Hello May!

Crikey, where did April go??

Things seem to be rocketing along at the moment and i'm hanging on for dear life!  It seems like less than a few weeks ago i was enjoying the wind and waves of Cape Town, turns out that was actually nearer 10 weeks!

I guess things have flown by because there all good at the moment...


Very Windy Rhosneigr from Phil Horrocks on Vimeo.

We've had a few windy days recently, this super windy day too, i made a little video feature for Boardseeker magazine with it, here's a couple of stills i think i already made in my last post but they show what it was like, crazy windy!!

If you want to check out the complete feature head over to ......
http://www.boardseekermag.com/features/phil-horrocks-takes-on-rhosneigr-in-58-knots/

Looks like it might get windy today too...

So that's the windsurfing in a nutshell.... The other side of things is the fact that Junior is coming along quickly too.

Maike's been fantastic and is doing really well, growing almost by the day it would seem, and with the sense that the end is not too far away either, suddenly there is only 10 weeks left!

Naturally things have turned towards preparing for the new arrival, frantic cleaning, clearing out the junk and all the other crazy stuff pregnant women get up to!

There was even time for a kick around in the sunshine in the garden with Junior too, weird to see but pretty amazing to see there is something actually growing inside there!

that's all for now...

Phil

High wind advisory!

Or go windsurfing it should say!

Pic credit: Steve Laddiman

It's been a long old wait.. there's barely a day with wind for 6 or 7 weeks and then suddenly theres 3 in a row! how about that?

It started with Big sunday, it was 4.0 full power out there, some nice riding and jumps to be had, i'd almost forgotten how much fun rhosneigr can be on it's day.

Pics: Stu Gwynn - Stuey

The swell peaked pretty much after the high tide and there were some sizeable sets around, stevey came up to visit and caught a few beauties, on his bright sail, you definitely know which one he is out there!

Steve shredding

Dave's back loop percentages got better through the day.

 I've been trying out some Pocket waves instead of the DaCurves just for a change, i figured i should really try them as they should be ideal for the onshore conditions we often get up our way.

bit of airtime

 The Pocket wave 75 is an awesome board! i really liked it, pretty much a throw around wave board that gets you up and quickly, so it makes for some really fun sailing, i was surprised just how good it was, could be an all conditions board for my home spot i think?

Pocket 75 is a ripper!

Monday was pretty good too, sunny all day and windiest in the morning then faded out a little as the day went on, only to come back in later in the day, still good for a 4.7 and my 80 Pocket wave.  It's strange how after a day of full power and the small gear using a 4.7 and 80 feels so big!  Still, it gets you going and flying around when it's not that windy.

Then came too windy Tuesday!

It was just crazy windy, i was hanging onto my 3.7 and it was almost impossible to keep the thing on the water, if you went over a piece of chop you just took off!  It was somewhere around 40knots+ and that was a cold wind too.

deploying the 3.7

Plenty of air time

tough wave riding conditions

clocking up the airmiles

the pocket 75 and 3.7 manic in their element

a battle to get back up the beach!

Once again, Maike produces the goods behind the camera.

Bump is growing.... 13 weeks to go... crikey! better get some more windsurfing in quickly!!

Wind.. Snow... Grow...

The weather's a pretty major part in a windsurfers life and at the minute we are getting plenty of it, the only problem is, it's the wrong kind!!

 I was very close to going windsurfing the other day though, it looked like the North West of wales was looking like it head potential, there was a decent swell coming up the Irish Sea and the wind was a good direction for Hells Mouth.

Take off the temperature and this is the sort of forecast you might see for Maui, with the NE trades blowing!

So friday i was finishing work and the East wind that was forecast to blow kicked up strong, very strong indeed in fact, it was strong enough to blow over two lorries on the A55 near my house and a couple of reasonable size trees gave up and fell over too.

The strength of the wind wasn't what put me off, it was the fact the snow flakes started to fall and when i woke up next morning it was a white out out there! wall to wall snow!

In the Woods  

Truly stunning scenery, the landscape changes to another place when covered with its white blanket.

Windy but too cold for me!

 Even with thickest wetsuit, hood, boots and gloves i'd probably still have frozen!!

So cold it froze Llyn Ogwen

Some magic looking green rocks amongst the snowline

Pregnancy has not affected her aim! fortunately my camera is snowball proof!

As Far as Windsurfing goes, we have a small glimmer of hope on the horizon, the latest forecast shows that tuesday next week has some potential, ok, it's pretty far away but that's as close as we've come to decent windsurfing forecast in a while!

Fingers crossed tuesday delivers.

At the moment i'm just going through all my equipment ready for the season ahead, i need to get my order in! the start of UK contest season is fast approaching!

On other stuff....

So, the snow melted and still without wind i went over to Graigfechan, Ruthin, where i grew up as a youngster, my parents are still there and have undertaken a grand community project.  They have helped establish, with some Lottery funding along the way, The Graigfechan Growers Group, or 3 G's for short.

The sheep shed

 It's all about the community coming together to pool resources, experience and time to produce something we all need, Food!

Baby Lambs

My nephew (Raif) and Niece (Safi) came along to feed the sheep

And the Poly tunnel with plants in.

It's a great thing and if you want to check out more about what they are doing head over to www.graiggrow.net/ that has all the info and more on there, maybe it could work near you?

more updates soon...

Phil

Tabou Contest Team...

Tabou Boards Contest Team 2013

With the successful release of the inspiring 2013 boards, the team for 2013 is even more impressive. When you combine style with personality and a hungry team that wants to showcase their talents you have a unique mix that makes the Tabou team different from the rest.

Shaper extraordinaire Fabien Vollenweider continues to innovate great designs that keep working better and better. With the progression of all the aspects of windsurfing be it freeride, wave, race and freestyle, Fabien is hands on and knows what it takes to make a board do what it is supposed to do!

The all new Twister takes riders like Tonky Frans, Anthony Ruenes and Davy Scheffers to new heights. These guys put in the time to develop the boards just how they want them. Super easy to plane with BIG POP for mind blowing moves. Keep your eyes open for these guys, they will blow your mind!

Thomas Traversa, Alex Mussolini, Dario Ojeda, Phil Horrocks and Jamie Hancock are locked and loaded to take on the PWA Wave Tour. These guys put on a great show in 2012 and look to carry their momentum forward for this new season. Each one of these guys are capable of winning any event at any location. Joining the boys for the PWA Tour will be Amanda Beenen who is fired up on her new gear. Watch the Tabou team hit the waves with full force!

Our racing program has never been more serious. The 2013 Manta range has reached new levels that our team is very excited about! Ross Williams will be campaigning along side Cedric Bordes and the Moussilmani brothers to bring home victories on the tour. New to the team is Pascal Toselli from France who will help develop boards alongside Cedric and the rest of the team. Valerie Arrighetti has won the World Title before and will be a strong contender to show the women’s tour the new boards she has under her feet. Watch out-

Overall we are very proud to announce all our team riders and look forward to their success on the water. 

http://www.tabou-boards.com/team-tabou/international

http://www.tabou-boards.com

https://www.facebook.com/tabouboards