Finally!!! after much procrastination, I start a Blog (summer of 2022 part 1)

Today is going to be the first of a series of catch-up blogs from the past one and a half years of my adventures away from home.

My journey to independence began just 30 minutes from the town where I grew up. In May 2022 I started Teaching sailing at a small lake in Rye. This is where it all began, After lockdown I was left unmotivated and uninspired, I was 'dangerously comfortable'. My parents told me stories and showed me photos of their travels through India, Thailand, and Egypt, they wanted the same for me. So with much anxiety, I pushed out of my comfort zone, left my job and applied as a sailing instructor at Rye Watersports. The single best decision of my life, I work with people my age who shared similar interests, something I hadn't experienced before, my co-workers soon became my best friends.

I had just turned 19 and was just starting to drink for the first time, After many years with the pipe dream of becoming a professional kitesurfer and encapsulating the "my body is a temple" mentality, I was only just starting to truly live. I was spending more and more time at the lake and less time scrolling my phone at home, true happiness. After workers quickly became a thing, learning to wing foil followed by a few beers and a BBQ once all the

customers had left. I started spending nights

sleeping in my car next to The Ultimate fish wagon (Aidan's converted camper van) A bromance was forming we had campfires, late-night boogies and nature walks, I even started missing kitesurfing sessions to spend time with my new friends (a big deal for me)

The manager of the lake offered me more work if I became a windsurfing and wing-foil instructor, so without hesitation, I started to dedicate my time to both sports. The wing foil exam was first, and I only just passed, the examiner said I needed more confidence but I wouldn't kill anyone (don't forget I was new to instructing at this point). A month later the start windsurfing instructor course, and we had the same examiner but this time I passed with flying colours, I gained valuable experience and confidence in my teaching ability.

All good things must come to an end, after what was the best summer I had ever experienced on the 1st of September 2022 I left my dream job. Why might you ask? Throughout the summer some of my co-workers told me about their seasons in Greece. The temperature was dropping and hours were becoming scarce. I decided to apply to Neilson and Mark Warner, whoever got back to me first would be who I chose, 2 weeks later while my parents and brothers were in France I got a job offer. It was Neilson offering me a position at one of their resorts in Vasiliki, if you don't know windsurfing that's a massive deal. Vass is the capital of windy watersports in Europe! seasonares try for years to get placed at Cosmos (the resort name) and I got it on my first season!!! to say I was exited would be an understatement.

This has been an Isaac Herriot blog brought to you from a sofa in Banff Canada. this was only a summary of my summer at Rye Watersports and I want to thank the team; Aidan, Oscar Paris, Maddie, Richard, Ella, Kristen, George, Kate, Tristan, Lilia, Leo, Sam, Jango, James, Maggie and Rosie for such a good time :)

Keep your eyes peeled for summer 2022 Greece edition