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Behind the Lens: Tommy Perkins

Amy Carter - Editor — Thu, 16 May 2013 10:47:13 +0000

Maui is without doubt the most well known windsurfing Mecca, attracting hoards of pros and holiday makers every year, ready to take on the brutal Ho’okipa break. Boardseeker catches up with and gets behind the lens of windsurfer and photographer, Tommy Perkins.

Tommy takes us on a whistle stop tour of Maui, with some unbelievable images, but first lets find out a little more about the man behind the camera:

I’m a Doctor (Anaesthetist) and Jo is a teacher (Primary school) in Poole, UK although we’re originally from Shoreham-by-Sea. I’ve been windsurfing about 7 years and Jo about 3. We love travelling all over the world chasing wind and waves.

I started taking an interest in photography about 4 years ago when a broken foot (windsurfing) kept me off the water for 3 months. As you can see from my portfolio (www.flickr.com/tommyperkins) I mainly shoot landscapes and was nominated for the Take a View Landscape Photographer of the Year in 2012. As any weekend warrior knows, work commitments limit time on the water and behind the lens, but in 2012 we both took 6 months off work for a dream trip to Maui and Western Australia, eventually settling in New Zealand for a year.

When my new wife and long-suffering windsurfing widow, Jo, left me in charge of organising our honeymoon destination there was only one place on my mind: Maui. We’ve been lucky enough to have several trips to Maui before, chasing perfect wind and waves. Here’s a few photos that we’ve taken on our trips….

Ho'okipa panoramic IMG_8010 Richard Potter Tommy Perkins Mark Angulo Jason Polakow and Boujmaa Guilloul Robby Swift Haleakala Maui sunset Robby Naish and Jason Polakow IMG_1090 Hana Highway Graham Ezzy Jaws Tommy Perkins Honolua Screen Shot 2013-05-16 at 11.30.53

Thanks to www.K4fins.com for the fins and www.Bluesmiths.com who make The Kula Hoodie, the ultimate beach hoodie for the great British Summer!

Check out some more of Tommy shots at www.flickr.com/tommyperkins

VIDEO: North Shore Love

Editor — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 07:22:40 +0000

Just another day in paradise for Robert Heffel who has produced this really nice clip of his love for the North Shore of Maui. As many pros travel from all over the world Robert was able to capture some of the action, mixed in with his own sessions to produce a video that gives us a sense of almost being there. Enjoy the action and the riders shot include; Kai Lenny, Jason Polakow, Boujmaa Guilloul, Iballa Moreno and more…

VIDEO: Neilpryde 2013

Editor — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 11:26:14 +0000

Christoph Valognes has put together this super nice edit of the Neilpryde team in action. At a time when many of the top brands come together in the windsurfing Mecca that is Maui you get to see, in this clip, pretty much what goes on when the wind blows.

VIDEO: JP-AUSTRALIA 2013 WAVE ACTION

Editor — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 12:29:36 +0000

More from the JP-Australia 2013 video shoot, featuring some seriously big names including the likes of Jason Polakow KA-1111, Kauli Seadi BRA-253, Ricardo Campello V-111, Robby Swift K-89, Morgan Noireaux HI-101, Steven Van Broeckhoven B-72 and more…

Their tag line ‘Right Stuff for Radical Action’ certainly applies here, just check out the height, the power and the huge wipe-outs that these guys go through in order to get the perfect shot! Also take a look at the screen grab from the video below…

PWA Chile 2013 -The Wave Calendar is heating up

Editor — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 10:45:23 +0000

It’s been a while since the PWA Wave tour saw a stop in true down the line conditions. Well according to Robby Swift the three year contract is on for an event beginning this November until 2015. Supported by Aragas (www.aragas.be), the tour stop will no doubt be organised by a team that is led by Swift and will bring the conditions that many competitors and fans have been dreaming of.

This surprise addition to the PWA tour will join that of PWA South Africa which is planned to take place in December. With the PWA tour appearing to grow again, as well as other professional windsurfing tours, are we seeing the beginning of the much deserved re-emergence of our sport. Discuss below…

What to expect?

Well the following video is certainly not out of the equation although perhaps the photo gallery below is more realistic.

chile1 Felipe Wedeles in Chile Incredible scenery robby in matanzas Robby Swift down the line robbymatanzas2

Fri 21st – Northsails APP 2.0, Polakow and Swift, Gollito, Sims, Bubble, EFPT and more…

Editor — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 12:14:41 +0000

Welcome back for the last update this week. Some cool news for those with smartphones, North sails have released their official NorthSails APP v2.0. The upgrades include a downloads category for on and offline use of all media and brochures as well as iPhone 5 and iPad compatibility. On top of all that there are some pretty nifty features, like the kit check list, so you never forget anything in your rush to the beach or the unit converter if someone ever confuses you with their technical talk about the bft scale or nautical miles an hour. Head over to the iTunes store to grab your copy - https://itunes.apple.com/de/app/northsails-windsurf/id444210914?mt=8

For fans of watersports then this video will quench your thirst, it includes some nice action from Kai Lenny as well as the XXL surfing awards and mark our words, there is some serious eating it in there!

Lastly, this cool one with a nice sound from the wakeboarding scene.

Good news, we are all still here. Even better news, Boardseeker brings you a healthy update this morning. Check out the action that went on around the world in the last few days before the apparent end of days.

Jason Polakow and Robby Swift report in with this edit from their recent trip to Chile. Outstanding action.

Up next is one for spanish listeners or just fans of top level windsurfing. Having featured in our afternoon news section yesterday, Gollito now stars in another movie which shows off the champions that have come out of Venezula.

Something esle of high quality is this sweet looking website from the Austrian slalom sailor Marco Lang, keep up to speed with the Marco as he progresses on the 2013 PWA tour – www.marco-lang.com.

More from the five times World Freestyle Champion, Gollito Estredo. Team QSW recently hooked up with Nik Baker to interview the freestyle champion himself, if you’ve ever wanted to find out what goes on inside the head of Gollito then this is one of the best chances.

Finally for those interested in the European Freestyle Pro Tour, it looks like the calendar for next year is beginning to appear on their website. So far just a couple of events but rumour has it that there is quite the potential for 2013. Check it all out here – www.efpt.net. Whilst you are there be sure to take a look at the nominees for the European Freestyle Pro Tour Rider of the Year and get your votes in. For the UK we have Adam Sims and Andy ‘Bubble’ Chamber nominated, a fair chance for a Brit to hit some pretty decent headlines. Obviously there are also a few others in contention…

Until this afternoon.

Jason Polakow Interviewed

boardseeker — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Jason Polakow is one of the most well known and respected names in wavesailing. Earlier in the year, Ant Baker caught up with the big wave star to talk hold downs, what breaks he loves and a lot more. Jason Polakow also details exactly how he goes about training for big wavesailing in our sister company, Boards’ new Autumn Winter Wave Annual – find out all here.