Windsurfing » Brothers Gwynn

Brothers Gwynn (59 unread)

Moved Premises...

Posted: April 24th, 2011, 7:41pm CEST

Due to it being so much easier to use on the fly and on the phone, I've moved...

feelthefroth.tumblr.com/

2010...

Posted: December 31st, 2010, 12:06pm CET

Thought I'd put a few of my favourite pictures up from 2010. Not technically great pictures, just good times and happy memories...

January always has a few of these cold steely days surfing in Mid Wales. This was taken just before dark and came out really moody. I can't remember the guys name but he's a nice bloke and a very good surfer.

Snow closed Llandegla in January, so we had to head elsewhere for our biking fix. Moel Famau was the call, and after a gruelling ride in the snow and mud, Richy gives the Clwyds two thumbs up.

January was also the first of the Brothers Gwynn weddings. Andy's big day in that there London.

After an unreal 111 days of no windsurfing, the duck was broken with a couple of sails in March. This one at Hells with Steve Thorp.

My favourite photo from the year, taken by Rob Hennessy. This day was in early January. The van thermometer struck -15C at one point on the journey over. 3.5 hours of as good as it gets SUP with a good friend. Best SUP session of the year.

Mikey's big day beckons and with the power of the wolf we went camping in Cornwall to celebrate his last few days of bachelorhood. Brilliant weekend with some great people.

A random camping trip with friends and the usual van full of stuff finally pays out. Hells Mouth, offshore wind and a spot of freestyle. A beautiful day and incredible colours...

...shame I didn't land that trick above though.

Pembrokeshire and after a day running on the beach, Tig puts his paws up for a rest in the van.

More Pembrokeshire, this session was a real desperado SUP trying to rack up a few waves before breakfast. I really like the colours of this photo and the slight 'speed blur' look. Not quite a brilliant photo, but almost had the wave been less embarrassingly small...

Another from the same trip, a late evening longboard session at Whitesands. I almost didn't go out as was shattered after so much paddling. Glad I did. The peak in front of the car park was pretty busy with perhaps 10 people on it. The one further down had one guy out. Me!

Speed blur on the way back from somewhere. Probably the beach.

Jay could have gone as far as he wanted with windsurfing but kind of lost the way with the drugs and the booze (not really, more like girls and take away pizzas). When he does occasionally go out he shows a level of style way beyond his years and shows flashes of brilliance. This was the middle shot of a three photo sequence and to me shows him completely focused on the job in hand. Hopefully he'll join us for a few more sessions next year.

A backside smash completely breaking the back of what is basically a shit wave. Once again, brilliance from a natural talent.

This was a great session at Rhosneigr and AD shot a couple of me for a change. Move of the day this day was AD's rocket air. I got a 7 shot sequence of him going completely airborne. He put the pros to shame this day. Unfortunately most of the sequence was out of focus. Sorry AD!

A week away in Cornwall. We were dogged with light onshore winds and pretty crap surf this trip so hanging out was the order of the trip. Did manage a few sessions, but nothing epic. Some cool colours though, especially on this lightly treated landscape of Crantock. My screensaver for my desktop monitor.

The East Coast occasionally really pulls it of, and this day was one of them. With everything from logo high cross off to mast high cross shore, this beach had it all that day. Some of my photos that day made it onto a French website discussing best days of the year in 2010. A few people on the site said they were going to make the trip over. I guess East Riding of Yorkshire owe me and Huey some commission for the tourism boost...

A couple of weeks later and it was the turn of the (Best Coast) West Coast. Dinas absolutely lit it up in october with a freak swell easy over head high on the sets. Don't even bother going there. It never ever gets this good and I'd be surprised to see it again. Anyway, surf session of the year...

Jay at Aberdovey. Turning his hand to slalom and doing a pretty good job of it. Another good weekend away.

My favourite spot in the UK for windsurfing. This day was actually surfing another freak swell, and what a day it was. Needless to say the best windsurf session for me for 2010 was here. No photos though, as is usually the way for the best days...

A little indulgence. Couldn't finish the post without a bike picture. Decided to build myself a dream bike this year and what a bike it is. Biking has been my saviour this year, and this picture to me is all about a job I love and a sport that doesn't rely on perfect conditions. The perfect compliment to windsurfing and surfing.
Happy New Year!

Snow and Stuff

Posted: November 28th, 2010, 9:21pm CET

Baltic at the moment and no let up in sight. Grabbed the camera this morning and walked up the lane to catch a few photos. More to put off working on the van to be honest...

Tigger's footprints

Perfect spot for a bird

Icey...

Hedge

One of my road routes. Not today though...

The New Bike... And Stuff.

Posted: November 22nd, 2010, 8:00pm CET

Georgey B blasting
Been pretty busy of late and blog has taken a bit of a back seat. Brother Jay even had the cheek recently to say it had not been updated in a while (his was last done on 5th February 2009), so thought I'd better do a quick update...

Windsurfing...
...has been pretty quiet, had a handful of sessions, one was really good scoring some decent waves and nice down the line proper wave riding. Kind of get the feeling the last one before it starts to get proper cold. My new 2011 Severne S1's made the last few sessions even more enjoyable, and as ever no pictures of the special days as who wants to come in and take pictures? Not me... Boardwise Demo Day last month (aka Dyfi Wind Jam) rocked, Good to see so many people making the journey and a 'few' beers with Jay, George, Lil' John and Warren made for an enjoyable evening and George's hilarious antics with his upturned bed and dancing on the wood burner really topped it off. Sunday we even managed a sail... Eventually building enough for a 5.9 and my freestyle board. Sweet.

Jay
Surfing...
...has been non existent but finally got round to getting my bust shortboard repaired. Kind of thinking about building a 6'4 chunky fish. Quite possibly another quad... Hoping for some decent waves soon.

Biking...
...has pretty much been my saviour! My new trail bike is finally ready after a month or two of collating parts and to call it sublime is an understatement. It rides so nicely, and feels effortless on climbs and obviously a whole lot quicker on descents. Me likeeeeey very muchly. For those that know (and/or care), it's an Ibis Mojo carbon frame, full XTR 2x10 and XTR brakes, KS gravity dropper seatpost with remote, DT Swiss XM1550 Tricon wheels, Conti Black Chilli Rubber Queens, PRO Tharsis finishing kit and DT Swiss 150mm forks with 15mm through axle. Basically, it's the dogs nuts and I'm now building a hardtail for the winter muck, as I don't like getting it dirty... The old bike (8 months to be precise) is now for sale. See below for details. Also signed up for Lands End to John O'Groats next year...

Superbike - picture does it no justice!

Commencal Meta 5.5 LTD 2010 For Sale!

Posted: November 22nd, 2010, 1:29pm CET

Bike is just 8 months old, costs £2800 new, in very good condition and reason for selling is I've upgraded! Frame is size XL.

From Commencal:

The Commencal Meta 5.5 Limited 2010 Mountain Bike is one of the most celebrated bikes of the decade, and has become the all mountain MTB of choice. With Remy Absalon gripping its bars, this bike has won the Enduro series, the reunion Island Megavalanche, the SAAB Salomon trophy, and the European marathon Downhill championships.

Frame:Meta 55 updated with carbon swing arm
Rear Shock:Fox RP2
Fork:Fox 32 Float 140 RL 15QR
Front Derailleur:Shimano SLX
Rear Derailleur:Shimano XT
ShadowShifters:Shimano SLX
Chain set:Shimano XT
Bottom Bracket:included with crankset
Cassette:Shimano XT
Chain:Shimano HG
Front Brake:Formula RX 180
Rear Brake:Formula RX 160
Brake Levers:Formula RX
Handlebars: 1.5" 6061 DB oversize
Stem:Race Face Evolve XC
Headset:Tange IS 24 Integrated. Sealed bearings. Campy standard 1"1/8
Grips: Deluxe Lock-On
Rims:DT Swiss X430 white for Front
Hub:Shimano XT (15mm)
Rear Hub:Shimano XT
Spokes:Stainless black 64p 3x lacing
Front Tyre:MAXXIS High Roller 26x2.35
Rear Tyre:MAXXIS High Roller 26x2.35
Saddle:SDG Bel Air
Seatpost:SDG Micro I Beam 2014

Bad points : Not a lot, few scratches, and top tube has slightly dulled appearance from rubbing on shorts. Structurally sound and a very nice bike!

£1600

West Coast

Posted: October 13th, 2010, 1:46pm CEST

I prefer rights, but happy to take this
As I'm banished to the office with a severe case of manflu, thought I'd put a couple of the pictures from Saturday up. Saturday was huge when we first arrived, although no Supertubos, it was easy over head high on the set waves and as always the pictures do it no justice. One of the best days I've ever seen at this spot. What's more, it was really warm and sunny with just the four or us out. Quite possibly the best surf of the year (equal first at the moment with a session on the Gower I had)... I literally got the camera out for about 5 minutes, as taking pictures was obviously a low priority.

Shelly and Rob get amped
I stayed overnight and went back again on Sunday. Although it wasn't as good, there was super clean lefts rolling through and shoulder high to head high on the bigger ones.

One from the hill on my phone before the drive home

East Coast

Posted: September 27th, 2010, 12:40am CEST

I'd planned on finishing the insides of the van this weekend, but 15ft @ 10 seconds was enough to get Carl frothing and making the call on the East Coast pretty early last week. It was looking classic all week, and it didn't disappoint. The van remains unfinished.

After a stupid early start (5am) and a 4 hour drive (and about 4 hours sleep) we arrived to absolutely classic conditions. The waves were pretty big and to be honest the photos don't really do it justice. Actually, they were huge. Biggest I've ever seen on the East Coast.

Upwind. Spot the windsurfer...
Pete (one of the others) was pretty keen to get out quickly, and it turned out that was because he didn't want to talk himself out of it. Carl soon followed and I took to the cliffs to get some photos and further assess the situation, which was perhaps a mistake. The boys (who are a lot lighter than me) were struggling to get out and timing was definitely of the essence. I was slowly talking myself out of it and looking through the 400mm lens further upwind, it was looked classic, more offshore and a smaller more fun looking wave. Still head high, but definitely more of what I fancied. I've not sailed as much as I'd like this year, the weather has been shit, I tore a hole in my foot, and generally the old mojo is not what it should be. I maybe should have sailed at the original spot, but arriving at the upwind location I was glad I made the call. It was a really good fun wave. When it walled up it was perfect for little aerials and was so forgiving. Anyway, next time it'll be the big wave. Some of the better photos below...

Kernow

Posted: September 26th, 2010, 11:57pm CEST

Grabbed a last minute week off work recently and headed down to Cornwall.

Didn't really go down with the intention of getting in the water everyday (which was just as well as it wasn't exactly classic), but did score a couple of sessions at Crantock and Fistral. Even managed to surf it without too much of a crowd, for about 20 minutes anyway until 100 million other people all paddled out. Didn't get any pictures though.

Weather was really good. Sunshine all week, and although I missed out on some strong winds up North, couldn't have really got it much better really...

Lands End

WINDY!

Posted: August 30th, 2010, 10:48pm CEST

Apologies for the lack of updates, been pretty busy with one thing or another and with the lack of wind recently there's not been a lot to write about...

So, in brief...

Finally this week there's been some wind, had a great one mid week at Leasowe for a brilliant session with a few of the guys and then onto West Kirby for a spot of freestyle and a really impressive sunset. Couldn't help think Brian, one of the lakes regulars for the last decade, wouldn't have wanted it any other way. Shame I was so out of practise I forgot to throw a camera in the van. Also managed to put a pretty nasty looking hole in the side of my foot. Think it's going to be a while before this one heals. I won't post a picture of it, as it's looking really grim today!

Friday, one of my carefully planned work calls took me to Llandegla in the afternoon, and with work out of the way, they guys very kindly lent me a bike to put round the black route. Not exactly an ordinary bike, but an Ibis Mojo... Umm, Ibis Mojo. Anyway, to cut a long story short, I now need one.

Saturday the forecast wind came in, and West Kirby was the call. Had another good session with a load of the crew, except Jay and Mike (Jay had 'plans' but he never actually said what the plans were as he was, and I quote, 'unsure of what he had planned' and Mike was too busy shopping for shorts and watching his neighbours move in.) Lake was good, and pretty busy which was good to see after so long with no wind, and the tide was surprisingly good, too. Especially for such a low one. I was being a bit soft with my forwards, not committing enough. Finally on the last one I decided to really throw it forward and finished on a good one. Yew! Forgot the camera again though...

Sunday, decided to rest the foot and not windsurf and hit the rainy trails again this time with Richy. Riding with Richy is always great value for money. It's a bit like going to a show everybody has told you is really funny, and having that level of expectation of waiting to be amused. Last time he rode he got 6 punctures on a 12 mile loop, before giving up and walking back. Needless to say, at the top of the first climb Richy changed up a gear and snapped his rear mech cable. After the first section of black, I decided my bike was running too hard and let some air out of my rear shock. Unfortunately, most of it by mistake and I'd left my shock pump at home. Not long after, Richy took his glasses off the top of his helmet and dropped them, only to ride straight through them snapping them clean in two. He didn't even bother stopping.

Van is making some progress at last. It's all been insulated, carpet and flooring has been bought and will be good to go after the music gets installed tomorrow. I've got a few more plans for it, but still not 100% on exactly how it'll look. Stay tuned!

Finally, still got a few things for sale...

2009 Severne S1 5.9 - £195

Severne Blueline boom 140-190 - £65

2009 RRD Freestyle TwinTip Pro 102 - £600

Jimmy Lewis Waverider 10'8 - £350

2009 Giant TCR Advanced Rabobank Ltd Edition Road bike (large) - £1250

2010 Commencal Meta 5.5 Limited (XL) - £1750

AND... Angulo El Gato 9'1 noserider longboard (with bag, leash etc.) - £250

Heads Up!!!

Posted: July 28th, 2010, 6:51pm CEST

It's getting close to that time of year when all the new windsurf stuff, bikes and boards turn up. This year is going to be a fairly big clear out so just as a heads up the following is going to be up for sale...

Windsurf:

2010 Severne S1 4.3 - £225
2010 Severne S1 4.7 - £225
2010 Severne S1 5.3 - £225
2009 Severne S1 5.9 - £195

Severne Blueline boom 140-190 - £65

2009 RRD Freestyle TwinTip Pro 102 - £600

SUP:

Jimmy Lewis Waverider 10'8 - £350

Bikes:

2009 Giant TCR Advanced Rabobank Ltd Edition Road bike (large) - £1250

2010 Commencal Meta 5.5 Limited (XL) - £1750

1993 Kona Fire Mountain single speed - open to offers!

Pictures and more info will be not the way nearer the time, but drop me a line on stueygwynn[at]hotmail[dot]com if you want any more info.

Seaside Snapshots

Posted: July 16th, 2010, 7:31pm CEST

I don't like the word 'seaside', or the word 'shots'. Just sounds too cheesy and amateur like. I prefer beach instead of seaside, ocean instead of sea, and photos instead of shots. However 'Ocean Photographs' didn't have the same ring, so for one post only 'Seaside Snapshots' takes the title space.

Jay sequence - good to see him back out giving it some style

Jay 'Brothers Gwynn' styling again
Good day at Rhosneigr, Jay and AD accompanying yours truly for some wind and waves. Probably the best day of the year so far, but that's not really selling it is it? Especially after the year we're having. Anyway, it was sunny, very windy and some pretty good waves and hopefully the start of something good. Until the tide backed off and left walls of white water to contend with, it was actually really good. Glad we took it in turns to get some photos, and was happy to feel pretty surfed out last night...

Three of the seven photos my camera took of AD in flight on this particular jump

Me trying to go backwards

Spray

End of a good day

Pembrokeshire

Posted: July 12th, 2010, 2:12pm CEST

Whitesands
Just back form a great week in Pembrokeshire. Didn't really get the classic conditions I was kind of hoping for, but managed to get out most days and usually twice a day, either surfing, kiting or paddleboarding. Sunday was a pretty frustrating day, some of the guys went to Ireland and scored some amazing conditions, Rhossy was proper windy and proper wavey and I spent the day driving round the coastline trying to find something special. Unfortunately the wind was shifting a fair bit during the day, so never really found it. Golden rule of surf travel: If you find suitable conditions (ie. the first beach I went to), go out, and don't try and find something better. You'll get skunked.

Problem I have is that nagging voice in my mind that always says what if the next place is better? Lesson learnt!

Small day paddling
Met one of the original Gower Boys, too. I christened him The Dude, as quite simply he was The Dude. He has been surfing for 40 years and was like my own personal real life Stormrider Guide. What the Dude doesn't know about surfing in South Wales isn't worth knowing. Hope to see him on the Gower again soon.

The Dude abides

Evening sessions

Mis-timed lip attack... 9'2 style
Saturday made it up to Rhossy for a session, but it wasn't very windy and ended up kiting. Sunday, managed a great freestyle session at West Kirby with AD which was just like the old days. Rocked up at 8:45am and there was already about 20 people out. Blasted round on my 5.3 for a couple of hours and surprised myself at how much freestyle I managed to land. Not sailed the lake since it got repaired... Even finished the session with a quick hour on the tide, it wasn't the best but just about ok for a few forwards.

Weather prospects look good with a good low pressure systems coming in this week, Thursday is looking good and I have the day off! Woohoo!

Post surf sunset

My partner in crime

London to Brighton...

Posted: June 21st, 2010, 3:48pm CEST

Myself (left) and Andy at the back
Had a really manic week last week. Wednesday I flew out to the Black Forest in Germany and pretty much ate my own body weight in meat and twice as much again in cheese. Nice place though, must have been some really good riding around in the hills but unfortunately we had no bikes to test the tracks with. I had been entered into a race in the Black Forest on the Sunday but had to fly back for the L2B. Saturday, I flew back into Manchester at lunchtime, and after a bit of a moment at the long term parking where they couldn't find my van keys and then being blocked in by 6 other cars, I drove home, threw my bike in and then cruised the 240 miles to Brighton to drop my van off. Mike kindly came and picked me and my bike up and we headed back up to London arriving just before midnight. Basically, on Saturday I drove 486 miles and flew 716 miles. On top of that we had to get up at 4.30am which would give us 4 hours sleep. Perfect for the 70 miles of riding the next day!

Andy on the Downs...
Sunday morning dawned and so did the realisation that I was so tired I had not even noticed that the air bed I slept on wasn't pumped up. Quick bowl of cereal and a few glasses of water and we (Andy, Mike, Michelle, my friend Richy and myself cruised to the start line as a gentle warm up). We managed to get away in the 4th group, which meant a lot of traffic ahead. In fact twice as much as last year as we got away in the second group then. It always amazes me that when 30,000 bikes hit the route, there's always people who think it's fine to ride like there's nobody else on the route. Flipping move to the left! Unfortunately we lost about 10 minutes through London and this was enough to mean we didn't break the time from last year.

The rest of the ride was pretty standard really, conditions were perfect again with a slight tailwind and occasional sunshine, and having an extra player in the group (Andy) meant it was easier taking turns up front. Mike I think was paying the price for not riding so much, and didn't do as much up front as we would have liked, but sure he'll sort it out for the next challenge! The other thing was that Andy was on his TT bike. He'd be setting the pace and then drop down on to his aero bars and it was like he was changing up a gear.

Andy on the TT bike
The final climb was a lot easier than last year, I took it steady on the build up, and cruised up it ok. Wasn't out of breath or anything, but half way up I got hit my cramp! Tried to ride through it but in the end had to jump off the bike and stretch. Got back on again, blasted to the top and it hit again just before the peak. Pretty gutted to be honest, as I think I wound down too much on the approach to conserve energy. In fact that may have been why I cramped. Lost probably another 5 minutes from this. The ride down was way quicker than last year, and clocked a mighty 48.3 mph. Another 1.7 mph and would have broken the magic 50 barrier!

Me trying to shake the cramp out at the top of Ditchling Beacon
We crossed the line in 2 hours 53 minutes and 53 seconds, but without the traffic and 'better leg management' could have easily broken 2:40. Don't think we're going to do the ride again, it's getting to the point now where the earlier you can get to the start line is having more affect than actually training for the event. Richy crossed the line soon after and came in at about 3 hours 20 minutes. Somehow he even managed to go the wrong way on one part of it...

Pictures courtesy of Mikey 'Slipstream' Gwynn above! All taken at about 20 mph...
Congratulations to everybody who completed the ride, and condolences to the family and friends of the poor chap who died whilst attempting the last climb. The organisers wisely took the decision to stop people from cycling up in the end and made them walk.

Superstyling

Posted: June 13th, 2010, 10:10pm CEST

Went camping this weekend, and the forecasted marginal wind I figured would be ok for a kite turned out to be a lot more than forecast. Went to Hells Mouth and it was just a bit too offshore for kiting and steadily building. Decided to head out on the 5.9, and after a couple of hours of shaky freestyle (it's been a while since that board got wet - perhaps even a year?) and a couple of minuscule wave rides as the tide dropped, it was more than enough for my 5.3. To be honest a 4.7 would have been better but after 3 hours sailing, I wasn't too bothered about changing down again (or more freestyle) and hit Abersoch for a coffee and some food...

Colours were amazing, the sea was a real deep blue colour, green in the shallows, not a cloud in the sky and with the green hills, it was great to be out there. Could have been anywhere!

Freestyle? At Hells Mouth?!

Arty crash

Mikey's Stag Dooooooo!

Posted: June 11th, 2010, 12:55am CEST

Yes, that is three wolves and a moon on his tee shirt. The boy rocks.
Spent the weekend down in Cornwall with some family and friends to celebrate Mike throwing his singledom away and blatantly breaking Brothers Gwynn Rule Number 1: Never commit to anything! Oh well, she's a keeper! Good on ya' Mikey!

First ride for Joe (actual name Jon)...
Had some pretty good surfing, did some coasteering which is brilliant fun, drank enough to knock a couple of days off the old life expectancy, slept too little to sort of make up for it, and am generally paying the price still for having a busy week and not being able to catch up!

Yours truly

Mike and Joe (Jon)

Henno cleaning the swimming pool

Phil

Wouldn't be Cornwall without a cream tea...(left to right: Me, Mike, Jay, Pa, Phil)
Tuesday night I scored surf of the year (for me) down in the Gower. Wasn't really expecting too much but was kind of hoping their would be a pretty clean wave and it was a lot bigger than I expected. On the sets it was easy head high and reeling all the way in. Caught way more than anybody else surfing the same peak, not too sure why, they all seemed to be off the mark, and I've never surfed there before... Was pretty busy though in the sunshine, even the SUP guys were dropping in on each other. Can kind of see why these guys don't have the best reputation in the line up. One SUP'er on my peak couldn't catch a thing he was so shit at paddling, when he did he fell off, and usually on the best wave in the set. Was glad to be on my 9'1 quad anyway, too busy for the SUP and with near perfect waves, much nicer to get some more movement. Didn't get any pictures as didn't have my camera and to be honest if I did I was too busy surfing... Cracking place though, looking forward to returning in a few weeks.

Finally, if you're after some decent fins then look no further! K4 Fins are now up and running and making fins that actually work with multi fin windsurf boards. Steve has come to the conclusion that multis need to flex and work with the board, just like surfboard fins. Steve is a very good windsurfer and surfer and knows what he's talking about! I've been using them for a while and have to admit am really enjoying using them. They light up the turns and are a fraction of the price of standard G10s. Highly recommended!

Weddings, Wheels, Waves and Wind.

Posted: May 17th, 2010, 6:07pm CEST

Belle with the confetti
Admittedly, not a lot of wind and certainly no waves for a while, hence the lack of updates, (it made for a catchier title - sorry) but I have sold my van, got some new wheels and taken my photography to the next level by doing a full wedding shoot.

Starting with the van, just bought a VW T5 with the super fast 174bhp engine. It's black, and very quick. Very, very quick. Stupidly quick. It's a really refined ride, has leather seats, loads of extras and is really nice to drive. Got a few plans for it, so watch this space on that one. Might even get it remapped...

And the wedding... about 4 or 5 months ago I got asked if I'd do the photography for a small wedding. I was pretty stoked to be asked, and gladly took the job on researching as much as I could on the subject. I had no idea of what to do to be honest, so spent a long time figuring out what you're supposed to photograph and when. I researched the problems people have, trying to stay one step ahead, and looked at some really good photographers work for inspiration. One person's website who I fell back on time and time again was Kirstin Prisk. Hailing from Cornwall, I once met him on a photo shoot and was very impressed with his work. I'm really happy with the results and am just about to start compiling a book (thanks Kirstin for the lead on that!) to give to the couple as a present when they return from their honeymoon.

Table decoration
The hardest thing for me was doing the staged shots. I prefer taking natural photographs catching people talking and enjoying themselves, and the staged ones where pretty difficult at times. I found it best to set up a scene, take the photo(s) knowing as soon as you said "OK, that one's finished" or whatever, they'd both relax and smile and then you'd take a better picture. You can also guarantee that if you take just one photo, of say, the bride and groom with both parents, at least one of them will have their eyes closed or be looking the other way. Occasionally one guy had to come into the photos who refused to smile. Not a lot you can physically do when that happens!

The bride...
I've put a couple here, but don't want to show too many as it was kind of a small private ceremony. That and I've only really processed about 5 photos and have about another 595 to go... Next gig for me is Mike and Cat's big day and I'm really looking forward to it now, armed with a bit more knowledge, some first hand experience and a few more ideas!

Fairy lights at the party

7 Stanes

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 8:51pm CEST

Volcanic Sunsets... Driving up on Friday
Just had an amazing weekend mountain biking at the 7 Stanes. We were up there for a stag do, and although I'd only met a couple of the crew at Llandegla a couple of weeks before, the rest of the guys were great fun. And bloody quick! Feel like my biking has gone up another notch after trying to keep up with amateurs who race in the "expert" categories at National races. Swift!

Saturday we hit the the black route at Glentress and had a mess around on the skills park to start with. It was quite an expensive day out actually, between us we went through a set of forks, 2 spokes, 2 chains, a rear mech hanger, a rear mech and 6 punctures. Not bad for 8 of us. Luckily I only blew a spoke out, but my tyres are looking pretty shredded after all the downhill. The route is awesome, except pushing the bikes through 6 feet of snow at the top. Big gruelling climbs and then long flowing downhills. Can't recommend it enough! The skills park is worth the drive alone, did get some footage from the wall rides and the guys following each other through so I'll try and get it for the blog.

Gaz got off lightly compared to the other stag in town
Sunday, after a wobbly start, we decided on the red route at Glentress. We had planned on doing some of the other centres, but hangovers took their toll... The red route is just as good. Some sections we doubled up on, they were so good.

Inners downhill section from biker house lounge
All photos were from my iPhone, so excuses for them not being the usual quality...

Downwinders...

Posted: April 14th, 2010, 2:34pm CEST

Saw this story on Seabreeze.com.au, which to those of you that don't know it is a bit of a port of call for Australian waterman. I emailed the guy involved and asked him I could reproduce it here. I think it's an incredible story, and perhaps one that may be accused of exaggeration if it wasn't for the fact it was all caught on camera by the guy involved. I'm not going to preach on safety in the ocean, and neither does David, the guy involved in it. It's just a timely reminder to not take things for granted, and no matter what it's doing right now, it can all change moments later. Over to David for the full first hand experience, and thanks for letting me publish it!

With down-winding becoming more and more popular I think too many people don't take it seriously enough.

I was loving it out there and can't wait to get back out there.
cheers
David

The day started with blue sky and a honking westerly wind.. Perfect for our first attempt to cross the bay from Pt Cook to Sandringham Marina.

This is looking across to Pt Cook from Sandy.
We drove across to Pt Cook in Cams car with our two Naish 17s and Pete and Roscoe had Naish 14s.. The forcast was for 20-30 knots true west and that's about what it was already.
We unloaded the boards and the wind didn't seem all that strong but the direction was perfect.

Pete fitted his home made GoPro mount on the tail of his 14.

Here's the two old farts ready for a great adventure.. We're both in our mid fifties and loving the down-winders.

Getting ready to head off.. Come on guys.

We could clearly see our destination by the tall tower on the hill behind Sandy.

Here's a map of our coarse.. The wind was true west but the swells were coming from a more south west direction (green arrow) .. Not perfect but still ok.

Aaaar.. That feels better.. I had been drinking heaps..

Roscoe just ahead of me.

Cam just to the right of me.

Time check.. 11.15.. I'm thinking about two hours without falls.. So probably it will take about two and a half hours..

Roscoe with the sun behind him and the wind seems to be getting stronger.

Let the fun begin..

We'd been paddling about an hour or so and heaps of runners.. I had Roscoe and Cam just ahead of me and at times I'd link a few runs together and get right onto the back of Cam but it just took one fall and the gap would open up again.
That's either Roscoe or Cam directly ahead.. Sure it's just a dot in the distance but the slightly wide angle lens makes it look further than it is.. Anyway it's time to catch up again before the gaps get too big.

Now the wind really starts to kick and the waves start to get serious.

I started to fall just a little too much.. It was like get up and fall straight off again and after doing that a couple of times in a row it's time to just sit and rest for a minute to re compose.

Once up and going again I could just see Cam and Roscoe in the distance and it looked like they were sitting on their boards and waiting.. I'm thinking great.
I put together a few runners without falling and it seems like I'm not getting any closer.. I then realize they're not sitting they're still paddling and I'm not getting any closer to them.
It's just when you really don't want to fall that you often do.. Bugger!

I put my paddle across my board as I climbed on and it slips out of my fingers for a second and the wind blew it about ten feet ahead of me.. Bugger!

I got on my knees and paddled after my paddle and the wind flipped it off the water and it flew about twenty feet ahead.. Double Bugger!

I was now up and going again and starting to get my confidence back with a few great runs and the waves were starting to get huge.

There was a great section before the shipping channel were it must have got real shallow because the colour of the water changed and the waves were jacking up and so steep.. Just looking at the from behind was amazing.

I now couldn't see the guys ahead and I could see Fawkner Beacon in the distance and It was time to stay on the board.. Link the runners together.. and see just how quick I can do the final leg of our trip.. and also try and catch the others before we get to Sandy.

I got a few high speed runs with the nose of my 17 well under water and it was cutting through like a hot knife through butter.. Great fun.. I was having a hoot..

I was thinking I need to get back more more on the board to keep the nose from pearling on the steeper drops and when I did on a huge runner I fell off the back of my board and I was going so fast the leggie pulled hard on my board to slow it down and I thought for a second about my hook on the end of my leggie.. Glad it held then.

Next minute I'm swamped by a huge wave and I hadn't even started to get back on.. When I surfaced the next wave hit.. My leggie pulling on my board pulled it backward through the passing wave and with the last couple of feet of my board sticking into the air the wind caught it and spun the through the air dragging me behind it.. and then it happened.. the tension was gone on my leggie and I thought 'Oh No'.. I dropped my paddle and swam hard for my board thinking (wishing) 'no you don't'.. and it did.. It flipped again.. The wind caught it and it was off spinning through the air and landed about 50 feet away.. I knew that if I was going to get it it had to be now before it flipped again.. I swam hard only to see the next wave lift the tail and it was off again.. I watched as the very next wave it was off again.. I had no hope of catching it.

I watched hoping it would stop.. I took that pic.. ( btw that's Fawkner beacon on the far right of the pic on the horizon.. It's huge so it was still a long way off).. I thought if it stopped for long enough I'd start swimming again.. but it tumbled across the water like it was on hard sand.. I turned to see if I could see my paddle.. I though I might be able to use it to wave for help.

I saw a wave break top to bottom and going over the falls was my paddle.. Great I could see it and I swam back to it.

I tied my paddle to my camera strap and started to swim for Fawkner beacon.. It was now about 1.15pm.

I had been swimming for only about half an hour and already feeling pretty stuffed.. I tried laying on my back and just kicking with my legs because my arms had nothing left.. Thank God for my PFD.. and lucky I didn't use my other PFD that I strap to the nose of my board.

I was now in the shipping channel and not feeling to good about being there like this.. It seems that Fawkner beacon was not getting any closer.. I could see a yellow channel marker beacon back up wind and much closer so I decided to head that way and away from the center of the shipping channel.. I swam.. and swam.. and swam.. I sometime wondered it I was ever going to make it.. but after another half an hour it was defiantly getting closer and I felt like I was going to make it after all.. I was pretty happy about that and took a pic.

Waa-hoo.. almost there now.

this thing was huge once I got close.. and it was still getting tossed around in the waves.. My next problem was how to get up onto it.. There was no steps that smooth all around.. It was at least ten feet in diameter and about five feet up to the surface from the water but as the waves surged past I was able to just get my finger tips over the edge.. I hung on.. It swayed and lifted me clear off the water and then dunked me back in.. I could not hang on with my finger tips any longer and when the slipped off I was so pissed off.. I was exhausted.

I was determined to get onto it.. I must have tried four or five time with my feet scratching at the barnacles on the edge below the waters surface.. I got a leg up and hung there for what seemed like ages and the whole time it was swaying back and forth.. I finally got up and rolled over on my back in the center of it and I was totally stuffed.. I couldn't lift an arm or even open my eyes.. and I was panting like It's finished a marathon foot race.. Laying there I felt the huge swaying motion and soon became very sick.. and I threw up.. I could see that McDonalds cheese and bacon and it was all over me but all I could do was turn to my side and throw up again.. I had swallowed a lot of salt water.. I threw up a couple more times until my stomach was empty.. I knew laying on that thing swaying about was half the problem.. I sat myself up and was starting to feel better.

I had checked my phone while floating in the water I wanted to call Alan and ask him to keep an eye out for my board.. and let the others know where I am.. But the case was half full of water and my iPhone was full of water and would not turn on.. Bugger.. I had used that case for ages without a problem but the way I folded it and jammed it into my PFD and caused a little nic in the plastic.. I noticed a yellow box on the channel marker buoy and opened it hoping to find a phone like they have on the side of the freeways.. But no.. it was just batteries.. Bugger!

My feet were cut from climbing up the side with all the barnacles.. and my forearms were also bleeding from hanging over the edge for so long before I got up and onto it.. My legs were also cramping every time I tried to move them.

I still had lots of water in my PFD bladder and I drank some because I must have been very dehydrated.. But I just thew it back up.. I tried again after a while and it came straight back up.. I was vomiting clear water.

I was now in a squatting position with my arms around my legs and I was starting to get very cold.. I kept getting sprayed with water as the odd big wave slammed onto the buoy and I had to hang on very tight.. I started to shiver uncontrollably and it was now about 4pm.. the sun was getting lower.. It was getting colder.

I was over dressed for the crossing.. I had a short arm steamer with a wetsuet vest on underneath.. and my PFD was snug and offered heaps of warmth.. but the cold was starting to soak through.. My Roar hat did a great job keeping my head warm and my face from getting burned.

I had thought what to do next for a long time and I decided I was going to swim/drift to shore and if I didn't go now it would be dark before I reach land.. I was so cold and it would be much warmer in the water.. I tied my paddle to the deck thinking I'll paddle back out and get it another day when it's glassy.

I was getting ready to jump.. I looked to the left.. and then the right.. and then the left again.. I thought I could see a ship.. It just looked like a building in the city but I decided to wait just in case it was a ship.. well it was a ship and I knew it would go right past me.

The ship soon was right on me and as it passed I was waving like crazy and I though my arms would drop off.. The ship was huge.. I could see a strip of windows way up the top level were the captain would steer it.. It had almost passed and I saw someone though the top windows walk to the last window and it looked like he was waving back at me.. was I seeing things?

I thought if he did see me he would call so maybe I should just wait there now.. So I sat back down and tried to keep warm.. About half an hour later I suddenly heard a helicopter buz right over me.. It was a Police helicopter.. I got up and waved.. and waved.. as it headed back towards Sandy.. Bugger!.. I watched as it buzzed around the shore where my board had washed up (right at Sandy Marina.. What's the chances or that).. and the guys at Sandy had called the water Police so they were looking for me.. The helicopter came back towards me.. Waa-hoo!

It went right over me again.. I was hanging off the side and waving like crazy.. Did they see me.. No.. I could even see the pilot they were so close.. It passed me and headed off towards Pt Cook and out of sight.. Bugger!

After a while it came back towards me.. there was a rainbow.. The sun came back out.. I climbed up the side of the buoy and waved like crazy again.. the thing was still swaying heaps side to side and it was pretty hairy up there.. they slowed and hovered above me.. Yaaay.. They had finally seen me.

Then all of a sudden this flash boat appears from no where.. The people on board were taking pictures of me like I was some kind of freak.. and I climbed back down.

The Police flew off and the boat came alongside.. they yelled saying that can I swim across.. I said sure.. I felt a bit rude asking but I said "can I bring my paddle?" .. they said sure so I untied it and jumped in.

Half way to the boat they threw a lifesaver ring to me.. I said there no need and they said just grab it or put it around me.. I wrapped one arm around it than they started to haul me across.. then all of a sudden they started letting rope out and the were motoring away from me.. I thought 'what-the?'.. I look behind and a wall of water that looked about eight feet tall washed past me.. I went up and over and I saw the boat go backwards up into the air then splash down spraying me with water.. They started pulling me in again.. and then back out as I look around to see another wave coming.. This went on for about fifteen minutes until during a lull in the waves they got me in.. I climbed over the side and fell into the back of the boat.. I hurt like hell but I didn't care.

It was the Port security and the captain of the big ship had told them that I was there.. They were great and insisted that they take me back for a hot shower and a hot drink.. and would then get me back to Sandy.. Wow!

Once back at Port security they asked me heaps of questions..They asked how I came to be out there and I said I was training for Hawaii and they were impressed that I was dressed for the cold.. wore a PFD, had a phone etc and that I even knew about the shipping traffic (thanks Phill).. They suggested I get one of those GPS thingie's and I said I'll look into it.

Cam and Pete turned up and they let me go.. I thanked them.. Once at my car it was a quick stop at Macca's for a quick burger.. No pie shops were open..

Thanks to everyone who helped out and sorry for the worry and concern that I caused so many people... A big lesson was learned.

Selling my Van

Posted: April 11th, 2010, 8:17pm CEST

With the recent change in job, I've decided to upgrade my wheels. So, the white van is up for grabs! To give it the full sales pitch, I've just copied the advert from Pistonheads.com...

Nissan Primastar SE 100DCi LWB van.

My great looking van is up for sale. Never let me down, and I'm upgrading to a brand new van.

MOT till October '10 (passed with flying colours, no advisories, etc).
Taxed till end of July '10.
77,000 miles.
Had new tyres all round 11 months ago, still look like new.
Full service done just 2 months ago.
Electric windows.
Electric and heated mirrors.
Reversing sensors.
Framed bulkhead pictured, and full bulkhead also available.
Rear fully ply lined AND carpeted.
Used to transport my mountain bikes, not bricks and rubbish!
Amazing drive, cruises at 70mph and just 2500 rpm in 6th gear.
A-Frame bull bar.
Stainless steel roof bars.
NEVER let me down!

Like I say, this van is a great van and I looked long and hard to source it! I used it as a weekend van to move my stuff about, and looked after it well. As it's my own personal van, there is no VAT to be added.

Bad points:
I had an 'incident' with a wheelie bin and popped a small dent in the side. This is visible in the pictures and been quoted £70 to get it popped out. I didn't bother as forgot about it.
The bumpers have a couple of scratches (from previous owner) but nothing serious, as well as a number of very minor stone chips on bonnet. Finally, one of the wheels has a wheel cap missing. I believe they cost £7 plus VAT from a Nissan garage.

Any questions please ask!

Loads more pictures here...

£4000

Windy Weekend...

Posted: April 8th, 2010, 12:24am CEST

Carl takes one apart nicely
It's not too often you get wind and a bank holiday weekend, but this weekend was pretty good. Actually having said that, Monday was good, and Tuesday wasn't actually the weekend, but West Kirby was apparently pretty good on Sunday anyway.

Forecast for Monday was looking super windy, so we decided to head further South and escape the crowds at Rhosneigr. To be honest, it wasn't the best day as my adventurous spirit got the better of me and I was left with nothing. I launched and seeing G was pretty flat, decided to head upwind to a reef break that was obviously working quite well. I got up there, but for some reason the boys thought better of it and gave up. I was greeted by some pretty nice head high waves, and although not very long rides, they are good for a turn or two and pretty fun. As I was just getting into it, the wind suddenly dropped and after bogging and riding for a bit, I'd decided that the wind had gone Southerly and I'd be better off jumping in the van and heading further round the coast to get some wind. Unfortunately for me I did, and there wasn't any wind. By the time I'd gotten back, the wind was still pretty fickle but probably enough for a bigger sail and a few nice waves coming in. Luckily for the boys, I got my camera out. You're welcome.

Len coming in to change up
Slightly disappointed with the conditions, I decided to check out Rhosneigr on Tuesday and see what was on offer. I rocked up to see Alex on his way in, covered in blood after a bottom turn-over the handlebars-board in face scenario, and seeing he was just powered on his 4.0 I went for my 4.7. I also grabbed the camera to get a few photos of him, but typically the heavens opened just at the same time. First run out, and a huge wave was breaking in front of me, and I had to make a chicken gybe! Don't think I've ever done that at Rhossy! I could only manage the morning as had work commitments to live up to, and this was probably the worst state of tide. The waves weren't very clean anyway, as they were mainly wind blown and tightly packed, but it was good to get out and I can confirm that Thorpy's new fins (K4Fins) work a treat! Even managed to break the tail out for a reverse slide on them!

Hells Bells!

Posted: March 21st, 2010, 11:44pm CET

Windsurfing is a weird old sport. You wait 111 days for a day of wind, then two come along at once.

Thorpy Launches...

And round houses one of the smaller ones at the end of the day...

...and launches of another

Thursday saw the first of the year at Rhosneigr and Saturday saw Hells Mouth in some fun Northerly cross off conditions. Amazingly it was only Thorpy and myself who made it to the beach, with the sun shining, the wind blowing and a few nice waves coming in it was a good session. Best thing is if that Thorpy's there you know its the best place to be in the UK on that day and theres a good chance you'll get some photos.

Yours truly

Rusty!
I limped out on my 5.3 and the 90 and with the rip it was pretty hard going to hold your position. When you got a wave, it was straight down the line, too, so you were constantly trying to slog back upwind. I'll defo be back there on the next Northerly day with a bit of swell. Thanks to Steve for the photos.

Goiter attempt

Couldn't finish without a picture of Izzy!

Reset the Clock!

Posted: March 19th, 2010, 10:12am CET

111 days of no windsurfing, and then finally the promised forecast stuck around, and I got out!

Wasn't a classic day, but obviously the best session of 2010 so far! I'd forgotten which way to roll out my sails, couldn't get the straps or the harness lines right, and by the end the driving rain was making it pretty hard to see past the end of your board... But, it was a sail and the clock has been reset!

Looking at the forecast, looks like more SW's on the way and warmer times. Happy days!

Bikey Blingy

Posted: March 8th, 2010, 10:39pm CET

Still no wind, and today is the 102nd day of not windsurfing. You get less time for stealing IDs through Limewire, or even knocking the head of a Margeret Thatcher statue. Check Google and you'll see what I mean. Look's like an outside chance of a Northerly on Friday, so fingers crossed. Failing that, we're going to Tenerife for a long weekend on a forecast.

With the lack of oceanic activity, luckily biking has been keeping me sane. My new bike turned up last week, and I've gone for a Commencal Meta 5.5 LTD. See stock picture above! It's a very nice bike with more of an all-mountain feel than my Trek, and so far I really like it.

Anyway, time for a rant. Brother Henno forwarded me a copy of an article from a 'windsurfing magazine' written by a 'local' on some local beaches. I've never once seen the 'local' on these beaches so I'd be interested to read the rest of the article. Actually, that's a lie. I've been sailing for almost 23 years, and still find that magazine so uninspiring and so flat of good content. Sooner read the ingredients on the back of a muesli box. One thing that mag does well is capture why this sport is dying on it's arse. It's overly nerdy, lacks content, is too equipment driven, and is aimed at the type of windsurfer who prefer standing round drinking tea talking shite, rather than actually windsurfing. The forum that backs it up is classic for it. "This year I'm going to learn to loop, and maybe travel 20 miles to another beach." Next year, it'll be the same stories. You fucking heros. Annoyingly they've written about a spot that we'd like to keep out of the magazines, and the article says that the 'local' has never seen it working. I don't really understand this. I've seen it working many a time, and although on a map it's my nearest spot, it's still bloody miles away. Never seen the 'local' there, though. Anyway, don't know why I'm getting annoyed as they don't travel past their local comfort zones, and especially not on weekends. And by the way, annoy the real local surfers and you are in the shit!

87 Days...

Posted: February 21st, 2010, 8:08pm CET

New lens - Canon 400mm L f5.6 - Tidy!
Today is my 87th day of no windsurfing. I've never known a Winter this bad for windsurfing. Normally theres some good conditions but this year nothing. Luckily theres been a few days of good swell to keep the demons at bay, but I'm frothing for some wind. Checking the forecast and it looks like there may be something later this week, so fingers crossed. If it comes to 100 days I'm going to go nuts.

Last week I managed to score a cheeky session at Newgale in Pembrokeshire, and whilst not as good as I was hoping it was fun and managed to pull into a few nice ones. It was made all the better with the sun setting as a background. Didn't get any photos as literally parked up, got ready, jumped in and surfed till dark.

Yesterday we went mountain biking round Llandegla and it was glorious. We arrived first thing and with the sun shining over the snow, you could have been anywhere. Richy soon broke the peace and quiet when he took a spill, managing to crash down a small embankment into my path. Luckily I saw it happening, and after I picked myself up from laughing so much, I picked his bike up from off of him and we set off again. Happy days!

My new lens arrived earlier this week, a Canon 400mm prime lens. Only taken about 7 or 8 pictures with it so far, but blown away with the results already. The sharpness is incredible and I can't wait to get it to the beach. The above photo was hand held, just taken from auto and with no particular though involved in it whatsoever. Had no post-processing, sharpening or anything. I can see this photography game getting very expensive... Even more that it is now!

Big Saturday

Posted: February 8th, 2010, 12:36am CET

Saturday was looking good right from the start of the week, which usually means it's not going to happen. Mike has a theory that if you check a weather forecast on Magic Seaweed or Wind Guru on a Monday it'll look best ever. That way, you keep checking back on the site and then, Thursday night/Friday daytime when it's time to start making weekend action plans, the forecast changes for the worst. Read my weekly offerings part at the bottom of my weekends ramblings, and you'll see what I mean. "Forecast looking good for the weekend" I'll say. Never really happens though. Funny how it's always that way, and hardly the other way round.

The predicted 3.5ft at 14 seconds stayed true all week, and with a later high tide a lie in was also on the cards. This also meant I could double check on the webcam at Hells Mouth and the surf report before leaving. I wasn't really expecting too much from it to be honest, but when the usually pessimistic ramblings of a surf shop say "It's perhaps double overhead and very clean", then that's got to be good. A 14 second period is pretty unusual for these parts, not unheard of, just few and far between with anything over a couple of foot. Basically, a long period gives the waves time to toughen up, get bigger and cleaner (kind of), so a 3.5ft predicted swell could be 6ft or more. The wave buoy on Saturday peaked at around 12ft, and Friday saw nearer to 17ft. Cornwall was apparently going off, I heard of one guy digging his 8ft gun out of the shed, and where I was somebody had driven over from the East Coast especially. Tuesday should be very interesting. It's predicted 18 seconds with a 6ft swell, and a nice offshore wind. Needless to say I know what I'm doing Tuesday, the benefits of being self employed...

I headed to the reefs, giving Tywyn a miss as it was going to be too big for it to handle. Rolling over the top of the hill with the sun out, I was well chuffed to see the waves wrapping round the point already and a nice set doing its thing all the way in with a lone SUP'er out catching a few lefts. I grabbed the camera and took the above photo (you can just make Mark out as the black speck paddling his way to the top of the point). The photo, typically, was in-between sets and does it no justice. I didn't really want to hang around for the next set to photograph, so quickly got ready and caught a couple of smaller ones. I was soon distracted by the monsters rolling in further up the bay, and it didn't take too long before we were paddling over. When we arrived they were big. The set waves were easily over head high, I mean more like head and a half, easily the biggest I've seen here this clean.

I caught a few, and they were amazing. Really long rides sometimes racing for the shoulder, sometimes just carving along it. It was an incredible day, not just for the great waves, but the sun was out, it felt pretty warm (except the ice cream head when the inevitable rinsing occurred), there was loads of wildlife about, the hills looked amazing, and just generally a day when you feel quite humbled by nature and slightly insignificant. Especially when one of those monsters was heading towards you just about to break.

Turns out everybody got it good all along the coastline. Henno braved Rhosneigr and got that about as good as it gets, and Richy got Dinas with one other and scored that, too. Looking at various galleries, it seems a load of places were working and some I've never heard of. Might have to do some research before Even Bigger Tuesday...

Bikey Bikey!

Posted: February 4th, 2010, 10:47pm CET

Started my new job with a big bike company, so I've decided to be all corporate and fly the company colours... which means the fleet is for sale!

First up is the Trek Fuel EX9...

This bike is an absolute peach of a ride! It's actually a size medium frame (17.5") but has a really long reach. You can stick a shorter stem on it if you're not as tall as me, or your arms as aren't as long. I've changed the saddle for a Charge Spoon which is the comfiest saddle ever (unlike the stock Bontrager effort). It also has full XT throughout which was added as an upgrade when it was bought. Pedals are DMR V8 flats. Originally £2500, plus £500 worth of upgrades! Front fork is a Fox Talas RL, which has adjustable rebound, and 90-130mm travel, and lockout. Rear shock is a Fox Float RPL with three options (pro pedal, open and lockout) and adjustable rebound, too. The bike has been regularly serviced and cleaned after every ride, and has been without doubt my favourite ride MTB ever!
£875
Next is the roadie... Giant TCR Advanced Rabobank Limited Edition

Bought this bike from Dave Mellor in Shrewsbury 8 months ago, and it's a tweaked version of the '2009 Bike of the Year' TCR Advanced 3. Basically, they put some team colours and upgraded some of the spec to Shimanos PRO, including the bars, stem and wheels. The groupset has also been upgraded to 105 Black, which really sets the bike off visually. Due to my knee problems, this bike has not seen a lot of use, and has probably only covered about 100-150 miles. This is a size L, which is the biggest in the range for the limited edition models and being full carbon framed rides like a dream. It is literally about 2mph average quicker than my old ride, yet still comfy enough for longer rides. I was really looking forward to doing the L2B on this and if doesn't sell I won't be disappointed! Comes complete with pedals, Cateye cordless computer in matching white and Specialized carbon look bottle cages. Tidy! Also been serviced once, and cleaned after every ride! These bikes are renowned for their massively oversized bottom brackets and steerers so they deliver maximum power and don't bend or loose power through the frame. Original RRP on these was £1800, but now you're looking at £2000 for a lesser spec.
£1450
Finally, my '93 ratty Kona Fire Mountain!

Its now a single speed, with a DMR kit on the back end, and changed the brakes for a new set of bog standard Shimano V brakes and some new Michelin tyres and some DMR V8 Wellgo copies. The seatpost has jammed, and will not budge, so would suit somebody smaller or somebody looking for a cruiser! Dog not included. Why pay £650 for a new one?!
£90
Drop me a line if you're interested! stueygwynn[at]hotmail.com

Andy and Michelle get Hitched!

Posted: February 1st, 2010, 11:14pm CET

Nervous smile from Andy!
Best weekend ever this weekend. Andy and Michelle tied the knot in perfect style with a service in a central London church and then the wedding reception and good old fashioned knees up in Claridges Hotel, which is by far and wide the best hotel I've ever set foot in. The food was some of the best food I've ever had, the sun shone, everybody made some new friends and some of us even gained some new family. To be honest you really couldn't have made the weekend any better. Anyway, I won't bore you any more, I did take a load of pictures but they weren't that good to be honest, so below are the few of the better ones, or rather the best of the worst...

Andy, Junior Usher Jay, and Mum

Parker from Thunderbirds guides the Daimler into central London
Actually, Sami may disagree with the statement 'best weekend ever' as she missed out on the celebrity spotting. Matt Damon, Morgan Freeman and Clint Eastwood were staying in the hotel that weekend, too. No pictures, as celebrities aren't my thing, but Matt Damon did seem like a nice guy!

Stuart and Sue, our new good friends!

Charlie 'Two Loaves' with Jay and Ann

Congratulations Andy and Michelle!

Winston had no idea what the fuss was about, but loved his run in the park in the morning!

Ride and Glide

Posted: January 24th, 2010, 11:07pm CET

It's all been about two things this weekend. Riding and Gliding.

When I left Plain Lazy the guys were kind enough to buy me a beautiful custom board, and it finally turned up last Friday. You know it's going to be a good weekend when you come home on a Friday and find a big board box waiting for you. The board is made by BeachBeat and finished with an incredible Plain Lazy graphic which was the same as the one all over my old company mini. I've been meaning to get a few pictures of it, but didn't get round to it this weekend. It's a 9'1 quad, 22" wide, and I love it already. I managed to get it out for its first wetting at Tywyn on Saturday and it rocked. Although the forecast was for 3ft @ 11 seconds which should produce an alright wave, it was easy head high and a touch more than Tywyn can handle. Waist high is fine, but anything over starts to get a bit mixed up. If you've got something short or fish like, the North beachie is good fun, but everywhere else starts getting pretty shifty and lacks shape. It's also easy to get stuck on the inside taking a few on the head, which if you're not used to is a bit off putting.

Anyway, the new board is awesome. First wave I paddled for I caught (which is a good sign) and it immediately felt gunny and quick. I threw it into a bottom turn and it was effortless, then the wave started to fade out a bit but the board just glided. Beautiful! Although only an inch shorter than my other longboard, they feel so different. The 9'2 is a lot more playful, set as a single fin, and the 9'1 is more of a performance board.

Simon riding a few on the smaller beachie

Sunday, decided to hit the slopes with Richy. First headed to Llandegla but turns out all the runs are shut apart from the green family run. We had a quick mess round in the skills area then cruised to Moel Famau for some cross country action, promptly took about 7 wrong turns, got bogged down in the mud, had knee high snow drifts to contend with and generally had a good time!

Richys bike. He says red, I think more pink...

Apres ride

*The more observant will notice the watermarks... I'm getting loads of hits from Google Images and as I get more and more into photography I want to protect my images that I spend good time and money into getting. If you want any high res images, please just drop me a line on stueygwynn[at]hotmail.com

2011 prototype S1? On a Nude?! From a helicopter? It must be Lancelin Ocean Classic Time!

Posted: January 15th, 2010, 4:44pm CET

Pretty cool photo kicking about at the moment, courtesy of John Carter. With the shocking line up for the PWA Wave Tour this year, featuring a pretty lacklustre three events in locations best described as pretty average, my eyes and attention are on "smaller", well organised, and generally more established events such as WA's long running Lancelin Ocean Classic. This year, the events 25th, attracted some big Euro names all going head to head with the cream of Australian talent. Unlike the ASP, these Aussie guys are not really interested in leaving home shores to hit Euro venues and onshore locations travelling for days to hit marginal conditions, so its always an event worth looking at. And to be honest, you can't really blame them. Jaeger Stone is the classic in my mind at the moment. Having been lucky enough to spend a bit of time with him and his younger brother, these guys freesail better than anybody and could easily be top 3 in the World. If they wanted it.

Competitions have never really been my thing but I do try and keep an eye on them. When the UKWA hit Rhosneigr last year to "all time conditions", myself and a handful of others were all getting our fill in logo-mast high walling bowls on a reef someway down the coast. It was an amazing day. So good, when we finally came in completely spent we just stood in silence grinning. The competition people would have never have made it down, which is why I'd never enter an event like that. Plus some tyres may have gone down ;-) I also had an opportunity recently to be a part of a SUP team and doing some comps, but in the end turned it down. I didn't really want to commit myself and have to travel so far for average conditions when I know I can get better somewhere else.

So, on to the photo above. The Lancelin Ocean Classic is probably better known for its Ledge To Lancelin downwinder, and the wave comp is always hotly contested by visiting pros as well as locals and this year Ben Severne took the honours in what sounded like a pretty tight final. One thing about Lano is that is does get crowded, so this comp is a good way to have the place to yourself and a couple of friends. The best thing for me is that Ben did it on a Nude, so guess a few people have now seen what these boards are capable of (rider permitting obviously!) I was also pretty interested in the sail which looks like an early incarnation of a 2011 S1. If it looks that good in these early stages (these guys generally make about 3 versions of each size in the proto stage, plus sail tweaks and re-cuts), then this sail is going to look amazing when it hits production.

Finally, looks like some wind hitting UK shores this weekend. Looking forward to trying out my new 90 Nude, so hopefully I'll get that wet this weekend!

Hells Bells

Posted: January 12th, 2010, 12:07am CET

Me, off the bottom

Last Friday, Henno and myself hit Hells Mouth and scored 3.5 hours of as good as it gets surf for SUP. I'd been watching the forecast all week and when it bombed out earlier in the week, all hopes were on Friday. The other issue was the extreme cold currently hitting UK shores. On the drive over the van thermometer hit -10C, which is pretty chilly to be playing in the water. Luckily, the sun was out and the offshore breeze wasn't too strong, and by the time we got to the beach, it was more like -1C or -2C which felt balmy in comparison. This might sound pretty mad, and reading that last sentence back I was questioning it myself, however, it's not really the air temperature that's the killer, it's the wind chill. If it's a toasty +5C but a strong wind, its a lot colder than -1C or -2C and hardly any breeze. Having said that, there was a light Easterly blowing and the short walk back up to the van facing the breeze was enough to make your tears freeze...

Henno paddles for one

Henno also brought his camera, and as the tide filled and the waves fattened up, we were left catching the shore break and trying to pull in for the cover ups. Managed to get a few nice waves, one was about shoulder high and completely covered me. Next thing I knew I was hit full on by this wall and landed on my back, then going over again and landing twisting my ankle slightly on the bottom. Brilliant fun! Managed to pull out of a few cover ups, too. Henno was on fire, never seen him surf so well and he's getting really good now. Unfortunately for him, I wasn't used to his camera, so his photos are way better than mine! Grumpy Old Surfer was also out and caught some cracking shots here. Best surf of the year!

Me lining up

Looking down the line

Resolutionist

Posted: December 31st, 2009, 2:28pm CET

2009 has been a good year. Managed to round the year up with some great surfing, and Hells Mouth was brilliant. Ride More, Surf More, Windsurf More, Kite More, Eat More, Sleep More, Live More. 2010 will be even better.

-5C Windchill. Overhead Bombies at Hells Mouth 29th December 09

Peelers

Cold Water Grom Callum, Solo Freestyler

Freestyle Corner

Happy New Year.

5 Questions with Hoop

Posted: December 20th, 2009, 7:40pm CET

New Nude has turned up, and over the moon with it. It's a 90 litre 227 x 61cm twin fin, and is one of Hoops lightweight designs. The resin tint design is incredible and so unique. It's spent the last few days in the lounge on display.

It nearly didn't make it again actually, one of the shapers friends was coming over and kindly offered to bring it with him. I arranged to meet him at Heathrow, drop him at his mates, and then cruise home. After leaving the house at 3.45am, I promptly got stuck in traffic and was sat there for 2.5 hours. It was then I realised I didn't have a number for the guy, or actually know what he looks like... Luckily, the courier phoned the shaper, gave him my number and he phoned me. Phew. Anyway, 5.5 hours later and I finally got to the airport and all was sorted! Be sure to check out his link on the right, and have a look at the pictures I quickly knocked up in the garden room with my 50mm...

I've put together 5 questions to put to people in the know, in the trade, or just people who might give some good answers. Hopefully we'll get some insight into how these people think and what they're about. First up is James Hooper, the brains behind Nude:

Q1: Where are are you now and what are you doing ?
Sitting in my house in Fremantle contemplating where I'm going to go sailing today. Lancelin is looking like a good option.

Q2: What makes your stuff different to what else is available?
The resin tint finish is probably the most visual difference to anything else. You can also choose to have your board set up how you like rather than being restricted to what's available on the shelf.

Q3: How many boards have you got?
I try and have a couple of wave boards and a freestyle board most of the time, but I usually end up lending out my own boards for people to try so I can get some feed back. So I sometimes end up sailing the older ones.

Q4: What do you do in your spare time?
Other than windsurfing I do a bit of sailing(14 foot skiffs) and a bit of surfing. I have a bit of a crack at playing the guitar but I'm definitely no Jimmy Hendrix.

Q5: Shaken or stirred?
Hmm not sure about that one. Sometimes it's good to stir the pot!

In other news, booking a two week break in Cape Verde if I can find some cheap accommodation... If anybody fancies coming along, let me know!

Kendal Mint Rhino

Posted: December 14th, 2009, 7:44pm CET

Andy - probably drunk

Had a Brothers Gwynn stag do the other weekend, and with Andy being the first to step up to the plate, and Mike as best man, the boys did a stellar job and arranged a perfect weekend in the Lake District with a few family, friends, and family to be.

What happens on the stag stays on the stag and so I won't say too much except a good time was had by all! We had some great activities lined up and first up was some ghyll scrambling, and not, as somebody mis heard 'girl scrambling' which is an altogether different activity. Ghyll scrambling is basically sliding and scrambling your way down a stream, which at the best of times is great fun. Add to that the recent flooding from the record rainfall and this was the middle of December, and most of the group promptly pulled out. The remaining few of us really enjoyed it, and the picture was taken on the run out to the start.

Sunday we hit Whinlatter, which is an awesome trail. Most of the group tackled the easier route, then a few of us hit the Northern Loop which has to be the best track I've ever ridden. The last part of it was pure joy and just flows so well. I managed to get really out of shape on a series of jumps, but amazingly managed to pull it back together. Credit to the bike which I absolutely love even though I spend as much time fixing and tweaking as I do riding it... Andy (who sportingly wore his fake moustache and party hat on top his helmet for the whole day) now wants a full suspension ride, but apparently has to sell one of his other bikes first.

There's been some incredible action in Hawaii the last couple of weeks. I watched the Eddie comp online and been watching some of Pipeline, and even though it's all slightly fantasy-like compared to the UK, it is pretty inspiring. The mid week surf I scored was fuelled by some of this action and although the waves weren't quite on par, they were a good size. I was amazed to find 12 people surfing one of the Northern Reefs so I drove on to get some bigger beach break action. First out of the van was the SUP, but I quickly changed it for my 6'10 and caught a few before dark. There was a lot of water moving about and was actually pretty sizey, but good to get out and have a good rinsing! Watching the action and having some spare time (having said that I feel busier now unemployed than I did employed), I've decided to do a trip overseas. Firstly looking at Australia, then South Africa, and finally Cape Verde, as the flights are a lot less than £1200! Probably heading over for a couple of weeks in early January, doing it all on the cheap and going for some quality waves. If anybody else fancies it, drop me a line!

Twin Fest

Posted: November 30th, 2009, 4:32pm CET

Snowdonia Landscape

Had quite a productive start to being redundant. It's been super windy, I've applied for a few more jobs and managed to get away to celebrate Mike and Andy's 30th birthday in the Cotswolds.

Rob H on windy Thursday

Managed to score a few sessions at G Lands, couple of days were great for wind being just windy enough for a 5.3, one was nuked on a 4.2 with fantastic waves, and the last was a 4.2 day again, going onshore with some more meaty waves but not as predictable. The pick of the days was easy the first 5.3 day, although smaller waves you could at least control what was going on and make use of what was on offer. I nearly managed to land another backie, floating round, landing a little out of shape with the sail position, and managed to stay stood on the board but lost the sail. Doh! Not bad for G, as its more of a riding spot than a jumping place. Managed to get a proper mullering, too. Heading out a freak mast high set came in, and was just starting to froth at the top indicating it was going to throw. I was left closed down, so just had to try and get over it. I thought I'd made it over, when all of a sudden I had that familiar feeling of going backwards over the falls. I took a few spins underwater and popped up before swimming quickly for my gear and taking the next two square on! This was on the middle reef, which normally only works on low tide and good swells, so you know it was big. Didn't get any pictures, except a couple with the mid-range lens which was about as sharp as a balloon. It's been processed and cropped, and it's still muck!

Last Thursday I went out to Rhosneigr for a couple of days. Rocked up to the beach and found it bolt onshore and freezing cold. Dave Rose was out kiting so got a few pictures of him. He's really good, throwing some handle passes and nice wake style jumps. He's given up on windsurfing and seeing a beach super onshore and freezing, you can see why, as it is an instant mojo killer. With G Lands only really delivering once out of four "all time" forecasts, I really am looking for something pretty special to get me motivated enough to stay out through the cold winter. Friday, got to the beach and it was freezing again, even more onshore (in fact almost cross shore from the other tack) but with a few head high waves coming through. It was about 10 knots and sometimes a bit more, but I decided to go for a surf. Best wave, as always, was the first one after 10 minutes of paddling out. Got a few turns and kicked out before it closed out, and had a fair few more over the next couple of hours.

Big Dave Rose in various states of kiting

Over the weekend the Brothers Gwynn and co have all been camped out in the Cotswolds. It was a pretty cool weekend, and all set up as a surprise for them by their fiancées, although we struggled to find any singletrack and managed to eat twice our own bodyweight in cake... Happy days!

Gramps

Change of Scenery

Posted: November 25th, 2009, 5:11pm CET

We've been changing a few things round at work recently to make things more efficient and try and get extra man power into an increasingly busy HQ. To give you an idea of how busy it is, I worked from the HQ recently for the day and had 16 things I had to get done on my job list. By 6.30pm I'd crossed two of them off. The phone is non-stop and to say the brand is Plain Lazy is an outright lie.

Basically this was giving me an option to work down South, or move onwards and maybe upwards and try something new. I like it up North and after taking everything into consideration I decided to take early retirement and try something new.

I've honestly had the best three years working at Plain Lazy, and now I've got to try and work out how to put all those good times into three lines of a CV. A few highlights for me have been working at the festivals, Cornish photo shoots, working with a great crew, the excitement of getting a new range to go and show people, and a boss who insists on surfing whenever we end up near a coast. It's also equally been about wallpapering at 3 in the morning rushing to get a shop open and being asked to bury tee shirts in the woods, the first time I saw the Mini after Larry's now infamous graphics package and getting text messages from accounts in Ireland saying him and Big Al (Al Mennie) are waiting for me to join them for a paddle. It's all been brilliant and to top it off it's looking really windy for the next couple of weeks and I've got plenty of spare time!

I've got a few options opening up nicely at the moment. I've got a couple of ideas, and a couple of interviews already, but to be honest I'm in no rush to jump into anything and have been considering a few weeks away somewhere. Maybe South Africa, maybe Western Australia, or maybe Andy's house instead!

To wrap it up, the guys and girls very kindly decided against the carriage clock and have gotten me something very special as a leaving gift. I won't say what just now, but will put a few pictures on here when it arrives. It'll be worth the wait! Thanks guys!

Check out the latest bits and bobs by clicking the Plain Lazy link on the right. My top tips are the jeans and the Brrrrrr jackets, and watch out for an awesome jacket coming soon!

Crock O'Shite and the Pier Jumping Kite

Posted: November 16th, 2009, 11:38pm CET

Incredible Jump for Lewis

Starting with a positive, don't know if you've seen the story that two kiters have jumped Worthing Pier today. Met Lewis a couple of years ago, and he's a really nice guy. Good on him! Video here!

This weekend was supposed to be amazing but basically, it was far from it. Instead of me whinging on about it, I've decided to give you, the lucky reader, a true insight into the magical day and the build up through a blow by blow account of all the texts, tweets, calls, wind checks, wave checks and driving...

Friday

12:05 Text from Rob "You hitting ****** tomorrow?" Forecast looks like it may be on.
14:27 Tweet "Looking at this forecast is like an exam question you thought you knew the answer to but in actual fact you don't. If you know what I mean"
14:28 Tweet "Basically, nobody knows where to go..."
15:44 Text to Rob "Dunno. Swell is good, wind direction unsure..."
15:46 Text from Rob "It would be a shame to waste swell but wind all over the place."
15.50 Phone Rob. He's thinking of playing it safe and heading to Leasowe for dropping tide.
17:00 Check the forecasts after finishing work. Looking like wind, but forecast still changing. Phone Rob again, still undecided. Decide to call later.
18:26 Phone Mike. He's not sure if he's allowed out. Loser.
19:00 Check forecasts. No change and still unsure. Prestatyn may be an option, but wind may not get in till later.
20:00 Load van. No surfboards as wind is too strong.
22:00 Check forecasts. No change.
22:23 Text to Rob "Don't know where to go! Think will look early am"
22:25 Various texts to Mike. Still not allowed out. Loser
23:00 Text to Carl "Any thoughts on tomorrow?" No response as text doesn't arrive till next day.

Saturday

7:00 Check forecasts. Cassie makes me promise to text her to tell her I'm still alive after sailing! Haha! Forecast has changed slightly in our favour, ****** looks like it's on, but it means a quick start to make the most of it. BBC News talking up the 60 year storm and huge winds/tornados/widespread damage.
7:05 Check the buoy and it's reading 9ft. Not as much as expected, but it'll do. Eat breakie and get ready.
9:30 Arrive at ******. On way here I did start to think that this could be the best days sailing in UK ever. No need to worry, wind is straight offshore with a touch of side. No good for sailing but waves look really good. No surfboard packed. School boy error.
9:35 Carl phones. He's decided to hit West Kirby but wishes he'd headed to ******. I tell him not to bother coming here! Decide to drive 20 miles further down coast to see if anywhere working. Wind is due to swing more W, so it'll be working here later.
10:23 After checking the other spots, arrive at other spot. Wind is still slightly offshore, meaning its really Easterly. Rain starts and it is biblical. Sit in van for 30 minutes waiting for it to stop checking forecasts.
10:50 Rain stops. Then starts again. Sit in van for another 30 minutes.
11:20 Get out of van and check conditions. Waves are pretty meaty, overhead and not the cleanest. Wind is hovering about 10-12 knots with occasional gusts to about 16 knots. Not enough! Decide to wait a bit longer. Check twitter and it seems everybody else is getting skunked, too. Check forecasts again.
11:50 Phone Rob, he's on his way to the lake. Check forecasts again.
12:32 Tweet in reply to Rob "Waves working. No surfboard, and rain. Lots of rain."
12:45 Decide to drive a bit further South. Wind starting to look a bit better, and Tim the lifeguard calls giving me the latest weather forecast and winding me up about his eggs on toast. Sunday night I eventually give in, and make myself (poached) eggs on toast after thinking about them all weekend.
12:51 Cut Tim short as wind looks like it's filling in. Walk to the beach for a closer look, now getting very windy, but wind is starting to swing round cross-on. Race back to the van to get ready.
12:53 Get to van and notice wind is now 45 degrees cross on. Quickly head North to better facing beaches, waves visibly dropping and getting messier.
13:12 Get to second beach. Sunshine. Not a good sign as now in centre of low. Wind now 5 knots and onshore. Bolt onshore.
13:13 Get out of van. Kick the tyres and nearby rocks. Put sunglasses on, and realise I'm still wearing waterproof.
13:25 Mike phones. He asks me what it's like. I tell him I don't want to talk about it.
13:27 Walk along the beach swearing to myself. Take a few pictures with new lens.
14.02 Decide to drive to Dolgellau for lunch, and see if wind swings NW and increases.
14:23 Eat lunch in van. Carl phones. He's been skunked but managed about 15 minutes in a squall. Says he's packing up and going home to slash his wrists.
14:29 Tweet. "Wind has fooked off..."
14:34 Can't decide what to do. Wind is now 14 knots bolt onshore further South. Check peoples hair from the van to see if it's moving in the wind. It isn't.
14:45 Phone Rob. No answer. Guess he's managed to get out.
15:02 Decide to call it a day, and after almost turning round twice on way back for a just one more look, drive home.
16:32 Get home. Check forecast. Wind has kicked in at WK. Looks good. Going dark. SKUNKED!
16:35 Go to the gym for a swim.

So there you have it. Wasted about 9 hours on a "guaranteed forecast" and it cost me about £20 in fuel and lunch.

November is the New October...

Posted: November 9th, 2009, 9:37pm CET

'Number 10'

Forecast over October was never really as good as it normally is, but last week and this week have been low pressure central. Every Monday I get a few emails from surf magazines, and this picture caught my eye because it's in the UK. Apparently it's a secret spot, and those that have ridden it, say it's the best wave ever in the whole wide world. Obviously these statements help sell a magazine, but it does look pretty special. If you're wondering where it is, so am I, but unfortunately the guy's who uploaded the image left the file name on it, so it may appear if you click on the picture. For a clue, the guys wearing gloves and boots, and it's not that cold yet... At least not in Wales... Or England...

Had the week off last week, and although the forecast never really got as good as expected, I did manage a few days in the water. Tuesday had a pretty shit sail at Leasowe in gusty dropping winds, and Thursday was back to the Wirral for a kitesurf at West Kirby. Really missing my big wave board at the moment, it's a board I use 75% of the time, so Leasowe was always going to be a struggle on the 5.3 in marginal winds on my 80. To top it off, the moment I packed up, the wind picked up...

West Kirby wasn't much better really, The wind was great as I launched, then it dropped, then it filled in. Repeat another 20 times, then it went ballistic leaving me well overpowered on my smaller 10m kite. Friday I had an MRI scan on my knee, and the good news is I don't need an operation. Woop! Bad news is my knee would appear to be out of alignment and I now enter 3 months of physio and exercises to try and get it back in place. Basically one side of my quad is working harder than the other, so it's pulled the knee cap up and around slightly. Runners Knee they call it... Painful I call it...

Yesterday was loads better anyway. The forecast (once again) was giving it classic surf, and all week Tim the lifeguard and myself had been watching it hoping it would deliver. Typically, 11pm the night before, the forecast wind changed to much stronger, potentially killing the weakening swell. I decided to hit Tywyn, as it's less annoying driving 3 hours and being skunked than it is driving 5 hours. I drove to the beach not expecting much, but to my surprise it was working. The waves were about shoulder high, pretty sporadic, but every now and again one would come through that was worth getting wet for. As I paddled out on my SUP, one of the guys* was coming out and he said it was crap. The waves were a bit gutless for the size, but on the SUP it was good fun. Had a few good ones, and one in particular really opened up to get a few nice turns on and some good speed. As is usual at Tywyn, somebody flicks the switch as the tide drops back and the waves all but disappeared leaving the three of us remaining scratching for one last ride in... Didn't get any pictures, actually I did but they weren't very good...

* This particular guy is actually an arse. Him and his mates were laughing at me on my SUP one time, but after watching me get a lot more waves in 20 minutes than they'd managed all year (whilst they stood by their camper vans), one of them came to me eating humble pie asking me if he could possibly have a quick go. He came back in converted, at least after 10 minutes of trying to stand up and get out anyway...

Just add wheels...

In other news, bought some more glass for my camera. This time it's a 50mm f1.8, which basically means fixed focal length, let's loads of light in and gets the background (and foreground) super blurred, or Bokeh as it's called in the game... More lens news next week!

REVOLUTION!

Posted: November 6th, 2009, 5:05pm CET

Check out the new mag from Severne Sails... Bit like an infomercial but with added bite and great stories!

REVOLUTION MAGAZINE

New 2010 sails have arrived now, so selling my remaining '09s...

4.7 Severne Gator - Great condition, £195

5.3 Severne Gator - Great condition, £195

5.9 Severne S1 - As new condition, used about 3 times! £SOLD

Drop me an email here for more info

What's Occuring?

Posted: November 3rd, 2009, 11:45pm CET

Retro sail on a very windy day

Couple of pictures from the weekend, went down to West Kirby but it was howling. Just caught Bobby H coming off the water saying it was way too windy so didn't bother! Gusted up to 52 knots, which is pretty windy! Had a Halloween party on the Saturday, so it was always going to be a pretty low key day anyway.

Moody skies

Got a few photos of the new board which I'll bore you with. It's about 80 litres, 226cms long and 57 wide. First impressions are great, feels floatier than my 82 as its a bit wider in the tail and stubbier, but not really pushed it yet. It's a semi-custom, and I've also got a 90 on it's way which unfortunately missed the flight. The 80 almost missed it as apparently the board was finished with 10 minutes spare... Long story! I'll do more of a write up on it soon, as need to use it some more first. Basically Nude Sailboards are a fairly new outfit based out of Fremantle, WA, which is where I used to live. James Hooper is the brains behind it and has a fair bit of input and influence from the very strong scene out there and the local windsurf industry, as well as shaping kiteboards and surfboards so he really understands what's what. WA is a perfect testing ground, with a real variety of conditions, great sailors and good winds, so everything is kind of set up really! He's got a site coming online soon, so check it out... www.nudeboards.com.au

Nude... Resin tint graphic... Cool

Note the vee on the underside with the harsh flash (intentional of course...)

Hoops hands. Bigger in real life...

I've cashed in all my days in lieu this week, so I'm chasing the wind and waves. Had Leasowe today but to be honest it was pretty shite and would have gone to West Kirby freestyling if I didn't have some fins to test. Tomorrow it'll be Tywyn way I think, looking like it's going NW later so should be good for some port tack riding or at least some jumping. Not sure about Thursday yet, and Friday have my pre-op assessment. Hopefully the knee will be fixed soon!

Leasowe Rocks...

Posted: October 26th, 2009, 6:40pm CET

Scored Leasowe on Sunday with a few of the guys, and it was amazing! I'd heard a few rumours about the sand bars in Uppers producing a really nice wave, but didn't really believe it. I had my brand new board to use, and was pretty nervous as it'd only finished cooking 5 days before so technically hadn't really fully set yet. Needless to say didn't do any jumps (although couldn't resist it on a couple of ramps), and was constantly checking the nose everytime I came off...

We had a couple of hours in the main bay, and then when Mike and myself came in for a bit, I noticed Len sailing on his own in Uppers, and could see it was better. We sailed upwind, and straight away could tell it was good, and heading right upwind, we scored this incredible wave. By incredible I mean incredible for the Wirral, not best ever! We had a few good ones, best one I had just pitched right up and was easy shoulder high leaving itself open to a couple of nice turns. Obviously the wave wasn't exactly powerful, but it was holding up nicely and had good shape on it as well as being super clean. Defo surfable! Mikey and myself couldn't believe it. We've sailed on the Wirral for over 20 years and never seen waves like this before. Nick was taking photos, and managed to get about 400, however he hasn't uploaded any of Uppers so you'll never get to see it!

A Different Perspective...

Posted: October 19th, 2009, 6:25pm CEST

Nothing philisophical, just got myself a new fisheye lens!

Bit of a bum forecast for this weekend, so getting anything was going to be a bonus. We headed to Andy's Welsh house, now known as Gwynnty (Ty is Welsh for House although technically it should be Ty Gwynn, but that doesn't sound as good). Saturday was super sunny and with a bit of ground swell, so we headed to Hells Mouth to catch the end of it. It was really really small, but had a few and then it completely went! Didn't take any pictures asides the scenic shots, as to be honest not a lot of waves to picture.

Sunday scored the best kitesurf all year at Rhosneigr, pretty onshore but some nice little kickers. Bit like a good day wakeboarding really but with higher jumps, no noise (apart from the board being stomped into the water and the spray), and a whole lot cheaper and much more fun. Probably alienating myself from everybody reading this, but kiting on its day is awesome. It surprises me more windsurfers and surfers don't kite, when its not so windy or onshore, its perfect for getting the water time in. A balanced diet is a good diet. Just as long as you don't wear shorts over your wettie. Still don't get that...

In other news, my new boards arrive Friday, and forecast for next week is looking great. The infamous Boardwise Aberdyfi Demo weekend, or Dyfijam as I now call it, is on this weekend. As well as all the latest and greatest kit from Severne, Tushingham, Starboard, Simmer, Fanatic, T1, and North (plus more probably), Aberdovey is a great place to sail, has loads of options, works in 99% of all conditions, super scenic, and theres also a big party on Saturday night. This year the band is back, and a Four Dimensions screening at the yacht club, which is a great film. Of all the events you can get to in Wales and the North, this is the one! See you there!

West Coast East Coast

Posted: October 5th, 2009, 8:50pm CEST

This weekends forecast was looking good all week, and for a change stuck around for the weekend. Been pretty busy with work these last few weeks, and was really looking forward to making the most of the forecast. The original plan was to meet Mikey G on the East Coast and have a couple of days surfing, but Saturdays East Coast forecast soon started to change so decided on an epic weekend of West Coast Saturday and East Coast Sunday.

Trying to get out...
The call from Henno was Leasowe, but not having a 4.2 meant I hit G Lands hoping it wouldn't be so windy, and luckily it was perfect 4.7 weather. Jon has kindly lent me a Moo for a few weeks before my new sticks arrive, and I had a great session. It was just me, a seal and a gannet, and to be honest after a few hours of some pretty good waves I was missing a bit of company! It was a bit onshore, but the waves on the inside held up nicely. Obviously no pictures, as there was literally nobody around for miles...

Gutted!
Sunday, was up early and drove the 3.5 hours to the North East, picked up Mike, and drove to the beach. Couldn't believe it... F'ing onshore! Basically, to cut a long story short, we drove up and down the coast a lot, bumped into a couple of mates, did some more driving, had a coffee, swore a lot, did some more driving, and then tried to get out in a spot that had a massive current, some pretty hefty waves, and basically walls of whitewater which I couldn't get through. Mike didn't even bother. Anyway, to look for a positive, err, I dunno! Roast dinner was good! Guess you win some and you lose some, and for that effort the next one I win will surely be amazing!

4 hours for this?!

Birty gets stuck into one on his last run

Suptember Sessions

Posted: September 20th, 2009, 9:26pm CEST

West Kirby's very own Action Man paddles to the islands...

Been messing about on the SUP this weekend, taking advantage of the high pressure sitting on us. Saturday went up the River Dee with Shelley and Action Man Rob H. Was pretty cool to paddle about 8 miles on super flat water, first heading upstream to the Duke of Westminsters, then back down river to Chesters famous bridge, and a cheeky look at the weir. Best bit was finding the rope swing and throwing ourselves into the river. Great fun and definitely heading back here again soon!

The rope swing on the River Dee

Sunday we decided to do the same again, but go round Hilbre Island. In contrast this was only half the distance, but with the currents felt quite a bit harder. Added to this, the angry bull seals that occasionally popped up squaring up to us, and it made you feel like you were really in somebody elses back yard. The one that popped up literally 1ft behind Rob's board looked especially manacing... When we got to the back of Hilbre, we had to get across the currents (where one flow meets another turning the otherwise flat smooth water into a bit of a mess with a big current working against you), it was pretty hard going! Heading back was easy, as the tide ebbs out in a weird direction, almost pulling us back to the beach. The lifeguards were on their last day today, so they had a quick go and with all the questions about SUP'ing we got, you can't help think there'll be a lot more around next year.

Me cruising back, Middle Eye behind and Wales behind that

Prospects for the week ahead are a bit hit and miss, looks like some wind tomorrow and maybe some patches during Tuesday, but nothing to get excited about and no waves for sure. Theres a couple of lows skimming the top of the current high pressure, but the high re-establishes itself Wednesday/Thursday and looks set to stay for the weekend and probably beyond. I'm now also boardless, so if anybody has a 90 litre wave board I can borrow for a month, please let me know! Mind you with the current lack-of-wind-fest, it's probably nothing to be worried about...

Bala Triathlon

Posted: September 13th, 2009, 10:48pm CEST

Not too much to report in on from this week, been a super busy week in Belfast and Brighton, long hours and subsequently shattered this weekend. Managed to get my mountain bike out on Saturday for a ride through Eastridge, but my knee put a stop to doing anything too hardcore. Seeing a specialist in a couple of weeks, so hopefully we'll get that sorted soon.

Andy after the 40k bike after the 1.5k swim...

After the swim and bike, a 10k run...

Competitors were all shapes and sizes, this dog joined his owner to cross the finish the line together...

And he could still stand after doing it all in less than 2.5 hours. Nice one Andy!

Sunday, Andy was at the Bala Triathlon event, so I went down to get a few pictures of him, and give him some support with the rest of the family. He's getting pretty good at them now bringing home some very respectable times and putting the training in, but Michelle (his fiance) recently entered her first and came in with a very respectable second place for her age group. Pressures on Andy! Bala was at it's best, sunny, warm, and oozing a relazing laziness that suits sitting by the lake and eating food. The perfect way to end a very frantic week! Well, actually taking advantage of free listings on eBay ended my weekend, but that doesn't sound as good eh?!
Wanna be a DJ?
Helmet?
Need a new boom bag?
Tried the test winning Twin Fin?

Four Sails For Sale (and other stuff, too!)

Posted: September 3rd, 2009, 5:34pm CEST

Time to sell the 2009 gear...

Starting with the boards:

'09 RRD TwinFin 82 - Mint condition complete with fins £795

'09 RRD TwinFin 90 - Very good condition complete with fins SOLD

These boards now retail for £1400 new, so grab yourself a bargain!

Sails:

'09 Severne Gator 4.2 - Mint condition SOLD

'09 Severne Gator 4.7 - Mint condition £185

'09 Severne Gator 5.3 - Mint condition £195

'09 Severne S1 5.9 - Mint condition £210

The Gator is an awesome sail, great for waves with a measured power delivery, yet light enough for the most compicated of freestyle. The S1 is in my mind the benchmark of sails, and the '09 is the best yet.

Other bits:

Dakine Boom Bag - Good condition, takes 3 plus booms £40

stueygwynn (at) hotmail.com

6 in 10

Posted: August 24th, 2009, 10:35pm CEST

Tigger sized waves

Amazing how quick the ocean can change, this weekend was classic for it. Saturday we took the dog to the beach and it was a glorious day. Warm, and with a very light wind, we took a couple of boards and managed to score some ankle biter waves. Even tried to get Tig out on my board, but he's not really a water dog (yet - although he did go in up to his body), so he scrambled and scratched his way off and left me with a reminder to clean the wax job on my board. Cassie is getting on great, she paddled straight out, saw one that was breaking, and turned to catch it just as it reformed. Perfect timing!

Cassie sitting waiting wishing

Another wave for Cassie

Sunday dawned pretty windy, so met up with Brother Mike at Rhosneigr and had a really fun session. We were met with rain, wind, and some pretty nice but slow looking waves. You wouldn't have been out surfing it, but with just enough wind on the inside, we managed to share a few. Le Cat was on photo duty, but with the rain and the draw of bridal magazines, we weren't too surprised she didn't get any!

Sick cover up sequence part 1

Sick cover up sequence part 2

Sick cover up sequence part 3 - come on, it was tiny!

We were both on 5.3s and Mikey used my 82. As the tide drops here, the sandbanks really change the conditions quickly. One moment you're scratching for waves, the next you're heading pretty far downwind punching out through them. After Mike left, I decided to have 3 more rides and practise my takas on the inside. 3 more turned into 3 more, then that turned into 1 more, which turned into another couple as it got even better. 2 hours later, I was starting to feel pretty whacked and with the waves finally starting to drop, I headed in and was pretty surprised that it was 6pm.

I've had 6 sessions in 10 days up to Sunday, and the perfect way to celebrate it was with a cup of tea with Dave Booker in his front garden still in our wetsuits. Those guys are really settling into living in Rhosneigr, and when he was telling me how he was out the day before in perfect calm seas laying his lobster pots from his tiny fishing boat and then spear fishing, it does make you realise how much the ocean changes, and more importantly how much I want to live by the sea!

News Round Up

Posted: August 18th, 2009, 3:10pm CEST

Not got any pictures unfortunately, but had a good few days last weekend. Went camping with a few friends from back home to Rhosneigr, and with the first day of miserable rain, luckily it was pretty windy. Lucky for me anyway, the rest of the crew weren't best impressed! Managed a few sessions, Friday had a few hours at Rhossy on the 5.3, the waves were pretty far between and pretty small, but good fun. Saturday (after the rain) was even better, had a 5.3 on again and sailed till the wind dropped for a good few hours. Waves were building slowly and had a couple of good moments, working the turns and trying backies. Also met Gump, possibly the nicest guy in windsurfing! He sails really well, and constantly stops to check his customers are ok. Top bloke! After the wind dropped, the boys all came out for a surf, and even managed to catch a couple. Sunday was a mellower day, less wind, so cruised over to Llanfairfechan and scored an hour of freestyle, which was probably my first this year. And it showed! Couldn't land anything, but did manage a pretty ropey vulcan and even added some colour to my cheeks from the sun (not dodgy landings on my arse haha)...

Last night, I got lucky and scored a last minute ticket to see Pearl Jam in Manchester. They were amazing! They played almost 30 songs and were just on fire. As the wise man next to me said, "the next Led Zepellin". Wise words indeed...

Also, finally got a referral to see a knee specialist (luckily windsurfing and surfing don't aggravate it), and the wind is looking real good this week. Might cash in a leiu day tomorrow and head to Rhossy again. Funny how spots have a cycle, and then we all move to the next for a while. Definately Rhossy's turn at the moment!

Andy's Triathlon

Posted: August 4th, 2009, 10:01am CEST

Brother Gwynn Andy reports from his weekends triathlon and competing against Jenson Button (who has a slightly unfair advantage using the multi-million pound Brawn wind tunnel on his bike)...

Andy's Dog complete with medal, looking at his paw in the "please" position, possibly bribed for this photo!

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2 hours 29, not a bad start to my Olympic triathlon career. Sadly Olympic doesn’t refer to the games (they’ll do it in 1 hour 50 - not quite there yet…) but more the distance, a 1,500m swim, a 40k bike and 10k run. I got into triathlon at the tail end of last year’s season with a sprint at Eton school’s rowing lake and having picked up a reasonable time there – half the distance, half the time of Sunday at the London triathlon – I got hooked. Like any boy with his toys, to be honest one of the greatest draws is the bike component, more on that later, but as a very average swimmer at the outset and an OK runner, the other big draw is seeing the path of improvement.

There’s a ton of triathlon magazines and all the rest out there offering advice to the would be athlete. At its heart, all the advice is basically designed to save you time be it through getting stronger, loosing a few pounds (off the bike and you) or just getting plain fitter. But, having had the debate only a few days ago, with the exception of motor car racing, there really can’t be many more middle class sports than triathlon giving the opportunity to blow a thousand pounds minimum on a status symbol (the bike) and hundreds more on training, all the other gear and travel… Once you get into the world of power meters, carbon fibre wheels, Newton running shoes and all the rest, the average triathlete is probably spending £100 minimum per minute saved. Once you get into the world of Cervelo P4 or P3, the rich triathlete is probably spending £100 for every envious glance their gear gets.

For all you can spend a fortune on gear, it’s you on it and Sunday’s race was a pretty good reminder of that to me. The swim went fine, first time I’ve swum 1,500m in one go I think (the pool doesn’t count) but with 480 people setting off at once, you were basically going as fast as the person in front of you. No surprises therefore that I came out almost exactly in the average time (32 mins) but that said, it’s certainly not impossible to go a bit quicker – just get towards the front! Triathlon goes in waves usually grouped by age and sex and although I’m generally pretty bad at celeb spotting (not enough OK magazine etc I’m afraid) I was able to spot Jensen Button in mine although the cameras helped. Indeed, we even jumped into the water at the same time. He stormed the swim however (25 mins or something) and so that was the last I saw of him but the bike was next where I hoped to make up some time.

Spot Jenson and his camera crew (guy in the white hoodie)

After a pretty swift transition (dump the wetsuit, put the bike shoes and helmet on) it was out on the bike and after kicking out a bit of cramp I picked up coming out of the water it was straight up to speed. I was hoping for an average of 21mph and actually managed 22.5mph average so I definitely made up some time on the bike finishing it in 1 hour and 5 minutes (just 2 minutes different to Jenson on his fully pimped bike). There’s no drafting (sitting behind other bikes) in triathlon so you’re really out on your own, only benefiting from slip streams when overtaking so being aerodynamic on the bike is really important, usually meaning some tri (aero) bars to hang over the front of your wheel and getting down low. That takes practice and you’ve got to be confident on your bike as you lose some steering control but I’m a big fan of my Viner which I’ve had for a year now so was pretty happy to really push it. As a reminder though that there are some serious speeds involved and you’re pretty exposed, I managed to avoid what sounded like a very painful and expensive crash about 3 or 4 bikes back. Not great at the best of times but when you’re rattling through a tunnel at 36mph, not something you look for.

The final discipline is the run and coming off the bike, it’s quite an unusual feeling to battle through as the blood is in the wrong place but after 5 minutes or so, it’s basically a normal run, albeit, coming into it a little more tired. There’s a whole mass of science behind adjusting your position on the bike to use the non-running muscles but if you’re tired, you’re tired and it was at this point I wish I’d done more training. The run was very average again, almost exactly my age group average and having come off the bike in a very good time (26^th quickest out of the 480) putting me in a good overall position it was a little disheartening to be passed quite a bit. Definitely the discipline to work on (followed by the swim) and although I completed it in 46 mins (a respectable 10k time but not brilliant) I felt like I could have done more – I just didn’t have it in my legs. I wear a heart rate monitor in training and racing, and that measures the intensity of the session – needless to say, it was very high (way beyond a killer bike session in the Welsh hills) and my average heart rate (excluding the swim where the heart rate function won’t work) was 176 and total calories, approximately 2,500.

The Viner...

Very pleased with my time which put me in 161^st place out of 480 and a good kick up the bum to get out and train more as the target for next year would be sub 2:20 (roughly in the top 50 of my age group). As for the gear? Well, as I said, you spend £100 a minute minimum and so in a bid to get me a little closer to that 2:20 target and to gear up to half Ironman next year (basically double the distance) I splashed a bit of cash on a new bike at the London triathlon’s expo. Hadn’t gone there with the intention of doing so but it was just too tempting an offer – full carbon fibre, including the wheels. Not as fancy as Jenson’s it has to be said but it certainly looks the part and who knows it may just take me towards a Jenson time (around 2:10, he stormed the run too). The reality is though, the bike is as much about boys and their toys as it is about time and only really hard work and dedication gets you there. For all it’s tough to motivate yourself sometimes, I was so happy with my 2 hours 29 (having modestly targeted something less than 2 hours 40) I came over all emotional. No tears this time but who knows for next…! Bala, 13^th September – bring it on.

The new ride... Ready for Bala!

Colin McCulloch

Posted: July 30th, 2009, 10:49pm CEST

Colin, a great board shaper and waterman, lost his battle on Wednesday against the illness he's had for the last year. A few great friends of mine where very close to Colin, and with the circles of kiting/windsurfing/SUP/surf being so close, we all feel some kind of link with each other. Only recently I was looking at his boards and I was thinking it would only be a matter of time before our paths crossed, either on the water, a trip overseas, or in mutual friends company.

To quote Colin from his own blog "I have NEVER just let life come to me. I grabbed it no matter what it was and always took it to the next level."

My thoughts go out to Colin's young family and friends, and I'll be sure to catch a wave or boost a jump for him next week.

Brothers Gwynn: Not Quite Perfect!

Posted: July 29th, 2009, 6:24pm CEST

Not too much been happening since France. Unfortunately, not due to laziness/excess work/no wind/lack of riding conditions either! When we were in France, we hired some pretty shit (supermarket specials) bikes, and due to being so compressed and crapply designed (the bikes not me), I've tweaked my knee beyond where it should be tweaked!

I've had problems with my knee since I was about 18, and it kind of comes and goes like a distracted cat. Over the last three years, it's been really good. In fact the only time I can remember when it's been giving me hassle over that time, is when I cycled to the start line of the L2B in 2008, but the pain soon went as it warmed up. Recently I've been doing loads of riding, hitting the gym really hard on my legs, as well as running, and not had any problems. A 15km ride on a rented bike however...

Just before we went away I invested in a new ride and took it for its second spin just after we got back. The pain kicked in before the end of the 200m road, and an hour in, it was screaming at me. I've had NHS physio, which was a complete waste of time in my opinion. They said they didn't know what the problem was, which was fair enough, but then offered to operate on it. I asked them how they would when they didn't know what it was! He said he wasn't too sure... I've paid a lot of money on private physio, and that was pretty crap, too. Cassie (a physio) had a look at it, and after 50 minutes of pushing, pulling, twisting, and pain, she said it was probably my meniscus. I've done some reasearch into it, and I'd put money on it now. The pain is on the outside of my knee, and apparently the lateral meniscus is most likely to be damaged. This is on the outside of the knee. There is a test you can do which as good as proves it, and my knee seems to ticks all the boxes. By the way don't ignore the doctors, and diagnose yourself through the internet, Cassie is a proper physio!

Each knee joint contains a medial and lateral meniscus (inner and outer meniscus). These are thick 'rubbery' pads of cartilage tissue. They are C shaped and become thinner towards the middle of the joint. The menisci cartilage sit on top of, and are in addition to, the usual thin layer of cartilage which covers the top of the tibia. The menisci act as 'shock absorbers' to absorb the impact of the upper leg on the lower leg and also help to improve smooth movement and stability of the knee. When people talk about a 'cartilage injury' to a knee, they usually mean an injury to one of the menisci.

Knees. Science.

So basically to cut a long story short, knees buggered, two weeks of no leg stuff, no windsurfing, no cycling, no fun! If it's still bad after (it's a week and a half in already and no improvement), then knee arthroscopy beckons, which to you and me means keyhole surgery. They basically sew it back together, but most operations consist of cutting the rough bits off and flushing the whole joint through. We are doing the Coast 2 Coast ride (140 miles in a day) early September, so fingers crossed it fixes itself in some kind of miracle way!

To finish on a high, the new Giant TCR Advanced Rabobank is incredible. Best bike I've ever ridden and so quick! Heres the stock picture from Giant... Mine looks even better, and for the time being, very low miles!

France

Posted: July 19th, 2009, 8:46pm CEST

Me dropping in on on the noody beach. 15 minutes before it was 100 times better!

Making the most of the dying swell

Local ripper

Local ripper, same wave

Looks small, but click on the picture for the bigger view and you'll see somebody in there!

10 minutes after the camera came out, the wind went onshore

Don't remember doing this!

Cassie

Just got back from a great two weeks in France, travelling down the West Coast in search of wind and waves. As per usual none of my foreign excursions ever really go to plan, and this trip was no exception! We arrived late afternoon, and decided to hit a campsite and give everything a trial run. I'd bought most of the camping stuff on the run up to the trip, but not really had a chance to see if the tent (£30!) was actually going to be ok, and if the cooker worked. Luckily everything was fine, and after 24 hours with no real food (Sunday and we just seemed to be really unlucky with our choice of site as no restaurants/cafes/bars or shops), we hit the road again for the long drive south.

We decided to go towards Royan and stayed a couple of days on a site in a pine forest. The Brothers Gwynn have had a few family holidays this way, and I vaguely knew the area, so it seemed a logical stop. First day and it was just windy enough to blow a kite up and had a few hours in some pretty filthy water fighting the tide. I was well powered up but always seemed to be heading downwind. Didn't realise the mile wide and 3 mile long lagoon basically emptied twice a day!

That was it for wind, so we headed further North to check out Ile d'Oleren, an island which I was hoping would be fully exposed to all the Atlantic could deliver. After a couple of days here, what swell there had been seemed to drop to nothing, and the wind didn't bother. We also kept getting these weird rainfalls, some quite heavy and the occasional thunderstorm. The forecast was for some good swell followed by some wind, so we decided to stick around, but unfortunately it never really came. On the second to last morning, I was woken by the wind so went to the beach and saw it was windy. I grabbed my kite and ran back to the beach, set up, and just in time for the wind to drop. Then it rained some more. I tried to get going, but it was bolt onshore and I managed to loose a fin which made it all even more difficult to get out. By this time I was ready to pack it in and come home, but we decided to head South and to the more 'consistent' surf beaches.

The day we left, the forecast swell finally came through, but trying to find a spot that wasn't dumping shorebreak was proving hard work. It must have been the 10th beach we tried, and finally found something worth paddling for. I took the SUP to make the most of it, and just as I got to the back it went onshore and the waves started to get pretty bumpy. Managed to get a few nice shoulder to head high waves, and it was great to paddle in something with a bit of bite to it.

After a few hours, we started the search for a place to stay for a few days. We had discovered earlier on that the 2 star sites were better, less kids as no facilities for them, and a lot lot cheaper. At about 8pm we found a 2 star place after looking for hours and checked in. It had a slightly strange feel to it, but with us both feeling so tired, we just wanted to set the tent up and sleep. We parked up in the grotty site, and Cassie suddenly realised it was actually a gypo site. Proper dirty gypsies running about and then they started to point at my van and admire it, with all the shiny bits. Always said it was a pikey van... Unbelievable! Enterprising gypsies.

We soon left and found a better site (with toilet doors and everything) and put the tent up. It was now 9pm, and this huge thunderstorm passed right over us and sat there for an hour. This was unreal! No surf (one session so far in 9 days), no wind (2 sessions also), and now thunder! It was this point when we were both sat in the van sheltering from the rain, that Cassie said "I don't believe in God, but if I did, I'd be convinced he's got it in for you." Somehow it kind of felt he had.

Mike was texting me saying how good the surf looked all over Europe the next day, so we drove to the beach and discovered double overhead, messy as you like, waves. The rips were visable from about a mile away they were churning up so much sand, the lifeguards were so stressed stopping everybody from going in, and they even had a helicopter double checking the water. I've often found with France that it is either flat, huge or onshore. Or a combination. To find perfect waves and not a lo of people out has been rare for me, and I've never realised quite why it had such a good reputation.

Thursday morning dawned, and it was blue skies and actually felt like it was going to be a hot day. We had planned on starting to head home but I had a feeling the thermal might kick in with the heat, so we decided to stay another day. I suddenly realised the wind had changed direction and it would now be offshore, so we went to the beach and discoved some perfect head high plus waves. I couldn't believe it. It was really crowded so I convinced Cassie we should drive 30 minutes up the road and find a quiet break. We arrived and it was glassy, over head, and one person out. It was also about 30-35C, blue skies, and all of a sudden all the thunderstorms, the gypsy site, and all the other shit didn't matter! It had all been worth it. I caught so many waves, it was untrue. Perfect reeling right handers that all seemed to finish with the same section to hit each time. After about 4 hours, I started to feel pretty thirsty and the waves had started to drop back so I headed in and took a breather and grabbed the camera for Cassie. Literally in the space of those 15 minutes the waves almost all disappeared apart from some smaller ones on the inside! It was amazing how quick it could do that! I went back out and caught a couple more for the camera but they were no way near as good as the early ones. Another 15 minutes later and the thermal had started to kick in, so we headed back to the lake and I managed to score a kitesurf for a couple of hours.

Hourtin-Port is a dodgy place to kite, the wind was so gusty, and the take off and land area was so small it was like watching an accident about to happen. I was on my way out again (after the wind had increased dramatically) and happened to look back to see somebody struggling to land their kite. I decided to come back in and pack up, as the wind was getting too much for my big kite, and Cassie mentioned that something had happened in the bushes behind the launch. It turned out the poor guy had been lifted and dragged through some pretty big trees and bushes. He was out of sight, but obviously in a very bad way as the air ambulance came and it was over an hour before they got him away. He had even managed to bend a pine tree he had hit it that hard. Apparently he is doing ok, but it makes you realise how dangerous kiting can be.

We headed North again on our way home, and besides getting the van searched twice (once by a quick response team and a dog), a really shit windsurf up by Calais, and almost missing the ferry, nothing much happened!

All in all a great trip, and I'd recommend it, but probably on a forecast!

L2B, Glastonbury and the Backloop

Posted: July 1st, 2009, 1:10pm CEST

Maximum speed... (mph)

The last descent, and refuel from the climb

Mike mid ride

The start line

L2B
A couple of days before the event I started to come down with something which really knocked me sideways. Luckily Saturday came and I was starting to feel quite a bit better, but felt like I could have got it faster if I hadn't been hit by whatever it was. Anyway, 3 hours was the target, and the finishing time was 2 hours and 50 minutes! Woop woop!

Mikey and myself really enjoyed the ride, and the most painful part was driving back from Brighton to London, which took the same amount of time. Massive thanks to Andy for putting us up, towing us to the startline and warming us up, and then driving down to Brighton to pick us up. The rest of the Plain Lazy crew put in a great effort all finishing within 4 hours. Mike, who suffers from ADHD, was obviously getting bored cycling, and randomly got his camera out and snapped some pictures. The training really paid off this year, legs were fine after, didn't need to eat for hours afterwards, and loved it!

The winner of the hamper was Natalie Clark - I'll be in touch soon! Thanks everybody for sponsoring me, and I'm sure that Andy will be involved next year and we'll be on for a course record!

Glastonbury

Will and George

Just back from Glastonbury and completely shattered! 8 days of Glasto takes it toll! I spent a lot more time working this year so only saw a bit of Pete Tong, Deadmau5, and luckily most of Blur. Blur were amazing, and well worth going to see if you get the chance! I turned up without a voice and sporting a cold that could kill a rhino, and although you have moments were you swear you'll never go back, to be honest I can't wait till next year... It is definately something everybody should do once in their life. The Shangri La and Trash City areas were awesome also, and Tom Jones was apparently on fire.

Will, one of the guys working with us this year, got a text from his girlfriend saying that Michael Jackson had died. He was out the back telling this to one of the guys from the reggae tent next to us, who subsequently dragged him into the DJ booth and was told to tell the DJ what he had just said. He did, and the DJ looked down, shook his head, stopped the music and announced it to the 2000 strong crowd. Will then got a text saying that he was actually ok, and looking at the DJ and the 2000 crowd, now dancing to a MJ medley, he quickly hoped his last text was wrong... We had some pretty impressive storms this year, too, one bolt of lightning hit a pylon in one of the camping fields, and was so loud! Anyway, get yourself a ticket and get there next year! Got some photos on my new Blackberry but no idea how to use email on that thing yet. I'll put them up soon...

The Back Loop
A few days before the L2B, a bit of wind came through so I headed to Rhosneigr for a sail. I was fully wound on my 4.2 and 82 board, and was trying a few backies. One run, I decided to really go for it, and hit a bigger ramp. Somedays you go out and you miss time all the bigger ramps, but on this run I hit a really good one, went up, round, and started to come down and it all felt effortless. Next thing I knew I landed, and sailed away. Sweet! My first port tack backie!

Aberdovey Windjam!

Posted: June 16th, 2009, 10:42pm CEST

Thanks to Shelly for the photo!

Just about recovered from an awesome weekend at the Boardwise Aberdovey demo. This event, in my opinion is fast becoming the windsurfing event to get to in the UK. Last year it was so windy it was untrue, this year we had a maximum of maybe 8 knots, yet there was still about 30 people competing. 10 year old boards and sails racing against the likes of Nik Baker (who fell victim to the infamous Saturday night party) in next to no wind. Brilliant! The local council even got behind it, and put up £1000 in hard cash for the winners, and with the incredible friendliness and great hospitality from the sailing club, I reckon the next one will be a very busy event...

I managed to get 4 surf sessions in over the weekend. The first session was over the sandbar in the mouth of the estuary, or Crazywaves as I've called it, with Rob H. Pretty short wave but good fun. In the evening before the BBQ we hit Graveyards for a couple of hours, and it was so warm I could of been in boardies. Waves weren't great but we enjoyed it. Picture is from this session.

Sunday morning, one of the young racers was banging on my van asking for a lift to the beach, so we scored another couple of hours on the SUPs before the light onshore breeze messed it up before breakfast. Sunday evening back at Graveyards, and this was the best session. I took my 9'6 this time, and got a full cover up. Off the water at 7pm, drove home, sorted the van out and collapsed in bed... completely stoked!

Aberdovey Windjam rules!

Wet Weekend

Posted: June 9th, 2009, 11:05pm CEST

Llygwy Kiters

Bit of a flat forecast this weekend. Was looking up and down all week, due to the centre of the low being right over mid-Wales, and it was only really Friday afternoon that it started to look alright. Saturday I decided to drive to Llanfairfechan to catch the Easterly funneling winds, and when I arrived 3 hours after leaving home there was no wind. But, a small wave running convinced me there was some wind about somewhere, so I drove up to Llygwy and caught a couple of hours before the tide went. The Jurys still out on whether it was worth 5.5 hours driving there and back, but it was good fun and good jumping in some head high steep waves.

Sunday it pissed down all day. I was due to go for a big ride on the bike, in preperation for L2B, but ended up hitting the gym for a while and doing a few odd jobs about the house.

Think Llygwy was probably the best bet for the weekend, and it's really brought it home how crap the winds been this year. I think its been the worst I can ever remember?! Luckily we've had some great days surfing, SUP'ing and biking to make up for it. Think we'd go crazy otherwise...

Next weekend the demo day bandwagon strikes at Aberdovey for Boardwise. Forecast looks pants at the moment, but there is a sniff of an easterly forecast on Sunday which may get accelerated. I'll be there at some point, and its always a good event to go to no matter what the wind.

London to Brighton 2009

Posted: June 4th, 2009, 12:33am CEST

On the 21st June I'll be cycling the 54 miles from London to Brighton again. Last year I did it in 3 hours 17 minutes, this year will hopefully be 3 hours or under. I've been doing a fair bit of training and fairly optimistic I'll manage it.

I'm looking to raise £150 this year, which all goes to a great cause (British Heart Foundation).

If you want to sponsor me, I'd be very happy and you can do so here...

If you want to read about last years attempt, have a butchers here...

If you want to join the Facebook page and guess a time, have a look here...

Finally, as an added incentive to sponsor me a couple of quid, you can guess the time I do it in and the closest will win a great food hamper from the Country Habit Farm Shop delivered to your door. Personally, I don't think you can find a better hamper!

5 Day Weekend

Posted: May 26th, 2009, 10:39am CEST

It's been in the pipeline for a while, but we finally put a date on the 5 Day Weekend. We decided to do it with the Bank Holiday Monday, and in reality the 5 Day Weekend was actually 4, but thats just details...

I headed down to Cornwall to head up the Fistral campaign with Ash our sponsored longboarder whilst the boys and girls at work hit the Downs for some biking. I had 3 days in Cornwall, and for the first time ever, stayed dry as the surf was shit, and the only wind enough to kitesurf was when I was trying to sort out some stuff in the new shop.

Luckily the sun shone, and with just enough water moving, Ash got in the water and I got a shot of him holding the banner with pride. He's also given me some top tips on nose riding and cross stepping, so can't wait to try those out! Theres something pretty cool about sitting on a beach in the sunny warm weather and it actually being part of your job...

This weekend I've upped my training for the London to Brighton. Mike and I are aiming at under 3 hours which will be pretty heavy going, but we're confident we can do it. The ride is 54 miles, and pretty flat so we should have a high average. Problem round these parts is the hills. Some rides I'll average 10-14mph, as I'll spend 80% off the time climbing. Its hillsville. Some climbs last for over an hour, and others are the steepist hills I've ever put two wheels up. Although they are great for training and fitness, the L2B is a flat ride and I need to work on flat averages a bit more. Amazingly Lance Armstrong did a 100 mile stage of the Giro Italia with an average of just under 30mph, and did a whole Tour De France with an average of 25mph. Not bad for 3500kms. We're aiming at 18mph for 3 hours, which is about 1.5mph quicker than last year. Anyway, I managed to snap my chain yesterday, not sure if it means I'm creating more power or I need a new bike!

Don't forget to sponsor me! Link is on the right...

Super Saturday and SUPing Sunday

Posted: May 18th, 2009, 3:28pm CEST

Seems after a rubbish start to the year wind wise and even big swell wise, something has broken somewhere and its finally coming through! All week! Monday and Tuesday were windy, and Tuesday drove to Ynyslas for some freestyling. Typically got there to just 10 knots, so quickly blew up my biggest kite and had an hour of kiting up to sunset.

The weekend was the UKWA Round 2 comp at Rhosneigr, and in the 10 years or whatever it is that its been going, its been windy once, so when the weekend forecast suddenly changed from nothing to everything, I guess a lot of people crossed their fingers and it payed off big time.

The Rhossy comp probably had the best conditions a UK event has ever had (note: Republic of Ireland is not UK!) it kind of makes you proud knowing it was one of your local spots! People travelled over from Ireland, a load from the South Coast and Cornwall and most places between and were rewarded. Should be some great photos from the event on Boardseeker on Friday.

However, for waves, I don't think anybody bettered the ones we were riding on Saturday. Easy logo high, just 6 of us out, and sunshine at times, too. Dropping into some of these was just gold. The moment you look down the wave from the top, glide down to the bottom in silky smooth water, laying it down and come off the top really using the wave instead of the sail... Amazing. Could have been anywhere. Like I said to Richy when we came in 3 hours later for a break, it was like a dream! The photos are from the second session on a different break slightly downwind. The waves here are a lot smaller and less defined in comparison, and the moment I grabbed the camera the heavens opened and I only had about 5 minutes behind the lens before running for cover trying to keep it dry.

Sunday, went back to catch the back end of the swell. SUP'ed it for a couple of hours, but the peaks were really shifting. Caught a couple of good sized ones, one was the biggest drop I've ever had on a SUP, and at one point all 10'8 of my board and me were airborne trying to stick the thing in a straight line down the face! Rob caught Sunday at Rhosneigr and sounds like he enjoyed it.

More wind this week, should be pretty good upto and hopefully including the weekend. I'm down in Cornwall taking part in a passive protest campaigning for the 5 day weekend. Feel free to join me and bring your surfboard as we'll be campaigning at South Fistral!

Wales, Waves, and Wind

Posted: May 10th, 2009, 10:43pm CEST

Mikey G, Rob H and myself decided to do a weekend from the forecast. Wind on Saturday, then going offshore Sunday for a surf.

Me (when the clouds came over and the waves dropped to shit)

Rob laughing at somebody going for a swim

Carl hucking one of the top

Not the reason why I was pulled over

Saturday we were all up early and on the water for before 10, as the wind was due to drop early afternoon. I would have got there earlier if it hadn't have been for a local policeman who pulled me over and wrongly accused me of not wearing my seatbelt. I always wear my seatbelt, and no matter what I said to him he didn't believe me. I think he soon realised that it was his word against mine, and if he did give me a ticket I would have contested it, so he probably couldn't be bothered with the paperwork. Anyway, that was obviously the third and final bit of bad luck so it was good to get it out of the way!

Rhosneigr was pretty good fun, not as busy as we thought it would be, and the wind got stronger and stronger as the day went on. It was sunny all day until Mike got the camera out, and then it started to rain. Eventually the waves backed off, so we packed in and headed back to the house. Afternoon, we did a 12 mile cross country route on the bikes through some awesome scenery nearby, riding through rolling hills, sleepy villages and past a couple of waterfalls.

Sunday, Rob and myself went to Hells Mouth for a SUP. The waves were tiny, probably waist high on the very biggest and knee high on the rest, but good to be out in the water and it was pretty sunny, too. Amazingly I counted over 50 surfers in the water, and with only a few peaks working it was the busiest I've ever seen it. There must have been a really good forecast doing the rounds somewhere, but it wasn't that good! I paddled down to the cliffs at the Southern end of the beach and then caught a few quieter waves down the bottom end.

Prospects for the week ahead look crap for surfing, but maybe some Easterly winds Monday and Tuesday. Could be pretty marginal, but Ynyslas will be working for some freestyling and will be pretty windy, and that's where I'll be tomorrow night. Llanfairfechan could also be on but will be pretty flat. East Coast looks windy all week, but it'll be onshore. Weekend looks like it could go either way as there's a low pressure moving about out there, but where it goes nobody knows...

Trouble Comes in Threes!

Posted: May 8th, 2009, 12:00am CEST

After a couple of really good weeks (work and water wise), I seem to have run into a spell of trouble...

Firstly I was sailing at Rhosneigr on Monday (after a great weekend away) and although it was almost bolt onshore and with driving rain it was great fun and I was trying to nail my port tack forwards (I know, I know - starboard no worries!). So after a few runs and a few attempts I sailed into the beach and looked at the nose of my board and noticed a nasty looking crack! Doh! Turned out the mast at some point had whacked the nose, cracking it slightly and pushed itself through the side, too. More annoyingly it put a premature end to a good session, but still managed about 3 hours.

Luckily, JonK (ace board repairer and Moo man himself) did a quick fix on it, and it was good to fight another day. The repair is actually only half done, but already looks great. The man is a legend with repairs, and highly recommended. Moo have just moved into new premises and I'm sure over the next couple of years with rising prices on production boards (£1500 anybody?!) he's going to need it as he's going to be even busier. I find it amazing that when I pick up a windsurf magazine, I can get through it in about 5 minutes, as they are such an uninspiring waste of woodland. If I pick up a surf mag, or a mountain bike mag it'll take me a couple of half hour sessions to get through it. The lack of content is mind blowing, and when somebody like Jon sets himself up as a custom producer, I'd much prefer to read about that, why he does it, what he thinks is the way forward and his ideas rather than yet another article on carve gybing, a sail test by people who can't sail, or recycled press releases/bullshit I read 4 weeks ago on the internet. Seems the industry can't support two UK mags anyway, people aren't advertising as much and with the online mag now under pressure from Beach Telegraph it all looks a bit wobbly. Rumours now suggest that Boards is having a re-shuffle anyway, and about time. Anyway, I'll save that rant for a day with no wind, but I'll finish by saying that I'd love to do a one-off online mag, with great imagery, inspiring stories, no technique bollocks, no testing shite (remember the wave test in Egypt?!), travel stories and general experiences with everyday sailors and give away the advertising space free to people who deserve it. Anybody interested in doing a story drop me a line.

So secondly, Jon asked me if I'd drop a board of at O'Shea HQ in Abersoch, and when driving into the drive I had a little run in with an industrial bin. Unfortunately the bin didn't move like I was hoping and I've now dented my van. Doh! Amazingly, a couple of hours later I bumped into a mate at Rhosneigr and his mate is a body repairer. Hopefully he'll sort it for cheap and looking at some of his work, it looks very good!

The session (last night) was even better. I was out on my 4.7/90 combo and at times it felt ok, but then I was so wound that I'd think of coming in to change but it was just too much fun. Didn't get any pictures as didn't have the camera, but it was still a bit onshore and some of the waves were starting to break right across the bay. Highlight was super powered wave riding, getting some decent shuv its on the waves and then almost got round a really slidey taka. Loved it!

I'm not normally bothered by superstitions, but I do think that trouble comes in threes, so I'm just wondering what and when it will be. I was pretty paranoid last night rigging up, first it was my windsurf kit, then the van, so the third thing might be me, like my leg breaking or something. It took a good coffee and 30 minutes to actually get ready yesterday, wondering which leg it'd be!

Anyway, looks like another duskie tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday could deliver the goods, and I think Sunday in particular could be magic. Unfortunately the rest of the crew seem pretty unmotivated at the moment, none of them are travelling and they're not getting out so hopefully they'll all snap out of it before I name and shame them and their excuses!