Quick profile

Name: Tom ‘Harti’ Hartmann

Home: Vienna, Austria

Years Windsurfing: 16

Favourite Discipline: Waves

Greatest Windsurf Achievement: Building the windsurf jump ramp and pushing the development of that whilst travelling around PWA/EFPT events in Europe.

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Well I’m currently in Vienna, preparing for the European windsurfing season, planning new projects, working on the EFPT Tour and at the end of March I will be heading off to Aruba for their first event (Aruba Extreme Games).

(Laughs) Yeah a short amount of time but I’m super happy to have finished my University studies a couple weeks ago and now I am awaiting my results… It’s good to have finished there is quite a lot of work at the moment in preparation for the season and so now I can really get on with it.

Yeah it was ‘just’ 4 weeks, so not so short in the end. Actually it really was one of the best CT seasons I’ve ever experienced, we had good wind, a lot of good days with logo+ high swells and really I had one of the best days I’ve ever had in CT. We sailed at Whitsands for three days in a row, it was really clean and powerful, pumping over mast and half, 4.7 perfectly powered up.

There was a pretty funny moment where a guy dropped in on a wave I was on, I think he thought I wasn’t going to take it but then he must have realised too late that I had and he tried to abort and get out the back with an interesting method. He simply went for the bottom turn where I could see the over mast high wave was going to break and then somehow tried to just windsurf directly through the wave. I never caught his name but he had one of the hardest wipeouts I’ve seen and yet his kit was absolutely fine! (Editors note: Check the photo below)

Yeah it was really good but in the end it is more the whole trip that was worth it. Cape Town is a hell of a place and really up there on my top locations to go to. I had quite a few days of mast high but then when I left I heard the swell wasn’t so big for six weeks! I guess I left at the right time.

tom_01web mru2011_02 tom_121228_05web wipeout01

The city has its advantages, it’s good to sit down and just got on with some work and catch up with friends but yeah I find myself travelling quite a lot. The next stop is Aruba for the Aruba Extreme festival as the Head Judge for the windsurfing side of the event. There are 4 main disciplines and each with a couple thousand euros prize money, so a pretty big event. They want to do something similar to the SOSH freestyle cup in Marseille so I’m really looking forwards to it. Marseille was a lot of fun and really well orgainsed.

Yeah it’s still in the early stages but the next new project will take place in Autumn, I can’t really say too much about it yet but… We are planning to head to New Zealand for another video project similar to the trip to Iceland we recently undertook. The trip to NZ should be a bit more focused on video rather than photos and we want to go beyond just windsurfing and water-sports but instead cover everything NZ has to offer. You know the real adrenaline junkie activities.

We were there for 2 weeks and were on the water nearly every day. It was quite tricky to catch the best conditions for waves, to be in the right place at the right time and that wasn’t just our bad luck or poor judgment, the locals find it just as hard. The weather is changing very fast, similar to the UK but even more so because all the storms are starting up that way and they move a lot in just a few hours. We checked the forecast like 3-4 times a day and it would change massively each time.

I have to say that the nature was also super impressive, it offers a lot more than other countries of that size and it really wasn’t as cold as I expected, well at least most of the time it wasn’t.

(laughs) Loads of memorable moments. One of the most beautiful was when we were stand up paddling on the ice lagoon where they also filmed the James Bond movie. Also a surf/SUP session in a Fjord further North with just snow covered mountains around, although it really was a lot colder up there, colder than Reykjavík. We went to sleep one night and woke up with almost 30 cm of fresh snow outside the door.

One classic moment had to be the time my clothes got accidentally taken whilst I was out windsurfing. We had two cars for the trip and we were windsurfing at this spot, then some of the guys had to leave to go to Reykjavík, I carried on windsurfing for 45 minutes and then got back in to find out that their car had literally ALL my clothes in, all I had was just a poncho. I had to drive back to Reykjavík, just in this ION poncho, stroll through the Hilton hotel with no shoes on and ask the hotel manager for the spare key to our room…

There was one other thing…  A separate occasion we somehow managed to get a parking fine in Reykjavík and we thought ‘ahh, we can pay that when we get back’ from our mini-trip to Grindavik we had planned. Not long into the journey we stopped off for a session and realized that we had to pay this parking fine within two days! So I rushed back, still in my wetsuit, no shoes and straight to the parking office… the bank! So again, I was in my wetsuit in Reykjavík in a pretty important building, funny thing was no one really thought much of it…

Hmm, yeah… It wouldn’t stop us going back, it was kind of a wear and tear thing, we ended up paying a couple thousand for one of the cars as the under body was damaged and some scratches on the roof. They really checked the under carriage! I’ve never experienced or heard about that before. It wasn’t the best end to the trip but with just 20 minutes left until my plane was about to take off I had to decide if I stay and argue or throw my credit card at them.

Perhaps next time we will rent one of the locals trucks…

Yeah there is a web-clip coming out in the next two weeks and many of the photos have made it to the paper mags already. Really though the trip was more about the photos than the video and we had three professional photographers there, two of which swapped between filming and photos.

Two years ago we set up a trading business and started to sell the gear within Austria. It’s cool to work with the international guys in Maui and Europe as they are really passionate about the sport, it’s more about that then actual figures which seems really cool also. We’ve set up a kind of online/info shop for almost a year now but we didn’t promote it so much and are now re-launching it (www.quatrogoyashop.at).

We sell about 90% wave equipment, the classic customer is more someone who wants a wave board to use on the lake for strong winds but then take to the sea on holidays, maybe 4 weeks a year in somewhere like Mauritius, not super radical wave boards but useable for all kind of conditions. The most sold board is probably the Goya Quad which right now is working super well for me also.

Quarto/Goya are not into the classic yearly product cycles so they only put new things on the market when they need to. I expect some new stuff this Autumn but can’t really say at the moment. The latest updates are the new Levi Siver lines (the Quad and Thruster) and the latest sail is the Banzaii wave sail. There is a new freestyle board coming out a 109l, should be out in spring and the new line of SUP boards which came out at the end of last year.

Yeah that has now expanded from Head Judge to Event Manager, it’s all about getting new events on the tour, finding new spots, pushing the tow-in more, adapting rules, etc…

It all really came about in 2009 when I had my shoulder injury just before the season started and I broke my shoulder in April just before the first event started and in the end I was off for the whole season. I wasn’t really competing on the EFPT so much anymore so it seemed like a natural progression , on top of that my previous experience from judging at some other events tied in nicely. So obviously when I was asked I took the opportunity and was pretty excited to be able to change things that I as a competitor had not really liked so much.

Yeah we were talking about this, how to make it more transparent there were suggestions from some of the riders to provide an execution score out of 10 alongside each move, that way they and us can compare each others moves if it’s close. We will keep with overall impression as it makes it more friendly to the fresh faces we see at the events and the younger guys who want to step up and experience the international scene.

It really did, we made some changes to keep the tour going, but the economic changes saw events drop out so we had to adapt, this allowed many to come back. It didn’t help that we were unlucky in 2011 with not much wind at the events. In previous years we had a lot of events in Greece but due to economic situation there we lost them all over the course of one year! Now some spots are starting to show again and we have focused harder on more reliable countries, not always the ones known for their classic seasonal summer wind but this really gives us a more rounded European tour where many riders get to compete on the EFPT in their own country.

We are expecting to finish 5-7 events this year, stepping up from 4 last year, two events are looking very likely for €10,000, Premantura is one of them and already confirmed and signed.

Lastly, the EFPT has a more chilled out friendly feel, everybody feels more like it is a connection between windsurfers rather than just a competition where there is a lot of tension and nerves. People are a lot more relaxed when competing on the EFPT for some reason. It’s also a really good entry to international competition and we even get some older guys who want to compete, like 35+.

This year there will be an official tow-in tour with a tow-in champion! Events will take place in Podersdorf and Premantura for sure. Probably the most exciting part is that there are options to run events in places windsurfing cannot go, it is a bit of a dream at the moment but it could happen right in the cities, much like the indoor, etc… Prize money will increase for each events with a set minimum over the next years.

Not exactly, first you need to contact the EFPT then we come to run the competition itself. It is then down to the organizer who has to provide the prize money, the costs for the crew and the license fee then the organizer needs all the setup by himself, however big they want it, places to store gear, house judges, etc… For the budget, we have set levels for prize money then you work out how big you want to go and add on the extras, but the best is to just contact us first.

I think the main thing that could bring more people in to windsurfing is to re-new the image that people have in their mind, the people that have really no idea, the ones who think about it how it was 25/35 years ago. Make it more accessible, copy the image of other action sports, fair prices on renting gear and courses. Unfortunately at has held on to the old school image. Also the beginner courses should be restructured and that is the point where the lifestyle should be sold then, not just one of longboard racing.

Yeah I think I could try out a wave event in a location I like, maybe CT or Chile this year… I’m a more into my down the line true wave riding then the side-on jumping.

As for the judging, I’ve already done a bit at Podersdorf, I’ve been asked a couple times to do some more but it’s more if it fits in with me and them. I’m always up for doing more of them but it’s purely a time thing.

Tasmania’s North West Coast offers some of Australia’s best down-the-line wavesailing but generally remains under the radar. Only recently has it attracted a little more attention than usual as a potential Red Bull Storm Chase location. Boardseeker catches up with Alastair McLeod after a recent trip to the isle down under to find out more. 

The rugged coastline of Australia’s southernmost island state is battered by huge swells and the cranking wind of the roaring forties all year round. This and the fact that it is situated on the world’s longest expanse of open water earns it the somewhat ominous nickname – ‘ The Edge of the World.’ However, during our summer the conditions mellow out and the huge frontal systems are replaced with lighter seabreezes and warmer temperatures, offering a bit more all round appeal for a typical windsurfing trip.

The quiet town of Marrawah is a special place, home to large cattle farms and a multitude of empty beaches holding a variety of beach and reef breaks. With bays and points positioned on nearly every angle possible you can nearly always find somewhere side shore for windsurfing or offshore for a surf!

It has been over two years since I have visited Tasmania and despite scoring a lot of awesome conditions in Maui, Mexico or even in West Oz, it still remains one of my favourite places to go.

Down in Tassie there is never a shortage of swell, and the beauty is that there are literally zero crowds. On a busy day it will be only you and a couple of friends scoring waves all day long.

Typically summertime offers wind between 15 and a solid 25 knots cross offshore and the swell rarely is below head high. If down the line riding is your thing it is somewhere you really need to check out.

For this trip we spent the first two weeks of February down there and out of 15 days we were only out of the water twice.  Sure, it isn’t as consistently windy as WA but the empty waves and the close proximity to all the breaks (no 10 hour drives to chase wind!) makes up for that.

On the rare down time days there is a lot of exploring to be done. Going for a bush walk will guarantee you see some amazingly pristine beaches, weird and wonderful animals or maybe stumble across a ridiculous reef break with no one else in sight. With a 4 Wheel Drive the remote area further south of Marrawah is readily accessible and yet remains largely undiscovered. There are number of set ups that can hold serious size and haven’t been attempted yet.

Although the empty waves might be the main attraction, there is a lot of flat water potential within an hours drive as well. Back up on the North Coast there are a number of spots that absolutely go off for freestyle and speed sailing, with Stanley’s East Inlet being the most well known. A hardcore group of local speed sailors are often out there smashing 40 knots when the wind is up.

It’s also worth mentioning that if it’s howling onshore at the usual Marrawah spots, that means the wind is cross shore back on the North Coast. All bases covered!

If you want to escape from the daily grind, seriously relax and score some time on the water then Tassie is somewhere you have to consider. Don’t forget though that this isn’t Maui or WA. It’s quiet and remote so you need to be prepared and prepped with a sense of adventure.

If that sounds like your cup of tea then maybe it’s time to book some flights and head on down. I’ll probably see you there!

 Check out more from Alastair on Facebook 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!” 

Peter Volwater in Cowaramup, WA

Location: Cowaramup, West Australia.

Date: Thursday 29th November 2012, epic day!

Words by: Peter Volwater

Images by: Col Leonhardt

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Having come to WA to spend the summer, who would have thought we would a taste of winter from a big front late November. In NW Europe the temperatures associated with this kind of weather would be a typical summer’s day but anyway…

The swell forecast exceeded 8 meters, raw roaring 40′s Indian ocean swell; the spot in the South West of WA that works in these conditions and the unusual WSW wind direction is Grace Town.

Grace Town is bay with legendary surf spots, with North and South points on each side of the bay. The South point is the break that can be ridden in SW-W wind from the side, so this is the spot where went to try and pick up the best waves of this forecast.

Testing out the his new Fanatic boards.

Peter Volwater

This area is also infamous for its many shark attacks, don’t worry about that while you’re planing around on a windsurfer….. although when you end up in the water, you can’t stop your mind from wondering.

The front that came over brought lots of rain and even some hail with, at times, gale force winds. In between the squals the weather would clear up and the sun would shine momentarily and the wind would drop and pick back up.

My new wave sail, the Avanti Fenix certainly had plenty of pressure that day, it was big at 5.2 but still handled well, until this massive 45 knot gust came that sent me to the inside, hiding. I found a nice place in a little corner out of the impact zone, where I would park up and wait. With that big of a sail I just had to find those more sunny and less windy moments, while I could have been easily on a 4.5 or even 4.0 in the gusts.

Peter Volwater, taking a big one.

And on the inside.

Regularly in Margaret River this is the sail I use the most, usually going out for the early and the late sessions and even in the regular sea breezes this size is right. Today it was more then two hands full!

There was a fine crew of sailors: John and Ian Pott, Ivan Zecca, Maciek Rutkowski and Karin Jaggi all getting their wave count high and shredding it up at this unbelievable peeling wave breaking on the rocks but with quite a wide channel. Out the back the waves where huge but not for riding, we had found our little break on the inside along the rocks. It was the first time I ever sailed this spot, although having surfed here several times before, so I knew the break well.

Peter Volwater

I find that this is the best size board for my weight, still floating but not too big to ride aggressively.

Col our windsurfing Australia photographer rode a few waves too after snapping the shots and he showed to know the bay really well, just playing with the waves.

Some places were looking absolutely nasty, like the North point break and around the corner hollow barrels pounding on the rocks and roughed coastline.

It was a different taste of conditions that the WA coast has on offer, a lot of places still to be explored; so we will do just that…..to be continued!

Cowaramup, WA

Photos by: JePe van Popta

Wijk aan Zee is located middle/northern part of Holland, close to Amsterdam/ Haarlem. It’s good play ground with a wide range of wind directions. It works from South east to Side onshore from the left and also filters the waves/organises the wave really well. Is usually a easy wave with a bit punch in it and can get big up to 5m or so.

It is a quite a stable spot as the low pressures get filtered by Ireland and then turn up stable at northern Europe.

We scored a great storm there last week, which I knew was coming, but with that kind of storm hits it’s hard to tell when and how fast it will pass. It can change quit fast into a bad rotation and give a wrong angle of wind because it was a really small compressed pressure that went through the Channel. But I knew the direction would be good for Wijk; I always fall back to one main important weather site Theyr.com because this site is always one step a head..

Martin ten Hoeve

I prepared my small sails the day before then headed over with the locals and friends off Wijk aan Zee: Bas Molenkamp, Elton Eypma, Torben Tijms, Marco van Leeuwen, Pim, Harry and Edwin.

I used mine smallest sail what is a 3.6 Salt and a Goya quad 84L. I was still quite stacked on my 3.6; jumping wise I was able to get some backloops and straight jumps but not more than that as there was just too much wind..

But surprisingly enough I was still riding well!

Thomas Bouwman was also there to capture the day on film, we will have videos to come soon, but for now you can get an idea of the conditions with this short back loop clip.

Wijk is a great place because off the atmosphere; off a nice long jetty and in the background The Hoogovens/ Tata Steal factory and than nice Palfijooen Aloha for a fast chocolate milk or long hangout..

This together with all nice riders who pop up as soon the wind is there; it’s just perfect.

Martin ten Hoeve

All images © Col Leonhardt/WindsurfAustralia.com

Australia has one wave sailing location that stands out from all the rest, it’s a location that really needs to be seen from the air to understand how remote it is, how beautiful the landscape can be and how the wind and waves line up to provide one of the best spots on the planet.

As an aerial photographer and windsurfer I have been trying to photograph Gnaraloo for six years but the cost of getting a helicopter to such a remote location was so excessive that I thought it would never happen. Gnaraloo has never been photographed from a helicopter;that was until this year whilst working with a pilot in another part of the north west he mentioned he would be near Gnaraloo during the best time for waves (September/October).

The next issue was fuel for the helicopter, no fuel provider would deliver out to the location so we ended up purchasing our own drums and drove them out there ourselves along some very rough tracks. Then we were ready to go.

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We ended up spending three days shooting/filming on this trip with a fair few incredible sailors including Al McLeod and Ben Newson from Australia, plus several other locals.

Gnaraloo handles a large swell very well, however on this trip the expected swell didn’t arrive so we had waves from waist high up to almost mast high in a more dangerous section of reef a little further upwind. The wind starts blowing from late August to about April with the best months being September, October, March and April. December/January/February is very windy with less swell but the heat can be unbearable.

While Gnaraloo is great for wave sailing it also has a flat water bay 12km further north if you are into slalom sailing and if you are after a gentle swim there is a tropical lagoon right in front of the campsite.

Gnaraloo is private property, a working sheep station to be exact and is about 1,200 km from Perth, a nice long drive with the last 100km over quite a rough track. Accommodation is either at the campsite for $20 per night, there is no fresh water, no power, there are toilets and showers though (bore water). Further down the track is the homestead which has small basic villa’s starting from $70 per night, these have water, power and basic amenities.

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What does Gnaraloo mean to…. Ben Newson.

“Gnaraloo to me means a long straight drive in the heat of the day without air-conditioning. Dodging wild animals that run or skip the gauntlet at night. Eating servo food and loading up on Redbull to keep you awake behind the wheel. It means bouncing along a dirt track hoping to make it to the point. It means scoring epic, barreling left hand waves with your mates and a swarm of blow ins and blow flies. It means you are guaranteed to break something and swim for your life. It means having a few cold beers after a sail and passing out under a starlit sky. It means that summer is just around the corner.”

• www.gnaraloo.com

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I’m currently out in Brazil for my annual voyage, which I am now making for the fourth year in a row. When thinking about other options earlier on in the year of other places that could contend with what Brazil has to offer I really couldn’t think of any for this time of year.

That is why I’m back out here again and after being here for almost a week I still haven’t rigged bigger than 4.2. Along with the amazing wind which is always a given out here we’ve also had some of the best swell ever experienced for this time in the year.

Photos: Bethany Mercer.

Situated in the North East of Brazil in the state of Ceara just four hours from Fortaleza, Jericoarcoara A.K.A Jeri has become a must visit location for many freeriders, aspiring wave sailors and freestylers alike. The season runs from September to January with the windiest time being the early part of the season and the wavier part towards the end. I can honestly say out of all the places I’ve been in the world in terms of reliability of wind then nowhere even comes close.

Jeri

The conditions

The tide plays a big part in the conditions that you can expect in Jeri during the day. If you imagine the spot as a point break, the higher the tide gets the waves start to increase, this also means there’s a wind shadow created by the point. However if you sail past the breaking zone then there’s plenty of rolling swell to play in. Then at low tide you will get much cleaner wind, normally with smaller waves. This is the perfect time for freeriding and freestyle as you get amazingly flat areas of water in between the small and perfectly peeling waves and then great bump and jump conditions on the way out. It’s worth mentioning that even in a big swell the waves are pretty forgiving and whilst satisfying for the wave sailors you’ll never find yourself in too much trouble. As far as wind strength goes then the fact that for my last two trips out here in October/November time I haven’t packed bigger than 4.7 can tell you a lot. Everyday the wind starts around 9am but doesn’t fully kick in until around 10pm but will then lat the entire day. My board quiver for this year actually exceeds my number of sails and I’ve got packed the 2013 Fanatic Quad 75. Tri-wave 86 and the Skate 89, which has been working perfectly for me. When the swell is lacking there’s always the option of heading upwind to the wave beach of Malhada where at mid tide you’ll find some nice cross-on wave conditions

Jeri

Getting there

When travelling from Europe your easiest option is to contact the travel agents Sportif http://www.sportif.travel. These guys can arrange everything for you, which will definitely be the easiest option if you’re planning on renting kit. The main centre on the beach is Club Ventos which sits right on the prime spot, the centre is fully stocked with loads of up to date kit including surfboards and SUPs. If you’re planning on going through the process of booking it all yourself then the easiest flight option is with TAP via Lisbon however if you plan of taking kit then you’re much better off booking with TAM. TAM fly from many cities in Europe either via Rio or Sao Paulo and though the flight time may be a fair bit longer and the hassle of re checking your bags in Brazil can be frustrating the excess policy is second to none. With TAM 2x Bags of 32kg is accepted regardless of the length under your normal allowance, which means unless your planning on taking a small centre out there then you should be well clear of any excess baggage charges. To give you an idea of how much gear that is including clothes my Girlfriend and I had packed in our 4x bags of 32kg were 4x boards, 5x sails, 6x masts, 3x booms, 5x extensions and 4x UJ’s. Again if you do take your own kit then your best bet for storage is at the Club Ventos centre where you’ll be the closest distance to the water. If you’re booking your own transfer then contact Jeri Viagens a Jeri based company that specialise in airport runs.

Jeri

The town

The small town of Jericoacoara is full of South American charm from its brightly coloured walls, hand painted shop fronts, sprawling fuchsia flowers and donkeys roaming the streets. It is a National Park therefore you can’t build any concrete roads or obtrusive housing therefore the entire town consists of sandy roads and little Brazilian pousada’s; it’s exactly how you would dream of a picturesque Brazilian fishing town. The town never seems to sleep or stop with windsurfers up early to catch the best wind and tide, buzzing all day throughout the sunshine with music blaring from bars and restaurants. The town then becomes alive in the evening with capoeira dancers on the beach during sunset, rum carts lining the entrance to the main streets serving drinks with every ripe fruit imaginable and forro dancing only getting started in the early hours of the morning. There is something here for everyone whether you want to relax in a hammock, try the Brazilian cuisine, windsurf all day or party all night.

Accommodation

The town is full of various options but the best bet will be to go through your travel agent to get the best idea of where to stay. If you are doing this trip for a few months then it’s worth booking somewhere online for a few nights then searching locally when arrive for the best deal.

Jeri

What else is there to do?

If you’ve got some energy left after the windsurfing then there are plenty of options to keep yourself entertained in Jeri. The SUP and surfing conditions can be about as idyllic as they get with the point being sheltered by the wind you can still get some glassy waves even when its blowing 30+ knots on the outside. The waves are small but long and using a long board or a SUP you definitely get the most out of them.

If you dabble with the dark side then even though kiting is banned at the main point there’s a beach a few minutes down wind that Club Ventos offers a taxi service too.

Along with the obvious watersport side to the town there’s many other excursions to keep everyone entertained including horse riding and buggy rides through the dunes. Club Ventos also offers a best of both package where you can check out their other centre in Icaraizinho.

Top Tips

• Try an Acai. You’ll never regret it and will possibly become addicted for your entire stay.
• Head to Pousada do Mauricio’s during happy hour (6pm) to make the most of the free snacks and amazing vibe.
• The local fruit is amazing especially the papaya’s and Maracuja’s
• Head to the baraca’s (rum carts) in the evening to sample some caiprinhas. The best cart is Rodolfo Drinks.
• Watch the locals doing their Capoeira on the beach. (dance fighting)
• Ignore the man wearing the metal skirt shouting at people with a megaphone. He’s crazy but will make you a very nice ash tray out of a coke can.
• Try the cans of Guarana.
• Don’t pack a wetsuit unless you want to cook yourself.
• Where sun cream!!!!
• Head up the dune for an amazing view of the town to watch some of the most incredible sunsets.
• Look before you gybe (It can get busy out there)

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  :)

• K4FINS.COM
• stevethorp.co.uk
• Simmer
• Dave Nobles
• K4Fins
• Bluesmiths

A few weeks ago Katie McAnena shared the story of his first adventure, from Tenerife to South America. Now, Katie follows up with more tales from the road, heading further into South America and discovering more unbelievable waves.

And so from the land of Tacos and Cervezas and long, long rights I headed off on my merry little Irish way to the land of Ceviche and Piscos and long, long lefts.

Yes amigos the time had come for me to hop from the dusty Mexican badlands down to the heart of the South American western coast and set up camp in the Peruvian paradise of Pacasmayo…… with only a few minor detours along the way. And by minor I mean quite substantially major, for as you all know I apparently have a predeliction for very awkward, roundabout ways of reaching my next windsurfing destinations. All in the name of affordable travel, naturally, and of course racking up as many airmiles as possible, I managed to ensure no 24 hour journey would be any less than 72 hours of pure road trip joy……. or at least that’s what I tried to reassure myself of as I backtracked from Baja, to Ensenada, to San Diego, to Houston Texas, to Lima and finally Pacasmayo, Peru. Splendid really.

I may not yet have mastered a pimping backloop or a monster aerial or even a nice laydown bottom-turn on my adventures so far, but I have managed to conquer all forms of motion sickness and attained an uncanny ability to sleep whenever, wherever and on whatever mode of transport or hard airport floor surface I happen to find myself in. So, if all else fails from this year of windsurfing training and competing, and I don’t manage to win contests or push my level on the water, I can at least sleep soundly in the knowledge that I am a darn good traveller. Move over career as a doctor or professional windsurfer, I have found my vocation in surviving life on the road!

So, having reached Lima, the capital of Peru (about a week later than intended), I found myself yet again in a country where I couldn’t speak the language, (I’ll conquer you one day Spanish, one day!) and was, as usual, travelling muchos solo. Thankfully I had been in touch with the beautiful Carolina Butrich (see Carolina Boardseeker Babe ), a Lima local and ripper windsurfer who had organised all accommodation and transfers for the competitors and had booked me onto my over night bus from the capital to Pacasmayo. The bus was a pretty unique experience to be honest. Twelve hours on a completely full double-decker packed with all native Peruvians and not a single tourist in sight…….well except for yours truly, the journey involved a blaring DVD Spanish version of the Three Stouges, a meal of fried pollo and rice, sub zero temperatures and the loudest snoring man I’ve ever met sat beside me called Pepe. Loved that guy.

We finally pulled into Pacasmayo station at 8am, having survived the trip by keeping myself warm with my Mexican Poncho wrapped around me and keeping myself sane by jamming some industrial ear plugs in my ears. I was welcomed by the local sounds and smells, and bundled onto my taxi to take me to El Faro resort. Now by taxi I don’t mean one of the four-wheeled, four-doored, engine equipped variety of taxi, no no, I mean a Moto-Taxi. Ah the old Moto-Taxi. HAHAHA! 3 wheels, no doors and 150cc’s of pure mechanical magic, these bad boys will make you feel like Evil Kenevil on steroids….not for the faint hearted! Not to mention my double board bag was strapped to the canvas roof of the thing with a less than trustworthy surfing leash….. all I could do was embrace the madness and pray to the big massive Jesus statue that overlooks the entire town from his perch on a hill nearby and hope I made it to El Faro in one piece.

Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw when I arrived at the resort. Literally, and I mean no exaggerating, I looked as far left as I could to the point and followed the most incredible wave I have ever seen in my life as it peeled the entire way across the bay until it reached the pier in the centre of town…… genuinely well over a kilometer of a long, smooth, peely, glorious, heavenly left. I nearly keeled over when I saw it…… although in hindsight the mototaxi trip may have had something to do with that!

The event was another stop on the American Windsurfing Tour (AWT) for 2012 and was organised in conjunction with the Pacasmayo Classic which is a long-standing event consisting of Kitesurf, SUP, Longboard and Windsurfing competitions. Sam Bittner, el head honcho at the AWT had partnered up with the local Peruvian windsurfers who were super keen to bring an AWT event to their home spot and show off the wave that Kauli Seadi made infamous in a video he made from there a while back. There was an incredible deal offered to the female competitors from the El Faro resort owners Jamie and his wife which included free accommodation and free meals for the entire extent of the contest. It was so incredibly generous of them and meant that way more women entered than probably would have had it not been for their support. A massive Gracias to El Faro resort and all the sponsors of the event for making that all possible!

I arrived a week before the contest started and the place was fairly deserted for the first few days with just myself, Fabrice Beaux, Miho Tanaka, Camille Juban and his father Jean Paul and brother Tom Juban there. Those first few days were magical, with epic SUP sessions in the morning on glassy, perfect lefts follwed by the best windsurfing sessions of my life to date in the afternoons. Tom Juban showed us his GoPro footage from one of his waves during the day and no word of a lie, he was on it for 3 and a half minutes…… honestly and genuinely 3 and a half minutes. Insanity! I can’t even describe how incredible it is to sail there, again like Baja, the wave can be as easy or as difficult as you want to make it. There are sections for big aerials and takas and goiters, that the likes of Camille were making, but similarly there were plenty of mellower sections to the wave that the likes of me could sail and would leave you feeling like a total hero. I’ll never forget my first day there and my 3rd wave of the session I caught one that took me from the point by the lighthouse all the way to the middle of the bay and after 12 turns on the one wave I had to jump off because I physically couldn’t sail any longer……… absolutely epic, but note to self; eat less tacos, drink less cerveza and work on being just a wee bit fitter, hahaha! Gym membership for one please.

After a couple of days spent slogging on my 4.8m for twenty minutes a time to bob to the point to catch a wave (float and ride is awesome but after two weeks there comes a point when you just want to plane again!), the AWT crew landed. And that’s when the real fun started! Sam Bittner, Kevin Pritchard, Tatiana Howard and Francisco Goya all made the trek from Maui, with the rest of the entry list contingent being made up of sailors from Chile, Peru, Colombia, Guadalupe, Brazil, Japan, Argentina and most importantly Ireland, yew!! There were ten days to run the event, so while the Pacasmayo Classic squeezed in heats for lonboard and SUP in the mornings, the windsurfers and kitesurfers fought for the water time in the evenings as the wind filled in. It was incredible to see competitors from all over the world entering multiple disciplines and showing what it is to maximise your water time by dabbling in all surf/wind sports. I entered both the SUP and winsurf but for sure the real outstanding water woman of the event was the stunning Tatiana Howard who entered SUP, Kite, Longboard and Windsurf and came away with wins in three divisions and a third place in kite. I’m pretty sure we all came away with huge respect (and for the boys a big crush) on a girl who can rip on any water modality she choses, kudos to Tati!!

And sure what would any trip with a bunch of girls be without the usual banter, craic and funtimes off the water thrown in too. Every day the girls, Sam, Miho, Tatiana, Carolina, Alexandra, Fernanda, Margarita, Claudia and I would turn the banter up to 11. Dancing and hanging by the pool and making crazy MotoTaxi trips into town to hussle the market stalls all fuelled by healthy portions of ceviche and Pisco Sours. Agh the food and booze, never too far from my mind! And this time I dabbled in the Peruvian delicacies of fresh, raw fish marinated in lime juice (Ceviche) and distilled grape brandy with a dash of lemon cordial (Pisco Sours)……. hoowee those things were tasty! Naturally I also partook in my fair share of local Peruvian Cervezas too, just for research purposes naturally, and I can say from personal taste that Pilsen is far superior to Cusquena, unless of course you’re drinking Cusquena Negra which is the Peruvian cousin of Guinness and a welcome taste of home when you’re so far away……. aghh but I digress…… where was I?! Oh yes, the windsurfing……

But before I get back to that a quick word about the Pacasmayo Plague, aka the Gut Rot, aka the Peru Pain in-the-you-know-what. Everyone had warned me about the inevitable “illness” I would succumbe to when going to Peru but I ignored them, until one night…… well lets just say no-one should ever get that well aquainted with the ceramic of a loo. And after a night spent on the tiles of a bathroom floor, as luck would have it, the wind filled in and Francisco called for the ladies’ fleet to rig up and sail a heat. I cried. I cried before, during and after my heat having not eaten or drunk anything in 24 hours and having to try sail a heat with the energy levels of a sloth on hunger strike. I was gutted (literally haha!), because I’d come early to train and really felt like I knew the spot well and was hoping to sail strongly. But that’s just how it goes and I managed to hold a 3rd place from the heat and then collapse into bed to shiver and sweat out the fever for another few hours. And in typical fashion the bug spread like wildfire throughout the resort and struck down the lovely Sam Bittner and a few others in it’s path……. missing a few others too though however….. like the ultimate germaphobe Kevin Pritchard who through a policy of Wikipedia research and a no breathing, no touching anything within a 2 mile radius of us afflicted with the plague, he managed to completly avoid getting ill. He may never look at me again but honestly Kevin I got it from Camille, who got it from Miho…… so basically it all came from Japan……!! Only kidding Miho.

And with that the event came to an end. The men’s fleet ran a single elimination with Camille Juban winning, Fabrix Beaux 2nd and young awesome ripper and one to watch for the future Tom Juban stealing 3rd place. The men’s double didn’t quite finish but ended up with Camille 1st, Fabrixe 2nd and young super smiley, shredder Alex Vargas taking 3rd from Chile. In the women’s it was Tatiana in 1st, Miho Tanaka 2nd and me in 3rd, with Sam Bittner 4th and Carolina Butrich 5th. I also managed to come in 2nd place for the ladies’ SUP behind Tatiana in 1st and Margarita from Chile came 3rd.

As usual an absolutely huge thank you to everyone who made the event/trip possible and to all the new South American amigos I have made. Special thanks to the AWT, Sam Bittner, Head Judge Fransisco Giya, Jaimie and all the El Faro Resort Crew, Carolina and all the Peru crew who made the event possible! And thanks to my sponsors Moo Custom Boards, Simmer Sails, Huku Balance Boards.

Max Rowe joins Boardseeker to guide us through September in his ultimate year. Max is back on home soil and looking forward to some incredible sessions at his home spots.

Max Rowe

For the feature this month I’ll be looking into it all a bit differently. This is because for September I’m going to be concentrating on my favourite freestyle spots around England. The main reason for this is the last two years I’ve been at home in September, the conditions have been absolutely word class. I’m really hoping that the last comment doesn’t jinx it as I head back to the motherland!

I’ve decided that the easiest way to do this is to go through the spots in order of my personal preference, however please bear in mind that this is biased due to the ease of getting there from either my house in Colchester, Essex or my other frequent residence, my girlfriend’s house very close to Chichester.

Photos: 2xs

Hands down one of my favourite freestyle spots from across the world this place really is in a league of its own when it comes to freestyling in the UK. “The Trench” has rivalled some of the best freestyle windsurfing spots I’ve visited; which is why it’s sitting firmly at the top of my table. What makes it so special is the sandbar that forms at low tide forming what we’ve dubbed as “The Trench”, It sits perfectly across the wind in a South Westerly and various parts of it will work in anything from a dead South to dead Westerly. I’ve even sailed it in a Northerly and it was still epic. Whilst waiting for the tide you can often sneak in an epic wave sail, which is one of the big things that compliments this spot even more. The trench will appear around two hours either side of low tide depending on whether it’s springs or neaps, the ultimate session is of course during spring tides at the lowest of lows and on this day it really shines.

Now time for one my local spots, which I discovered thanks to the legendary Dave White. It’s just down the road from Brightlingsea in Essex and can provide some epic conditions for freestlye, bump/jump and speed. It will only work at high tide and is best two hours either side. The wind blows onshore on to the beach fifty metres past the campsite and to the left hand side a big lagoon will form as the tide comes in. It works best on the highest high but is still seriously flat on most high tides, it just means it a bit less sheltered when it is fully high. Again it works best in a South West but is sailable in anything from a S-NW. One of my favourite things about this spot is fact you can sail from mirror flat water straight into the rolling swell.

If you drive on to Hayling Island and keep to the right you’ll come across an Esso garage which if you turn right at immediately afterwards you can find another top class freestyle spot. To be honest the best thing about this spot is the fact it works at high tide, which compliments “The Trench” beautifully. You need to get the tide pretty right here as at low tide there’s no point making the sharp long walk out and at fully high the water state can be a complete mess. In-between neaps to springs you’re pretty much guaranteed some flat water either side of high tide. The wind blows dead onshore in a westerly, which means you can sail parallel to the shingle bar but in a SW it still works extremely well.

Another on of my locals but one I very rarely get a chance to sail at. The Ray is well renowned for the speed potential, but of course anywhere that’s flat instantly has a massive potential to be a top freestyle spot. It’s a hell of a long walk and only works for a few hours but it is I00% worth it. Again it’s a spot that can only be sailed at fully low tide. Watch out for the seals!!

So that’s it for my top four favourite freestyle spots in the UK. Obviously some will argue Weymouth, West Kirby etc should deserve a mention but from my neck of the woods I Haven’t sailed those spots enough.

Check out the full Boardseeker beachfinder to explore more of the top UK freestyle spots

• Beachseeker: Top freestyle spots