Severly battered!!!

We've had one hell of a crazy week here on the rock. It all started on Monday when the first of the depressions moved in. I arrived at t'others on to see me old mate Phil swimming in with broken kit, 45 mins later and with a little help from Nick he was relieved to be back on terra firma with tales of the mast high muncher that caught him out on suck reef...


Phil glad to be back

Myself, Matt, Jas, Si, Steve and few others scored some nice conditions on the 5.3 with the swell building this was only to be the tip of the iceberg.....
Tuesday dawns and it's fricken nukin. The wind had been blowing SW all morning and there were calls from the beach to say that the mother of all swells had hit our shores. I zoomed down after work and Martyn was rigging the 5.4 so that meant a 4.7 for me. Matt and Jason arrived shortly after but we were all feeling apprehensive about heading in especially after Phil's pasting the day before.
We headed out with the 4.7's and it was big, real big. On a couple of occasions the wave just closed out across the bay and the only option was to chicken gybe and head back in. After 30 mins on the water the wind really started to kick in and the boys changed down to the 4.2's for the next hour. It was a cracking session and luckily we all made it back in one piece....

It's so windy that it's blown the roof off the house...!

The view today 5 Jan 2012

The boys heading in to change down

Big Tuesday..

Martyn eats it

Jason fully wound and heading to hell

Well, could it get any better than this?

The anwser is "YES IT CAN". Wednesday afternoon and back down to t'others with Matt, Nick, Steve and Brigsy. The swell has dropped but it's a good size. Head high to logo on the reef and 4 foot on the beach. Fully wound on the 4.7 and some hollow inside sections to hit on the beach, it was the day for aerials and big floaty jumps. This was classic t'others, perfect cross-shore with consistent swell. Myself and Matt sailed till dusk and were now feeling totally battered.

Today is Thursday and it's been gusting force 11 overnight. This morning it's still hitting the 10 not sure if I can take anymore......

15 Dec 2011

Cheers to Nick for taking the pics and getting wet feet!

Stormy Tuesday....

It was a brave soul that entered the water on this cold and wintery morning down at our local beach and today there were 3 brave souls- Phil,Marshall and me.
The tide was too high at 9 but soon dropped and we all rigged our 4.2's in anticipation of what was to come. Two runs and we were hit with the 50+knot squall and spent the next 10 mins cowering under our sails on the beach waiting for the squall to pass. It eventually did and the wind settled down to a steady 30 knots with the odd mental gust pushing through. The surf was huge and all the reefs were sucking and boiling, it was a froth pit from hell. We sailed for about 30 mins until it became to shallow and thanked our lucky stars that we were all still in one piece. This was extreme windsurfing-overpowered, hanging on for grim death and battling with the elements. A couple of mates and a short burst of adrenalin just what the doctor ordered.... until the next time.....

Looks inviting?!?

Tide on the drop - on the beach

Sitting Pretty!

Yeeeehaaaa!!!
This is what we as windsurfers dream about...It only happens about once or twice a year but a series of deep low pressure systems are winding up and about to give us some insane conditions!!!
Today-Monday was a taster of what is about to come. Starky was just getting out at Vaz and saying how bad it was with big holes in the wind so I was a bit sceptical before heading in with me old mate Harty.
Well, what can I say apart from it was a bit of a "Brucey bonus". The wind had backed to the SSW and we were flying around on the 5.3's, slipping and sliding off the lip and cranking some sweet moves off the 4-5 foot swell. I took Starky's quad for a blast and had an awesome time on this sweet little board. There are so many different shapes, sizes and fin configurations out there that it has made windsurfing a lot more exciting but whatever type of equipment you're using then you're sure to have a good time when the conditions turn on...
Lets hope that we get some more classic wave sailing action - see you down the beach!!

I feel the need for speed!!

We all know that kitesurfing and windsurfing are pretty quick when it comes to going fast over water but deep down we all want to go that little bit quicker and it only seem fitting that with the Weymouth Speed Week currently going on that we should modify one of my old kiteboards and make our own "speed needle".
Well, ok it's not quite a speed needle but it's as good as we are going to get and I must admit after the first sea trial yesterday I was quite impressed with how quick she feels under foot. The board is an old Naish Thorn 131x40 and the handy work was done by non other than fellow windsurfer and budding inventor Steve Mellors. As you can see by the photos it has been beautifully shaped and crafted to optimize minimal water drag which in turn will increase the boards velocity which is basically what all speed boards are about. The exact measurements and contours are top secret at the moment but if the new design proves to be "as good as it looks" then Steve may bring them into production under his new name..."Smellor Speed Boards" or SSB for short.
As for now it's time to get out with my new Naish Parks and my new speed weapon and start logging some serious speeds which I'll be posting in the coming weeks.

Super summer fun

August has started off well and the forecast looks surprisingly promising.
Monday the 8th was a top day to have as a day off from work. The morning started off with a solid NW4-5 and great conditions were to be had on the rising tide. I spent most of the morning with a friend of mine trying to show him some basic kitesurfing skills and after a couple of hours he decided to head off and I gave it large on the 9m bolt for an hour on t'others with a couple of windsurf friends for company. It was a cracking direction heading out from the beach and hitting some sweet little ramps and cranking some big air.
A mention and full marks must go to my mate Simon Marshall who finally cracked the forward loop and threw one around landing on his back in the water start position. We all said about bloody time as it's been long time coming- must of had something to do with his new set up of boards and sails-looking good bud!
The wind continued to build and after a short relaxation session in the jacuzzi at home I was back down the beach for a late afternoon session windsurfing with Oly,Phil,Steve and a few others on the dropping tide on the Richmond side of Vazon. Phil was out on his new Fanatic single fin and I was riding the 80ltr wave board and the 5.3 Force. Great combo and fully powered on the solid westerly 5-6. It was fun hammering around but the waves were few and far between, but overall it was a great session as the sun was a shine'in and the wind was a blow'in.
Check out the couple of photos I took after the session looking towards the beach. Pretty busy down that way but looking good with loads of kiters. Where did they all come from....that blasted webcam!!! Ha,ha

Oly heading out

Looks busy

It's Official!- Kitesurfing is a great workout

New craze soon to be seen at Vaz


It's been a while since I posted some news on the blog (and summers nearly over!) so I'd thought I'd start off with a small snippet I found on the internet regarding that well known kitesurfing celebrity Mr Ricky Branson.

What can we say about this guy?.....basically he's one lucky f@$&*r!! Not only is he a self made billionaire with a full head of hair but he owns a cracking little isand in the Caribbean and he gets to kitesurf with naked girls on his back!!!

Now back to reality here on our beautiful little island of Guernsey. Unfortunately due to the lack of wind/waves of recent and me generally being a lazy bastard not much has been posted though looking on the bright side, the 2012 gear is starting to appear on the scene and various mates have new gear awaiting testing and new gear on it's way over as we speak. So, hopefully, during the next few weeks we'll get some more action in as the wind starts to deliver and we get some more time on the water.

Btw. If anyone is interested and wants to find out why Mr B is kiteing with this gorgeous chick on his back then follow the link :

http://au.sports.yahoo.com/banzai/ocean/feature/-/9959235/branson-explains-kitesurfing-with-naked-model/

Also, if there are any naked pillion riders wanting to participate (preferably young blond and Swedish) in this exciting new sport then meet me at Vazon 12pm on Saturday so we can carry on this fantastic new craze ;-)