Topocalma and Pupuya

Ahhhhh....so I am back on the water! I had 3-4 days off with my eye as it was pretty swollen to the point I could only just see! Now it has almost gone down, still a little swelling on the cheek but fine for sailing and surfing again! I had a day with a surf at Puertecillo and another at Matanzas, but I think my confidence was low with the drop of a takeoff here (unlike most English waves), so I didn't do so well, but I am hoping to next time! We have a few more days of wind then its surfing time.

Windsurf wise, it has been really fun. I have been sailing twice a day, once at cross-on Pupuya, working on my jumping and some onshore riding, then at Matanzas for offshore riding. Today we went to Topocalma and it was about logo to mast, 3.7 weather! Well actually I was stacked on 3.7! I came in to rig a 3.4 after a while but realised I was shattered and my arms couldn't hold on anymore so I gave it a rest! Lots of the pros have arrived now so it was great to see the show from Victor, Klass, Leon, Robby, Adam and Marcillo, and also some of the Chilean locals too. Lots to learn! Here are some photos and video stills from the sessions.

Pupuya

Topocalma:

What a shiner! Not the best start to the trip!

Oh dear. Not a great start to the trip! It looks like my cheek has swallowed a plum. I have arrived in Chile after 30 hours of traveling and TAM airlines safely taking five 32+kg bags...for free! The journey went fine (as fine as it could do sleeping upright in an aeroplane chair) and we even met our friend Jackie in Santiago. We are staying in a friend's amazing house (he is joining us Tuesday), and this time we landed on our feet with a 4x4 pickup, rather than a 4x2 which we had pre-paid for last time and almost didn't turn up. All is going well and the waves are sick!

I am a keen bean and couldn't waste these lovely lefts coming through this morning while Stef had to work, so I put on my new C-Skins boots and suit and walked through the forest to go for a surf. I launched round the rocks rather than through them like you normally would as I wasn't surfing with Stef (safety first! ha ha), but it wasn't the most ideal place as the rip in Chile is horrendous in the wrong place. It wasn't bad though, you can come in further down, you just aren't in the right place for taking off all the time. I had a total of two waves before going down with the lip on the last one and somehow knee-ing myself in the face! Oh no. My cheek starts to swell straight away but it didn't seem to hurt that much...I make my way back up the hill and put the best to ice I can on it-a sealed (now opened) duty free plastic bag filled with water! So now I have a blinder of an eye, which is a little awkward as poor Stef is getting some funny looks. I remember the last time I had a black eye in Plymouth (again from surfing but not as bad), people were really awkward around me, some giving weird silences and stares and some asking straight out how I did it! So my face is pretty swollen and I think I need to wait for the swelling to go down before I sail (or it could pop?!) I hope its quick....

We went to Topocalma this afternoon so Stef could sail. Baptism of fire. It was logo to mast, super offshore, gusty and 4.2 weather! Still, he had fun.

Rescuing a starfish

The crash that ended my session. What a clumsy mistake...

Finally, here is the link to the BWA competition video that I was in last weekend, with footage from the Amateurs, Masters and ladies. The ladies are at about 4 minutes.Check it HERE!

I'm a.......C-Skins Team Rider!

As you can probably guess by the photo below, I am super stoked to be on the C-Skins team! I have had an eye on their suits and gear for a long time now as I love the quality, design, fabric and generally the ethos of the brand! I am really glad to be wearing their suits on my year away, they should keep me nice and toasty! I especially love the HDi Polypro rash vests, they are thick fleece which is ideal for when you are cold and wet! Check out their gear HERE! www.c-skins.com/europe/products/wetsuits/winter Now all that remains is getting some actual water shots rather than dancing round the house in a wetsuit! Bring on Chile on Monday! :)

BWA Cornwall, 3rd Place!

This weekend was the final event of the BWA tour in Cornwall. Even though I couldn't make the other events this year I was looking forward to this one at my local spot, especially with the biggest storm in 26 years coming!

Saturday was a little small, but it was windy. There were 8 girls entering in two heats of 4 for the single elimination. Unfortunately I didn't really get a set wave in my heat and came 3rd, therefore 6th overall. I think every run out I had there was a small set coming in!

Day two was epic! It was the biggest I had ever seen the Bluff, from normally waist to head high it was already breaking logo high in the morning, before the 20 second period swell kicked in. My first heat was against Ping, Katie and Emma Ray for the double elimination, but unfortunately Emma was feeling ill and Ping didn't have time to get ready. The next heat was versus Katie, and it was probably the best heat I sailed in ages. I had 2 good waves, one better than the other at about logo high. With the short 10 minute heat I avoided waiting for a huge set wave in case I mucked it up. The tactic worked! I didn't mind whether I went through at this point as I knew I did my best, but I got through! It was pretty close with Katie and she got a big wave!

My next heat was versus Jody, then against Sara Kellet which was really close but I got through, then I met Justyna. By this point the tide was low and the set waves were closing out a lot, so the girls focused on getting reform waves on the inside. The wind got lighter and lighter and by the time my heat with Justyna came, my arms were falling off and I was sinking on my 69l! Justyna made it through against me to meet Debbie in the final. They sailed well, with Debbie taking the win!

Thanks for the photos above from Splashography, Tim Baker and Dave White. The judges and organisers did a spectacular job too so thanks to them too!

New Simmer Gear!

Our new Simmer Halos and Blacktip have arrived and my 69l Flywave! The sails look great and feel really light! Shame we are still waiting for some wind in Cornwall to try them.

I had a good surf last week at Fistral, a nice offshore and a bit of decent swell, hoping for more to come!

I mentioned Tribal Clash a few posts ago, here is the official video, it was amazing!

In other news, we went fishing last night, catching a few tasty mackerel and amazingly two squid! As we caught one of them I was looking over the side and it squirted me full power in the face with ink! Luckily I was wearing sunglasses but I was covered head to toe in black ink! It was washable ;) ha ha