the Cactus Cup. This is thanks to Kevin Pritchard and his team including Ben Dann who manage to put together awesome little videos during every event:http://vimeo.com/27459461

AWT 2011 - Amazing job Sam!

2011-11-09T14:25:00.000-08:00

Whilst I was only lucky enough to be able to compete in 1 out of the 4 American Windsurfing Tour events, I was glued to the web to see the results from the others. The one I did compete in was so well organised and heaps of fun all at the same time. All of this is down is to 1 determined little lady who even managed to bring the final show down back to Ho'okipa.WELL DONE SAM! And thanks for giving me the chance to compete in a wonderful American Wave Event, you've done the sport and the industry SO proud :)Below are the women's over all rankings for the year......

Check out FLOW

2011-08-25T11:58:00.000-07:00

Flow Windsurfing was put together by Amy Carter - long time Windsurfer and professional racer turned entrepreneaur. What Amy has put together is bringing women together and encouraging them to go at it in sometimes scary and intimidating male dominated environment.
Go Amy!! And I'm priveledged to be a Flow Rider!

http://www.flowindsurfing.com/node/1282

Bringing home the trophy!

2011-08-07T22:38:00.000-07:00

Final Day and Results
The wind cranked up to a strength whereby everyone was overpowered regardless of sail size. The waves were inconsistent thanks to the extraordinarily high tide, and also very choppy when they did come through. The overall ruling was to run an Expression Session where overall impression counted but big scores most. Needless to say it was quite a show. The huge airs, backloops 1 footed, 1 handed, push loops made for quite a show but for most it was a matter of survival....even some of the Pros didn't make it for the full 15 minute duration of their heat!! (I won't mention names).
Local Maui resident Russ Faurot took the win consistently landing the biggest jumps.
In the Women's Miho took the win managing to remain in control and land some big forwards.

So that was that....results stood firm as they did at the end of round 4 (see below).

I would just like to thank all the event organiser's (Sam and her team) for a great event in world class conditions. And of course to Kevin Trejo and all the Solosports staff for putting up with us all week.

All Maui Men's Podium:
1st Graham Ezzy
2nd Keith Taboul
3rd Kevin Prichard

Women:
1st Tanya Saleh (England)
2nd Miho Tanaka (Japan)
3rd Sam Bittner (USA)

Amatuer:
1st Jordan Reid
2nd Yossy Saloman
3rd Ruben Lemmens

Master:
1st Kevin Trejo
2nd Royn Bartoldi

Youth:
1st Morgan Noireaux
2nd Jordan Reid
3rd Jay Watermeyer

Cactus Cup - Day 4

2011-08-04T08:06:00.000-07:00

Still having an absolute blast down here at San Carlos. The internet is very limited so will have to upload more pics when I get back, but for now here are the results from yesterday....

We awoke to slightly larger swell again, but the fast increasing large high tides once again meant that the point waves did not exist. Therefore it was decided to hold

round 3 at the beach break by the solo sports camp. Solid head high and larger sets were coming through so everyone geared up for the 12 minute, 2 waves to count

heats.
The Youth's were first to go out and they were clearly all fired up because they were all charging getting right under the lip with every hit. This was accompanied by

several crashes so all together was rather entertaining to watch. Morgan took 1st place with Jordan in 2nd an Jay in 3rd.

In the men's, Keith Taboul and Kevin Pritchard progressed from the first heat, Kevin McGilvray and Skylar Haywood moved on from the second heat, with Graham Ezzy and

Morgan Noireaux joining them from the 3rd heat.
The final sailors were Keith, Graham, Morgan, and Kevin P. The set waves were becoming a little less frequent and Graham and KP got the better longer waves therefore

progressing to the super final.
This 20 minute heat was truly fantastic to watch; experience vs. youth. Both of them were getting 4 turns and 2 or 3 aerials per wave. Graham scored on the larger wave

front, and his additional goiters thrown into the mix gave him the edge to take 1st place.

In the amateurs, Solo Sports Staff member Joey Sanchez finally made it passed his first heat. Joey has only been windsurfing for a year and a half, is very

competitive, and therefore was a little upset that he hadn't made it yet. Today was his day and he got through to the final. Conversely Pete Dekay (editor of

Windsport) has been lying flat on his back for 24 hours thanks to a random back injury. With no Dr's within a couple of hundred miles he has been taking it easy and

nursing it with plenty of Baja Fogs. Hopefully it will head as quickly as it came.

In the women's we all struggled to find waves but I managed to grab the biggest and landing an aerial pretty much sealed the deal. Event organiser Sam took 2nd place

with her increasingly aggresive turns, Miho in 3rd and Catherine in 4th.

Huge shout out to Solo Sports owner Kevin Trejo who some of you will know. He got bullied into joining the Master's having not windsurfed for 10 years!! His first

round resulted his highest score being a waterstart, but has redeemed himself since by winning the next 2 rounds!

Cactus Cup Day 3

2011-08-03T12:38:00.001-07:00

Day 3

Glassy conditions led to extended surf sessions this morning both down at the point and at the main beach break.
Unfortunately the high spring tides meant that by the time the wind kicked in, the swell wasn't playing ball. Although some waist to head high sets rolled in they were very few and far between.
After lunch it was full on 4.5 weather and the judges called a pro - am event. What is this I hear you say? (Since I wondered exactly the same thing). It's a team event in pairs where each Amateaur picks out the name of a Pro man to team up with. There are 10 minute heats and you are ONLY scored on overall impression.
This obviously ended up rather similar to an SWA event, except for imagine Kevin Pritchard killing a head high wave with a blonde wig, starboard cape on and beer in hand. It was hilarious. There was wrestlers, there was sabotage, there were tears and much more.
The whole event took all afternoon and was certainly a fine display of skill combined with creativity. The moral of the story was.....that to win, you couldn't just bust some amazing moves; you had to do so with a special twist.
The winners were Russ Faurot and Yossy who heat after heat landed synchronised jumps and wave rides.
2nd place went to Morgan and Robert who put up an incredibly good fight with their own synchronised moves.
3rd place went to Nathan Mershon and Josh Sampeiro; whos wardrobes earnt them many points for request. Not only were wrestling masks involved, but also women's swim wear, AND world class wave riding.

Tomorrow afternoon the 'real' swell will be back and competition will (unfortunately) be restored to normal :)

Cactus Cup Update

2011-08-03T12:26:00.000-07:00

Day 2

Another successful day and another round complete. The swell ranged from knee high to logo high depending on whether you were lucky enough to score a set wave in your heat.
The family style competition vibe continued with competitors and spectators cheering each other on from the point when not in the water.

The men's final featured Keith Taboul, Russ Faurot, Nathon Mershon, and Matt Pritchard.
When you watch Keith Taboul killing it down the line landing 3 aerials one after the other ontop of 4 turns on the same wave - you know it's going to be a good heat. All 4 of them were killing it and it pretty much came down to who got the biggest, longest waves.

Both Nathan and Keith progressed to the super final where we got to witness the battle of the aerials. Nathan managed to pip Keith on the wave selection to take the win.

In the women's I managed to take the win with Miho in 2nd, Sam in 3rd, and Catherine in 4th.
I have to say that this is the most fun contest I have ever been a part of. The conditions are so enjoyable that sailing in your heat is awesome since you get to sail the point with just 4 of you there for 15 minutes. It's just like cruising around with your friends having a good time.

For a full break down of results please go to www.americanwindsurfingtour.com
Photos courtesy of Kevin Pritchard who miraculously manages to coordinate filming, shooting stills, and competing all at the same time

AWT Cactus Cup, Punta San Carlos, Baja - Day 1

2011-08-01T09:42:00.000-07:00

Despite the main bus being denied at the border, despite roof racks flying off the truck on the MX1....

Miraculously the whole crew and all compeitors managed to make it down to SoloSports Camp before midnight on the day before competition began in one piece. Well, sort of.
Day 1
We woke to glassy head high surf which encouraged most to go for a surf or SUP before the first skippers meeting.

If you've never been to San Carlos before then you need to try and imagine rolling out of your tent facing the water every day. There is no phone signal, but there are amazing conditions, good company, and therefore there is such a laid back, chilled out vibe in camp.
With 6 potential days of competition ahead of us it was suggested that we would likely run a series of single eliminations until 2 discards are allowed (assuming conditions permit). The small sized fleet of 30 competitors would allow for a super relaxed event with the main stage being down at the point break.

And the conditions didn't fail to deliver off the bat; head high to logo high waves with the guys on 4.7-5.0's and the women on 4.2's we finished round one before the day was out.

When you look at the board it's really true to say that there were NO easy heats. Most of the competitors live in Maui, and watching the heats is like watching a pre-edited Windsurfing DVD.
Day 1 single elimination results:

Men's
1st Kevin Pritchard
2nd Keith Taboul
3rd Matt Pritchard
4th Graham Ezzy

Amateur's
1st Robert (Norway)
2nd Yossy (Israel)
3rd Jay (The Gorge)

Women's
1st Miho (Japan)
2nd Tanya
3rd Sam (Maui)
4th Catherine (San Francisco)

Junior's
1st Jordan
2nd Morgan

World Premiere of The Windsurfing Movie 2

2010-06-30T20:41:00.000-07:00

Living in Socal is GREAT when you get invites for premiers of windsurfing films that you can actual go to.

I made a mad dash up north to the Red Bull HQ in Santa Monica and had the privilidge of watching the first full version of TWM2. It was awesome; and I actually thought it was better than the first. But I won't say any more incase I ruin it.

All the big guys were there too; Goya, Levi, Kai, Kai.... you get the picture.

Trophy!

2010-06-30T20:30:00.000-07:00

Been back in San Diego for a little while now and still buzzing from the crazy Pistol winds., and itching for more. Hopefully the S swell will show as anticipated this weekend to make an awesome Baja trip - I love going back to PSC every time.

Loving my little trophy :)

Goodbye Windy Oregon

2010-06-21T17:42:00.000-07:00

900 miles later I'm back home feeling absolutely broken after constant 3.6 weather and an awesome time at Pistol River.

Thank you to Chris as always for being my companion and watching over me as I sailed at new spots along the coast not knowing what to expect. And of course for all the awesome photos I now have to remember this amazing journey by.

Pistol River Wave Bash 2010 - Day 4

2010-06-21T17:36:00.000-07:00

Pistol River Wave Bash - Day 4 - Sunday 20th June

The wind did not disappoint and with steady 4.7 weather the final decider between Kevin Pritchard and Francisco Goya was on. Enough said really; watching 2 sailors of such calibre battle it out is pretty awesome and it was Kevin who took the win.

See below for the results.

A huge shout out has to go out to Sam Bittner who made this entire event happen. With no previous experience of running an event she seamlessly made it happen - no doubt with the support of many friends and all the sponsors. This was a pretty large milestone in US windsurfing because the last time a wave event took place was 10 years ago. From all the competitors and spectators: THANK YOU SAM!

Pro Mens

1st Kevin Pritchard

2nd Francisco Goya

3rd Kai Katchadourian

Women's

1st Ingrid Larouche

2nd Tanya Saleh

3rd Christine Vogt

Junior's

1st Zane Schweitzer

2nd Bernd Roediger

3rd Morgan Noireaux

Master's

1st Atilla Tivadar

2nd Macrae Wylde

3rd Rhone

Pistol River Wave Bash 2010 - Day 3

2010-06-21T17:33:00.000-07:00

Pistol River Wave Bash - Day 3 Sat 19 June We have been at Pistol River for a week now, and today was the first day that the wind decided to play games. With

only the Men's, Amateurs and Masters semis and finals to run this was a little frustrating. The skippers meeting was

delayed from 12pm to 2pm to 3pm, but eventually at around 4pm the wind had filled in just enough, and it was decided

to start going through the final heats. It was a case of float out and wave ride in. Kai and Goya headed out and obviously made the light wind conditions look easy and the win went to Goya which then

put him through to the final against Kevin Pritchard. Remembering that Kevin had one the single 2 days earlier, if

Goya won then they would have to go head to head again. And ofcourse Goya won. Head judge, Matt Pritchard decided to

hold off the final head to head until Sunday for which the forecast looks much better.

Pistol River Wave Bash 2010 - Day 2

2010-06-21T17:29:00.000-07:00

Day 2 at Pistol River, Friday 18th June

The wind was a touch lighter than the first day of the competition with the guys rigging 4.7 - 5.0 for the first rounds of the double.

The swell had also backed off a little from Thursday so heats started at 8 mins with 2 waves only to count and no jumps.

After a few heats the wind and ramps filled in with the upcoming tide. Sailors rigged down and heats were changed to include 1 jump.

Stand out sailors in the men's are almost too many to mention. Sean Aiken, Skylar, Whit Poor. There is a mix of the old school with the new school battling it out making no heat an easy heat

After day 2 they are left to complete in the semi's where Goya and Kai are to fight it out; the winner of which will take on Kevin Pritchard in the final

Sam Neal managed to hold on for a couple of heats despite slicing his hand open on his fin

and Timo managed to break his 2nd mast in 2 days during one of his heats giving him a couple of mins of downtime which led to being knocked out.

The standard of every fleet is incredible - most of the juniors have flown in from Maui; Morgan, Zane Schweitzer, Bernt, the list goes on but they sail almost flawless heats and can quite often give the pro fleet a run for their money. For this reason some of them are actually competing in both categories and doing pretty well.

Day 1 of the juniors saw Zane take the win, but Bernd managed to win the final in day 2. This meant they had to go back out for a head to head as a decider. By this time it was about 7 pm and the wind was easing up, but Zane managed to pull it out the bag to take the win.

The women's day 2 results leave Ingrid Larouche from the Gorge in 1st thanks to her good jumping and consistent waveriding. Myself (Tanya) in 2nd and Christine Vogt - another Gorge resident in 3rd. Special shout out to Fiona Wylde who is only 13 years old and competing along side the women and doing incredibly well.

As one of the event sponsors Robby Naish turned up as another surprise guest in the largest mobile home we have ever seen (see pic). He was out sailing downwind and putting on an unbelievable display as usual. He has entered the Shadow Box Jump Off so it should be a great show when it happens.

Pistol River Wave Bash 2010 - Day 1

2010-06-21T17:26:00.000-07:00

Day 1:

Pistol River is a spot near a town called Gold Beach in the very Southern part of Oregon. USA. The Pistol River Wave Bash used to be a regular pilgrimage for US sailors on their wave tour, but the last time it happened was 10 years ago.

Sam Bittner, Maui resident made the huge leap and commited to make it happen once again.

For those of us who arrived a few days before the start of the event; we have been totally blown away with just how windy this place is non-stop, day after day. The guys have regularly been sailing 3.7's fully powered.

Wednesday was the first day of competition and full single eliminations were run across all categories.

The majority of the entrants have either come from the Gorge or Maui resulting in a star studded event. In addition to that Sam Neal also came over from the UK, and last minute surprise - Timo even came over with JC.

Again the wind did not disappoint - the guys were on 3.7's/4.2's all day and heats were run through until dark. The action was pretty awesome to watch and should get even more interesting when the Shadow Box Jump Off takes place over the weekend.

In the men's the first round results were:

1st Kevin Pritchard

2nd Francisco Goya

3rd Kai Katchadourian

California Dreaming - Heading North: San Francisco!

2010-06-13T23:01:00.000-07:00

Next stop was the obvious windy city. Thanks to Matt we also got to take showers and sleep indoors :)

I've always wanted to sail under the Golden Gate Bridge just because it is so picturesque. As much as I hate flat water I enjoyed every second of this session and didn't want it to end. I'm also endlessly fascinated by the huge windsurfing scene here in San Francisco; always good to see.

(Thank you Chris, I love this photo)

California Dreaming - Heading North: Waddell Creek

2010-06-13T10:04:00.000-07:00

We carried on cruising up the coast which is just as beautiful as everyone says it is. Fast approaching San Francisco I was keen to get another day of some sort of waves in. We eventually saw the next crew of windsurfers (and unfortunately also kiters) out at Waddell. It was more 4.5 weather with some little waves; more cross-on that Arroya but still super fun.

California Dreaming - Heading North: Arroya Laguna

2010-06-12T23:35:00.001-07:00

En route to Pistol River, stop number 1: Arroya laguna, 3 hrs north of Santa Barbara turned out to be down the line shoulder high joy. Getting back into sailing over the past couple of sessions I certainly felt very very rusty after such a long time off. Either way it reminded me why windsurfing is so much FUN.

TIREE - Back to sailing after more than 3 months off the water

2009-10-16T07:32:00.000-07:00

My reaction when I found out I'd won the 2nd round

Hamish

Sisterly advice

Thanks as always to Chris Hughes for the shots

So the physio's said I could try and sail Tiree but not to get my hopes up incase the knee swelled up too much after the first session back on the water. Here's how it went:

DAY 1 - Saturday
Firstly, my wonderful sister joined us for the first night on the Island which was super fun.
I was told that the women's would start Monday which gave me Sat and Sun to try sail for the first time and then mega ice my knee in preparation. But we got off the Saturday ferry to find out that they were going to start the heats straight away.

So we headed to Balephuil, and I rigged 5.0 and 4.5; it was marginal planning and 2 waves to count. I had a beautiful new 2010 4.5 Fly to test out and a 5.0 Combat. I was ready ahead of my heat so went and also checked out my new freestyle wave. - The kit was awesome, my knee felt ok during my warm up session, so now I just had to retain body heat on the beach (Which is not easy off the NW Coast of Scotland). All of a sudden I hear a hooter, turn around and the 'heat cancelled' flag was up. Gutted. I was ready, and the judges called to cancel based on the wind dropping off a little too much. Gotta love competition.

DAY 2 - Sunday
Today was the day; a 7.45 am skippers meeting was called, they started with the Men's single elimination and then moved onto the Women's. I rigged a 4.5 and 5.0 again, the wind was really gusty and super light on the inside which left me with a board dilema - 68 litre twinser or 93 litre freestyle wave?? The extra volume will help me get out through the sets, but once on a wave I'll do way better on my twinser.

ROUND 1
Right before the heat I made the call to go with the twinser (my favorite!). Since I hadn't done any other events this year I was seeded bottom so had to 'qualify' for the final. It pretty much went wrong from the start; I tacked to come in when the green flag came up but there were no waves in sight....until I gybed to go back out and there was no wind on the inside = nightmare with such a small board. Eventually I managed to get out, and I caught a pretty good wave, got a few turns and finished up with an aerial onto the back of the wave. But the heat was almost over and I needed a 2nd wave to get a decent score.....my knee was hurting and as I was heading back out for the 2nd wave, the red flag went up and I knew it was all over.
I finished round 1 last. I was pretty upset because I thought I could have won if I had just made the right decisions.

ROUND 2
2 hours later they started the Mens double and another round for the women's. This time I was amped! Luckily Sam Neal rocked up to my rescue with an 82 l real world wave which was the ideal board for these conditions.
I took it out with the 4.5 Fly, got about 3 waves - went for consistency on the first 2 and then an aerial on the last......and I made it through to the final.

I had 16 mins inbetween heats to change streamers and get back up wind (thanks Chris!).
The wind dropped, we all got out and it was FLAT! It felt like a set didn't come through the whole time! I caught a couple of non set waves and tried to make the most of them but I knew it wasn't good enough. I looked at my watch and had 90 seconds left to get back out and find something to make it happen. Time was ticking, I made it out and tacked onto a wave....Joy! IT wasn't amazing, but it was bigger than my first couple. I didn't feel like I'd sailed great but had no idea what the other girls had done either.
When they got us together for the results and announced the winner as ME I was so surprised! Awesome....but at the same time.....doom. Overall this still left me in 4th which really annoyed me. All I needed was another round.

DAY 3 - Monday
No wind....no wind.... went for a surf....still no wind.....Need another round! Damnit

Day 4 - Tuesday
No wind - doesn't even look like it's going to get windy :(
Obvious solution is to party - hard
We partied hard but still no wind

Day 5 - Wednesday
Doesn't look windy. Not gonna get windy; feel rough. Caught the flu that everyone else has had. Went for a surf and felt loads better. Ate far to much for dinner.
Forecast is not good at all and I have a flight back to San Diego in a few days time.

Day 6 - Thursday
Decide to leave the Island early and start the mission back to Cali. Shame no more rounds were run, but I suppose I did ok based on the knee, and not having sailed in so long.

Until next time Beautiful Tiree....

That one Wave

2009-08-24T17:31:00.000-07:00

It turned out that that one wave on our July 4th dash to PSC caused more damage than initially thought. I've been quite quiet recently as I just had to have knee surgery to cut off a torn meniscus and remove a whole bunch of plica.
Apart from being incapacitated I'm really frustrated because I was looking forward to competing in Tiree. IF I recover in time then I will be going into it totally unfit and on a cold injury.
As I sit here connected to an ice machine with my crutches on the floor I can't stop thinking back to that wave ....cursing the decision I made to go for the lip.

Injury sucks.

I'm still smiling though

And He Said Let There Be Wind (and Waves)

2009-07-06T19:22:00.000-07:00

I stuck my head out the tent to see the point breaking beautifully and anticipated a day down at the Chilli Bowl - little did I know what was really in store. By mid morning it was already reasonably windy at PSC. And I headed out on a 4.2 pleasantly surprised by the larger sets over head high. After a short session I came in to tape up my feet which have been taking great pleasure in meeting with random sharp rocks before going straight back out. Soon after that I found my self totally stacked on my 4.2, someone had flicked a switch and it was windy. I held on for as long as possible then came in for lunch and to rig down.

Post lunch I look out and realise it's got even windier. It reminded me of Bigbury about 3 years ago, but the waves were still lining up and getting bigger.
I guess I needed a 2.9 but the smallest I have here is 3.6 so I rigged it up and fought my way down the stones onto the beach. It's that moment when you look out and know it's going to be one long fight but a bloody good fun one. The white water was ferrociously being blown off the tops of the waves distorting the view of the wave behind. It was so much fun, and I was loving life - no one else was out. I was struggling to be in control and keep my board on the water, and certainly couldn't top turn anymore which meant just smacking it and going up.
Then I caught a meaty set wave and managed to get a couple of more controlled turns in; as I went for the 3rd turn I realised the section was going to close out as I headed up it...either I pussied out and turn away, or I just hit it and try to clear the water. I went for the latter, apart from I didn't hit it straight on, so as I got to the lip it had already started to curl down taking my far rail with it. As soon as I felt I was going over the falls I was thinking 'gotta get my feet out in the next milli second', but it happened quicker than that and my right foot didn't make it. It felt like I had snapped my knee in two but these things always feel worse than they are. The hardest part is getting yourself back to the beach when it hurts that bad.
So needless to say that put an end to Big Sunday for me; the rest involved lots of ice and elevation, it's not swollen so I don't think it's too serious but I'm not ruling out going back on the water tomorrow.

For now I thank KT for the comfort of the Lounge at Solo Sports and the endless entertainment of the waves infront of me.

4th July Mexican Stylee

2009-07-05T19:27:00.000-07:00

Ironic that we get a day off work to celebrate Independance and then head straight to
Mexico. I think the pictures help to explain why. Although I may feel a little bad for
leaving the states and not participating in the celebrations, it meant that we spent our
4th of July in boom-logo high swell and full power 4.2 conditions. This is fast becoming
one of my favorite bank holidays....lets see if labour day can challenge it.

I had an awesome first session but in the afternoon got super over powered and started sailing pretty bad. K Mac (Kevin McGilvray) was on fire; still going for his crazy high goiters.

Thanks for the pics again Clark

BAJA TAKE 2

2009-07-04T19:22:00.001-07:00

Pics: Clark Merritt (Thanks Clark!)

6.15 am pack up the truck, 6.30 coffee stop 7am cross the border, 12.45 pm last stop El Rosario for Papaya and Mango - last stop until camp. 2.30 Arrive PSC, 3.45pm hit the water; 4.7 Combat, twinser, head high and perfect.......Punta San Carlos at it's best.

I really wasn't expecting this when we arrived. Coming down on a forecast often rouses false expectation, but this welcome session was very much a surprise to me. I hadn't been on the water for nearly 2 months, but after about 20 minutes I had completely forgotten that this even mattered. What matters now is that we are here and hopefully have 4 more days to look forward to.

The place is very quiet; 2 guests at Solo Sports who leave tomorrow and 4 other sailors camping along the beach. So you can have every wave you want, although there are hundreds of pelicans chilling on the rock and cruising down the line. I had a couple of funny moments thinking I was going to hit one as I bottom turned. The seals were out in full force splashing around, and I was trying to remember how to wave sail. It felt good, bring on tomorrow.

9ft at 23 Seconds

2009-05-16T20:17:00.000-07:00

So this is how our Baja story came to an end: a huge swell came in and we had heaps of fun. 12 foot faces and a lot of carnage. The sets we made up of 8-12 waves - it was insane; there were enough waves for all of us to have at least one each per set.

Having looked back I guess we were pretty lucky with the conditions we got - this place is super special and I just hope we get it as good next time.

Baja, Sweet Baja

2009-04-18T18:17:00.000-07:00

I have wanted to make the journey to Punta San Carlos since I first picked up a windsurfing magazine 9 years ago. Now that I am here I cannot believe that I didn't come sooner.

It is hard to describe this place. It is like a rugged desert but by the sea, warm by day out of the wind but cold at night. There is no civilization anywhere in sight, and the nearest shop is 2 hours away. The nearest hospital is 6 hours away.

The wave is a long right that goes on and on, turn after turn, slow and super soft. There are 3 breaks - one on the beach, one at the point, and then the Chilli Bowl further down wind. The wind is cross off, perfect for down the line sailing. The first couple of days we had a decent size swell, perfect to get used to the place. The fact that there are hardly any people here means that you can have all the waves you want, and a 2 hour session is exhausting as a result of all the waves you can get.

I'm just so happy to be here after such a long wait and the place is living up to everything I had hoped. Solo Sports have made the journey far more relaxing so that when I'm not on the water I can totally chill out.

There is a big swell due to come in the next couple of days - fingers crossed we will get some awesome.

Let it snow - Navarra North of Spain

2009-03-15T03:03:00.000-07:00

Whilst spending the last few months working in the north of Spain I decided to make use of the fact that I was so close to the Pyranees; so I substituted windsurfing with snowboarding for a couple of months. It was super fun to cruise up the mountain every weekend, but it doesn't even come close to windsurfing. Mountain was just a temporary substitute for Ocean, and windsurfing is massively back on the agenda.

My Favourite Socks

2009-01-13T05:24:00.000-08:00

Sounds completely random but after bumping into Nick at Hayling Island during the Fat Face Night Windsurf, I now have quite an affection for my socks. Nick is an Entrepreneur (sp?) who has started this business whereby he personalises socks. Basic, yet affective and they're only made out of the softest cotton ever. I have total and utter respect for anyone embarking on their own business, and this one's pretty fun and makes awesome presents so check it out -
www.myfavouritesocks.com

Big Salty

2008-12-28T06:30:00.000-08:00

For UK Weather check out the recently launched Big Salty site www.bigsalty.co.uk (see link to the right). Made by windsurfers for windsurfers means you no longer have to search 5 different sites to get a reliable forecast.

Jericoacoara

2008-12-20T14:03:00.000-08:00

I haven't really managed to get as much sailing as I wanted done this year, so I decided to head out to Jeri for 3 weeks before Christmas. Last time we came here was 4 and a half years ago and needless to say it's changed considerably. There is still wind, but it's super crowded on the water. Whatever, I'm not complaining, it's such a chilled way of life, you leave your kit on the beach, you don't have to drive anywhere and you can windsurf for 5 hours a day.

Thanks to Anna Persson for the pics.

Llangenith - after a 5 year wait

2008-08-19T13:12:00.001-07:00

Getting a message from Savage saying the forecast was right for Llangenith was such a long awaited call. I'd wanted to sail there since living in Bristol but never managed to make it quite that far.

When we rocked up and caught our first sight of the sea through the sand dunes we kicked ourselves for net having been there sooner. The most amazing waves I had seen in months peeling across a long sandy beach, cross off shore wind, you know the rest - leg it to the car, rig up, and start the mammoth walk across the sand.

It was tricky getting out with light winds on the inside, but catching the first real wave I had been on since december eliminated every single negative thought. After about half an hour, however, the tide started coming in, and the waves started jacking up with hell's mouth-esque lips. So eventually we decided to cruise an hour down the coast to Porthcawl for a quick sail before the tide came in too far. Awesome day, love checking out new beaches (even if the tide ruins things).

As always ,- Chris, thanks for taking the pics - I'm amazed you could see anything through the lens based on the fact it was pissing it down.

Slalom racing is for old men....isn't it?

2008-08-19T12:46:00.000-07:00

I always thought racing was the boring option. However, I went to support JP/Pryde UK at the Aberdovey Slalom event. No sooner after I arrived I had already been entered, and was rigging up my biggest wave kit to race on!

To cut a long story short, Mr Lewis gave me some slalom kit and I loved it. The atmosphere was super chilled, friendly and the racing ......well I actually totally enjoyed it; and the slalom kit felt so much lighter than I had expected

Sunday's conditions were slightly different; 40 knots, horizontal sand and rain etc etc. So I went back to my trusty wave kit. Overpowered on a 3.3 and 66 litre pro world wave I managed to hold on for all 4 races. My car was emptied of kit....Chris using my 3.7, Jamie H on my 4.7, that's how windy it was. Luckily it all came back to me in one piece and I look forward to slalom-ing it up again soon....

Chile Chile Chile

2007-12-08T12:11:00.000-08:00

We've finally managed to locate some decent internet connection.....long enough to upload some info anyway. Chile is amazing; the waves are unreal and the beaches are uncrowded. On many occasions we have been the only people sailing fighting only each other for waves! The only negative point I can find about this place is the fact that you have to wear a wetsuit. We've been here around 20 days and I have sailed 16 of them. There are a whole bunch of beaches to choose from, and each has a different type of wave-some faster, some slower, some hollow-er. Anyway, the pictures should do most of the talking. As always, eternal thanks go to Chris (Hughes) for the photos.

No internet

2007-11-19T06:21:00.000-08:00

Ok So I miraculously made it to Chile in one piece with all my kit.
We´ve been here 3 days and windsurfed every day. The ultimate was yesterday at TOpocalma, Logo High, 3.7 weather, and by later aftrernoon I was literally blown off the water. Guys were overpowered on 3.4´s! The waves are amazing-you can get 6-7-8 turns on a wave!
The problem is that there is no internet within easy reach so I will not be able to continue the blog consistently. More like one big post at the end.

11th November

2007-11-11T19:44:00.000-08:00

I refused to believe that there wouldn't be any wind today so rigged a 4.7 at sprecks and went out. Indeed I was only occasionally planning, the ramps/waves were bigger than they have been the past few days but it was only good for light wind riding. I was convinced that it was going to pick up....but it didn't, so we went to Kanaha which is a far better place for light wind wave riding. The wave was over boom high so it was pretty chilled and good fun.
Since it was a Sunday the surfers were out in force at Ho'okipa so the only windsurfing there was at Lanes and it wasn't too busy either.

10th November-Nuclear

2007-11-11T19:39:00.000-08:00

A bunch of us arrived at Sprecks at 11 and were on the water soon after. I was on a 3.7 and guys were on 4.0-4.7's. Not only this but everyone was so overpowered. It was insanely windy. By lunch time the car park was full but it wasn't actually that busy on the water because everyone was taking lots of breaks because it was super windy. And if you could hold on the ramps were great for jumping.
In the afternoon we sailed Kanaha and it had dropped a tiny bit, but the wind everywhere was unbelievably gusty. Still, it's always fun to have a windy windy day every now and then.

9th November

2007-11-10T12:42:00.000-08:00

The wind was back in full force, we were on the water just after 11 at spreks on 4.2's (men on 4.7's) and there were nice small ramps for jumping. After an hour we rigged down to 3.7! But the wind was supere gusty and up and down. Sprecks got busier and busier then the wind dropped a little after lunch so we headed to Ho'okipa-still a small swell but occasionally bigger sets came through. All in all a good day.

8th November

2007-11-09T01:32:00.000-08:00

It got relatively windy quite early today, and since no one is really sailing Ho'okipa until 1pm we decided to go down the coast to Kanaha to get on the water early. We were on 4.7's and it was totally flat. You could sail for 10 mins before seeing a wave, and even then it was more like a ripple. So by lunch time we were eager to check out Ho'okipa. We got there and there were about 1,200 people sailing on a 2 ft wave= out of the question. Therefore we headed to Kuau-a great spot only 2 mins from Ho'okipa and has about a millionth of the people out on the water. We launched there and sailed at Mamas; still a small wave but only about 6 of us. The conditions today were in no way "epic" but as always it's good to be on the water. Hopefully the swell direction is going to correct itself over the next 24 hours so if the swell is still non existent tomorrow it should be back to good by saturday.

7th November The Wind Makes an Appearance

2007-11-07T19:47:00.000-08:00

After no wind yesterday and a dire forecast for today we woke to absolute still. But by late morning things started to change. We went to Ho'okipa; the winds were still light so we went for a surf-which was tiny! By 1 30pm people atarted to appear out of the wood work, we rigged 4.7's (most guys were on 5.0-5.8) and headed out. The swell was small and it got super busy so it was pretty tricky. To add to that the wind was up and down, but hey, we're in Maui and we're windsurfing so who's complaining?! It was fun to be back out on the water and the forecast for the next week looks like the trades are back in town to stay.

Unexpected Wind

2007-11-05T19:47:00.001-08:00

The forecast has been all over the place changing every half an hour so no-one thought there would be any wind today. We went to Ho'okipa anyway to make sure and unfortunately there wasn't enough. We also decided against surfing there because it was so crowded and headed to a thousand peaks for a surf instead.It was so much fun-about head high and we had a great surf. By 3pm we were done and were horrified to have messages from friends saying that the wind had picked up back on the north shore. Damn it! We raced back and I was rigged up at Ho'okipa (4.7) by 4 pm. The conditions looked really ropey-super off shore, gusty and dying wind but I decided to try it anyway just for the sake of getting wet. It certainly didn't rank high in my book of sessions but it's always awesome just to get on the water. Camilla still wasn't feeling 100% so she took some pics. Thanks Camilla!

What to do in Maui with no wind?

2007-11-04T20:30:00.000-08:00

So the obvious answer is to go surfing, and so yesterday morning I went for a surf at Ho'okipa. Surfing there always scares me, not because of the waves but because of the locals! The swell was small and I actually really enjoyed it, I guess most of the hard-core local surfers don't bother going out when the surf is that small.

I came to Maui over 4 years ago for a month and a half and didn't once see any water falls or scenery on the Hana Highway, so during this trip I was determined to make the effort to see some. I managed to persuade a friend who knows the trek through the bamboo forest to check it out so a few of us did that in the afternoon. It was amazing! There are about 5 waterfalls to see and the trek gets tougher the further you go. It starts off easy through dense bamboo, then you have to scamper across rocks through streams, then you have to use rope to pull your self up a 12ft rock and eventually there is a section where you have to swim. But it was definitely worth every second.

Today was a different story since it didn't stop raining all day. Determined not to waste the day we did something rather bizarre- christmas shopping! I know it is ridiculously early, but if every day from now until christmas is windy then it won't get done at all, so at least most of it is out the way.

So the ultimate no wind activities turn out to be: Surfing, trekking to waterfalls and shopping (although I never really enjoy the latter).

2nd Nov - Surfing

2007-11-04T17:20:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately the forecast was right-no wind. We decided to check out the surf spots near lahina to see if there was any surf at all. There was, but it was super small and we went out at Launiupoko. My friend, Camilla had just got a new mini-mal and was eager to test it out. We ended up having tons of fun on the little waves catching one after the other-easy paddle outs and super chilled. The first day of no wind was indeed a success.

11th Oct-1st Nov

2007-11-03T22:32:00.000-07:00

I was inspired to create a blog after having spoken to Giampaolo; writer of a famous blog in Maui. As a result I will summarise the first 3 weeks to catch up on what went on........
The first 9 days were windy and sail sizes ranged from 4.0 - 5.3, I sailed everywhere from Kanaha to Spreks to Kuau, and even Ho'okipa for the first time. Ho'okipa was an amazing experience for me and the only part that was difficult was overcoming the psycological barrier of the rocks. But really, it was fine!

On the 18th Oct the first winter swell arrived and ho'okipa was mast high, everyone was out -it was super crowded.

The 21st and 22nd brought no wind, but having not really sailed all year my body was in need of a little rest.
From the 23rd until the 28th freak summer winds were blasting the North shore, guys were fully/over powered on 4.0's and I was out of control. As a result I had a littlw accident mid forward which put me on crutches. Luckily it was a muscular injury meaning I could be back on the water within a week....and so I was by the 30th although I had to take it easy for the first few sessions. By now the swell had dropped all over the north shore which was a huge shame, but we still made the most of the wind and spent a lot of time working on jumps.
On the 1st Nov we sailed as much as possible since after that the forecast was looking real bad for wind. This was a little tricky since the night before had been halloween-and since Lahina is famous world wide for its street party we had to go to witness it. In England halloween is celebrated in a low key manner, so what I witnessed here on halloween was insane! Everyone was dressed up and the atmosphere was immense.