O'SHEA SLIDER GETS A FACE LIFT
The O'shea sliderat John Battleday Waterski has had a much needed face lift. It has been totally re-built from scratch and boasts new fiberglass sides, new pipes and of course some new logos. So next time you're down at JB Ski, the first thing you will see is the new slider and if you get some photos of you hitting it mail them to info@osheasurf.com and we will put them up on the site.

TOR YOUNG WINNING STREAK
Tor Young has been on a winning streak recently clocking up some impressive results in the UK and also in Europe. Tor was at the first Wakestock event of the year at Blenheim Palace. First up she had to qualify on the friday in order to make it through to the Pro Womens Final on the Saturday. Tor managed this in style throwing huge inverts to qualify in first place on the Friday which also gave her the title of Amateur winner. She then went on to the Finals on the Saturday to place a very respectful 4th place against some stiff international competition. The following weekend she made the trek all the way to Serbia for the European Pro Tour stop. Entering into the Junior womens catagory she managed to blitz the competition and take home the win. Its safe to say that tor is on a roll these titles are also backed up with the Junior Womens National title she took at Sheffield Cable a few  weeks back, watch this space for more updates.
Tor Young
Tor Young

 

LEE SHEAFF SPENDS ANOTHER WINTER IN SAMOA
O’shea Freerider Lee sheaf has just got back to the Isle of White after another stint as boat driver for the Salani Resort in Samoa.
It’s been a tough winter for Lee ferrying the guests out to the nearby breaks and also working hard on his Forehand tuberiding on salani rights as you can see from the photos.
Lee will be back in the UK for the summer now working hard and saving for his next trip.
Keep your eyes on the site for more pictures to come.

 

KIERAN EVANS PHOTO TRIP TO PAPA NEW GUINEA
Kizza has recently got back from a photo trip to PNG. He made the trip out with the guys from Carve magazine. The trip was aboard a yacht charter for 10 days cruising the islands of PNG checking known reef passes and also hitting some waves that have never been surfed before! You can catch the full write up in the next issue of Carve magazine.
Kizza also tied the not in January with long time girlfriend Vikki, blue sky’s and golden beaches were the backdrop for the wedding day, many congrats go out to Kieren and Vikki from all here at O’shea!

LEE SHEAFF RETURNS TO SAMOA FOR ANOTHER WINTER
Lee has yet again headed out to the surf camp in Samoa. He will spend another 3 months at the camp, driving visitors to the island out to the best breaks. This also means he gets to surf there as well as the guests, not bad hey?
Lee only just got back from a trip to Indonesia; we must be doing something wrong here!! Look out for photo updates soon.

TOR YOUNG SIGNED TO O'SHEA CLOTHING
One of Britain’s best up and coming wakeboarding ladies has just signed with us for the coming season.
Tor, who is based in Ashford, spends most of her riding time at princes club.
2007 saw Tor get 1st place in both the cable and boat nationals as well as a second place at the Europeans, and that is just the tip of the iceberg she has managed podium spots in almost every other domestic comp in her division.
So you can imagine we were very happy to welcome her aboard the team here at O’shea.
Look out for Tor this year she will be one to watch, and check back soon to see her rider bio and more photo’s!!

TIM WOODHEAD SPENDS WINTER IN THE SNOW
One of the teams most respected riders, Tim Woodhead, is spending this winter out in chamonix snowboarding, this is what you could call cross-training. He will be back in the spring to get back out on the water ready for the 2008 season where he will be heading up the Rococo Rail tour again and also both of the wakestocks.

NORTHERN EXPOSURE ON EXTREME TV
The Whitenosugar Productions documentary "Northern Exposure" gets it full premiere on this weekend on Extreme TV. You can check it out on Saturday 27th October at 14.00 with repeats at 21.30 and 2.00
The documentary was shot over 06/07 winter and features our own Northern Monkey Tim Woodhead hitting some mental locations and having some crazy winching adventures.
For a sneak preview click here

1st PLACE FOR PHILL HORROCKS AT TIREE WAVE CLASSIC
Phill is on fire at the moment when he's not inventing new moves he's winning comps!!
The Tiree Wave Classic is judged on 2 jumps and 1 wave ride. Due to some dodgy judging moments Horrocks had to go through the comp the hard way after his best wave ride was missed out of the scores.
Phill ended up in a death heat with O'Shea team mate Ben Proffitt and Andy King. Unfortunately Proffitt was knocked out and King and Horrocks advanced.
In the final Horrocks was against King again. King had no chance as Horrocks was on fire with a proper wave taka and to finish off nicely he scored a sick wave and smashed the crap out it.
For the full report check out
http://www.boardseekermag.com/wnews/show-story/1/935

TIM WOODHEAD UPDATE
Our Timmy's been busy this summer.
He started off with a month road trip around France hitting Lake Anncey and getting some surf time in Bay of Biscay. Once he was back in the UK Alliance Wakeboard Magazine wasted no time and snapped up the chance to have him organize the Vans Rococo Rail Tour. The rail tour was made up of 100,000 gallons of water, two pools, two winches, a gnarly step down rail, some of Europe's top skaters and strappers and a load of grafting. Transporting the largest U.K pool gap construction around the country hurt Tim's head a little and he's now having a few weeks rest here in Abersoch enjoying some of the autumn swells and helping with the magazine.
Keep an eye out in the new year for Tim's return to Windermere and a great Alliance article on Loch Lomond.

HORROCKS INVENTS NEW MOVE
For those who didn't know, O'Shea rider Phil Horrocks has been busy inventing new moves. The "Plum" - a kind of pushloop duck jibe, came into exhistance during a free ride session in his recent trip to Brazil.

HORROCKS UPDATE
Phill Horrocks has just finished off the final round of competition in Brazil.
Phill arrived 6 days early to try and get used to the conditions and get dialed in before the contest, unfortunately Air France didn't see it that way and his gear didn't arrive!! After spending 5 days of constantly calling and chasing up the whereabouts of his kit it turned up in Paris!! On the morning of the contest at 10 AM, 3 hrs before the start, it finally arrived!!!
“I was so happy! I thought I was going to have to compete on borrowed gear!”
“We had some great conditions, a bit like South Africa but with a slightly softer wave. It was good fun, port tack wave sailing.”
In the single elimination Phill was up in 9th place. After a good run and even beating Scott Mckercher (world champion in 2003) he was finally defeated by Levi Siver from Hawaii, who went on to get 2nd place.
With the double elimination Horrocks was not so lucky, He was up against the Frenchman Julien Taboulet and was having a good heat until he snapped his board landing a jump. Phill sailed into the beach to swap his broken board, unfortunately all this cost him time and when back out was pushed for time. “I was a bit gutted as I lost by a single point on the score sheet, had I been able to calm down and concentrate I would have been able to get the points I needed to advance”. Unfortunately Phill dropped down to 17th in the double elimination.
The next stop on the world tour is Germany starting on the 21st of September. We’ll keep you updated.

STEVE PHILLIPS JOINS THE OSHEA SURF TEAM
Steve is the local Llantwit Major ripper. He’s got several titles after his name including u14’s, u16’s and u18’s Welsh champ.

PHIL HORROCKS WINS GERMAN NATIONAL WAVE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Phil battled his way through two 48 men elimination rounds to win the event. He finished 3rd and 1st.
“It was an excellent event with huge spectator numbers, almost as the big as
the World cup event they have here in September”.
Phil is now back in the UK till the end of September, unless any other appealing windsurf trips come his way

BEN PROFFITT JOINS THE OSHEA WINDSURF TEAM Ben Proffitt has been welcomed into an already strong O'Shea windsurf team. Ben began windsurfing at the ripe old age of 9 and started racing at the age of 13. By 15 he had escalated to 3rd in the World. Ben went on to pick up numerous National Titles as well as the coveted ‘BT Yachtsman of the Year’ Award in 1995, picking up 2nd in the Triple Crown in 2003, 1st South African Freestyle Championships and 1st Bigbury Wave Classic. Ben is super stoked to be on the team and in his words "I can’t wait for the summer to don some of the crazy boardies I picked up!!"

KIERAN EVANS Kieran has been off on his travels again this winter, he has already stopped off in Thailand and western Oz, he has now found a place to settle down for a bit on the gold coast of Australia, here is what he has been up to in his own words:“I have been working for Michael 'munga' Barry who stared in bunyip dreaming etc up in burleigh where his schools based. I've been his head coach and running most of his lessons for him, he’s moving away from doing all the lessons, as he’s involved with the new firewire boards and shapes for them. So I have been doing most of his lessons either with him or running it myself. Its been great to coach with him and pick up some valuable coaching points etc, we do the lessons down on Burleigh beach next to where the point runs into the beach. It’s not bad coaching in boardies and then paddling out at burls when the lessons finished!!!!! It beats teaching in the freezing cold and climbing in and out of wetsuits!!!!...
The surfs been so consistent, I surf Snappa every day and its been 3ft or bigger most days. Its a crazy wave definitely crowded but you still get set waves of the end where the rock is so long as you work the crowd, some days you get one set after another other times you sit there for 30 mins watching people get the sickest barrels and you cant even catch a wave!!!!It can be frustrating!!
I've had some crazy waves though getting 4 barrels on one wave; you just sit in the pit come out and then straight back in!!!!!! We also go down the coast a lot to Byron area and Lennox head there's so many waves around there without the crowds so its good to go down there to get away from the hype!!!!! “
Kieran says he will be back at some point, but after that little write up who knows

LEE SHEAFF UPDATE
Lee has been back from the southern hemisphere for the winter, but got itchy feet straight away. Despite his girlfriend trying to hide his passport, lee has been off on his travels again, this time a road trip through Europe and into morocco.
Finding many new spots along the way Lee has probably caught the best winter for a while with swell, which lit up all the right hand points.
Lee is back in the Uk now, wrestling his passport back off his girlfriend as he tries to head back to Samoa for the season!!