Moulay Wave Camp 2013

I just got back from this years Wave Camp in Moulay. It was another great success despite a slow no wind start. Thankfully when the wind did kick in, it was accompanied by some pretty solid swell and I think just about everyone got some quality sailing, in suitable conditions for their level. Hopefully most people went home happy. A massive thanks to Tatsy for his help all week. For those that have never been to Moulay it comes highly recommended. I think it is unbeatable for reliable wind and good wave action throughout the summer. For me, its back to Gran Canaria where its time to get my head in gear for the start of the PWA tour in a few weeks. Conditions look like they are switching on towards the end of the week. Hopefully its not too crowded yet, but somehow I doubt it!

Showergreen Speed Challenge- Round 2

After the success of the first speed challenge everyone was calling for round 2. This time the wind was stronger and the tide was better to give a really nice flat water speed strip upwind. Same rules as last time with a freeride set up and a race set up. This time for the freeride set up we had a 6.0 Fire on the Firemove 100. For the race set up we had a significant upgrade, replacing the Firerace 102 for a 2013 X-Fire 105, along with a now highly tuned new 7.0 Firewing Proto type. I had spent the whole week testing different sails and proto masts and getting the whole set up working really nicely. Once again the difference between the 2 set ups wasn't that much for the majority of riders, but I after a week of sailing the slalom gear I set a new personal best speed of 68.5 kph which is about 37kts. On the freeride gear I got a fraction under 34kts, which shows what the Firemove is capable of! Pretty much everyone bettered their round 1 speeds and like always there was plenty of banter. Unfortunately the day cost us 2 GPS units. The first was lost to sea after purchasing it just 4 hours earlier. The second was flooded after almost 10 years of use. Hopefully it dries out and comes back to life for the next challenge.

Multi disipline

Since arriving back from Tenerife I have been full power on the water, including sailing just about all types of gear. Sunday and Monday were great days wave sailing. Then the waves died down so I headed to the flatwater spot to test some sails. I ended up having a very good slalom session with a few of the local race heads. Really happy with how our Firewing is performing now and even hit 35kts which is my top speed yet. Then I had a good freeride session on the Evolution, again on the flat water, before having some time testing the new Style Pro, which is making my freestyle life much easier. My goal is to learn Culo's by the time the summer is over, but still got a very long way to go. Tomorrow it looks like the wind is still blowing, so more flat water sailing before the next speed challenge on Saturday.

RRD Importer meeting

I have just got back from the RRD importers meeting in Tenerife. It was a really great experience, firstly meeting all the importers from around the world and secondly to present the new sail collection. Seeing all the new sails rigged and on the water was pretty special and everyone loved them which is even better. Still a couple of months until they are available, but pretty excited by the project. The sailing over there wasn't too special, but worked out nicely for the guys to try out the full range of sails. The small wave sails didn't get much use, but everything else was on the water everyday. I got back to GC on Saturday and was treated to 2 amazing days over here. Good waves and wind for around 4.2-4.7. Really nice to get some quality wave sailing in after about a month of freeriding. Looks like pretty good conditions all week and maybe a Round 2 of the speed Challenge at the weekend. Lets see how the forecast turns out.

SHOWERGREEN GPS CHALLENGE

Today we organised round 1 of the SHOWERGREEN GPS speed challenge. Its something I have been meaning to do for ages and now the trade winds are kicking in it was the perfect time. A one design GPS speed event for all our friends that normally sail at Vargas. I set up 2 sets of equipment. Firstly the freeride setup. An RRD Firemove 100 with a 7.0 RRD Fire. Secondly an RRD Firerace 102 and a 7.8 RRD Firewing. Basically 1 freeride set up and 1 race set up. Everyone took it in turns and was allowed 2 runs at a time with the GPS, with the maximum speed of the 2 runs counting. It was so much fun, with everyone enjoying a completely different side to windsurfing than normal. Surprisingly most people actually went faster on the Freeride gear, with the top 6 all beating the 30kt barrier and the winner, Pons, hitting a maximum of 32.9. The Firemove really is such an incredible board! On the race gear only the top 4 beat 30kts, and thankfully I got the fastest speed with 33.3 kts. No idea if that is quick or not, but for a first attempt I think its not bad. Everyone was pretty motivated after a few runs and I think Round 2 will be a lot more competitive. Thanks to Pons for the photo.

Home

After a long journey we finally made it back home to Gran Canaria. With a brief stop at my sisters in the UK, we ended up flying from Luton with 13 bags! 9 big board bags and the then all the baby stuff! Thankfully the airline were brilliant. Its very nice to be home now, but seems to be so much do to having been away for 6 weeks, starting with unpacking and organising 13 bags! Forecast looks good all this week so looking forward to get on the water after so much travelling.
 

Morocco Wave Camp 2013

Our annual Wave Camp takes place every year in Morocco at the amazing spot of Moulay. It is not only great sailing, but a really nice vibe. We stay and eat at the amazing Lawama restaurant, which over looks the sailing spot. Perfect to check the action as you have your lunch or an evening beer. Nayra wont be joining me this year, but instead we have the very capable Tony "Tatsy" Ford, who is not only a south coast ripper, but also has years of coaching seasons under his belt too. Together we will do our best to pass on some top tips to take your sailing to the next level, whether its riding waves for the first time, or busting out pushloops. The dates are the 2-9th of June and there are only a couple of places left. A few screen grabs of the video action below. Check out Oceansource.net for more information.

The guys checking the conditions in the morning. Windy again!!

Lawama's. Great food and probably one of the best bedroom views you can get.

Afternoon beers alway taste better after a good day sailing 

 The Bouj Windsurf Centre full of gear for those renting.

Heli shooting Hookipa

I am the first to admit I am not really a big wave guy. I guess its growing up sailing at Brogborough Lake; great for many aspects of windsurfing, but a bit weak in the big wave department. Today we had a heli shoot booked and it was actually super fun. The big ones were generally bumpy and closing out, but some of the medium ones were great. It was one of those classic Hookipa photoshoot days when the whole windsurfing world was on the water at some point, and everyone charging. Tomorrow its supposed to drop a bit, so for me I think it could be even better! Thanks to Justin Denel for the photo. He is our new team rider on RRD sails and has been ripping. Today was only his 5th time sailing Hookipa and he was charging.