It’s been a busy month with a lot of travelling and some amazing sailing. I started the month in Maui where I was shooting for Naish.

The first part of the trip was pretty windless, but it really kicked in for the last 4 days, meaning we could get everything done. The new sails are amazing. They look great and sail even better. Unfortunately no pics as its all top-secret at the moment, but definitely coming soon!



Next stop was back to Cape Verde for the F2 shoot. This involved a load of travelling, sitting on at least 1 plane every day for 5 days in a row. Maui- San Francisco –London –Munich –Sal -Sao Vicente. What greeted me in Sao Vicente however was the trip of a lifetime aboard the Itoma boat, cruising the Cape Verde Islands with the entire F2 team. It really was amazing. Sails rigged in the back on the boat. We would find a spot, drop anchor, throw the gear off the back and go for a sail. I cant go into too much details because (again) its all fairly secret at the moment, but we had wind everyday and the whole experience will be hard to ever beat.

I had hoped to go for a couple of days to the mountains to ski/snowboard. I used to love the snow but because of my windsurfing I haven’t been in 5 years. Unfortunately it will have to wait another year as the lack of snow and record 23˚C temperatures put a stop to that plan. Instead I found myself back at home wondering what to do next. I had 2 weeks until the Ireland event started and the forecast looked terrible. Next thing I knew I was boarding a plane back to Maui!! My girlfriend, Nayra Alonso, was out in Maui shooting for Fanatic and Severne and during a video skype conversation with her, I had loads of friends telling me how good it was out there. Sure enough the forecast was amazing and after a few phone calls to the Air miles department of United Airlines I had a free air miles ticket out to Maui. So less than 24 hours after getting home I was setting off again for more.



Turned out to be a good move. I sailed everyday for 11 days straight. Biggest sail I used was a 5.0 and most of the time I was hanging on to a 4.5. We had 2 nice sized swells arrive and with so many people there for photo shoots and training, it was a great atmosphere on and off the water. The second day of the trip in particular, was the first windy, wavey AND sunny day for 2 weeks. Therefore every photo shoot was on it and on the water as quick as possible. I had to come in a watch as it was too much on the water. I sat and watched as about 40 of the worlds best sailors aimed for the 10-15 cameramen in the water and went for the best stunts they knew. It was an amazing show that very surprisingly didn’t end up with anyone hospitalised: So many near misses but no proper collisions.

After 11 days solid sailing I boarded another plane and heading back to the UK where I met up with my friend Chris Audsley for the UKWA Ireland event. Last year I missed it for the first time in about 10 years, so it was great to head back to Brandon bay and we weren’t disappointed. First day started with some proper wind. Overpowered on a 4.0, port tack and some nice sized jump ramps. I managed to win the first round ahead of John Hibbard. 2 days later I managed to hold onto the win in the second round in some nice starboard tack conditions.

I now have a week to recover from all the travels before I start again with a trip to Morocco. Should be really good with some of the best up and coming sailors in the world, Victor Fernandez, Boujma, Alex Mussolini plus others. Tune in next month to hear how it went.

Happy Sailing,
John