People

Well, theres not much I can say about myself is there, and as this is my site then you should be able to get an idea about me from it. I'm 31 and still don't live in the real world with a proper job etc. I'm still working at completing my geology PhD and I'm currently self-employed as a gardener, cleaner and 'odd-job' person. I have also worked (among other things) as a surf lifeguard in North Devon, and full-time for three years as a zookeeper at Bristol Zoo.

Adam no longer lives with me, so I can say as much about him as I want!. For some reason he can't possibly go windsurfing if his harness is wet, and until recently preferred wobbling ('cruising' he called it) on his long board (more like a battle-cruiser than a sailboard) with big sails on flat water. If the wind got up he'd then sail a few feet from the shore and impress us with his amazing catapult trick.... All this has changed, he now has a new short board, smaller sails, a waist harness (so that he won't have that 'wet feeling' around his buttocks), and WHEN he goes out windsurfing he impresses us with his amazing catapult trick. HOWEVER, as soon as he got all this new kit, he sold his soul to the dark side, moved inland and got himself a girlie..As far as I know he hasn't been near the water for ages... Maybe he's scared of it??

Quite the opposite to Steve, Andy lives here but spends much of his time working in the Midlands. Often seen posing on the beach with the wind in his hair... Ponce! Opposite to Steve in other respects, Andy doesn't feel the need for speed, preferring to practice freestyle moves such as helicopter duck in the water tacks and forward loops without his board.
His board of choice is very much a nose design, a F2 New Move resembling a mal! Andy also has an AHD Exocet 285 for those light wind days and an AHD Prowave 259 for rippin' and hittin' those 'spastic ramps! He has now got into surfing with the purchase of a little fish and seems to be preferring that to windsurfing these days.

My gorgeous girlfriend Anna. She's not really into doing the same sort of sports as me, but does know more about them than most people and has a go now and then. She's usually quite happy just sitting on the beach watching and helping. She has got her own sailboard (Bic Samba) and rig and a mountain-board (Scrub). She doesn't get to play with her toys much because I'm usually far too busy playing with my toys to be able to help her. (Sorry Anna!). She has also had a few goes with my kites and seems to fly them in a particularly energetic manner with legs and arms all over the place!
She's also into music and plays the trumpet and the cornet in the local Aberystwyth Silver Band and in the orchestra at the university.

A local windsurfer who started kitesurfing for a while but soon came back to windsurfing.. He now sails a F2 Wave 259 and has a F2 Max2Air 264. I think he also still has a Bic Veloce which doesn't get used as much as it used to. He's doing a PhD. at the university, so obviously has more spare time on his hands than most and manages to get to the beach fairly regularly....Well, it is his back garden (literally).

Dave's primarily a climber and has just moved out of our house (His girlfriend Alex hs moved in instead, which is a little strange?). He's also bought himself a wetsuit and a boogie board and will soon learn to swim. Once he gets that far, there'll be no stopping him catching waves at the 'Harbour Gap' [It's Harbour Trap. Dave] and pulling 'huge sky' [try 'big air'] in his aerials... Maybe he should learn the lingo before learning to swim. He also has a severe case of verbal diarrhea and constantly mumbles complete and utter rubbish. All this is made up for though on those rare occasions late at night when he turns in Jarvis Cocker.... This truly is a sight to behold.

Dave and Sarah are relative newcomers to the Aber area, having recently moved from the Midlands to Ynyslas. They still work in the Midlands, but now live virtually on the seafront... Good move. They both windsurf and play around with kites and mountainboards. I think Sarah is almost as good as Dave now. They are both just about ready to progress onto shorter boards and higher winds, just as soon as they really get water-starting sorted. They know how to have a good BBQ, although their charcoal lighting technique isn't up to much...Apparently there was too much wind, not a good excuse for windsurfers! I also caught them going into the sea the other day with (dare I say it??)...boogie boards..shame on them!!

Derek is one of the local 'hot-shot' windsurfers who never goes out unless its absolutely blowing a hoolie and the sea is a blown out, boiling cauldron of foam. Mind you, he has recently got into kitesurfing and can be seen most days getting dragged from the Golf Coure Car Park to the Lifeboat station by a Wipika kite. He's getting there with the kitesurfing now though and does little else these days unless we can persuade him to dust off his windsurfing kit for the odd session.

Harvey... Well, I can't say too much about Harvey for fear of people finding out where he is and who he's with... Shhh!
I can say that he's a long-haired hippy surfer and climber who has a habit of 'upping and leaving' whenever anything gets a little too serious or too settled. When this happens he disappears for 6 months or so, only to materialise slightly wilder and with stories of living in caves in Spain and three-night long parties.... Stick with it Harvey, wherever you may be.

A relative newcomer to Borth. Ian has just got into wave-sailing after spending a while sailing fast boards on flat water. He now loves Borth and just can't get over how few people there are in paradise. He is usually seen out on a Fanatic Cross 110 and drives to Borth from Shrewsbury whenever the forecast looks good.

Jay's gone. He was a local windsurfer who did little else other than windsurf and work. He did attempt surfing once or twice, but thought better of it! Anyway, all this is academic as he's now emigrated to Australia... No doubt he'll take up surfing again.

Joe's real name is Jochen, but I think he likes to be called Joe to hide his true German identity!.. He's an imposter! He's actually an OK guy if a little mad, after all he wanted to be included in this little list of people and even volunteered the slightly dodgy photo. I think the fame of being in Boards magazine has gone to his head and he now wants a mention wherever he can get it. He's a pretty good windsurfer and drives to Borth from Telford whenever the forecast looks good. He started windsurfing in 1996 and has windsurfed along the northern coast of Denmark, the German coastlines, in the Netherlands in northern and southern France, in Spain (Tarifa) and the Canary Islands. He still says that the best place with the friendliest people and excellent conditions is Borth.

Mike is a fairly recent addition to my acquaintances. he used to be pretty handy on a motocross bike, but broke his back in an accident which has put a stop to that. He's now into kite-surfing in a BIG way, and will no doubt soon become a bit of a name in the kite-surfing world (if his good looks don't get in the way).... Pretty-boy Mike! As far as I can tell he's also one of those annoying people who seem to be naturally good at everything... Hopefully this means that they don't get as much satisfaction out of doing it, but somehow I doubt it.

The amazing surfing sheepdog puppy. Owen is Andy's dog and follows his master in having many mad days. This dog loves nothing more than sand and will chase it all day long. He enjoys terrorising tourists, relying on his cute looks for food. He still has some way to go with training as he has yet to learn the difference between peoples legs and lampposts.

Richy, Richy, Richy... Ginger little Richy. What can we say.. Dribbling ginger, kebab munching, beer monster Richy? Other than this, he's a surfer. it took him a while to get to grips with surfing, but he's getting there now. He did dabble in windsurfing at one point, but then sold his kit after a couple of attempts. He then did the same with a kayak and then a power kite. He also climbs and dives and seems to spend his time teaching diving these days. Trouble is, this quite often leads to trouble, such as being arrested in Bahrain... Nice one Richy!

Rob is another regular at Borth who travels from Shrewsbury when the conditions look good. He quite often only makes it as far as Bala though. Until recently he always sailed his huge AHD Free Diamond, usually with a big sail, but he has just treated himslef to a brand spanking new Quattro 264 (110l) freestyle board and now only brings that to the beach which means he can't get planing when the wind is light. He seems to have windsurfed in many exotic places, including Maui where he apparently stayed with Jason Prior and Josh Stone, or was it Robby?

Another Rob, also from Shrewsbury who is a new visitor to Borth. He races for the Army so doesn't windsurf here that often, but has recently got into wave-sailing and comes to Borth with Ian. I don't know much about either of them yet, but will no doubt have some little anecdotes to tell you about soon.

Simon is one of the better local windsurfers. He lives virtually on the beach and although he used to windsurf loads, now has various other commitments such as an ever growing family and a business to run. He still gets out whenever the conditions are good though and although not into tricky freestyle type manouvers does enjoy to go stupidly fast and jump ridiculously high. Simon surfs a little bit to and is getting into kite-surfing, but is more often than not seen walking his dog and children up and down the beach.

Steve lives in the Midlands, but is a regular visitor to West Wales, often with poor timing, arriving just after epic conditions... If you know Steve's coming to visit tomorrow, then go windsurfing today! Steve's a competent windsurfer and being fairly large enjoys going fast (and does do so). He'll go out in all conditions sailing either his Fanatic X-Ray on flat water and his Fanatic Bee 104 or Mistral Score 8 on the sea. He seems at the moment to favour 'no-nose' design boards (well, he keeps snapping the noses off his boards anyway). Steve also seems to have an unexplained fear of seals and thinks he's got tennis elbow!

Steve and Ann are regular visitors to Borth in their Talbot Camper Van (that they like to call a bus!). They drive down from Stourbridge usually on sunny weekends and then sit at the golf course car park waiting for wind. Steve sails a Fanatic Bee 104 and seems to have improved all of a sudden and now sails competently on the sea. I think his most treasured possession is his bright orange Gecko Helmet, and his pronounciation of Welsh place names needs a little work.
Ann also windsurfs apparently although I've yet to see her out there.