Hello world! I apologise to those of you who've been looking for updates recently...lots of time on the water and lots of working are to blame! I'm currently sat in a French cafe following a nice early morning surf :) Life is tough! I figured with a few hours to kill before heading back to the bleak North of England i'd catch up on my blog...
Peru: Awesome....awesome....awesome! What an adventure! Looking back on the trip still makes me tingle. I have to say the country was very different from what i expected and we spent the best part of the trip shell shocked and in sensory overload. Picture this....100s of miles of desert, extreme poverty & desperation, remains of civilizations 1000s of years old and far superior to any in the West, cultural traditions and practices that have surived for 1000s of years and some incredible waves with rides on Chicama of just over 1km! Unfortunately we also experienced the full wrath of Peruvian fog which made filming a bit tricky! The trip was as much a spiritual journey to the roots of our sport as it was about surfing and sitting on the beach in Huanchaco watching the fisherman paddle out in their reed kayaks, realising that this was the birthplace of our sport was an emotional moment. The fisherman were equally interestd in our kayaks as we were of theirs. Giving my Reflex to a local to try out was scary and exciting. Straight out back and down the line...if these guys had a chance they'd certinly be the best in the world!
I'm currently sifting through the footage and Steve's busy processing photos. The next step for us is sorting out the Kayak Session Articles. Meantime i'm trying to get more surfing footage and we're hoping to build a Cabillito de Totora in the UK to round things off...then use the footage to make a documentary film...watch this space!
World Cup: So A week ago i arrived here on Ile D'Oleron on the west cpast of France for the World Cup finals. My opening round was great, with nice air in about 6inches of water and the highest score of the day. After that it went flat.....very flat! And stayed flat! Fortunately we held out all week until Saturday when a new swell arrived, providing 3ft surf. I progressed through to the quarter finals ok but with closeout conditions it was very much a wave lottery and very tough to compete in. Once again i progressed to the Semis but failed to find any decent peaks within the 14 min heat and finished 3rd...AGAIN! 3rd in the world's not a bad result at all and 3 years in a row demonstrates that i'm consistantly at the top of the sport. I'd be lieing if i said i wasn't a bit disappointed as i was definatley aiming for the Gold. It was frustrating that the wave didn't allow me to perform any of the moves i've been working on this year. Training on fast clean waves has made me technically better and i feel like i'm riding smoother and more dynamically than ever but it wasn't to be this time.
Adam Harvey: It was really exciting for me to surf with my youngest brother in France and watch him compete. He's progressing at an amazing rate and is right up there with the big boys! I was stoked that he was able to get a wildcard for the Junior World Cup and finishing 3rd (as well!) is a top result and great experience for him to build on the future...the pressures on now...which Harvey will be World Champion first!?
Home Internationals: This year Guernsey (big cheer!) managed to put a team into the Homes. We finished 3rd, just behind our rival island, Jersey, but with everyone exceeding all my expectations we got some real promise for the future. As well as Adam, David Duport showed real skill and is also progressing fast. Well done to the whole team and a big thanks to Richard Agnelli (manager) for all the hard work he's put in.
Looking Ahead: In the next month i've got the finals for the 2008 UK Series in Cornwall and the British Championships in Norther Ireland so keep watching for updates, news etc.
Projects:
Film: I'm currently filming as much as possible trying to accumulate footage to use for the Peru documentary and future video projects.
Magazine: I've got a few more articles to complete my series for Canoe Kayak UK and should wrap it early in the new year. check out www.canoekayak.co.uk
I'm also writing competition and travel articles so keep your eyes on the glossy pages for those.
Looking ahead I plan on editing and combining my technique articles into a booklet and hope to publish towards the end of 2009.
I think that's it...everyone's up to date...i'll try and be more regular over the Autumn/Winter. Thanks for bearing with me...if there's no updates it's probably because i'm out surfing somewhere!
Take it easy. Chris
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