In 2003 having found myself with a free weekend, a friend asked me to do an RYA level 1 Windsurf course at Queen Mary’s. I love watersports in general, and it just seemed like a bit of fun, and although we were unlucky with the wind we did enjoy ourselves. However, with some of the older, heavier kit it was quite hard work.

In 2004 I met my windsurfer boyfriend Georges who has a place in Tarifa. In October of that year we went to Essaouria in Morocco with some mates on a surf trip and I got to have a a go on some new lightweight kit - GOT PLANING, LOVED IT!

Back in Tarifa it was a bit more challenging - it’s not the easiest of places to learn. But I quickly realised that if things were going to last I was going to have to get good enough to sail there or spend a lot of time by myself being sandblasted on the beach while Georges had all the fun.

So in 2005 I took myself off to Fuerteventura on an Extreme Holidays week and learnt to waterstart, then I got the hang of Tarifa, and got my own board and some old sails to practice with.

I then went back to Fuerteventura in 2006 for some more instruction, and got better again though didn’t manage to learn to gybe.

I practiced, got confident in high wind and chop in Tarifa, my boyfriend started allowing me to use his nice light new kit and then I went to Dahab with Guy Cribb and learnt to gybe in June ‘07

I’m now completely hooked and Georges and I have bought a van and some kit for the UK.