48 FEATURE ESSEX TO MAURITIUS
For now my home base has shifted to Mauritius. It has to be
this way as my parents practical needs require this. I miss all
the familiarity of home (UK). Don’t get me wrong. It is nice in
Mauritius and really can be ‘idyllic’ but I personally miss a lot
about home. Sojourns back to UK? Definitely. It could be this
year but if not then surely next year.
I may move back to the UK but I don’t see that happening
until my parents eventually ‘move on’ and that could be a
while yet. Truth be known I think the ideal set up for me is to
have two home locations (Mauritius & UK) and travel
between the two. Now that really is the ideal set up!
My plans for the rest of 2018 are:
Get fit again. My mum’s Mauritian cooking, as tasty as
some of her dishes are, is not conducive to maintaining a
healthier body.
• More speed sailing and continue to develop the speed
scene here.
• Continue slalom racing in the national league series here.
• Get a multi finned wave board for Manawa and One Eye
missions.
• Get a surfboard (mini-mal or longboard).
• Really make an effort to get back into Salsa and Latin
style dancing.
• Make a trip abroad somewhere, which I haven’t done
since I arrived in Mauritius.
• Tinker on a couple of projects I’ve in mind regarding
making kit.
• Push my interest in photography.
• Keep learning to play the guitar.
• Windsurf more to get back to my former level.
• Continue to enjoy the non-working lifestyle.
uk
WIND
SURFING
Thanks and praise must go to:
Dave White and the Essex crew for some crazy fast sessions in
East Anglian waters; F-Hot Fins; Fluidlines shop (Essex) who
sponsored me as a team rider; Wet ‘n’ Dry Boardsports
(Essex); Simon Chippington GBR 984, for continually keeping
me updated on stuff back home and sending me over small kit
items that I can’t get here; UKWA & BWA.; Andy Finlay (when
he was at Zero Gravity/Robinhood Watersports, now at
Purivada); Allan Cross (for putting me to task with camera and
trusting me to edit some BSC reporting); Darren Herbert
(Quiverwindsurfing, Goya/Quattro); John Jessop & Steve Mundy
for wave days at Camber Sands and West Mersea local legend
‘Paul Reynolds’ and to all my friends back home UK for great
times; Mark Seaney for first getting me into comps (wave
sailing); Leigh Kingaby (for past kit help); Christopher Tyack (in
Mauritius), all the resident Mauritian windsurfers (local and
expats) for warmly welcoming me into the Mauritian windsurf
community and Xavier KÖNIG (@Blastoff Creative) & Steeve
Boncourt: (SAR Productions) for supplying Mauritius photos.