#TRAVEL HAZARDS VIDEO
Getting used to these RIDICULOUS travel missions to keep your status on the Windsurfing Pro Tour. Just quickly wanted to break down one such ridic travel escapade I had to make this month. Just another day in the life of…
2012 PWA World Cup Korea
Wow, Korea was interesting this year. Was in the prizemoney last year with ZERO training and rubbish fins but this year, with winds from the opposite direction and very tricky wave conditions, it wasn’t really my event, despite upping my game on the equipment front. ‘Train wreck’ would be one way to describe it. My equipment looked like swiss cheese after my flight over from AUS. Still, we had a good time and burnt Busan to the GROUND on the final night. Still happy to visit this amazing country and it’s still early days in the season so plenty of time to pick up the pieces. Enjoy some pics of the carnage by PWA/Carter (and a few by me!).
Get Fit. Get Windsurf Fit!
Today I’ve launched my Fitness Training eBook Program for windsurfing! Over the past 12 months I’ve been working hard with my trainer Nic Pillonel from SuperFit Personal Training on a dedicated fitness program, specifically for windsurfers.
To quote from the press release: “after working with Nic for 5 years, we have developed a revolutionary training program, focused on getting sailors of all fitness levels ready for a long summer of windsurfing. The simple, proven system can be used at home or at the gym to achieve fitness conditioning to improve performance on the water as well as increasing overall fitness and enjoyment whilst windsurfing. The program is offered as an 84-page, colour eBook available for download through the www.getwindsurffit.com website.
Creek to Coast (Ch 7) Segment
I just finished shooting an episode of ‘Creek to Coast‘ in Australia last week, which went to air over the weekend on Channel 7 on Australian television; nation-wide. The full transcript from the episode is as follows:
Whilst the forecast of twenty-knot winds might be enough to blow out a day on the water for most, for six-time Australian and Oceanic windsurf Champion Sean O’Brien it’s just right. Competing on the international circuit takes Sean all over the world but when he’s home he loves nothing more than hitting the water at Redcliffe or at Manly. Windsurfing equipment has come a long way since the eighties. Boards are smaller and made from materials like carbon fibre. Sails are also a lot more advanced similar to technology used in the Americas Cup. The aerodynamics of this equipment means Sean can get speeds up well over 70 km/h. In May, Sean heads back overseas to again represent Australia on the world stage – to follow his performance check out his website.
Reach for the Lasers.
Just did a cool shoot for Australian clothing label Aprils Chance. To quote their slogan, “when the reality of the everyday is all a dream… we are Aprils Chance”. Wearing the new ‘Voodoo Skulls’ tee which you can pickup from their website and find them on Facebook. Booyah!
Getting My Malaysia On!
Just got back home after my first trip to Malaysia for the Penang International Regatta, which hosts this famous marathon on the Friday which I was told is even longer than the horrific Engadine Marathon in Silvaplana! We had some great racing in relatively light winds and the event was top notch, hosted at the Penang Swimming Club which is an amazing venue. I managed to win the marathon in a time of 1:10 hours and somehow snuck the event win in the final race on Sunday against sailors from all of Asia. A few wild nights on the town as you can only imagine, not to mention the craziest concept cars I have ever seen. #LOVE AZN’s.
2012 Downunder Pro = #WINNING
I’ve just got home from Hawks Nest, where we ran the 2012 Downunder Pro. I was on the organisation crew again and as you can imagine, tons of INSANELY late nights dealing with the horrific-slow internet speeds in Hawks Nest and looking out for the bunch of international sailors we managed to get over from Brazil, Singapore and New Zealand. I managed to podium (3rd place) on the Warmup Event on the first weekend, beating my good mate Mathias Pinheiro from Brazil who later beat me in the main event, finishing 4th with me in 5th!
We also managed to lure the current World #1 from Brazil, Paulo Dos Reis, who won the event ahead of “almost Australian) Jesper Vesterstrøm from Denmark. That being said, I was the first Australian once again and this gives me a 6th AUSTRALIAN TITLE which I’m pretty sto…(just kidding, not gonna say ‘stoked’ like every surfer ever)… pretty EXCITED about! Had some great battles with Brett Morris who finished 2nd and Luke Baillie, who I lent a board and fin too and who just rocked up for his 2nd time sailing formula ever and proceeded to kick EVERYONE’S @ss out there; good work mate.
Singapore on Repeat!
Just got back from another amazing trip to Singapore! The first time I was there to catch up with some buddies of mine but this time I was there to catch up with some buddies of mine AND compete at the 2012 Asian Windsurfing Championships. Singapore is just such an amazing city it’s a bit hard to describe; so I thought I’d make an attempt with the above photos. A bit less craziness this trip as I was competing each day and running lot’s of training clinics and coaching sessions for the local sailors and up and coming kids but we still did manage to make it to every nightspot imaginable, and some! Enjoy the pics. All by except the ones from Howie!
Asian FW Championship Reports
The 2012 Asian Windsurfing Championships (and Singapore Open) are about to kick off on Thursday here in warm and sunny Singapore. Get the live reports from me with all the inside action by clicking the picture above!
Sean Wins NSW FW States!!
Literally JUST getting off the plane from Europe I arrived back home to Brisbane and jumped in the car to drive 11 hours to Sydney for my first formula contest of the summer; the 2011 NSW Formula State Championships. All the guns were there, and this weekend I was doing a “full-Rick” (ie, using a completely brand new board, sail, mast, harness, fin, that I had never, ever used before) as I’d picked up a new 11.5 and 10.5 AC-1 ‘Handcrafted’ Series sail on the way home from Europe and had a new F167wide formula board sitting in the garage in the plastic for 2 weeks already before I got home. The wind was pretty light, and I managed to take 3 bullets from 3 starts winning one race by over 2 minutes on completely new gear and an old fin I found in the garage (happened to be a sweet one though!). Certainly great to come home to a win, and certainly great that my gear is going fast with absolutely no tuning.
Here are some shots we took the following weekend back in Brisbane as I had no cameras in Sydney. The photos were shot by the awesome David Kramer at Kawana in the surf in about 25 knots with no uphaul or chicken-straps on the new board; argghhh.
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Electra Jane: You are ridic funny. OK call you long time!...
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Sean OBrien: If I don't fly out tomorrow I'll rebook till 25th...
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