The early blast just before the storm really kicked in. This was mellow compared to how the afternoon unfolded; 70mph plus with local opinion claiming the biggest seas they had ever seen (Fairway Buoy - 21ft).

Have long been a fan of Galicia and if we manage to align our plans, I am hoping for an extended sojourn here next summer. Albeit to a somewhat smaller break, as even with todays pushing tide in the fading light,  just overhead seems heavy enough.

Was pretty shocked to see our session on the front cover of the times yesterday. MTC in full glory going for a suicide landing whilst pondering the merits of the RRD Wave Cult.  Today was a more mellow affair as my timings finally coincided with high tide at GS, and shared a wave or two with Jem, and the Team Lobato. Forecast looks even bigger for the upcoming weekend, so wonder how the media will cover this, or maybe they can actually report some news this time.

Another perfect session at the beach, winds a little gusty ranging I am guessing between 25-35mph and even a little sunshine thrown in.

Got out for a half hour or so, just to see what all the fuss was about. No real storm here yet, but the amount of water moving around was pretty unsettling as the sea seemed to be boiling. Slightly unnerving when no one else is out.

Its not so long ago that when I started this blog, the name wind addiction came to mind. Peculiarly, the past few years have seen a tail off in my obsession, but its with recent sell offs of climbing and cycling kit, that I can firmly say I am ready to re-dedicate myself as an addict. Crossing the bridge to day with fellow wind disciple; Mark and I head up the unique unit of the ginger brotherhood. Southerly winds, and lots of friendly faces made the dark foreboding skies, nothing more than a nice backdrop to a fun little wave. The next 24 hours will be the tell though as the swell starts to wind up. Massive thankyou to aussie Tim who brought down my newly acquired RRD WAVE Cult Quad 75, and the kind words of Jon Shaw.  

...and so it continues. Back to back swells, (with a lot of really great windsurfing in between) with a severe storm warning for Monday. The obvious point break will be the go for monday, but the severity of the storm is still in the balance. It's been hailed the 26 year storm, which makes you think this might have some bite. 

Just read the sad news of the passing of Chops Lascelles. Had the pleasure of working with him a few years back, and couldn't help but admire his magnetism and charisma. He has definitely touched a lot of peoples lives, and no doubt will be greatly missed by many.  

At 60+ Aussie Tony is one of the guys you will consistently find at the beach come rain or shine. As long as the swell is decent and the wind is offshore, he can be found waxing his beloved Mark Neville design in eager anticipation. Always happy to 'share' a wave, and an elder statesman advocating peace and diplomacy over aggression.

Picked up a 5'7 Channel Islands Sperm whale yesterday, and had one of the best surfs I have had in a long time. My journey with boards has been an interesting one, and whilst I try to avoid spending on fancy kit, sometimes buying quality really pays dividends. Obviously Al Merrick is one name synonymous with highly efficient surfboard design, so why has it taken me long to ride one of his boards ? The reasons are many fold, but after yesterday, today and no doubt the rest of this week, the affinity with this board will just grow. At c. 30 litres its fully submersed whilst I sit and wait out back, but when paddling the design is incredibly efficient, that it paddles like a board much bigger, yet still duck dives like a small short board.  In essence I would describe this as where mini simmons meets shortboard, and something so very different to a fish. Quite how is not so simple to articulate, but its five fin setup, and sharp rails seems progressive like so much about its design. Whilst I loved the 5'10 Bing mini simmons, this craft is a serious step on, and one I will be keeping for much longer. Whether I will successfully template this and copy will remain to be seen. Currently I just want to ride it till its dying day, and mine for that matter.

Days like today, make everything seem perfect in the world. A truly great session with a lot of big smiles going round.

Solid 4.0 meter conditions, and MTC hit this nice back loop on his first run out. It's been so long since we have had some solid wind that it took me by surprise somewhat. The wind veered through the day to finally end with more westerly, but still enough south to give perfect jump and gybe ramps. Today looks like more serious side-on from the North west, so no doubt the usual reprobates will be rigging as the sun rises.

Change is definitely in the air and it was nice to get out in the brisk Nor'wester today for a windsurf. Blue skies and fresh breezes are turning the blackberries to perfection at the moment, so am not too bothered if the wind or swell isn't to full strength. Its clear that it won't be long before the winds return and we will be sheltering in the warmth around an open fire. Can't wait for Autumn.

Picked up a 7'2 Bing Swee' Pea today, and took it out for it's inaugural surf. It was 2-3 and pretty messy, and all was good till I sliced my toe. Water is still so warm and great to be in just shorts, so it was a shame to cut it short. I really wanted to review this and get some idea of its performance, but first impressions were still positive. At 7'2 it was not really the length I wanted, but  I love anything Matt Calvani shapes, and this wasn't any different. On the odd peaks I managed to catch, it flew and was very drivey and felt pretty much as Tom described (the guy who sold me it). The plan will be to template this and make a 5'8/5'10 with a slight difference, but this will remain to be seen, as I am not sure that I actually want to get rid of it just yet.

If you get the chance or know of anyone wanting to learn SUP (apologies) or just wanting to try it (for some unknown reason), Carl at Go Watersports is the guy to speak to. He is friendly, professional and he kindly snapped me with my Iphone in our pre work dawnie.

What an amazing day ! Its been great to come home, see so many friendly faces and then get to surf twice in the same day, and yes even a windsurf (although the wind disappeared temporarily when I rigged). This guy,was ripping on a quad fin and it was pretty inspiring to see everyone out in what appeared like 3/4 mast high waves and cross shore southerly. Good times, and great to see so many smiles from effectively a miserable day. 

Its been a couple of months since getting the RRD Wave Cult Quad fin, and I have recently decided to take the brave decision as using it as my one board (at least for long journeys and travelling with kids).  So with car space at a premium I made the seemingly bizarre decision to pack this 92 ltr board (AKA the 'big board'). I hate being underpowered probably more than anything, so having a slightly bigger board seemed like a sensible option. Now the law of averages would suggest that as soon as you agree to leaving the other boards behind, you can bet that they would be what you actually need in your time away. I of course always try to remind myself of this , but its of little solice as Tarifa is a very windy city in August !
Hence you could have brought any board and it would have been right on certain days.
Winds of 40knots one day, then dropping down to single digits the next means you have plenty of down time, but it also can potentially mean limited time for sailing.
In our own circumstances, this trip was a family holiday not a windsurf trip, but that said I still had clearance for the kit.
So turning up at the beach to sail in 18 knots one day and then 30 the next, has been a real joy considering its been on one board. Speed and control has been the key, and even when conditions were light it was still very throw around and you can really slide the fins out too in an attempt to freestyle. I even scored some rare summer wave conditions and the board of course comes alive in this. Essentially the board never seemed to overpower even when my sail did, and the edge of quads over a single fin is far too apparent to be ignored. In Tarifa I noticed a lot of thrusters coming through which seems to be a Naish/Mistral thing, and they no doubt work. However  nothing is quite like a quad, as they still seem to retain the looseness of a twin fin, as opposed to a thruster which seems to be more like a single fin. If you are in any way tempted by a Quad, then I suggest you just buy one. I certainly have been amazed by the RRD wave cult.

I read this on a friend's blog and had to share - http://www.surfertoday.com/surfing/9108-windsurfing-world-mourns-the-loss-of-andre-paskowski