JOHN SKYE: STAYING SALTYJOHN SKYE: STAYING SALTYFrom designing world-class wave gear with Patrik, to scoring epic sessions across Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura, John Skye is as fired up about windsurfing as ever. In our latest interview, Skye talks about adapting to his new role at Patrik, the Patrik wave team, chasing big waves and the upcoming Stay Salty experience with Nayra Alonso, designed to show riders the real side of Gran Canaria beyond the usual nuclear Pozo.Photos: Courtesy of John Skye.WINDSURF: How are you adapting to your new role working for Patrik?JOHN SKYE: Its been really fun and very interesting, but also a lot of hard work. I think I underestimated how different it can be working within different company organisations, so whilst I am doing pretty much the same job as before, the workflows, the processes and the communication within the company is all completely different. That part is taking some time to adapt to, but the end result is really positive and super exciting moving forward. Most important is just the pure enthusiasm for windsurfing throughout the whole company.WINDSURF: How was the trip to Western Australia to go and work with Patrik?JOHN SKYE: It was so good. It had been almost 20 years to the day since my last trip, which was an F2 shoot, staying in the van with John Carter!I got picked up at the airport by our team riders, and when I told them that my last trip with February 2006, Sammy laughed and said he was three weeks old at that point! So, the trip was quite a psychological battle for me, on one side still being super competitive and trying to show the kids how to sail, and on the other hand realising that I am pretty close to 50 now, and my body struggles to keep up with the rest of me! It was super fun though and we scored wind every day. We managed to sail all my favourite OZ spots and score them all at their best, which was pretty special in a relatively short trip. Plus, it was great to really spend quality time with Karin and Patrik and also catch up with old friends out there like Scotty McKercher.WINDSURF: How do you like Patriks work ethic and how he works with the team?JOHN SKYE: Like I said its quite different. He is really, really involved in everything and strives for absolute perfection at all costs. Sometimes a bit too much, but in the end the results speak for themselves with the best products on the market. As most know his latest focus was on the foils and sails and last year they dominated the foil racing scene, not only with their own team riders, but nearly all the fleet also using the Patrik Aeon foils. That speaks so highly of what a good product it is and working with him more closely you really see that attention to detail at every stage. Those last 1% differences are what really push the gear forward.WINDSURF: Do you already have some ideas that are in the pipe-line to update / improve the range?JOHN SKYE: For sure! My main role in the beginning is to focus on the wave range, not only sails, but also trying to define a bit what we want on the boards too. We have been full power with this project and it is really starting to take shape now, with a super nice sail range and some new board additions too. The testing in Oz was really positive from all the team, so I cant wait to see the final gear hit the market and see the reaction from the riders and customers.WINDSURF: The team has grown considerably since you joined, tell us about some of the new signings?JOHN SKYE: Part of this wave project was not only the gear, but also how we market and present ourselves. Originally, we were looking for a rider that was based in Gran Canaria, to help me testing and make the development process easier. That kind of got a bit out of hand in the end, but we ended up with a killer team with a real range of personalities and skill sets.Alexia Keifer is really pushing on the competitive side to be a world champion. Alessio is the king of style in Pozo. Adam Warchol is just a crazy big wave monster and based out here in Gran Canaria too. Leon is an absolute charger, even if now he is retired from competition and just focusing on scoring the best conditions. Then Carlitos Keifer is super young and pushing hard. Plus, we have Sammy Ferrero and Simon Thule that have been on the team a while already. Sammy is just Mr happy, Mr positive kind of like a modern-day Josh Stone, whilst Simon is the testing master and absolutely charges when it gets big. Overall, its a really sick team and exciting to work with everyone. Having now spent quality time with most of them either in Oz or during that Fuerte trip, I am really happy how it turned out.WINDSURF: What about that epic trip to Fuerteventura tell us about those three epic days on the North Shore?JOHN SKYE: This year I have managed to get across to Fuerte a few times. Its so close but really another world to Gran Canaria, so I am constantly looking for the good forecasts and, if I can escape, its a really easy two-hour ferry to make the island jump. I had come on a similar forecast to this in January and scored some super fun conditions, but I never really expected it to be so big this time.I have to say I am not really the big wave guy. I would generally much prefer some medium sized rippable conditions, but as we were with Adam and Leon, they were both pushing for the biggest gnarliest conditions out there and I just got dragged along really! The waves were really big, but also the setup is pretty perfect, so it made it relatively easy.I definitely played it a bit safe, but it was amazing to see Adam and Leon really putting themselves into critical areas. It was great to see it live. If you have not seen the video check it out on YouTube.Watch the epic video here!!!STAY SALTY!WINDSURF: We heard you are going to be doing a Stay Salty wave experience trip in Gran Canaria with Nayratell us more.JOHN SKYE: It was something we have been thinking about for a long time and getting together with Stay Salty really just made it all easy to actually get it moving. The idea is together with Nayra, we want to really show what Gran Canaria has to offer. Most people just think of 3.3m weather jumping over windmills in Pozo, but there is so much more than that. So, our idea is to really look for the best conditions on each day and try to go to the less known spots, find the beaches with more riding potential and at the same time show off a bit of what the island has to offer other than the windsurfing.WINDSURF: Is Nayra still ripping like she did when she was on tour?JOHN SKYE: Definitely!!! She probably jumps a bit less than before, but her riding is better than ever. I am pretty sure she could rock up at a contest and still give everyone a run for their money still. Most importantly really is that she still just loves to be on the water. Whether its windsurfing or surfing, or doing stuff with the kids, if we are on the beach and in the water, she is happy!WINDSURF: Who is going to be in chargeyou or Nayra?JOHN SKYE: You are married arent you? Who do you think is in charge? Ha-ha. Seriously though, it will be a team thing really. Nayra knows the island so well, that she is probably best qualified to make the best calls. The idea is to film and sail with the guys, so probably we take it in turns on the water and on the land.WINDSURF: What sort of conditions would you expect at that time of year?JOHN SKYE: Wind for sure. One of the best things about Gran Canaria is the consistency of the wind, so we really expect to get on the water every day. As I said the goal is really to get away a bit from Pozo, so we choose a week with the lower tide most of the day and that gives us the option to sail some of the lesser known spots that offer more riding, and if we get lucky we can even find some proper down the line spots, so that would definitely be a goal.WINDSURF: Where will the guests be staying etc?JOHN SKYE: We have a house booked in Pozo. Its a great place to be based and if the guys want even more windsurfing, they can literally sail there from 8am to 10pm. If they want to go home with bleeding hands, they can! The house is a really nice place close to the beach and at that time of year there is always a show going on. Most of the PWA guys will already be there training, so if people want to sit and watch the show in the late afternoon, often the practice sessions are actually better than the competition.For more details of the John and Nayra Stay Salty Gran Canaria Experience (6th to 13th June) you can message John@john_skye57 or Stay Salty through messages in Instagram!WINDSURF: What are your plans for the rest of the season?JOHN SKYE: Lets see. I have vague idea to try to compete in the masters waves, but I have to fit it all around production schedules of the sails and obviously family life. Its great to be away in places like Australia, but I miss the kids a lot and its tough for Nayra where I am away. I think she handles it well when I am somewhere like China on a work trip, but if I am sailing every day in Margaret River whilst she is at home running the kids around, its for sure harder!WINDSURF: Are we going to see you on the race course this year doing the Super X?JOHN SKYE: I was not planning on it really, as I have been really focused on the wave gear BUT I just received the new slalom X boards and new LA race sails and they are SOOOO good, that maybe I give it a go. I was going pretty fast the last few sessions, so there is definitely more motivation. I will see nearer the time.WINDSURF: What boards have you been riding mostly and how do you like them?JOHN SKYE: I have been using the PATRIK QTS boards mostly. When I joined PATRIK all the team riders left me everything after the Canaries events, so I had pretty much the full range straight away. The boards were all so nice and comfortable really from the first minute. The board I really fell in love with is the 87 QTS. It is pretty much my one board to do it all. It works great in onshore conditions, but also in down the line, I had some of the best turns of my life on it. I can just push as hard as I want and the board just does exactly what I want. Is also just a great size for me as I can use it in really light winds just floating, but it also stays fully controllable in crazy wind Pozo. Over the winter I starting using the bigger 94L version more and more, as the feeling is the same, just bigger and easier. As we move into stronger winds over the summer, the smaller 82L will probably be in the van more too.WINDSURF: How often do you get back to the UK and do you get out sailing the classic south coast conditions?JOHN SKYE: Almost never now and I miss it SOOO much. Last time I was home for a couple of days to visit my parents I grabbed some gear off Timo Mullen and we scored a fun session at Sandbanks, but its pretty rare. I get full FOMO when I see a storm coming through the south coast and everyone getting all excited about it and scoring the best moments. There is something really special about catching those days and the feeling you get after. I do get a few sessions each year at my Fuerteventura version of south coast, which is a cross on spot, STARBOARD TACK, in the north. Every summer I get a few days there, and whilst on paper it is not really classic, they are some of my best days of the year. I need to plan things better to spend a bit more time in the UK visiting my parents and getting some sailing in.The post JOHN SKYE: STAYING SALTY appeared first on Windsurf Magazine Online.