Will Nicholls: Recent Episodes
Will Nicholls
Welcome back to That Last Session. Today we scored another North Easterly freestyle session. Listen in to find how I get planing on small kit in the light stuff...
New Series! It's always nice to look back at old windsurfing footage but what I don't always get to do is capture the full session and certainly don't film every session. So I want to start documenting my sessions as a record of how things went and what I can improve on and hopefully every now and then I can give some immediate feedback on what I'm doing right/wrong that might just help one of you. If you do have any questions or even any advice for me I welcome all comments through IG dm (@willnicholls5) or E-mail (wnicholls100@gmail.com). Thanks for taking the time to consume my content.
WELL THAT WAS SICK!!! AN UNBELIEVABLE SESSION ON HAYLING ISLAND, THIS ONE WAS A BLAST!!!
STOKED TO BE ABLE TO GET BACK ON THE WATER! It's been about 2 months since I last windsurfed due to being in lockdown, no I'm able to social distance out on the water :)
Welcome to the first episode of "schmem sessions" where I go through some theory to help you with your windsurf knowledge. The first episode is on tides.
For those of you learning to use the harness this could help you out. Any questions let me know on Instagram @willnicholls5
A review of the 2019 Patrik 109L F-style II. This by far my favourite board I have ever owned. Listen to hear why I think it's such a great board for heavier freestyle riders.
Once you've got your kit you'll need to know how to set it up so I made a tutorial showing exactly how I do it :)
If you're curious about what kit to buy in the early stages of your windsurf career I'll show you what you'll need and what to consider when looking for and buying kit.
This is such a useful skill and will make your session a lot more enjoyable knowing you can easily recover after a crash 😉
Learning to foil has been super fun and almost like re-learning windsurfing. Today I was using a new setup and thought I'd talk through the development as I went through the session. Hope you enjoy ;)
Sailing backwinded can be super fun and has really developed my understanding of sail control. Here is a step by step guide to sailing backwinded. Kit: Mistral Levu 12' Revival rig 4.5
Ever wanted to learn how to gybe without loosing any ground? The Flare gybe is a lot of fun and here's how I do it.
A step by step guide for those who are looking to learn to upwind 360 in light winds...
Sometimes completing the tack can be tough and will often result in the sail being backed and you ending up in the water...
Such an awesome time teaching a complete beginner today, the success of the session was largely due to using the tether to keep the session really controlled...
I spent some time this evening paddle boarding, and found I could really clear my mind...
What an absolute session, out in around 25 knots on the 5.7. Even decided to some preparation for forward loops...
Going down to Cornwall was exactly what I needed and really made me think about what's important to me...
Another windy session. Ran into a bit of a situation trying to fight the tide getting downwind...
In this episode I take clips from a 5 hour session on the water and highlight the mistakes I made and how to fix them...
When I get into the right mindset my success rate for completing moves is so much higher...
This past weekend's condition were spot on. Low tide early in the morning and late in the evening, 30 knots of wind and loads of windsurfers out...
This is not the best advice but i've still done it so yunno, we'll see how it goes tomorrow...
Everything was lined up for a sea breeze to come but unfortunately sometimes it just doesn't happen...
If you've ever wandered why it's so uncomfortable when there's a bit of chop this could help...
Over the years of coaching, I've learned lots of tips and tricks but mostly for getting people to progress faster. Today I tried a new method using a tether and not only does it help people progress it's also a great safety technique for coaches...
In this episode I thought I'd share some my initial thoughts and experiences with foiling windsurfing. I found I was learning so much through trial and error...
It's so unbelievably easy to teach paddle boarding and today was a perfect example how fun and easy it is to teach...
We got a new arrival today, our very own foil. I've never been so excited to get on a foil but didn't go as intended today...
Most of the stuff I do involves being on the water which by far the best part of the job, there is however lots to be done off the water...
Today was all about rs aero coaching. the focus today was gybing and how to gybe in medium - strong winds...
I've always been interested in controlling the controllable's, today that meant rearranging the shop in the best way to make the shop presentable whilst simultaneously having a practical layout that works for us...
The Santa Anna is a great board for those who want to try windsurfing but aren't all the way committed just and explain why in this episode...
As I've just passed my SUP instructor course I thought I'd recap the course and share some of thoughts...
Windsurfing is always so much more fun in numbers, today was a prime example of that...
Today I was using a board that I have never even seen on the water before! The mistral Quikslide 120 was certainly an interesting board to try out, here are some of my initial thoughts on the board...
I really enjoy teaching and helping people get better at windsurfing, today was all about making that happen...
Sometimes the inflatable SUPs can get caught in the wind, I found that by standing in the right place can make a huge impact on how the board behaves...
After a week of coaching It's time to get back to the shop for the busy bank holiday weekend...
The first round of the HISC board sports competition was a lot of fun, for the races I was on the Mistral Levu, I thought i'd share my thoughts on the board...
This week I've been teaching some kids to race, one of the things I'm starting to notice is how I've learned to be more flexible and how it's benefitting me a lot...
I'm having a lot of fun working at Mistral Hayling and got so buzzed today after selling my first board. The Cloud Nine 9'2 will be missed though...
Sometimes the job can be a tad boring when it comes to filling forms, e-mails and paper work but today I was faced with helping organise a stand up paddle board event that will take place in May...
Today I took out the Nautique and the Vortex Air...two very different boards, two very different opinions...
I thought i'd take a minute just to talk about some of the part time work I do for Mistral Hayling and what we have to offer...
Sometimes you just have to suck it up when you're overpowered...stacked on a 5.3 today, bit sketchy but a lot of fun...
As the PWA approaches kicking off with freestyle in Bonaire and Slalom in Marignane, it will be very interesting to see who comes out on top, will it be the favourites or maybe we'll get some fresh podium winners...
Having been working behind the scenes to get my business started up I have now managed to secure my first private lesson with 2 beginners...
This episode is exclusive to the podcast. In this one I break down a session I had where I was focusing on going fast and improving my slalom sailing...
It's amazing how spontaneous sessions can turn out to be some of the best sessions. Today was a prime example of that...
I by no means found this easy when I was learning so having a guide could have been helpful. I thought that some of you might be in a similar situation to me and decided it could be beneficial to share what I now know with detailed run though of how exactly I get into the straps...
I think foiling windsurfing has really impacted the popularity of windsurfing in general, in this episode I share some of my thoughts on foiling...
JONO's website: http://windsurfroundeurope.eu/
A really awesome dude, trying to do really awesome things!
Today was my first attempt at a board repair, not a super impressive one but fast, and got the job done so I could get out on the water...
Learning to gybe in light winds is essential before you transfer the skills into the high winds. This step by step guide will hopefully help when it comes to the non-planing gybe. It's really important to learn how you move your feet, position your body and control the sail...
I'm fully loving this event and thought I'd take a look at the day 1 clips from the red bull storm chase and share some of my thoughts...
As the heat is rising on the windsurfing scene the red bull storm chase in full force and i'm pumped to see who wins...
As the wind is coming in strong I'm desperately trying to buy some kit to get out on the water...
This is a step by step guide to starting to windsurfing for the first time, I'll explain how to get on the board and start to windsurf in a straight line. Trust me it's harder than it sounds...
In order to actually get on the water i'll need some kit so I've been hunting around and managed to pick up a few things...
Playing around in light winds is so much fun and it's even better when you start to develop your sail control. Here's a step by step guide to the heli-tack...
I love doing some light wind freestyle and I think it's a great use of time when it's not super windy to practice both board and sail control
As I'm transitioning out of the Superyacht Industry and starting my own business I thought I'd start with reviewing the first ever windsurfing board I owned...
Here's just a compilation of my best advice for those starting out and trying to get a job in the super yacht industry...
I used to have a lot of very similar questions before starting out in the industry so I thought I'd answer some in this episode...
Unfortunately the circumstances have played out whereby I can't stay on the current boat I'm working on so the universe has forced me to make a decision...
I thought it could be useful to go through exactly what happens hour for hour on watch, it might be different for other boats but I'm guessing there are a lot of similarities...
The biggest sea chests on the boat had to be cleaned today. In this episode I go through how to take them apart and clean them without damaging anything...
Weighing around 100kg these things are a real pain to get off the boat, fortunately is was made easier today...
Today I learned how a centrifugal oil separator works, as well as cleaning the inside of them...
Today was a really refreshing start to the week as I came to discover my favourite role on board...
I'm always going to speak my truth and the facts were that this week wasn't the best of weeks. Hoping for better things next week...
Today we had to get the boat ready, which meant for me cleaning the entire engine room!
Today was a real frustrating day as I had to find a leak in the engine room and it just took forever to find and fix but at least it's sorted now...
I'm still learning to skateboard but thought I'd push the "board" out a little bit today and teach myself to OLLIE for the first time ever. This is a relatively "basic" skill that the pros make look like a walk in the park. Nonetheless I had fun attempting the OLLIE and am pretty sure I succeeded in doing one proper one...
If you're like me and have never tried skateboarding before and really like the look of it, this video might help those interested to learn. In this video I basically go through exactly how I started and the progress after one day.
This week the Chief was away on a course so took the role of Chief on board. I also washed the entire boat down...
The Charter season isn't miles away so it's worth starting to clean the boat now so it makes it easier when it REALLY needs doing...
It's very expensive to get a haircut in the french riviera but I managed to find somewhere for significantly cheaper...
There is a reason why we paint the bilges, despite them never really being seen by anyone.
Over the past few days we've been testing the generators. With people regularly on and off the boat it has been full on!
Bouldering is tough, I have a lot of respect for those guys who are pure masters of the sport, especially the ones who do it on real rock faces! If you have any tips or want to share your bouldering experience hit me up on twitter @wnicholls.
I learned a few new things today, one of which was how to top up the oil levels in both the generators and the main engines.
It's sometimes easy just to stay inside especially when everything is at your fingertips but for me I love to be outside and making that a habit is something thats really helped me clear my thoughts.
A truly unique experience, cleaning the inside of a grey water tank is something that is rarely done and despite being a bit of "messy and disgusting" job it seemed like a great accomplishment to complete it!
As I continue to learn what it means to be in the engineering department I learn yet again something new!
Today I decided to branch out to Sainte-Marguerite Island and get real creative. What started off as an adventure turned into something a bit more spooky.
It might seem basic but I used a rivet gun for the first time. It's a really useful way of securing two metal parts together...
I recently learned how to test the hardness of the water coming into the boat. Just one of the many routine checks...
As it's coming to the end of my "chief engineer" stint I can proudly say that everything has gone smoothly. Also it crossed my mind that I will get to meet some "new" crew in March...
Imagine you have a fire, Imagine it's in the engine room, say a generator's overheated and has blown up...
Within the 12 days when the Chief is away trying to fit in the work to paint the steering bilge is proving harder than expected...
As the Chief Engineer leaves for Christmas, I will have responsibly of making sure the engineering side of the boat runs smoothly.
The age old question: what's the best way to clean teak? So far I haven't found the very best way but here is just a simple guide to get you started...
I'm not convinced you need to spend loads of money doing all the courses under the sun in order to get into the super yacht industry. Here are some of my thoughts on courses before you start...
Today we had some contractors on board who were welding, it was interesting to observe how they were operating. One of the key things about working in the engine room is that safety is number one. You can never be too safe especially when dealing with sparks!
I've always been interested to figure out when is the latest time you can get a job in the Mediterranean on a super yacht. More specifically your first job. It was particularly refreshing to see people in December really working hard to get jobs and still dock walking.
Today I learned how to use the Oily Water Separator: Google - a piece of equipment specific to the shipping or marine industry. It is used to separate oil and water mixtures into their separate components. Yeah that ;)
We have the slightly tricky task of installing a new pump for the air conditioning to act as a backup incase the other pump needs fixing. This way there will always be aircon :)
Keeping clean is one thing but on a Superyacht the standards of cleanliness are at a different level, what you think is clean can always be cleaner...
I had the pleasure of replacing the filters for the fuel separators. I thought it could be interesting to show you how I did it...
We installed a strainer 2 weeks ago, today we did some tests to see if it was worth all the fuss.
We hadn't tested the engines in a while, so today we tested them. All I had to do was to watch the aft to make sure s**t didn't go south....
Today I learned how to to empty the bilges properly. If any alarms go off related to the bilges here's how to empty them. Or maybe you're just doing some routine checks...
Staying fit is an essential part of life for me, I'll briefly explain how I keep fit whilst working on board.
I'll need to put in a good performance over the next few months to be able to extend my contract further.
Obviously your first day isn't going to be the same as the rest of your time on board but here's how mine's changed in 2 weeks...
When you're the only person on board a super yacht, there actually isn't a lot you can do as crew.
I've been doing a lot of this, so I decided to create a guide on how simply remove and clean sea chest filters.
I'm learning a lot whilst shadowing the chief engineer but some things are way over my head...
My experience of being on watch, it's not really that complex...hope you got some value from this ;)
I've now spent a week on board and I'm really enjoying my time on the boat so far. I'm trying to work out if I want to choose this as a career path and if so what route should I go down?
We had a blackout today so I thought I'd share how to reset and get back to normal as well as the process of purposely shutting down the power into blackout.
I managed to get some time off the boat to go and play some 5 a side football with some other yachties.
The full story of how I went from nothing to getting my first job in the super yacht industry.
I finally made the decision! I'm so excited to start out in an industry I've been working so hard to get into!
I'm now in the fortunate position where I now have offers coming in. The problem with choice is that if there's not a clear winner because all there is is upside the decision gets made that much harder. The truth is, whatever I decide it really won't matter because I won't be aware of the alternative and ultimately I'll have my foot in the door of the industry which was the original goal to start with.
I have now been around Port Hercules in Monaco a few times now, have got to know the layout and can now give some input on what I think is the most efficient way get round the Port in order to hand out as many CVs as possible in the shortest amount of time. Hope it helps :)
It's come to that inevitable point where I am at a high chance of getting a permanent role, however if I don't land the job it could be home time 😬
Finally some daywork, I was starting to loose hope! I got the call I'm heading to Cannes.
After getting the call from YPI I was excited to have a chat about a potential job offer. I explain my experience of the interview process.
I got a phone call from YPI Crew asking if I could come in for a chat about a possible job opportunity...excited for this one! This will be my first ever "interview" and is just another small step in the right direction.
Travelling to a new country in search of a job in an industry you have never experienced before could be overwhelming especially if you're staying with strangers. Good news, I've got some tips to help you out!
Sometimes i'll get a really strong instinct on whether things pan out or don't and my instinct in this moment was that I was going to get a job...I guess we'll see!
When job opportunities are low and and you're running out of time, do you go back home or keep fighting to get a job?
I'm always looking for new hacks to give me an edge when it comes to finding a job in the industry and thought I'd test if dock walking in the rain was a good idea.
Today I discovered a new marina and explored some unknown territory. I also saw sailing yacht A (an incredible 140m sailing yacht).
For the past few weeks I've been looking for a job in the super yacht industry and one of the main ways I've been trying to get a job is dock walking. In this time I've gained some experience on how to dock walk a bit more effectively as well as making some mistakes that I've managed to resolve and I thought it could be useful to share 5 of my tips that will hopefully help you if you're trying to dock walk.
The initial approach to your first boat can be daunting. I always remind myself that the crew you're approaching know what it's like...they've been in your shoes before.
Today I tried to push myself to hand out as many CVs as possible to try to get a job. From the moment I woke up (6:00am) to getting back home (18:00) I was trying my best to reach as many potential employers as possible. How successful have your dock walks been?
This is a situation that I'm sure a lot of other yachties are facing or have faced before. Other than to just keep applying and hoping a job comes up I'm not too sure on the best solution to this problem.
I had another crack at dock walking today and it turned out to be successful. For me it just showed how work can pop up at anytime, anywhere you just have to go out and make it happen.
Over the past coupe of days I've been on trial for a deckhand role on a 50m charter boat in Monaco. Unfortunately I didn't manage to get the job and in this video I explain why. I hope you find it useful and it may help you avoid the same issue I had.
After a week of day work, applications and dipping my toe into the super yacht industry I’ve finally seen a glimpse into a more permanent role. I'm going head to head with another dayworker on trial for a deckhand role.
Having spent only a week in Antibes discovering what it's like to be fresh on the scene in the super yacht industry it's interesting to find out what it's ACTUALLY like and I can hopefully offer a small amount of insight and value into what a "greenie" does.
I've only spend a couple of days in Monaco but I thought I'd share my initial thoughts of my experience of an incredible place.
At the early stages, expect to do a lot of daywork. I thought I'd share my experience of day working for the first time ever!
I'm just about to embark on a new chapter in my life as I enter the super-yacht Industry and I thought it would be appropriate to share the procedure I went to in order to get my "foot in the door". The yachting industry can be very competitive and without the right knowledge and/or connections you might struggle. However with the right mindset and strategy these tactics have worked for me and I hope they help you too.
I've started the application process of sending CVs to agencies and e-mailing as many contacts as possible before going to Antibes. I was really keen to get an insight into how other people where going about this process and if there were any good strategies out there?
After completing my first aid course I thought it would be useful to share whats actually included for those looking to do the course or before going on a re-fresher. It's a day long course so i've split the content into 4 parts. Special thanks to my instructor who did an excellent job of explaining everything very clearly.
After completing my first aid course I thought it would be useful to share whats actually included for those looking to do the course or before going on a re-fresher. It's a day long course so i've split the content into 4 parts. Special thanks to my instructor who did an excellent job of explaining everything very clearly.
After completing my first aid course I thought it would be useful to share whats actually included for those looking to do the course or before going on a re-fresher. It's a day long course so i've split the content into 4 parts. Special thanks to my instructor who did an excellent job of explaining everything very clearly.
After completing my first aid course I thought it would be useful to share whats actually included for those looking to do the course or before going on a re-fresher. It's a day long course so i've split the content into 4 parts. Special thanks to my instructor who did an excellent job of explaining everything very clearly.