Simon just recently returned from Maui where he was playing with a mast mounted GoPro HD Camera.
In a few runs in Sprecks, Maui he recorded some HD footage which we have just uploaded to Youtube.
Hopefully this will be followed by some great UK sailing this summer!!!
Going to Maui is always a good plan it’s windsurfing mecca. In late march we all went for our pilgrimage to the No1 windsurfing spot in the world.
Having had little windsurfing in the UK before we left, we arrived to find the hammer was fully down on the wind front for the full 4 week trip.
We stayed on the beach at Camp One between Sprecks and Kanaha with friends Frank, Sandra, Alex and Georgia. A place as perfect as it gets to windsurf, lay about on the beach and to go swimming or snorkelling.
Alex(12 years old) was ripping out on the water
We had planned to stay for three weeks and had wind and waves nearly every day – the day we were leaving the volcano erupted in Iceland and our flights were cancelled and guess what? We had an extra week accompanied by even more wind and swell… How inconvenient!
United Airlines were epic in sorting out our flight problems – my buddy Ray Mcgee United UK and Jeff Tarpey in Maui really helped us out.
Maui is full of the best surfers, windsurfers, kiters and paddlesurfers on the planet. In the “Antonys” coffee shop in Paia the stars of our sport queue up for their caffeine fix like the rest of us -it may be Laird, Pete Volwater, Antoine Albeau or Pete Cabrinha sat on the next table.
On the water it was quiet compared with our last visit 2 years ago – so each day we would see the pros in action on the 2011 gear shooting for next years brochures . Skye boy, Timo and Finn Mullen, Jamie Hancock, Phil Horricks, Swifty and Richie Page were all out there ripping alongside the usual Maui
locals.
Dave White, the new editor for Boards was out there at the same time, working hard. Here you can see him enjoying an “apres work massage” after going for double forwards at Hookipa! He was joined by Nicky Boy and Pamela, who were on their honeymoon, sharing a pad with Dave White and Paul Griffiths from Boards Mag!
Whitey, as always is full of enthusiasm for windsurfing and was constantly emailing or dropping in to drag everyone out on the water. He tried to drag me out at Ho’okipa but I bottled it although he did manage to drag me up to the Quattro shop to order a custom quad!
When we were at the factory, I had a really good chat to Francisco and Lalo Goya, as well as Keith Taboul. On the last day at Sprecks, I had the chance to sail with Francisco – there were only 3 of us out at the time and it seemed like sailing with a few buddies at Wittering, with the exception of the odd Goya 40ft backloop thrown in for good measure.
We were given some tickets to the Oxbow VIP Clothing Launch at Maui Neil Pryde store from Shawna (Cropas) and Gus and we were lucky enough to meet up with Laird Hamilton, Jason Polakow and Levi Siver. Great evening, good food and had a chat to Laird about my forthcoming Channel Crossing – he said “You need to watch out for the ferries and tankers!” He also told me it took him 7 hours to complete the crossing!!!
Nik Baker was also in Maui and very kindly let me try out some of the new exciting 2011 kit that he had in the back of his van – the new Fanatic Quad and the North Shox XTR mast extension system – I only had about 30 minutes on the Quad, but really liked it and look forward to getting on the 79 when it comes out in the UK. The new Shox system was amazing at taking the impact of chop out of the rig but I think it definitely suits a slalom/freeride board more than a wave board.
Dave Ezzy left an Ezzy 2011 prototype with me to test – one of the sails he is working on for next season. You can see some sneak preview pics here, you will see the new version on the shelves Jan 2011.
We were not the only Brits “on the rock” – Francis Goodwin, Justin, Jane and all the Goodwin tribe were out to celebrate Francis’ win of the “Golden Ticket” they were accompanied by Grahame and Michelle Pettit, Jack and Jenna who all made the most of the conditions and windsurfed every moment of the
day.
Paul, Nikki and Amy Simmons were on their first trip to Maui and I caught up with Paul at Sprecks a number of times through the trip – he was sailing really well.
Got to get some work done now to save up for the next trip…..
While I was in Maui, I had a chance to check out the Ho’okipa Jump Off.
Riders were sailing with a special new GPS unit called a Shadowbox. This meant that their height could accurately be measured.
I didn’t stay too long but was around for long enough to catch this sequence of Boujma!:
Simon has just returned from a windy and wavey holiday in Maui where he got some photos of some of the latest 2011 toys from all the manufacturers!
JP and Neil Pryde
You might think that Pro Windsurfers have the best job in the world. These guys were ready to go at 8am and finished at 6pm every day. Sometimes sailing 3 or 4 beaches to get the best shots. I have to say that they did work extremely hard and it was good to see some British talent (Robby Swift, Phil Horrocks and Andy Chambers) in the waves.
Freestyle: Andy Chambers (K540), Olya Raskina (RUS-14) and Yegor Propretinskiy (RUS 11) sailing the new 2011 JP Freestyle Boards and Neil Pryde Firefly sails at Spreckelsville, Maui:
Wavesailing: Ricardo Campell V111, Kauli Seadi BRA253, Jason Polakow KA1111, Robby Swift K89, Morgan Noireaux HI 101 and Phil Horrocks K303 on the latest 2011 JP Twinsers and quads and Neil Pryde Fly 2011 sails at Camp One and Ho’okipa Beach Park in Maui::
The boys were also checking out the brand new 2011 Neil Pryde Atlas:
Ezzy 2011 Prototyping
Simon met up with Dave Ezzy and tried out the latest Ezzy Wave Panther 2011 prototype:
Naish 2011
Kai Lenny (US 1112) was truly amazing to watch, out-shredding people double his age!
Simon also checked out the new range of SUP boards at the Naish Pro shop in Kahalui:
Fanatic and North 2011
Fanatic have completely changed their look for 2011 and the new North colour schemes look interesting too.
Here is Nayra Alonso, Craig Gurtenbach, Peter Volwater and Nik Baker on the new 2011 Fanatic New Wave Twin and Quad:
Starboard and Severne 2011
Boujma Guilloul M1 and Timo Mullen K69 were out at Ho’okipa riding 2011 Starboard quads and 2011 Severne
Others
Gaastra Manic 2011 with Matt Prichard:
Hot Sails Maui 2011 with Jeff Henderson:
Simon Bassett, owner of 2XS and X-Train is crossing the English Channel on a paddle board to raise money for Surfers Against Sewage (SAS).
The crossing is from Dover to Calais (dodging the ferries) and is set to be on the day between 18th and 25th June that has the best tide and weather conditions in which to make the 21-mile crossing. The crossing should take around 5 hours and if the paddlers are successful they will be the first ever SUP team to have ever crossed the English Channel.
Simon will be joined by 4 other paddlers: Elliot Dudley (UK longboard champ), who is going for the outright distance world record, his team mate, Matt Argyle (BSUPA chairman and ranked no 2 BSUPA WAVE champ), Jock Patterson (UK BSUPA overall champ) and Claire Blacklock (BSUPA ladies champ). Both relay teams are going for the relay distance record.
They could also potentially break the record for the fastest channel crossing too:
The Guinness World Record™ for crossing the English Channel by prone paddleboard currently stands at five hours and nine minutes, and was set by US paddler by Michael O’Shaughnessy in 2006.
Simon will be using a 14 ft Bark expedition board with support from www.2xs.co.uk, X-train, Prosport Sunscreen, Dakine, NPX westuits and Kialoa paddles – you will be able to see updates on www.supglobal.com and the 2xs site. Bigsalty.co.uk will also be supporting the crossing.
The event has been put together by SAS with the support of BSUPA, and the paddlers aim to raise at least £10,000 in sponsorship money to support SAS’s campaigns to protect surfers and waveriders, waves and beaches around the UK.
Simon is currently beasting himself with plenty of gym work and a personal trainer. He has also, just returned from Maui, where Laird Hamilton gave him some advice.
Simon:
After my recent trip to maui extented by the volcano and cancelled flights had a month of windsurfing every day and downwinders on a SUP.training for the channel crossing is still on target the new bark 14 ft expedition has just arrived and have been out testing the beast. Have been checking out some fin options for the board to see what the fastest combination will be.
While I was on Maui-Hawaii we met up with Laird Hamilton at the Oxbow clothing launch in Neil Prydes store .We had a chat about the channel
crossing- and he told me he took 7 hours to do the crossing after he ran from london- then cycled to Paris- his parting comments was to watch out for the tankers and ferries.Laird seems a real nice guy and had plenty of time to talk loads of people at the Oxbow launch in maui.
Da kine have delivered me a whole pile of new sup leashes paddle covers rashies will get the go pro attached to the board soon so look out for the video footage.
Please support Simon’s cause by sponsoring him at his Just Giving page.
The 2XS/BSUPA Event – Round 1
Entry is avaible to all BSUPA members -membership is available on the day.
There will free test paddleboards for newcomers to try. And a chance to see the latest new paddles and paddleboards.
FREE SUP coaching sessions organised by X-Train from Jock Patterson BSUPA 2009 champ, Neal gent 2008 BSUPA surf champion & Simon Bassett BSUPA head Coach.
Competiors please be on the beach by 9am. Entry forms available at BSUPA or click the BSUPA logo below or call 01243 513077 to speak to chris, rosco or simon for more info, or to book a free coaching session.
NATIONAL WINDSURFING WEEK @ 2XS
2XS will be running a host of taster sessions during National Windsurfing Week:
2nd May Sunday
9am -10am session 1-kids only
10am-11am session2 –adults only
11am-12pm session 3-adults only
3rd May Monday Bank holiday
Same as above but starting at 10am though to 1pm 3x1hr sessions
8th May Saturday-9am-12pm same as 2nd May
9th May Sunday -10am-1pm same as 3rd May
Kids sessions should be 7yrs-12yrs with parent, adults from 14yr upwards full details will be released nearer the date
Full details will be released nearer the date. Contact us and mention National Windsurfing Week
If you fancy turning up to perfect beach set up with all the facilities- rescue, beach webcam, broadband, showers, changing rooms, great coaching and the full rental deal (like you find when you go abroad the 2XS RRD EZZY Test centre in West Wittering is the place to come.
We just have had delivered some of the new 2010 RRD and Ezzy gear for our windsurf test centre on the beach at West Wittering .We have the new RRDS in ltd freestyle waves, x-rides, wave twins, Cults, Evo and Easy riders.We also a have a full stack of RRD kitesurf gear including 2010 Passions, Obsession kites and placebo twin tips. This year we have kids boards from Fanatic and sails Hotsails Maui we also have some 2010 Fanatic New waves single fins on test. On the sail front we have 3.7 to 6.3 wave panther 2 and 7.5 Ezzy free rides.All our sails have all Ezzy carbon skinny’s and the 2010 Chinook booms and bases. We also have a full rack of Dakine harness on site as well surfboard from NSP, SUPS from Drops Gong and NSP.
West Wittering Windsurf Club opens from the begining of March until 30 October and is manned 7 days per week -membership is available for windsurfing and kitesurfing which starts from £260 for annual membership. We have a full hire package so you can switch between windsurf ,SUP and Kite surf gear all for £510 on top of your membership and you can use this every day through the season .We have a beach web so you can check the weather tides wave heights and temps here. The club has great facilities including showers changing rooms ,free tea and coffee ,broadband we have jet ski rescue and beach has lifeguard cover in the summer .West Wittering is also blue flag beach so the water quality is good.
X-train our tuition centre based at the club has been running for more than 10 years we are a full RYA,BKSA and BSUPA school and we teach windsurfing from 5 years upwards to advanced coaching ,we teach kitesurfing from 12 upwards to advanced levels ,as well as surfing and SUP where we were the first centre to paddle surfing on the south coast .We offer courses ,private lessons ,clinics and video coaching -we run a very successful kids program called Rippers from 5 upwards and have RYA Team 15 and the RYA Onboard school program for this season .We also work with top coaches including- Jem Hall ,Pete Hart ,Jim Collis ,Jock Patterson ,Andy Gratwick ,Neal Gent ,Emile Kott and Jamie Hawkins.
If you need to buy gear, the online warehouse is near by – so beach deliveries are easy to arrange and we stock all the small spares at the windsurf club.
The privately owned beach has been is very rural with a sandy beach and grassy car park ,cafe -great for all the family and has superb condition from waves at high tide and flat water chest deep lagoons at low tide .Car parking is cheaper than a day in Poole or day in most town centre car parks.
For more information please contact Simon Bassett or Chris rainbow on 01243 513077 or check out the website or email sales@2xs.co.uk
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Course Description:
If you are struggling to get around your carve gybes or can’t quite plane out, then this is a course for you. Emile has devised a tried and tested carve gybe course through years of instructing all around the world. Emile will use a mixture of one-one, group and video tuition – his new waterproof video camera lets him sit in the water and have you gybe around him!
The course will only run if there’s enough wind to plane comfortably on a 6.5 sail or below. The timeslots mean that we will be running it in the perfect flat water of West Wittering low-tide lagoons.
Minimum level for course: Planing comfortably in the footstraps and harness on a sub 150 litre board. Waterstarts make it easier but are not a prerequisite.
Course price: £120
Course: THE 2010 Back Loop Clinic .JPG)
Possible Dates:
(the course will run on the one date below which gives the best conditions. Please only book onto this course if you are free for all the dates.)
15th May, 11am – 4.30pm (30 mins lunch)
16th May, 12noon – 5.30pm (30 mins lunch)
29th May, 11am – 4.30pm (30 mins lunch)
30th May, 12noon – 5.30pm (30 mins lunch)
Course Description:Following on from 2009’s extremely popular and successful Backloop Clinic, Emile has further tweaked the course and has improved it for 2010.
The course breaks down the backloop into manageable sections and using on-water, land-based and video tuition, Emile is sure to have you making your best back loop attempts to date and you will leave the course as obsessed with the move as he is!
As last year, the course will only run if there is enough wind and waves to land a back loop. While not being renowned for huge waves, if it’s windy at West Wittering, we are almost guaranteed to have a good selection of ramps.
Minimum level for course: Comfortable sailing and jumping in strong wind and wave conditions on a sub 90 litre wave or freestyle wave board. The more vertical you can jump, the more you will get from the course.
Course price: £120
Course: The Forward Loop Clinic
Possible Dates:
(the course will run on the one date below which gives the best conditions. Please only book onto this course if you are free for all the dates.)
12th June, 10am – 3.30pm (30 mins lunch)
13th June, 11am – 4.30pm (30 mins lunch)
26th June, 10am – 3.30pm (30 mins lunch)
27th June, 11am – 4.30pm (30 mins lunch)
Course Description:New for 2010, Emile is running his first forward loop clinic. The course will run using a similar method to his very successful back loop clinics and is aimed at those who feel they may be ready to master this life-changing manoeuvre.
The course will break down the move into manageable, easy parts and is sure to get you around and improve your first forward loop attempts by the end of the day. Emile will use a mix of water-based and land-based one-one, group and video coaching to break down the move for you.
The clinic will only run if there is enough wind to complete a decent forward loop (around 20 knots of wind) and the timeslots have been organised to ensure it is run around a high tide at West Wittering, giving the best change of launch ramps.
Minimum level for course: Comfortable sailing and jumping in strong wind and wave conditions on a sub 90 litre wave or freestyle wave board
Course price: £120
Prices now start from £199* for a weekday course weekend courses are still £225- which includes
We have the latest 2010 RRD Bow kites and new RRD boards, so you will find the kiting .JPG)
experience really easy. We also have nice, toasty winter suits and boots for you to use.
On site all our coaches are linked from the land by radio, we have jetski rescue and the teaching area we use is a shallow, tidal waist deep lagoon. When you have finished your course we have hot showers, changing rooms and tea and coffee facilities.
Once you have finished the course we have hire package and further lesson options so you dont need necessarily to buy the kit alternatively we have a range of kite packages available if you do decide to buy.
We can teach kids kitesurfing from 12+ our kite range starts from 3m up to 12m so whatever the wind throws at us we can deal with the conditions!
We would recommend if you are coming on a kite course you should do either a powerkite course before so you have a good understanding of kite flying skills so not to waist time when you are learning kitesurfing
So check your diaries, and get yourself booked onto one of our courses and learn something new for 2010! Give us a call on 01243 513077 today!
