With asymmetric fins not only making an appearance but becoming a must have for many windsurfers, Boardseeker decided to catch up with Steve Thorp and Graham Ezzy to find out more about the development and performance of asymmetric fins, specifically the K4 Ezzy Asy Stubby for quads and tri-fin boards. 

All images credit Tommy and Jo Perkins. The Design

The Ezzy asymmetric fin has a similar template to the Stubby, but everything else was designed from scratch. We wanted to design a fin in conjunction with Graham Ezzy, basically to make the ultimate front fin with the help of one of the world’s best and most progressive riders.

Obviously there’s nothing new with asymmetric fins for riding waves, surfboards have used asymmetric front fins for eons and we also use them for speedsailing.

We knew there were performance gains to be made for waveriding, so we started out by taking our existing fins in bigger sizes and grinding them down to make smaller asymmetric ones; this is much less expensive than making moulds. Even though we expected a performance boost we were a little surprised by just how much better across the board the fairly roughly foiled prototypes were. They seemed a little bit quicker, a little earlier planing, a little better upwind, a little more hold, grip and drive; not a huge amount better but a noticeable amount everywhere even at this early stage.

It seemed a little embarrassing sending Graham such rough looking fins, (the composite isn’t easy to polish back up like g10.. ) but it was the quickest way to get things rolling.

At this point I also tested the effects of ‘cant’ or tipping the fin over slightly towards the rail. It definitely made the board very sweet to gybe, but this didn’t translate to wave riding, it just felt like the fins lost power and drive during a turn. So, we decided to make the fins upright, although more testing into very small amounts of cant may prove useful.

NB on surfboards ‘cant’ is used to make the board easier to tip onto it’s rail and initiate turns, but on a windsurf we have foot straps and our connection to the rig to make this pretty easy anyway.

With such positive initial results it was easy to commit ourselves to investing in new moulds and producing the first ‘moulded’ prototypes. We decided to start with a flat inner foil and sharp entry, this is the same as most surfboard fins (most of the top pro surfer’s still use FIF) and is the simplest to design.

As an asymmetric fin has twice the foil on one side, it made sense to make the fin slightly wider (chord) than normal and slightly thinner. We moulded the first prototypes in two different stiffnesses to see how this changed the performance, also being aware that the asymmetric-ness made the fins a little stiffer when bent outwards (handily more flex when bent inwards). We needed to produce different ‘toe in’ angles for the fins as well so we could explore this parameter and also different boards would have different optimum toe angles and different box angles.

We sent this first batch of various sizes, angles and stiffnesses to Graham in Maui to test.

We all felt the fins performed amazingly, but all agreed they seemed ‘twitchy’ in a straight line regardless of the toe angle. We put this down to the sharp leading edge and flat inner foil, which turned out to be the case.

Our next series of prototypes had a more rounded front radii and positive inside foils and we all tested these until we agreed we had the best mix of stability and performance. It was a long process but we wanted to get them perfect first time round.

Graham Ezzy: 

I’m out of the world on my way to Baja, so I unfortunately can’t offer a full response…writing on my phone hurriedly before losing service. But I will say that I absolutely love the fins. I use 10s with 2 degrees of toe and a 16 or 17cm center fin, depending on conditions. I find that I’d rather ride a smaller middle fin by a cm than go smaller on the sides.

The asy fins have opened up a new level of wavesailing for me. I can turn tighter and faster. And most noticeably I can more easily carry speed through the turns.

I am very proud to have my name on them.

Obviously, you need a board with front fins, so anyone with a quad or tri (I have tried them as rears but feel they are too asymmetric for this).

They will suit any conditions from big punchy down the line to small mushy onshore, light winds or full windy.

They will basically add a lot of drive, hold and grip to the rail of your board, making it turn more on the front foot -great for full power gouges and hucks when it’s firing, or just more speed and drive in weak mushy conditions.

You can also use a smaller size fronts than you would normally. We’re finding most riders are using 8′s in their quads and 10′s in their tris, but there have been calls for smaller sizes so we’ll be doing 6′s next.

I feel that asymmetric fins are here to stay as without doubt they give a performance advantage over standard symmetrical front fins (as they have in surfing). They are more efficient and basically give more lift for the same drag, so you can use smaller fins for less drag, or get more power into your turns with the same size fins.

The main draw back seems to be setting them up and getting the toe angle correct. You need to aim for between 2.5 and 3 degrees of toe, although some riders are liking the fins outside of this guideline. We sell the fins with +1 or +2 degrees toe and you need to select the angle depending on how much toe your boards boxes have. I think this extra complication is maybe putting people off, but I feel a little time measuring boxes and trying the Ezzy fins is well worth it. See guide below.

The fins are made from a composite material, similar to the more expensive moulded surfboard fins such as glass flex. This gives them a stiff base with good flex in the tip with a good foil thickness. The material has a very good reflex and memory, meaning they don’t stay bent after loading and spring back quickly.

Advantages other than the great performance are that they are very light, unlikely to ever injure you and are a lot cheaper than the alternatives. All the K4 fins naturally have more looseness and grip than non-composite fins. Remember too that you can chuck them in the dishwasher to bring them up like new!

Difference in span between the ends of your front boxes in ‘mm’ and the angle of toe your boxes have (taking a 10cm box length)

DIFF 0, TOE 0
DIFF 1.75, TOE 0.5
DIFF 3.5, TOE 1.0
DIFF 5.25, TOE 1.5
DIFF 7.5, TOE 2.o

Choose either +1 or +2 degrees to bring each fins overall toe angle to ideally between 2.5 and 3 degrees. More toe will make the board feel very turning, less toe more drivey, but too much or too little toe will cause unnecessary drag. Bare in mind that the shape of your board and the conditions you sail in will also alter the optimum toe angle slightly. That said a wide range of angles will actually work fine but just give a different feel and different compromise between looseness, hold and speed.

Find out more about K4 fins on their website here. 

It’s always difficult to watch as the UK’s who’s who of windsurfing fly off to the more appealing climates of Cape Town or Oz to get their winter fix. Unfortunately, it’s not an expenditure a student budget allows for and never really an option anyway as I can’t see mum ever letting me escape over Christmas.

Fortunately enough though, some of the world’s best conditions can be right on our doorstep at this time of year! If anything, knowing that people have travelled the world in search of conditions like this just makes it twice as sweet when the home spots do come to life.

The perfect storm

Steve Thorp:

I had just travelled back across the Irish sea for the third time this month so the chances of me finding an excuse to go back again were looking slim, but I knew it would be difficult to watch the world’s media reporting that the home spots were going off so I was looking for any excuse to get my ass back there. When I got the call from Sam Burnett on Friday afternoon I didn’t think twice about joining him and Steve Thorpe on their search for waves. Challenge accepted!

It didn’t take long for me to explain to my manager in of how it would be “Goin’ off in Ireland!” and that I wouldn’t be coming into work for a few days and I hit the road. Easy! A quick stop off at Puravida HQ to pick up some new toys and I was ready to chase the storm. The forecast was actually very similar to one I had while I was at home for Christmas a couple of weeks back, so I knew Sam was in for a treat on his first trip to Ireland!

Sam Burnett:

With the ferry booked from Holyhead at 2.30am, we planned to meet at midnight leaving more than enough time for any delays; or so we thought! If Marcillio Browne could make it to Ireland from the Marshall Islands to catch the storm, surely we could get there from England!

The weather seemed to have other ideas though as we hit snow on the M6 like you couldn’t imagine. It was unreal. News reports claimed up to a foot of snow had fallen in a half hour; not fun! I called the others to get an update on their progress. They too were at a standstill. Things started looking pretty grim. Suddenly the three hours of extra travel time we allowed for seemed trivial. I thought our chances of making the ferry were nil.

There are many times on a trip like this where you begin to question your sanity, but sitting sideways in the third lane of an empty motorway knee deep in snow on your way to the beach is definitely up there with the best! As traffic began to move again, we passed abandoned vehicles and jack-knifed lorries left right and centre. Thorpey’s optimism that we could still get to the ferry in time failed to convince me, but we battled on anyway. The closer we got to Holyhead, the more it seemed like we might just make it! The chase was on again – cue Benny Hill theme!

The snow

It was a difficult blow to take when we arrived at the ferry terminal just as they were closing up shop. We must have missed it by two minutes max! The next ferry was due to leave at 8:00am so a few hours sleep in the car made sure we wouldn’t be late it this time. At least we would still make it to the west coast in time for the afternoon session…

Sitting in the queue for the ferry it became apparent that it wasn’t leaving any time soon. A few hours delay ensured that Saturday would be a write off. Great!

We arrived at the west coast as the sun was setting. Just enough light left for the pumping surf to give us something to talk about over a few of pints of Ireland’s finest.

We decided to ignore the wise local knowledge of Oisin Van Gelderen who was making his way to Magheroarty, telling us anywhere else would be closing out! Instead, we went for a dawn raid on a well known surf break in the hope of scoring some all time perfection. We arrived at the beach to find a disappointing head high wave but it didn’t take long at all for the start of the 28ft @ 21s to begin appearing in the sets! We rigged and watched as local ripper Andreas caught the first wave of the day – seeing that lip peeling over the top of his mast got me pumped!

Just as things started going our way Timo rocked up with JC – timed to perfection really as he pulled up just as a set began closing out across the bay. Never mind.. a quick spin down the coast there’s another reef which could hold the swell but the wind didn’t play ball. How could a force 10 storm disappear in an instant?!! I later learned this was down to a natural phenomenon called the “Timo Effect”.

It wasn’t all bad news though. As we packed up camp again, Timo suggested we have a look at this reef break a couple of miles down the road.. “You’ll have the surf of your life if you go there today” he told Steve. We took his word for it and made a move.

Surf’s up!

We couldn’t believe our eyes as we pulled up to this completely empty perfection. We seemed to arrive just as the rain cleared and the sun came out; I swear there was a rainbow behind the glassy clean, empty lines and peeling right handers as far as the headland, completely sheltered from the storm. Things started looking up! As I paddled out I watched Thorpey get some really nice waves!

Taking a clean set wave

We were now into day three of the trip and the harsh reality was that we still hadn’t all sailed! The peak of the swell had yet to hit though, and we had to make a decision. Do we go to one of the well established windsurfing beaches across Ireland, where we would at least be guaranteed a windsurf, (#RBSC!) but at the risk of missing out on some proper world class waves, or do we take another chance and try to find somewhere that could cope with the full brunt of the wind and swell the storm had been cooking. I think our decision was made when I bravely said to the others “We came to Ireland ’cause there’s a 30ft swell brewing. What’s the point in hiding from it!”

It’s probably worth mentioning at this point that Steve had one wave on his mind from the minute he left the house in England. Any time we took the map out to decide where to aim for, his finger kept pointing towards Mullaghmore Head. Even a few strong words from Timo about the time his bother Finn sailed it weren’t enough to dissuade him. So we went for a look.

The drive up to Mullaghmore head is scary enough in itself. The coastal road is lined with headstones of the unlucky few that have lost their life here. At the bottom of the cliff you see a huge explosion of water onto a shallow slab of rock, and behind you is a hill big enough to turn any amount of a gale into a three knot wind shadow. Maybe not today, but I somehow get the feeling that Thorpey will attack this beast some time in the future..

Steve Thorp:

Back on the road again, we had our eyes set on a location we had heard a few myths about. The problem with travelling on the west coast of Ireland is that there is too much choice. No matter which road you drive down, you are almost guaranteed a perfect wave at the end of it! It’s pretty difficult to drive away from a spot that would have any windsurfer around the world falling at his knees and go in search of something even better. But when we pulled up at this next spot, to see lines of huge rolling swell pealing down the coast as far as the horizon, we knew our luck was about to change. This is what we came for!

I have to admit I felt a bit nervous launching here, we seemed to time the tide wrong and the waves were becoming more unpredictable by the minute. Combine that with gale force offshore wind, double mast high lumps of water, bed of sharp ledges and a taste of Mikey’s “Go hard or go home attitude” and the result is a pretty fun day on the water.

At least it was windy though, mega windy. At my weight, in these conditions I wish I had a weight jacket and a speed needle to get me down the face of the wave!

When it got to the stage where the wind had swung more cross-shore and picked up enough strength to give two foot chop coming up the face, we decided to call it quits and head for a more ‘sheltered’ beach break.

I think I should explain. What I mean by sheltered, is 70knots, bolt offshore down the line speed sailing with punchy logo high waves rolling in. If I had a 2.0m sail I would have used it.  Trying to do anything on the wave resulted in the gale force wind firing you straight out the back door. Izzy, (Steve’s dog) has no fear, I watched her following Thorpey into mast high wave and take a rinsing better than any of us!

When we looked at the photos back at the hostel that night, we couldn’t figure it out; the relatively small beach break appeared to be twice the size of the double mast giants we had earlier that day. I guess it must be a perspective thing.

Thorpey….and Oisin?

This photo of Steve and Oisin and is one of my favourite. Have you spotted Oisin yet?? If you didn’t take the first wave of the set there was no chance of getting a decent shot. The waves in front were generally too big even from the top of the cliff.

I think we were getting a bit fussy now, as we still hadn’t got our full fix! Although we caught the full force of the storm, the wave riding wasn’t perfect by any means. We figured we had this location sussed out though, and better timing tomorrow, combined with a slightly more favourable forecast would give endless hours of down the line perfection!

Ireland definitely saved the best for last this time! We swapped perfect waves all day, even had some sun for a while which was a bit of a bonus I suppose.

Looking at the photos, I don’t think you’d believe me if I told you the camera actually ran out of battery before it got good!! The swell picked up a lot as the tide pushed in, but eventually the wind became up too much and we were all blown off the water on our smallest sails. When we came in to give Rob Jones a call for a lend of some of his child-sized customs, we realised that we had a ferry to catch! Another successful trip under our belts, and we for once we had a few of photos to go with it!

Thorpey slashing it up Still chasing the storm On the water Izzy looking on waves Jony lonelysurfer IzzyFoam Happy to have made the trip!

Steve Thorp:

“As it was we still scored some deadly wavesailing and surfing, a top trip which none of us wanted to end. We met some great friends and had some sessions together we’ll remember for years.  Can somebody please build us a tunnel!” 

Storm surf worthy of the Red Bull Storm Chase

There is one hell of a story behind this photo, check the feature on our homepage

Photos – www.jamescummingsphotography.com

However, the story has a longer twist, if the east coast action wasn’t gnarly enough, Thorpy found himself heading west almost straight after, crossing the Irish sea and finding a nice cross-off down-the-line spot with mast high sets. It seems others wanted a piece of the storm chase action too. Here are a couple of preview photos, expect a feature from Thorpy going west soon. Who knows, maybe Scotland or Jersey is going off at the weekend and part three will follow that…

Jony Price joins the trip when Thorpy arrives west

Thorpy’s loveable dog playing in one hell of a bubble bath created by the storm surf!

Have you ever pulled up at the beach to see conditions which make you think twice about going out? Steve Thorp is no stranger to adverse conditions, and so it was no wonder that he found himself staring, or perhaps more peering, into the misty gloom at one of the North East’s rarest spots last week considering the situation.

Words and images by James Cummings www.jamescummingsphotography.com

“I rigged up knowing it was going to be testing, but totally buzzing it was going off, one of the biggest days I’ve seen out there….”

said Steve. In the midst of the heavy industry of the surrounding area there is much that could rob a man of his motivation, but despite a huge power station, freezing temperatures and barren landscape, this was one of those days where you had to go. Steve wasn’t alone out there; Newcastle’s Gabe Davies was already out surfing with the Northcore jetski in support, which underlined how the surf community saw conditions. Gabe was quickly impressed with Steve’s efforts,

“The windsurfer out there did really well, I saw him get a really great wave and hooted him as he flew past”.

On land was a small crowd of hardened surf fans who were excited to see what mother nature had in store for them. With only Gabe, the jetski and Steve in the water, with a fair few surfers suited up and ‘thinking about it’ the crowd rightly expected a bit of a show. 1 degree air temperatures are hard to get motivated for, but this day also saw a 12 foot at 10 second swell pumping out of the 35 miles per hour wind blown blizzard, bringing epic conditions to what is effectively the best man made reef in the UK. What followed was a session to remember, but a session which ended up testing the resolve of both Steve and the gathered crowd who were there to witness him go big.

Gabe top turn

Steve’s first few passes produced a few tasty drops and less dead spots than there could have been- in these conditions the wind has to pass over a 40 foot high pile of cement, steel works slag, rocks and sand before it suddenly meets the wave, so wind conditions can be fickle as there is some wind shadow.

Surfers making their way along the path

Heading upwind out to the very end of the point before powering back in throws up even more of an obstacle, as in order to get in to the wave from the takeoff you need to stay as tight as you can to the point which has an even bigger lighthouse on top of it. Even this lighthouse was getting hit by the force of the storm on this day, as whitewater exploded up to 100 feet in to the air all around it.

Lighthouse

At times the only marker you would have in the midst of the walls of water was the very tip of the mast, and that was barely visible even when looking through a telephoto lens. Suddenly, with the rising surges of the swell Steve would come rampaging in to view, waiting to see how big the set wave would actually turn out to be as the swell sucked up the water off the reef.

Mast in the mayhem

Steve Thorp

It was at this point that the first alarm bell rang. Suddenly, the wind vanished as Steve approached the takeoff. For a split second he was down, powerless and stationary right in the impact zone of the set, which loomed behind him. The crowd drew a collective breath, seeing Gabe scratching for the horizon and knowing Steve was in the danger zone. Even though Gabe got hammered by the wider first wave, he was quick to point out the reason for him being out in these conditions when back on land, saying “that wave smashed me, it landed right on my head; it was pretty powerful, but I guess it’s really good training for the serious big waves I am trying ride in places like Ireland”.  It looked like Steve was about to be doing ‘some big wave training’, but fortunately the wind suddenly kicked back in.

15 minutes more carving saw the end of Gabe and his crew, which left Steve out on his own for a little while, and things were going sweet. A few more surfers eventually decided that they would have a go as well, providing the onlookers with more entertainment as they attempted to jump off the pier at the head of the point, so there were a few in the water and everyone seemed to be enjoying the heavy conditions.

More surfers heading in

Surfers

It was just like any other run from outback, except this time Steve delayed his bottom turn by about two seconds which put him out on the flats. Half way through the turn the full size of the wave he had taken became apparent. A slight lull in the hoolie that had been reliably blowing previously made for one of those make or break moments. This time, it was a break moment. 

Bail!

Sail taken down

Board on the way in

A break moment which specifically broke Steve’s mast foot and separated his sail from his board and the man from all of his kit. Into the strong rip current went the kit, with the board getting smashed by a couple more waves while the sail vanished from view. In what seemed like a reasonable amount of time Steve found himself out of the lineup courtesy of the rip, around 200 meters from where the impact had taken place. Gathering himself on his board, Steve began searching for the missing sail, which he rightly concluded must also have been taken by the rip. The wipeout happened at 2:52pm. Steve didn’t find his sail till 3:06pm, which meant he spent 14 minutes or so paddling his board in a Z off the end of the rip.

“The mast & boom were fine, but the sail was in two bits; I wanted to try and salvage it if I could…”

said Steve, but that 14 minutes paddle resulted in him getting washed about quarter of a mile off in to the middle of the river mouth, right to the very edge of the shipping lane. This increase in distance from the land meant that he was fully at the mercy of the strong wind which was no longer slightly shadowed by the point itself.

Reunited

A hard paddle

10 minutes of constant paddling made no difference to his position, and after some discussion the surrounding crowd concluded it was starting to look a little bit dangerous. Factoring in what could clearly be seen as unshaken determination on Steve’s part, it was decided the best course of action was to call the Coastguard, just in case things got out of hand.

“I’d actually had to scrap the idea of paddling in the sail by then, I was just going backwards- so i tied the sail to a shipping buoy and just paddled the board for the land as hard as i could. I’d also noticed the full power of the rip when I was next to the buoy- it was dragging me and my board underwater as I tried to fasten the sail to it, maybe 5 knots of current”

added Steve, and thankfully the effort eventually paid off as he broke free from the current and managed to make headway. The Coastguard had launched but were informed that there was no longer any need for them, and the crowd returned their gaze to the intrepid surfers who continued dropping in to the bombs that were ripping through the lineup.

Tube time

Gabe summed it up after thawing his hands out:

“That was an awesome day on the east coast, which really brought together all the extremes of surfing here. It’s rare you get this spot this good, it only breaks a handful of times a year; I guess it’s just typical a very solid 3-4m swell came together with a mix of hail storms and freezing winds!”

Sadly for Steve his day wasn’t quite finished, as he still had to summon up the energy to rig up another sail and set out to retrieve his rig, which involved negotiating a two mile forearm burning leg back downwind tp the shore.

After the intensity of the day had passed Steve had some perspective:

“The whole thing really was an incredible experience, but it brought home how careful you have to be. You never want to waste the coastguards time when you’re just meant to be out there having fun, but it’s great to know that they are there in case the unexpected really does get the better of you. I’d like to say thanks to everyone”

When Steve Thorp sees a great forecast, nothing will stop him getting there, where ever it is. And last week was no different. Steve was joined by Rich Potter and Mark Bell on an epic road trip to windsurf the far-flung isles of Orkney, and here he tells the story of the journey from first thoughts to christening a break.

WEDNESDAY 12th SEPT

1200 It’s looking very likely that ex Hurricane Leslie is on a path across the top of Scotland for Friday Saturday, bringing some Westerly wind and big long period swell. A road trip could be on!

THURSDAY

0900 Answering the last minute call are Robin Hood team riders Rich Potter and Mark Bell. We also get a message from Andrew Heighton-Jackson, a Fanatic/North/Ion rider, saying he’s heading up Friday night and has a surfing friend who’s living on Orkney. Last minute plan coming together nicely!

1700 We all finish work. Mark drives an hour to mine in Leicester, then we drive the 40minutes to Rich in Nottingham.
2100 We leave Nottingham bound for Thurso.

FRIDAY

0600 Arrive at Sandside bay on the North Coast of Scotland, just in time for first light. It looks fairly rubbish! Not a whole lot of swell yet.. sleep.

0900 Coffee and Bacon rolls at Tesco Cafe in Thurso

1000 Murkle point. It’s nuking. Too much for the smallest kit we bought (which is limited with three in a van) but do able. Tide is high and at this exposed spot the swells coming in at mast high, much more like the 20ft @ 17second forecast.

1300 Wind has eased back a bit finally. I stay on 4.2. Mark and Rich change up a size.

1400 I need a break, and the waves have dropped back in size at low tide so it’s a good time to stop. I get the camera out and take these shots. Not such good timing for that! It’s a mid-high tide spot and now it’s low the waves have gone very sectiony and halved in size, but there’s still the odd sweet one rolling through.

1600 We decide to go check out Sandside again for the push up to high. We book into Sandras Backpackers in Thurso on the way (a bargain at £16 each with free tea/coffee/wifi and a four bunk room). Andrew arrives.
It’s still only head high at Sandside, so we surf until dark, but wonder if we should have rigged up as it’s still pretty blowy or stayed at Murkle for more of the same.

2200 Go for curry, then crash out.

Saturday

0900 Not much happening at sea. The swell has dropped and the 20mph offshore wind isn’t really enough anywhere.

1300 We get the ferry from Scrabster to Stromness which comes in at a slightly pricey £200 for the three of us in Rich’s van. I get some earache about my maths skills, still only £67 each though, and there’s plenty of swell out here! We take in the view including the ‘Old man of Hoy’, whilst Rich turns green.

1430 Arrive at Stromness, which is surprisingly large and pretty. It’s blowing it’s socks off over here and the swell must be pumping on exposed coasts! Wish we’d been here yesterday, this is now only 11ft at 12seconds! Apparently Pro surfer Oli Adams was up and towing in, worth giving him a google for some sick vids from these parts!

1500 We drive up the West coast, it’s big and blown out. We stop at Skara Brae where there’s an epic wave and some very old neolithic settlements. It’s £7 to get in, we don’t even get a pic before we’re off..

1600 We find the local surfers, including Andrews mate Oli. They’re surfing a sheltered head high wave. We spot something much chunkier and exposed up the coast, but it’s going to involve some hiking and a long sail upwind in a pretty strong offshore. Throw in a hideous looking tidal race half a mile out and it’s looking a bit sketchy. It’s hard to tell just how cross shore it is at the break, which leads to a bit of heated debate, during which time most of us have rigged up and are on our way!
It turns out to be 45 degrees and pretty epic with the odd set coming in at mast high as it winds down the coast, powered just right on the 75 and 4.7. Really clean and hollow waves, which have some real raw power to them. (I know, it looks like a sunny head high day at Daymer bay on the vid, but it’s pretty full on honest!) Three of us enjoy ripping this to bits for a couple of hours, until our fourth member finally decides to launch and sail up, at which point the wind drops and swings more offshore! We all wobble back in, feeling slightly relieved to be back on dry land with kit intact.
Apparently the local surfers very rarely tackle this spot, and we’re almost certainly the first to windsurf it. It’s definitely a quality reef and I’d love to go back. As Mark was first to ride it, we’re going to christen it ‘Bell point’.

1900 We go for a quick surf at another nearby reef which involves knocking on a farmers door for permission and surfing until dark with the seals.

2200 Andrews friend Oli has Spag Bol waiting for us at his place in Kirkwall and puts us all up for the night. Thanks guys, epic hospitality! We hit the town for a few beers and watch a 17 year old Mark Angulo ripping on the pub telly, is this a dream?!

SUNDAY

0600 We’re getting the 0900 ferry so that we can be back for work in a fit state Monday morning. This means the alarm goes off at 0530 so we can squeeze another surf in. It doesn’t really look great anywhere, though with a very full spring tide and not enough time to drive around checking everywhere or go windsurfing in the wind we have, we decide on a bit of reconnaissance for those pro surfer spots, time well spent!

0900 Board ferry back to Thurso.

1130 Thurso East is looking very surfable, but no-ones keen on my idea of a quick surf. I hate the drive home without a morning surf under my belt, but will have to go without this time. Two days soon flies by but it was well worth heading up. Three tanks of fuel and £200 for the Orkney ferry between three isn’t so bad for two days of full on waveriding. Can’t wait for the next trip.

2100 Arrive back in Nottingham thankful to be alive after nine of Potter’s driving!

The Orkneys have an enormous amount of potential for windsurfing and pretty much everything any windsurfer could want, from flat water speed and freestyle to heavy pro surfer tow slabs and long winding windy point breaks. They clearly scoop up a lot more wind and swell than the mainland also, and also have a lot more options for wind and swell direction. My new favourite place  :)

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