Beach Telegraph

Spartan Warriors

Here's a couple of snaps of Mikey Clancy (shot by his Dad - MC) from our super-fun weekend session on the beautiful west coast of Ireland.

Mikey, Oisin, myself and a few others hit Belmullet and enjoyed a nice little reefbreak wave and a sweet beachie right next to it - you could ride both waves on the same run back in.

Thanks to Cormac (below - on the reef) from Coláiste UISCE center for sharing his waves with us.

MC Senior even took one of me when the sun came out. Thanks Mr C!

You can see more great shots of Mikey in a slideshow at his website and Blog.

Slammin' at Mexicos.

WIND magazine 335 is out now!

May's issues features the low-down on a winter's development with Cyril Moussilmani and the 2010 Starboard iSonic Slalom boards, plus, Fabrice Beaux reveals his discoveries from a 9-month exploration in Indonesia.

There's also an extensive investigation into Quad fins after some solid testing and quizzing of top riders and shapers on Maui.

More talk from Gollito about the possibility of the PWA swoopin' into El Yaque in May...although some say that event might be scheduled for the end of the year..let's wait and see.

I promised you that The Hustle Project would be back - and it is - bigtime!

This week you can win some sweet Lycras/Rash Vests from generous, quality British wetsuit brand Spartan  - who are also offering a Wetsuit to the winner of the 'Grand Finale'  quiz this Friday.

If you want dedicated windsurfing wetsuits, tough enough and warm enough to survive a British winter, (or even a British 'Summer'!), then look no further.

So to kick things off today, for a Rashie, please answer this question and say why you want a Spartan Rash Vest so much.

Q1 In what year did Spartan first start making wetsuits?

Please leave your answers in the Comments section below and mail your answers to me. Thanks.

Hot Content

First-up is a nice shot sent in by George from the Live2Sail Blog. Thanks George.

Here's a really short interview with PWA Wave Tour leader Josh Angulo on Maui.ee.

A Chilean adventure on video with Fabrice Beaux.

Some boom-Cam action from Seatex Boards on Windsurfmag.it.

After scraing some seals, GP is being cruel to Oceanic mammal life. Again. This time he's taken on a Sea Lion.

Don't you just love these vintage magazines. I love the smell and feel of these old issues crammed with great stories and less ads than in many you see today. (Even with the recession.) Check out the great surf books there too.

Speaking of Surf books, PWA and legendary surf scene photographer Alex Williams has launched a new book of some classic  shots of British Surfing in the 70s in a new publication titled 'Atlantic Surfers'. (You can preview the first 15 pages online.)

The March issue of Boards is out and I've got two articles published.

(That's Canadian PWA Freestyle rider Phil Soltysiak on the cover by the way.)

First up I've a review of the career of Scott McKercher followed by an investigation into the new Freestyle Classix format.

If you've read these I'd love some feedback on either the articles or the subject. Thanks.

WIND Mag issue 333 is also out now and it's a monster test issue. Check out the huge list of gear they've tried out.

Any other new issues of magazines out? Please leave the details in the Comment section below. Thanks.

U-Ride have a link to some video of Slalom racing action in The Gorge.

With the Fuerteventura Wave Classic a few days away, WSJ have posted a link to video of Spew Pits cranking on the island from last week to whet your appetite.

UK Windsurf and SUP pro John Hibbard wrote in; 'The main right peak at this beach is rammed with Surfers everyday and is a  100% No Go Zone for SUPers. 

The left in between the main break and the rivermouth is empty but it's hard to catch - not on my Starboard 8' 5" though!'

And finally. The Hustle Project. We've got a winner of the Fanatic T-Shirt contest.

So congratulations to Rudie from Holland correctly answered that Fanatic won 4 World Cup events in 2008 - World freestyle champ Gollito won Podersdorf and Lanzarote and world number 2 wavesailor Victor Fernandez won in Pozo and Sylt.

Rudie said 'I really like Fanatic because one of their boards got me back in to windsurfing big time!! And they are not through with me because I still want the freewave 86 ltr!'

Rudie - I'll be in contact about the details. Let's see what the rest of the industry can come up with for you guys? I guess you'll shout loudly about what you got from them at the beach  hey? Power to the people! Lets get you some stash.

Stash

Bad news for youngster Philip Koster. The queue to get into the Cabo Verde World Cup just got one body shorter. Here's wishing Philip a speedy recovery.

And a change in gear for Nik Baker according to Windsurf Journal. (French language - or Google translated page here.) Congratulations to Nik too on the growing family.

NeilPryde treat you to a video adventure in Morocco with Fabrice Beaux. What a great 'double frames section'.

Andy had a 'sick-o slick' session on a new stick.

I wonder if Baker, Mistral  and Pryde want to contribute to our 'Hustle' project to get you guys some booty? Let's see.

First out of the blocks to toss-out the freebies is Fanatic who've got some T-Shirts for questions I'll be asking in the coming days - plus you have to say why you want the shirt and like the brand for when I choose the winners.

Please leave your answer in the Comments section below AND mail me at hotgossip@beachtelegraph.com

I have to say there have been some great offers so far, but some of the goodies won't even be available until the of the month, and some are coming in April - so there's lots to look forward to - and hopefully even more.

OK. Question 1 for a Fanatic T-Shirt:

What is the longest-running name of a board model in the current Fanatic range?

Rules: 1. No pros or sponsored riders or dealers are allowed to answer. We will know who you are! 2. I'll think up more rules as I go along.