a bigger splash

underwater photos

2009-10-15T11:11:00.002+01:00

I've always been interested in photos of windsurfing from the water. Taking it to the extreme and sinking kit to do a sea-bed photo shoot in Teos was one idea and with the help of Rusty and Beer (from the Dive Shack) we did it. It was trial and error, and the main problem was that we underestimated the volume of the board – even just 86 litres was too much to pull down fully using ropes. The floating feeling, interesting colour, light and abstract angles made it a good first attempt. Photos by Beer.

alacati

2009-08-11T15:34:00.005+01:00

just spent a day in alacati to see the first day of the pwa slalom event. there was an amazing atmosphere, especially with so many big names there and freestyle to watch. i spent the afternoon on a 4.2m but it was fairly choppy and crowded, so i didnt manage much. it was great to meet josh angulo and see ross williams lead. windsurfing with bjorn dunkerbeck just upwind was great fun...

flat water, forwards and fluck gybes

2009-08-06T20:25:00.004+01:00

last week i spent a few evenings with other staff at an island for sunset sessions. alex was taking great photos which i put together to make these sequences. landed my first forward loop last week which was a massive relief, such a great feeling. i was teaching light wind freestyle today and put the two moves of the day together, flare and duck gybe. decided to call it the fluck gybe.

teos wind

2009-06-06T13:58:00.003+01:00

had a week off and unfortunately the meltemi hadnt kicked in and there was bugger all wind. the wind conditions seem to dictate my mood, so was grumpy all the time. did manage one afternoon with on shore storm conditions, making it very tricky to get out of the little bay. went out on a 6.5 overpowered so settled on a 5.5 with 94 l kode. enjoyed the rough water, bit of waveriding, pleased just to be on the water again. forecast looks good from now on.

arrived in teos

2009-04-05T13:52:00.004+01:00

after a petrol leak in the car and a delayed flight, nearly missing connection, I arrived in teos and the new resort looks stunning. it's not finished yet, but the kit and scenery is awesome. this is a pic of me on a BA flight, and yes, with windsurf kit.

scotland march 2009

2009-03-30T12:47:00.003+01:00

i've had a few weeks in the uk now - and there's been a very cold spell in scotland. i managed to get out a few times at newburgh... even through a winter suit with gloves and hood it was bloody tough to bear the cold. many coffee breaks were needed to keep circulation but fully powered on a 4.5m it was well worth it.
saturday 28th march was the best day : i headed up to st combs with my 75 litre, 4.5m and most importantly my camera. i was shivering on the beach but it was great to watch the other guys out there. without a drysuit and nothing smaller than 4.5m i decided that it wasn't worth braving the sowy gale. after lunch i went to newburgh where it was busy and surprisingly non gusty. i had a great session and was amazed to land a vulcan on 75l. there was massive chop in the channel - good for jumping. i am always stoked after being on the f2 style - it gets air effortlessly and feels so good.
just got my flight details for my next stop - turkey. unfortunately the flight is with BA which means i can't take my windsurf kit with me. having just bought a new 5m sail, i'm hoping to get my rig out to the neilson resort in teos another way.

2009-03-02T11:17:00.003Z

here's a wee animation i made on my ipod. i think with some practice i may be better at windsurfing animation than actually windsurfing!!! triple forward loops coming soon...!

New Zealand (mini) tour

2009-03-02T02:47:00.003Z

The journey began with a long drive from Auckland to Taranaki. The campsite at Oakura, just past New Plymouth, was very good – it's right on the beach and has good facilities including free wifi (nice bonus). Rachel cooked 'chicken carbonara' while I had a surf on the 6'2. Rachel also had a wee surf on the 7' but the waves were too big and messy. Sore backs in the morning due to lack of mattress making skills. Taranaki seems like a really nice place with great coastal scenery. We couldn't see Mount Taranki for clouds, which was disappointing.
Woke up to a dying swell but some really nice sets were lining up. I took out the 7' and had an awesome session with some local surfers and a paddle-boarder from San Francisco. Caught some nice (up to head high) waves which were breaking really close in to the beach. By the time Rachel was out with the camera the waves were getting grimey. Packed up and headed East with a quick stop off at the Pouakai zoo park. Fed a zebra, that was the highlight. We wanted to stay at Kaieto cafe camp site but arrived late evening at it to see the signs 'sorry, closed' and 'for sale'. We decided to carry on along the 'forgotten world highway', which turned into a track at one point. Quite slow progress through the windy scenic roads but arrived in time to pitch the tent and do dinner before dark at an empty DoC (Department of Conservation) campsite in the middle of nowhere - Ohinepane.
With a wet tent in the car boot by 8am, we kept heading East to Taupo. Some great driving and scenery along the way, and we arrived at DeBretts campsite in Taupo and enjoyed the thermal pool. We found the place to be a bit of a rip off and touristy (as we expected), but the thermal pool at night time almost justified it. By then our mattress making skills – involving surf board bag, towels, blankets and duvet – were perfected.
Another scenic drive along the thermal highway and we passed (as we later found out) the only free geyser and thermal, expecting them all to be reasonable. I threw a strop because of the prices for entry, and my attempt to get to the thermal resort through the bushes didn't work. We stopped off at the Huka waterfalls, lava glass and a honey shop, where we sampled some nice honey related alcohol stuff. Our campsite in Rotorua – Thermal Resort – was similar to the one in Taupo – has all the facilities, but claims to be more than it is. The hot pools on site seemed old and dirty – more like a bath where you can catch a disease than something relaxing and inspiring. At $14 I shouldn't complain. The Kuirau park in Rotarua however was good, with steamy lakes and bubbling mud. At that point I decided that I generally prefer to be on the coast, and with Zorbing and Mt Manganui to look forward to the next day, all I was hoping for more sun and waves soon.
Zorbing was good fun – from the bottom the hill looks small, but once inside the inflatable ball filled with some water and spinning down the hill, it's actually awesome. After that we just headed straight for Mount Manganui for some surfing. Turns out there was a surf lifesaving championship on that weekend, so the campsite was packed and the beach was full. I had a good long surf session but the waves were crowded and getting more and more dumpy over the evening. Still had a good session, and we had dinner on our beach-front camp spot, planned our next day and talked about the storm which appeared to be coming.
A storm did come, and from 11pm till 6am the tent was pounded by strong winds and torrential rain. It was simply too noisy and wet to sleep, so at around 6.30am we decided to pack up and head off. By 7.30 the car was loaded and soaked, so by 8.30 we were on the road, window wipers on full.
We headed back to Auckland, hoping that Rachel's passport would be returned in the post before our flight in a week and to sell the car. Still waiting...
Taranki was probably the best bit – great campsite in a superb location, with surf 10 seconds walk away.

february sessions

2009-02-15T09:56:00.003Z

i had a great day for freestyle at shoal bay. had a shot on some freestyle kit and then a 78l freestyle/wave. only managed a few vulcans but was happy to make some geckos and managed a clew first one too. got lots of great photos.
windsurfed at manly and takapuna recently too - both on 5.8m freestle days.
also had a few surf sessions on the west coast - muriwai, piha and bethels. muriwai was the cleanest day and bethels was busy with swimmers and i only caught a few clean waves close in. every time i went out the rescue crew were asking if i was ok, which didnt do anything for my confidence. fair enough, the rip was strong.

new year

2009-01-01T10:05:00.003Z

had my first christmas away from home and first one in summer (new zealand). it didn't feel like christmas at all but had a good time, and 2009 started with a trip to maori bay. the magic seaweed forecast was 5 stars...and big. the currents were strong, waves messy close in, and only the good surfers way out back were doing anything good on the clean waves (well over head high). only had the use of a longboard which worked out well on the white water as getting out would have been sketchy for us.
it's a stunning bay - was beautiful weather and a good way to start the new year!

tawharanui

2008-12-20T10:10:00.006Z

the other week i had a great surf on a 5'10 fish at tawharanui. not the best waves but super clean, sunny, and great scenery. a bit of a mission to find (about 1.5h drive from north shore) especially with no map, but worth the drive. a popular place at the weekend and it's quite an enclosed beach(s). i went near the rocks to the left of the main beach from the car park and had a few underwater beatings from the rocks, regretting not putting on my wetsuit.
on the way home we had a longboard session at orewa, which was awesome... it is a place like nowhere else i have been. the wave is so long and clean and tiny! on a longboard it is just a dream for small cruises in ankle deep water. rachel managed to get standing on her second time surfing.
also discovered a new favourite kiwi beer - monteiths summer ale. yummy

orewa

2008-11-26T01:10:00.005Z

after a day off with awful weather, the morning was bright and the east coast had swell from the storm. sunny day on tuesday at orewa with allan and rachel - small waves, slight cross-offshore wind... perfect for playing on the long boards and teaching.

piha

2008-11-12T05:20:00.005Z

allan, rich, ed and i went surfing at north piha on monday. magicseaweed forecast was around 4 foot and 12 second period, but it wasnt sunny and i was pretty knackered from the week at work, so wasn't too fussed until allan called us for the trip. if allan thinks it's worth the trip i figured it must be good. light offshore breeze, perfect sets and easy conditions made it a stonking session. i was on a 6'10 custom at first which was sweet but then changed onto a 5'10 fish. i was stoked to get going on the small board, and still managed to get going on the clean waves with smooth rides, managing to get better at linking turns on the wave.
best surf ever!

rrd twin tip 115

2008-11-05T08:43:00.008Z

it's cold here. had about 30 knots wind today at the lake and was on the water for about 5 hours. people say its colder than usual for spring, so no surprise my summer wetsuit wasn't warm enough. had a few sessions on my new board with a 4.5 sail and had a great time. trying shuvits, spocks and flakas, only landing vulcans. the rrd is great and floaty, making 360s super easy and the vulcans nice and smooth. my home made fin worked well today with the small sail, but i reckon the 115 needs a bigger fin when using a sail over 5.5m.
stoked!

new zealand

2008-10-23T23:30:00.011+01:00

i'm living now in new zealand and looking forward to a summer of work and play. the lifestyle here is nice and chilled, there is plenty of breeze, and i'm in the process of buying a 'ron burgundy'-style 1989 nissan bluebird to get me around and see more than auckland city streets. been to a few beaches in the takapuna area and muriwai (nice beach, good surf) but i am looking forward especially to seeing piha and other surf spots further afield.
down at lake pupuke where i teach windsurfing there's a good wind (if quite gusty) and set up, making lessons perfect on most days. i arrived (ill) at 5am in auckland and had 2 days of great windsurfing on a 92litre and 5.2m. tried flakas and vulcans on the freestyle wave board with my small fin but didnt have any success (too used to the freestyle 99). the 09 jp freestyle wave is a very aggressive board and great in chop. looks like i will get out today in 20 knots on the sea - splendid.

this is a photo from a day of surfing at muriwai... big!

freestyle fin

2008-09-29T16:36:00.003+01:00

introducing my home made fin. 18cm, almost symmetrical...

bye bye naxos

2008-09-12T11:48:00.005+01:00

had a good summer on naxos island - a fantastic place. the windsurfing, the wind, the equpment was the best i have ever experienced. would have liked more time on the water and some more photo sessions - especially of freestyle...
now chilling out in lesvos hoping to get some time on the water. had a few good days so far in flat water gusty conditions. looking forward to getting on the water in scotland late september, and preparing to move to new zealand.

vulcan

2008-08-18T09:38:00.002+01:00

smaller fin and dont think about the feet - suddenly it becomes easy. now flakas and spocks...

windsurfing in naxos

2008-07-10T20:13:00.006+01:00

working long hours but managing to get on the water. learned some more carving freestyle but lately i have been only having short sessions and been getting really pissed off - today couldnt properly duck gybe, heli tack, upwind or downwind 360. even tack! thats how it goes though, good days bad days... at least there are good people around, and slowly slowly starting to slide more for the vulcans...

naxos

2008-06-11T20:23:00.002+01:00

a last mintue decision took me to naxos. on the ferry from piraeus, near athens, to naxos, a strange man warned me that naxos was a dangersous place. i was shit scared, but found myself in the best greek island i have ever visited. after a few days i realised it was paradise. a nice job at a small windsurf centre with flat water to waves on very good equipment. no photos as yet as my camera broke (my waterproof case has in fact go holes in it, so hopefully in a month or so i should have a new camera). its quite at the moment in naxos but its the best place i have ever windsurfed for flat water, and such a friendly, chilled-out place.

blast

2008-05-27T11:14:00.007+01:00

evening blast at newburgh, using a 7m. is been ok the last few days - quite gusty, but been out on 5 - 7m sails at balmedie and newburgh, just cruising and a doing bit of freestyle. nice and sunny.

where next

2008-05-20T07:35:00.009+01:00

after 4 years in dundee i'm now finished uni, which is good and bad, mostly good! i intend to move to auckland and work at another windsurf centre, madloop, in october. it's a jp neilpryde school on a lake right beside the sea and sounds amazing... it will be great to get surfing and wavesailing in new zealand too.

K413 website

2008-05-19T12:33:00.006+01:00

i designed a new website for steve jarvis, windsurfer.
http://www.sjwindsurf.com/

crystal voyager

2008-05-13T00:59:00.007+01:00

crystal voyager (old surf film)... epic.

nice vest

2008-05-06T16:29:00.005+01:00

i saw in debenhams this teeshirt / vest with a windsurf design on it. the windsurf images used in commercial stuff is normally from last century - but here there is the tushingham "wedge" sails visible along with other ones. it's just a shame the garment is so completely crap...