More fun catching crabs!!!

Me and my mate-spidey


Smile spidey....

Spidey after a warm bath

Jeeez-what is going on with the weather?!?

If there is one thing that will make a windsurfer/kitesurfer really depressed it'll be the lack of wind that he or she has to enjoy the worlds greatest sports-Yep, i've moaned about it before and I'll moan about it again and we'll probably keep moaning about the lack of wind until we're old, grey and tired and unable to get into our tight little rubber suits!

Lets hope this Summer is going to be super warm and super windy.

Easter has just passed through and the weather has been, well, some what tropical?.... a real welcome after the long cold winter.

It's been 5 weeks already since we returned from our holiday to Soma Bay in Egypt. We scored a cracking deal on an AI basis at the Carribean Hotel. Due to the trouble earlier in the year in Egypt the resort was really quiet with some of the Hotel closed due to the cancellation of numerous Russian flights. The kite spot was also really quiet and uncrowded. We managed 6 out of 7 days of kiteable wind which was a real result. I even managed to get stuck into some un-hooked stuff which we can't do over here due to lack of space and choppy water.

When I got back to Guernsey I was all fired up but my first two sessions were a real reality check. When you're getting perfect conditions to kite in every day it's not until you get
back home that you realise how lucky you were and how difficult it can be back at your home break.

Well as I said earlier the wind hasn't really played ball for a while and seems to be permanently stuck in an Easterly direction. We have had a couple of good swell days and Oly and I have had a few SUP sessions at Perell which were truly memorable but even the swell has disappeared.

On the plus side the Jersey boys were over this weekend and scored a wee bit of wind to enable some long board racing at Ladies Bay. Not really sure how it all went but I do believe that Jersey came out tops as Briggsy had been around to pick up the Channel Island trophy that I had won last year!!

On one final note, Pierre has now got his new look website up and running with some classic photos of our last decent wavesailing session which was way back in February. Check it out at www.gsyphoto.com where you'll find some awesome photos of the boys hitting a few lips.

If only....

For down the line action Guernsey is only ever good when the wind is blowing from the south through to the west with a solid ground swell but on one or two very rare occasions we can get some swell left over from a passing depression and a run of north easterly winds.
These freak moments happen very rarely as the strong nor-easters that blow down the English Channel normally knock out any available swell heading our way.
When they do happen they can be supremo conditions at our big wave spot of Perell.
It was a number of years ago that we scored the "big peak", mast high with a force 4 to 5 nor-easter. It was a day that we all remember well. Starboard tack riding and dropping down a mast high monster that horseshoes into a perfect throwing barrell. Even though we weren't adapt to sailing this tack, it did feel unusually natural and the handful of us out there all had a top session.
Even to this day the wave sailing fraternity of Guernsey still dream about scoring the "big peak" with a northerly wind but the odds are stacked against us as you need the following elements:-

1/Ground swell
2/North wind
3/Correct tide status
4/Time off work
5/Preferably air temp above 5 deg
6/A whole lotta luck!

As you can see there are quite a few factors needed to make this a dream session come true but it has happened and it will happen again-one day! It may be next week, it may be next month, it may even be next year but I know one thing is for sure and that's I'm going to be out there when it happens, hopefully with a few mates ripping it to pieces as long as were not all stuck on the headland watching from our wheel chairs and zimmer frames!!

I was cruising past Perell only yesterday after work and was greeted by a small swell and a stiff northerly wind.
Some of the ingredients were there but as usual not the full recipe.... :-(


"Big Peak" action from a distance. Looks small but it will be logo high for sure. Perfect direction but late in the day and freezing cold.
Behind the Island. Also a good port/starboard tack spot

Lihou Island - Does this place hide a secret wave?

Another blinder!!!!

We've just scored another weekend of down the line action-only one word can describe the local sailors feelings of jubilation......unbelievable!!
The local boys are in a frenzy of windsurfing bliss. Pumping surf and cross shore winds are becoming a relatively common occurrence (don't speak too soon!)-could this be the year to remember?!?
Another big event happening this year is when I move into another decade of age-Yep, I'll be joining some of the other crew and hitting the big 40!!
Thankfully I don't feel 40 and I get paid to stay fit because I can use the gym quite a bit at work which is cool!!!. With windsurfing it's all about strength and fitness and the older you get the more important it is to maintain a high level of fitness. We can all sail as we get older but to keep pushing yourself when the conditions turn on gives you a great buzz, so fellow Vazon wave sailors keep up the good work. It's days like the last couple of weekends which makes us appreciate our sport and sailing to the max with your mates is the best feeling in the world!

Saturday was the better day-4.7 weather and bigger surf but these photos are of Sunday afternoon when it was much smaller but still fun.
Cheers Dimi for the pics

Low tide Vazon (Sunday 7-2-2011)

Me and Dan Harradine

Dan laying it down

Sliding off the lip!

Backie time

Dan-back side

Stevie Smith-Pryde sponsored?

Saturday 14th January 2011

Below you'll find a selection of photo's from Saturday morning session at Vazon. It was a classic weekend made all the better by the lack of surfers in the water. Unfortunately we didn't get any shots of the Sunday session but if you think these look good? - Sunday was even better!
Thanks to Pierre Bisson for all the photos www.gsyphoto.com

The motley crew....
Marshan..looking seriously happy
Phil....nice sails

Yours truly

Oly...style master

Harty...back in action

Heavy!

The President....sliding it off the top

Jas.....mind that foot!!!

Chris.....re-entry

Whoops!...

Weekend to remember!!!

It was a weekend to remember in more ways than one.
Firstly, due to the sad loss of our fellow windsurfing friend Jamie Whalley on 11th Jan we decided to have a get together at Vazon and have a sail in remembrance of the good old times that we spent down the beach with Jamie. As if by some sort of act of God it also coincided with a pumping westerly swell and perfect cross off conditions.
This gave me the perfect opportunity to try out my new 87 lt Naish Tri-fin wave board. The board is a good size for those marginal days when the waves are good and the wind is a little fickle. The board tapers quite narrow into the tail and thus turns really smooth even in single fin configuration. Great for snappy off the tops and re-entries. As the session progressed my confidence was growing all the time until I eventually took it too far on a big one and went over the falls with my kit. Hanging onto the boom as I got rinsed I popped up from the white water to discover that the rail had been crushed probably by the mast as I was getting dragged over the falls.
Gutted, this was the second time that I had done my kit some damage in less than a couple of days as I had bust my mast a couple of days earlier and holed my wave sail.
As you can see from the photos she's in the repair shop with my mate and master craftsman Steve Mellors who is hopefully going to perform some moments of magic and bring her back to life.
I've posted a couple of photos of the board looking in a sorry state but fingers crossed she'll be looking like new ready for the next cross-off session :-)

Ouch.....!

Very sad news

Tragically a friend and windsurfing buddy, Jamie Whalley was killed in an Avalanche in Val d'isere on Tuesday morning. He was a great guy and well known and liked by all who knew him. This Saturday at 10am some Guernsey windsurfers will be meeting at Vazon bay to have a windsurfing session in memory of him. Condolences go to his family during this very hard time. He was a great guy, always happy and smiling and good fun to be with! He will be missed.

Please take a look at Matt and Phil's blogs for further tributes-

vivelabreeze.blogspot.com

funautical.blogspot.com

First Session of 2011!!

Location-Vazon beach
Sail size-Naish 5.3 Force
Board-Naish 87ltr tri-fin wave board
Conditions-cross-off, 2 foot!!!

Doesn't sound very exciting but it doesn't take much to get the boys fired especially when you take into account the severe drought that we've experienced over the last 2 months!!
It had been blowing pretty hard for most of the morning but the swell forecast for the day wasn't great so I wasn't expecting much when I arrived at Vaz at 1.30pm. My old friend Harty had already been in and was just getting out when I arrived down the beach. To say it was small was an understatement but there were signs of a small swell and it was definitely windy and Dr Stark was going in for a quick half hour and I'd thought I'd join him and keep him company.
As the tide dropped the wind got stronger and the swell was improving all the time. The new board was going a treat. I had it in the tri-fin set up and she was feeling sweet. It is sooo loose but then again when you see the size of the fins you can understand why. As time went on a few more of the boys turned up. Phil, Matt, Stu and Dave had all come down to make the most of the cross-off wind and small waves that were now rolling in. Even though the swell was small the crew were whacking out some fine aerials just in the shallows. We all came in around 4.30pm and were fully stoked with the afternoons session. The forecast for the remainder of the week is looking good so fingers,toes and eyes crossed for some more fun later in the week!
On a final note Phil (North) Warry has now got a blog up and running-check it out at http://funautical.blogspot.com - Nice!