BEN WARWICK
“I was pretty maxed even on my Naish Chopper 3.8m with a Quattro 83 litre board but it was still good to try and push decent turns on the waves. There was little consequence at Daymer compared to a session I had at Fistral the week before. Even so, I went for a late hit on the dumpy inside section and bang, tooth picked my mast into pieces. I had a bit of a moment working out how I was going to get back but the other guys on the beach were a great help. We managed to jury rig my sail with the snapped section and I limped back over to the estuary. The whole rig folded up just as I got into the bay on the other side. It would have been pretty nasty if it had gone in the middle, as the tide was heading out. That would have been a very, very long dark swim! I was toasty again shortly after. Heated seats are where it’s at for winter sailing. Back in the day, as a student in Cardiff, I was sailing on my own at Porthcawl. It was a howling easterly and when I came in my hands wouldn’t work to hold the key and open the door. A chap walked past with his dog as I was sitting down bashing my hands against the floor. The look on his face was priceless. He opened the van for me before walking on, shaking his head.”