No mater how many times I go back to Vassiliki it has that familiarity of home while offering a new experience every time. We the numbers increasing every year at speed week and the extra friends from home joining me I think next year will be for two weeks with the family joining me for the second week, though the boys are already calming they’re coming out for both.

It’s always nice to get a bit of a suntan going but I’d take a rainy summer anytime so long as it was windy, fortunately we didn’t have to forgo the tan when the wind kicked in this week. With the whole country firing it would have been a perfect opportunity to head off and find another story for my “Home Ground” in boards, but bigger things were calling.

After such a long wind drought it was no wonder the country turned out in such numbers, I headed for the BSA slalom even at Hove but from all the calls and emails I had it seems that anyone with a board headed for the water. I’ll confess to only staying until lunchtime before heading off to find stronger winds, keep saying it, I’ll never make an event photographer.

Pointing the finger at our World Cup team would be too easy, though it did put a dampener on our WC barbeque; the truth is I had a wakeup call on my own. Blame it on the lack of wind or too many hours behind the desk but I was out on what has become an all to rare bike ride when I got over taken.

The magazine doesn’t stop but guess I could also be accused of running away, or at least keeping busy. In fairness I didn’t arrange everything, Jason and Levi dropped into the UK the end their European tour, though I was expecting a trip to Cornwall rather than spending a few hours in Southend with Wet ‘n’ Dry before heading into London for a few drinks.

I’m not sure sorrow and pride sit so well but no matter how much it hurts to loose my Dad, he’s left us a legacy to be proud of and while I’d give anything for another day, I wouldn’t turn back the clock for a second as every moment gained would be a memory lost. Tomorrow will be the hardest day of my life but I hope it will be a celebration of his.

Sometimes you just want to stay at home but with the testing going on and no one behind the lens I headed off to Prasonis in Rhodes. Guess the results won’t be shown for a while but I’ll apologize now, light wind and low motivation had me jumping on a plane home a couple of days later.

On Thursday night my father crossed the finish line for the last time. With his racing pedigree I guess that’s an appropriate way to describe his passing but never could a truer word be said. His life has been an adventure that would fill a dozen books so I guess we shouldn’t have been surprised by his storybook ending. As he crossed the finish line his last words were “nice evening and not a bad race”.

After last weekends light wind in Wales it was off to Ireland to what looked like a repeat performance, sure it never lived up to the legendary Dingle bay that we’ve come to expect but at least luck ran with us long enough to separate winners from losers. No if you’re expecting to see a gallery of windsurfing shots you’ll have to forgive me, I needed to get myself out of the shit.

Spent the week glued to the weather sites as I was heading up to Rhosneigr for the start of the wave series, though after last year you wonder if this spot runs under the same rules. Three days before that event and the forecast looks the same as this, nothing, but last year it turned on like a switch and howled all Saturday before returning the predicted calm on Sunday.

When I was in Egypt we took so many pictures that never see the light of day, we end up saving them for the magazine and yet come the moment we only need one out of the hundreds that fill my hard drive. So having spent the week clearing out my inbox I though a few windsurfing pictures rather than shot from the two weddings that bracketed my week.

What a week, had a little luck on the trip home, even made it in time for my wedding anniversary, not that the rest of this week helped to keep the wife calm. OK, she loves a wedding and Shaun’s fitted the bill on Friday but the last dance had hardly finished and I was off again. Windsurfing 4 Cancer Research or Sunrise to Sunset, whichever way you call it I had to be in Hayling Island.

Maui has always been my favourite windsurfing destination but I not having been back for five years I wondered if those memories had been boosted in my mind. Well I’m just about to leave and I can tell you Maui not only lived up to expectation but also exceeded it. I was on the Island for twenty-eight days and only missed one days sailing because the body could take no more.

Wake up, answer emails, go sailing, eat, more emails then crash out. Maui is unbelievable, we haven’t missed a day yet and the biggest sail I’ve used was a 6.2 and that was only one morning at Ho’okipa. That should wind my mates up back home, while true, there’s also a bunch of work that fits in-between answering emails and going sailing but who’s going to believe that.

After last week I said it seemed impossible to take a bad shot at Jaws, I just wish that were true for everywhere on Maui. The action at Ho’okipa is so close in my 600 lens seems to big and to make it harder the guys throw a lot more moves than I’ve photographed before. It’s a learning curve and I’ve got a long way to go but having my camera break down isn’t helping.

It’s been five years since I was last on the island of Maui and I wondered if I was looking back though time with rose tinted glasses as I claim it’s my number one favorite spot. Well I arrived a week ago with word that Jaws would be could be working for my first day and true to my memory Maui didn’t disappoint.

An early update this week as I’ve been given my orders. Last night was my little girls 21st birthday and while the party was in full swing I had to hang on to my camera. It will come as no surprise that all the pix this week are from last night, it’s also the reason why this weeks update is early, thought still cant believe she’s 21.

An early update this week as I’ve been given my orders. Last night was my little girls 21st birthday and while the party was in full swing I had to hang on to my camera. It will come as no surprise that all the pix this week are from last night, it’s also the reason why this weeks update is early, thought still cant believe she’s 21.

I’m not complaining but it is possible be looked after too well. We stayed with Neilson during our two weeks in Dahab, if we’d made it three weeks I think I would have popped the food was so good. Doesn’t seem right talking about good food and Egypt at the same time but not only has the hotel stepped it up but the Thai was as good as you’ll get.

Grabbing the doctor firmly by the hand wasn’t a gesture of thanks but a polite way to stop him inflicting any more pain, though he’d probably say that was down to my own actions than his. Having got infected it looks like a dog’s been having a go at it so much so the wife has banned me from putting it on the web.

Actually that should the be “the toe cam off” ok that might be talking it up but with this trip going so well it feels like it. Nine stitches later and the doc has banned me from the water, not that the boys are unhappy about the situation as that puts me permanently behind the lens which I guess has its merits but…

Sunday was the first day I was allowed back on the water, strangely enough that just happened to coincide with the next Boards test. I’ll admit I may have had a little influence on the date but the way things have been lining up it looks like lady luck is sitting on my shoulder, from the moment we arrived at the airport it has just been too easy.

It looks like the wind’s due to return Sunday, ok that might be optimistic but it’s the first day I’m good to go, though the doc’s already said the right ear is booked in for the same treatment. It seems impossible that I’ve only missed a couple of sketchy days but hopefully this weekend snow will be the last we sea for another year.

Never though I’d be so lucky, I was worried about missing out on sailing with the ear operation but even though I still have to wait two more weeks this weather is frustrating me. There’s only so many things you can shoot before I need to catch a friend sailing in my lens, Aaron and his mates have always been a good fallback but really scooter smacks of desperation.

When I joined Boards no one said that excluded me from winning the golden ticket. With flights to Maui for two, plus a Goya board and rig to take home makes it the biggest prize given away in windsurfing. Unbelievably it doesn’t just end there, not only do you get to sail in the next Windsurfing Movie II but back on the beach it’s your party everyone is turning up to.

With my son turning 13 next week he wanted to have a few pictures with his mates at the local indoor skate park, my lucky day you’d think. Not much come easier than taking kids full of Kodak courage, point the camera at a ramp and the rest will take care of its self. How wrong can you be, if I ever collect all the necessary signatures to get me in he’ll be 21.

After a wintery break here’s the second half of my 2009 gallery and there’s a few pix in there that tell what my new year will be about. I’ve talked about my surprise about being asked to join the Boards team but add the change to Factory Media and I couldn’t want a better start, this really is new year, new start.

I always consider myself lucky but since I started this six-week abstinence from windsurfing the weather has played along with me. Not only did it snow but it was the fluffy stuff we expect to greet us at the top of foreign mountains, add the daily routine of donning the ski gear and the closing of the schools and it stared to feel more like a holiday then an exam week.

Well that’s the festive season over but seeing everyone on tv is looking back at the last year I thought it was time to join them, anyway I don’t think a dozen pictures of my ear dressing being changed is going to be very entertaining. Had you told me how this year would end up I would have been happy to bet everything I had against it.