Cape Town goes off
Howzit all,
I am lucky enough to be currently in the last week of a 2 month training, testing and time out trip to Cape Town, South Africa so I will be reflecting on this throughout, as well as highlighting any current news on clinics and action coming up. The sharks have not got me yet but I have had some great crashes and had an opportunity to break out my arm bands during numerous swims to find my kit, paddle, Sup etc. 
So I hear it has been pretty cold throughout Europe but fear not spring is on its way so I impore you to begin visualising and getting fit/ter in readiness for your next bout of ocean realignment.
CLINIC NEWS:
Perfect Prasonisi, Reliable Rhodes which over 10 years and around 40 clinics has averaged 4 - 5 days a week of planing conditions and is now booking up steadily. New for 2013, in Rhodes, is my Female Focussed clinic, called Jem's Jewels, where I will be assisted by a female co - coach, Rachel Tucker and their will be a set amount of places for ladies only, so as to ensure a great learning environment and to give you the opportunity to share rooms and keep your costs down. We will be providing a supportive, inspiring and focussed environment where ladies will have the opportunity to not only enjoy a great holiday but also seriously improve their windsurfing. This clinic is filling nicely and will be a fantastic experience : )

The Mecca of Moulay, Morocco on May 9th and 16th is currently FULL. Therefore, if you are after a wave coaching holiday and camp then please consider Perfect Punta San Carlos in Baja, Mexico. The 1st week is now sold out and so by popular demand I have opened up a second week of coaching from August 17th-24th.
 
Email me for more details on these clinics and to discuss your booking.
 
Next up for me I am kicking off my 2013 coaching season with my regular trip to Marsa Alam, Egypt for 2 weeks of peformance boosting. I will be taking the New Ezzy Legacy and Tiger out with to test and tune so I will feedback on these after the trip. The 2xs posse have already posted a review on the Legacy which is billed as 'A high performance wave and freeride collection that delivers awesome performance for more budget-minded customers.' If you fancy some more Ezzy inspiration then please check out Kevin Pritchards fine movie offering.

My mission to South Africa started well with Nick Coleman and his lovely posse hosting a fantastic New Years Eve Braii (BBQ) so a big thanks to all of them. Upon reflection Cape Town has been, in a word, amazing. January was windy for so many days in a row that I could not even keep track. These days were gratefully received as we were testing, shooting and filming new and existing products from RRD and Ezzy and it was great to work alongside chief RRD sail designer, John Skye and the force that is Dave White, whom I am much indebted too for so many of these fine pics in this newsletter.
 
The merry RRD crew travelled up and down from the picturesque waves of Platboom at Cape Point to the flat waters of Langabaan in order to get the job done. Skye boy was giving me my regular bottom kicking, coaching, that I am happy to receive from him and about time as he is very much in debt to me. Whitey was in his element as he gave us both alot of abuse and banter throughout, whilst coming to terms with the challenging conditions on offer which I lovingly call Port Tack Punishment. Not that I mind the wind from the left but the waves are pretty challenging (closing out inside sand bars as an example) and the wind is damn gusty, that said it is awesome sailing and I love it here. The variety of sailing is just immense! You can catch up on more pics from this trip on the mighty Whites site or on my Facebook page

On arrival in Cape Town I was about the most unfit I have been in a long time, 3 weeks of chest infection will do that to a big baldy like me. Add to this I tweaked my ankle on the 2nd day and this trip has been all about getting back in the game, so with this in mind I have been hitting the gym hard, taking on board coaching tips/abuse from people and keeping a sailing log where I reflect on sessions and benefit from a bit of the old self coaching. These actions have all proved very beneficial and I now look forward to my next sessions with excitement and definitely with less of the fear that I had earlier in the trip! And I am inspired to keep upping the fitness too as it really helps my sailing and behaviour breeds behaviour.

February saw the wind die down a bit and an increase in the wind and waves hunting game that you have to play out here. This is when you rely on good forecasting, previous experience, texting other people on the road and
a bit of luck too. After a windless few hours at one wave beach I decided to head to Langabaan (inland sea sailing area) for some flat water sailing and so I whipped out the New Firestorm V2 120 from RRD and just loved hammering up and down super stacked on my 6.5 Cheetah, a change was most definitely as good as a break.
 
The last couple of weeks have allowed me to do a very tardy newsletter, get this blog up online and answer a lot of emails and, of course, entice many of you to join me on a coaching holiday in 2013. The Cape Doctor joined me for a few more last sessions so I went about my very own Hall's homework with passion, focus and commitment. And i m now in transit in the Uk before I head to Marsa Alam, Egypt.

After Egypt I will be spending a good amount of time back in the UK and will be hunting some good old home sailing and SUPing and then in May it is off to Morocco. Early June sees my first trip to Sweden beckon to visit the top crew of people at Surfers Paradise for a free tips and demo weekend.

Thanks for reading and I wish you good sailing and a fantastic spring.
Focus, believe and Enjoy,
Jem
X
PS It was also a great experience to meet Antoine Albeau in the flesh and what a professional and top man he is. Soooo fast on his X fires, all over it in the waves and ripping it up on his SUPs too. His passion to get in the water every day was very infectious.
Labels: Antoine Albeau, Cape Town, Carve gybes, Dave White, Ezzy, Ezzy Cheetah, Ezzy Elite, Jems Jewels, John Skye, Marsa Alam, Psc Baja, rhodes, RRD, RRD Firestorm, Wave Cult Quad, wave sailing
Off to Jeri and Autumn travels
Bom dia all, I am furiously packing for my next clinic which is off to Jeri, Brazil for my annual sojourn to warm water, wind and waves ( watch Whiteys Video from last year)
with my merry bunch of rippers. This newsletter is to give you a
little nudge to book up for a clinic for next year, round up some news
and wish you a good winter for sailing. Clinic News: Marvelous Marsa Alam, Egypt
is now receiving quite a few bookings so please book up before we sell out and come on down to take a break from Winter
and get tuned up for your 2013 season on March 13th and 20th.
Perfect Prasonisi, Reliable Rhodes
which over 10 years and around 40 clinics has averaged 4 - 5 days a
week of planing conditions and is now taking bookings. New
for 2013, in Rhodes, is my ladies clinic, called Jem's Jewels, where I
will be assisted by a female co - coach, Rachel Tucker and we will be providing a
supportive, inspiring and focussed environment where ladies will have
the opportunity to not only enjoy a great holiday but also seriously
improve their windsurfing. The Mecca of Moulay, Morocco on May 9th and 16th is already taking a lot of bookings and we are ready to give
you a fab holiday and an awesome waterperson (WP) / wavesailing
experience, bookings are with Oceansource.net Email me for more details on these clinics and to discuss your booking. Now back in October we were very proud to announce that Antoine Albeau has given RRD it's first world title by winning the PWA slalom title for 2012 on his RRD X Fire slalom machines. Well the man knows no bounds and he has now smashed the speed record and gone over 50 Knots,
this is an amazing feat! The previous link takes you to the fab new
website for Windsurf magazine and I have an Interview coming out in the
Jan/Feb issue out on Dec 23rd or so.
If we are talking magazines then Boards Mag currently has their huge winter annual wave issue which has loads of top articles, education and inspiration so treat yourself to a copy or subscribe. After
my Ireland wave clinic I had a dutch group join me in Ireland and they
were a top bunch and had a right old time out in Brandon Bay and very
much enjoyed being Jemetically Modified, check out their exploits here. They even filmed me doing a learn to SUP presentation as I am always looking to develop my clients waterperson skills.
After Ireland it was next stop to West Wales, via the glorious Irish and hilly Welsh roads, for the BoardWise Bonfire Aberdovey demo
where we scored wind and lots of happy windies loving the toys and it
goes without saying that the FireMove was loving the conditions, whilst
being powered up the super stable and speedy Ezzy Cheetahs. You can check out Whiteys blog where he gives you an updated low down on this glorious board and highlights the fab test that Boards have given it. Thanks
for reading and I look forward to seeing or hearing from you soon and
also hope we can get some ocean realignment together. Enjoy yourself, it's later than you think. Carpe Diem, Jem X
Labels: Antoine Albeau, Boardkings, Boards Annaul, Boardwise, Dave White, Ezzy, Ezzy Cheetah, FireMove, Jems Jewels, Jeri, Marsa Alam, Moulay, rhodes, RRD, SUP, Windsurf Mag, X Fire V5
Rhodes action and awesome autumn
Hi,
Well this Autumn is shaping up rather nicely with all the
wind and waves on offer and lets hope it stays this way, and temperate
too, for as long as possible. This newsletter is to give you a heads up
on what's going on, my latest toys and which clinics are booking and
selling fast. Thanks in advance for taking the time to read it : )
Rhodes reflection:
I
am just back from my from 10th Anniversary of coaching clinics in
Rhodes and off to Brandon Bay, Ireland next week for my WaterPerson (WP)
clinics there. Prasonisi gave us a few days of very light winds until
the hairdryer came back on and gave us a fine send off, hats off to the
crew for being focussed, fun and most of all relaxed about the delay in
the wind, as we all know that there are no guarantees in life and even
in Rhodes the wind needs a breather sometimes.
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| Looping it up on the NEW RRD wave cult quad 92 |
Autumn action:
Since
my return it has been great to get some autumn action in and enjoy
conditions around my local breaks, and also on a road trip down to
Camber Sands. Their is something about the colder weather, the rain and
changeable conditions that seems to excite and inspire me and yes there
is no place like home : )
Toys, toys, toys - we love em:
During
my ocean realignment on my home turf I have ahd the opportunity to
really get to know my new toys and I must say I am loving my new Ezzy Panther Elites and the New RRD Wave Cult Quads.
The
4 battened Elites are lighter, easier power and more neutral for rides,
gybes and style and really allow you to throttle the power on or off,
yet they are still strong and with a huge wind range and a massive top
end.
Now that I have had some quality testing time on my New
Cult Quads, and in a range of conditions, I am happy to say that I have
them dialled in and am really appreciating their virtues. It is also
worth noting that not only am I enjoying them but so too are the people I
lend them to in order to test them and provide me with valuable
insight, same goes for the Elites. The feedback thus far on the RRD Cult
Quads is that they are earlier to plane, have more wind range and a
livelier / faster ride. Due to the narrower tails and increased tail
rocker, with more vee, they are looser and now with more drive too.
Yesterday saw my onshore wave riding performance definitely go up a
notch - I LOVE THEM! Get in touch if you want to discuss or test either
of the above.
Clinic News:
Marvelous Marsa Alam, Egypt
is now open for bookings so come on down to take a break from Winter
and get tuned up for your 2013 season on March 13th and 20th. The early booking offer has now been extended to October 31st.
Perfect Prasonisi, Reliable Rhodes
which over 10 years and around 40 clinics has averaged 4 - 5 days a
week of planing conditions and has just commenced taking bookings and we
also have an early booking offer on this too - till October 31st. New
for 2013, in Rhodes, is my ladies clinic, called Jem's Jewels, where I
will be assisted by a female co - coach and will be providing a
supportive, inspiring and focussed environment where ladies will have
the opportunity to not only enjoy a great holiday but also seriously
improve their windsurfing.
The Mecca of Moulay, Morocco on May 9th and 16th is already taking a lot of bookings and we are ready to give
you a fab holiday and an awesome waterperson (WP) / wavesailing
experience, bookings are with Oceansource.net
Email me for more details on these clinics and to discuss your booking.
I
look forward to hearing from you or indeed seeing you on the water
either on the UK's fair shores or on a clinic in the very near future.
Live
your life with passion and as my good friend Tony Tatts just said, 'You
rarely regret your experiences but you do regret what you did not do.'
Take action and always look to be the pilot and not the passenger.
Rip, Appreciate, Taste and Enjoy,
Jem
XX
Ps
please page down and check out the pics of my Rhodes rippers and there
top demonstrations of sound technique. A special mention has to go to my
Cypriot friend, Melios, who has been windsurfing for only 4 months, and
with Beginner to Winner to guide him plus his focus, passion and energy
he was able to pull off his first carve gybes on the clinic. The crew
also helped him and he worked very very hard in the light winds on his
tacks, clew first sailing and gybe fundamentals .... and when the wind
came he stepped it up another gear - huge respect.
He and his fellow Rhodes rippers are now ready to move there sailing forward as they all improved in several areas:
They are better self coaches
Tuning
Posing in front of the camera - unleash a still camera and a windsurfers competency often doubles : )
Performing skill specific drills
Target setting
Work rate
Focus
Having fun by remembering the positives and knowing when less is more, ie. not oversailing
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| Great carve entrance by James Mellor |
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| James M and Andy Ruby loving it |
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| Marian Weller showing perfect stance : ) |
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| Piers T refining his first duck gybes! |
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| Jimi M carving it up on the beloved RRD FireMove |
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| Halvor the ripping Norwegian Ezzy Importer about to duck it up |
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| Anders B M showing perfect carve technique on the Ezzy Elite |
Labels: Carve gybes, clinics, duck gybe, Ezzy, Ezzy Elite, FireMove, Ireland, Marsa Alam, Moulay, Prasonisi, rhodes, RRD, Viking windsurfers, Wave Cult Quad
Loving Punta San Carlos
Great to see the Olympics going off back home and right now I am out on Perfect Punta San Carlos, Baja, Mexico on my down the line deep joy wavesailing clinic. The crew are on fine form and improving every day. Had a fab MTB ride this am and we are taking in surfing and SUPing before the wind kicks in for the afternoon ... all finished up with awesome food and lots of liquid refreshment
You just don't know until you go - check some Pics out
Loving my new Ezzy Elites of 4 battened joy too.
Lastly, if you fancy jumping on a coaching clinic and enjoying a fab holiday whilst improving amongst like minded people then join me in Rhodes this September or Jeri, Brazil in November.
Labels: clinics, Ezzy, Ezzy Elite, Jeri, Punta San Carlos, rhodes, RRD, SUP, Wave Cult Quad, wave riding, wave sailing
Rhodes goes off
Good afternoon from a wet but at least windy UK,
I have just returned from 3 weeks of clinics in reliable Rhodes. We enjoyed great wind wiht more planing days than I can remember and lots of fun and ripping sailors who have been moving on up in all areas of windsurfing from stance to first carve gybes, tacks to jumps, duck gybes to 360s. Thought I would send you some pics I just got from one of big windy days on last months Moulay, Morrocco clinic, courtesy of Clive 'El Toro' Boden. We had logo high waves and I was very overpowered on 4.2 and 83 Quad, whilst my main man Tony Ford was on 3.7 and Mark Pezza joined the Moroccan air force for the day with his big jumps. Bookings for May 2013 will start in September 2012 and pre - bookings are already very high ... we love Marvelous Moulay, check the video here
If you wish to check out my latest technique article, on the Moves that Matter in the carve gybe, then please click away on the fab Boards Magazine website
LATEST CLINIC NEWS:
Prasonisi, Rhodes currently has a few spaces on it for September 12th - 19th for you to enjoy some warmth, wind, good times and guaranteed windsurfing improvement.
Jeri, Brazil, November 27th - December 7th is booking up steadily for those who wish to join me. Enjoy deliciously warm waves and wind whilst savouring cocktails and fab food and moving on up in gybes, jumps, rides and, if you are up for it …. loops. The wind stats here are second to none!
Good to hear that Europe has been enjoying some good wind and long may that continue. See you on the water or on a clinic sometime soon and remember 'If you always do what you have always done, well then you will always get what you have always got,' in order fro things to change you must change and want that change : )
Rip and Enjoy,
Jem
XX
ps here are my crews of Rippers from Rhodes
Labels: Carve gybes, clinics, Ezzy, FireMove, FSW, Jeri, jumping, looping, Prasonisi, Punta San Carlos, rhodes
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