Wet and Windy Autumn Fun at Downderry

This weekend we made the most of the grim, wet Autumn by being in the sea all weekend. I love enjoying the weather most people hate and are tucked up inside from! We went to Downderry for a cross on/onshore starboard tack session, very gusty on a 4.2 and it was pretty tricky to pick non choppy waves, I had a lot of fun though. Here are a few pics, think I need to improve those donkey kicks! (Poor quality due to poor visibility and failing light!)

This morning we went back for the same again, but the wind wasn't as forecast so we ended up having a barely planing session. After some food we tried again and had a good freestyle session at Torpoint. More wind to come this week!

Tiree, Cornwall Wave Classic and Autumn turning ON!

The British Wavesailing competition in Tiree this year was unfortunately not very windy with high pressures over Tiree for the whole week. This did mean however it was the warmest its ever been (I've been about 4-5 times) and the weather was gorgeous! On the last two days the sea was mirror flat which was amazing to see on an exposed Scottish Island! Of course as soon as we left on the Saturday to get back to work, the next week was firing...

During the week we did manage a competition day, with very light cross/cross-on conditions, port tack at The Maze. I was on 5.0 and an 80 litre board-big equipment for me! The girls had 5 heats, Sara Kellett won the first two with me in second, then I got the next two so the pressure was on for the final heat! The wind really dropped off and Sara clinched the win in a pretty close heat! I didn't get any photos of me, so here is one of Sara's waves:

The rest of the week involved lots of surfing at Ballevullin which was great fun, shoulder to head high waves and clean. We also did some gorge walking at Balephuil and some freediving, the last session at Balephetrish with about 30 curious seals! They didn't get close enough for me to get a picture but it was an incredible feeling anticipating the next sighting and seeing them swim so effortlessly underwater!

The Cornwall Wave Classic at Gwithian had great conditions on Friday for the Pro Men's competition, if a little offshore. It was the first down the line session of the Autumn, so all the competitors had taken Friday afternoon off to sail! Here are a couple of photos of the Pro guys:

The Saturday and Sunday had no wind, but really good clean swell so I made the most of surfing all weekend! Here is a photo of Ben Proffit surfing, and the trophies event organiser Ian Ross got made-I guess these will have to wait for next year!

Having only had a competition in Tiree, Sara won the British title this year, with me in second and Rachel Ince in third. Lets see if I can win it back next year!

Now the clocks have changed and it is dark after work, Autumn seems to have turned on, with lots of wind and swell heading our way! Lets hope there is some truth in this!

An update well overdue...lots of pictures!

Well that was a fast 6 months! I can't believe how busy I have been since returning to work! Just a few things that have happened then recently, to keep it brief! Went back to work as an engineer full time, bought a house, surfed, refurbished a kitchen, free dived, planned a wedding, went to crossfit, changed my job role, windsurfed, got married, and went to Mauritius. I have been windsurfing, but haven't many pictures as the winter was dark, cold and rainy! Here are a few though, none from the most memorable session at Mexico's one of my favorite beaches, but a similar session at the Bluff below another day. I love wave sailing!

Here are some pictures from Bigbury, a varied sport for wave sailing and freestyle:

Also I have been SUPing on the no wind days with SUPBoarder Mag Will Rogers, seeing seals and beautiful sunsets!

I have also been doing a little free diving to help with breath holds and big wave confidence. It is still quite cold in a 5.4mm suit as it is a surf suit and you don't generate any heat when free-diving as you try to relax, so I might purchase a closed cell diving suit. I had the bonus of seeing crabs and jellyfish and even finding a great fishing reel!

I also had the best two weeks of my life this year, getting married to Stef and spending our honeymoon in Mauritius. The wedding was incredible, in a place so close to our hearts at Whitsands beach, where we surf, windsurf and fish all year round. The weather turned out to be perfect, if a little windy, (appropriate for us both!) after weather warnings and torrential rain the day before! Here are a selection of our favorite photos, from Emma Latham at Freckle Photography HERE(she comes highly recommended!):

Now having just seen the live stream to the first PWA Wave event of the year in Gran Canaria, I am feeling a little sad not to be involved, and am desperate to sail back in Pozo! Ben's Pozo diaries and everyone's updates remind me how hard I trained and improved last year and all the friends I made. I am really driven to improve after seeing all the sailors competing, I just need some conditions! I hope I can manage to to an event this year, if not then concentrate on next year's as there is also the British Tour to support too, and Tiree was so much fun last year! I'll keep training for now and see where this leads me...