Did you know Colin personally? Do you have any true-to-life stories and memories that we could add to a memory book for his children? (No condolences please) It’d mean a lot to us if you could take a minute now to help us build this memory book by leaving a comment below. You can also email us pictures of Colin on
You can really make a difference.
Many thanks,
Caroline, Josh & Mia
Colin was the board maker on our beach in lee-on-Solent. He made me a board in 2003. I still use that board today. Although not of modern construction the shape is perfect and the board light it feels good 6 years later and is tough as hell. I’m going to continue riding it until it breaks. He told me if I snapped it he will make me another. I still haven’t snapped it.
I knew Colin going back about 12 years. I met him down at Marazion when he was down windsurfing. I remember rhinking “the skinny blokes quite good”. We got chatting and became friends with him becoming a regular in Cornwall when the forecast was good. He was a great sailor and always fun to be around on and off the water. We had some great nights out in Penzance when he stayed with me whilst he worked in Redruth for a few weeks on a helicopter contract.
Both Colin and Caroline were guests at my wedding with Colin managing a quick windsurf on the morning of the wedding and making it on time looking sharp in his suit !
I had to give him a piggy back into Penzance A and E after a crash on his board to get his ankle x-rayed, he got away with bad bruising that time.
He was an Entertainer in life and never a spectator and i feel so very inspired reading his blog and can learn from the way he lived as many of us could.
I feel so sad i never knew he was ill and didn’t get chance to catch up with him but feel priviledged to have known him and spent the best of times whenever he was about with the grin almost permanent on his face !
Caroline, Josh and Mia, i’m sure that his wonderful spirit and real zest for life will be with you all forever. You are always welcome to stay with us in Cornwall, we would really love to see you and meet Josh and Mia ! Danny x
Joshua and Mia,
Your dad was always full of life. He was a solid and genuine bloke, and the only time you couldnt trust him was when you were playing board games with him. He had a wicked way with words (everything was just wrong) and was one of the best storytellers around. He had us in stitches with his tales of testing the patience of airport staff. Only he could walk through customs with a pile of boards and say he had nothing to declare, or stand in front of check-in wearing five wetsuits to bring his case down to the maximum weight. He was intensely passionate about kiteboarding, but he was more passionate about you and your mum. We were proud to know him, and hope that you will remember all the happiness he gave you.
Uncle Neil & Aunty Marilena
I remember the time Colin was raving about this sick spot over at IOW that had a great shingle bank that went out for ages with butter flat water behind it.
So we wait for a good day all get in his tiny dingy and head out from Lee on Solent across the shipping channel dodging all the ferries and tankers in this little boat.
Had the most awesome day and then heading back really struggled to get any good speed up and he had forgotten to put the wheels out of the water.
Only just missed one of the ferries and got back after dark only to figure out that the 7 hour day trip could have been cut down to a 2 hour session by going on the hover craft.
Wouldn’t have changed the day for anything.
Colin you will be missed.
Caroline, Josh and Mia you were is world.
Joshua and Mia,
There was this one time when we were all knocking down the wall in Nanas back garden. Your Daddy was one of these people who could probably get away with most things, so he gave your cousin Ben, 10 at the time a Sledgehammer, probably bigger than him to help, much against Nana’s wishes. He also gave me a pickaxe and a sledehammer to help knock it down also to her annoyance. Your dad just shrugged off the comments Nana was making and said it will be fine, we would be ok.
There was also another time when we all had a go on his Indo board and practised our Balancing skills. We were amazed at the skill he had that kept him balanced and the tricks he could do, he was also practising a 360 twist on it but…..
Lots of Love
From Dan and Ben xx
That bloody great big smile, whatever the weather, that’s what I will be remembering. I first met your dad in Cornwall when I first started windsurfing back in 93/94, I would be lying if I said we were close mates, but he has this canny nack of making a lasting impression, one that will stay with me anyway. Probably helped when I lined his skinny palm with £300 of my now wife’s wages to pay for my 7’10 engagement present – God I was well chuffed, everyone wanted to know who made it – stupidly it parted my company some years later, but as all us waterpeople know, the memories stay with us for a lifetime…….Keep smiling mate, even if you only draw on half your dad’s energy and enthusiasm for life kids you will go far !!!
RIP, Steve, Sharon, Abbi & Keira xx
I first meet Colin in the mid 90’s at West Wittering during a windsurfing wave contest,
I was one of the judges , he was a competitor..(with a black sail) Colin was top of the class, He’s jumps and loops where the highest, he really was the greatest out there!
Then I meet Colin again when I moved to Jolliffe rd,
Colin introduced me to Stand Up Paddle,he made this very nice board,he offered to share it with few of us locals and left it in my garden for many month,we had good times in the water and on the beach just hanging out or Indo boarding in the office.
Sometimes I watched Colin kitesurfing and that was something else!
I always will be grateful to Colin for introducing me to SUP,for sharing stories, for getting me a kite (haven’t used yet),and most important for showing me how is been done.
He had passion for life,for the water for people and for his family
Now Colin has made the highest jump to heaven…
I am having a kite lesson tomorrow in honor to you my friend.
Thank you for everything!
Adriano and the boys from jolliffe rd.
HI Josh and Mia I First met you Dad back in 2001 after having a great kitesurfing session at Hill head, i knew of him before as this legendary Board shaper, who had a reputation for being an amazing kiteboarder, this was true, i was blown away by his talent. He was a guy who was amazingly Modest, his talent shone in anything he did, weather it was expressing himself on the water, or shaping his attention to detail was second to none. this is why it took him so long to make us all our kiteboard because he would not let anything leave his workshop with any imperfections. I remember calling him up after i got my first ever board from him, i told him i didnt like it. i was really scared and thought he is going to rip my head off and tell me i have not got a clue. but it was quite the opposite, he said i am glad you are honest, he took it off me and said i will make you a new one. from then on we became very close friends and i got to test lots of boards he shaped before they went to production. i was never phased by his celebrity status in kiteboarding which to me he was a Legend and i never thought i could become such close friends with a guy who was so well know in the industry. from then on i spent alot of weekend and evenings driving down from Poole to see your Dad, weather it was to pick up a board, help him out with some bits of work or just for a good chat. He always made time for me. i would normally get a call before i came down to bring him a case of beer or some wine for Mum as he knew my parents had a WIne store, Normally that would also mean a bag of Haribo Sweets aswell as Dad Loved them. Then after a few years into our friendship i remember getting a call about a young boy who had been born! yes it was you Josh, that day Colin Became Dad and he was so stoked about it, you were the new sparkle in his Eye. After a few more years i get another txt with a picture this time born on the 4th July the lovley Mia, Again a very proud dad who couldnt believe he now had 2 lovely Kids. I had the joy of traveling to AUstralia with Josh and Mia and i have to say they were a pleasure to travel with. you wont remember this Josh but to your Mums Disgust i taught you to take a wee in the Garden,! Mum was not happy!. That time i spent with you all as a close family in Australia really taught me a lot about Colin! Jesus he was moody ! lol but it was the stress of building boards in a tin shed in 40 Degrees everyday, whilst the wind was pumping and the swell was rolling. again it was a pleasure to be involved in the work he was doing, i never forget the day he gave me the router and told me to cut out the final production board that had to go to Thailand for AIrush!!! wow it made my day, i actually routed a board that was going to be a mould for the whole world. Many late nights were spent in the Airush Sail Loft with Colin. He really did work hard and was very very focused. I can go on and on about your dad as he was part of my Life for so long, i think i would speak with him maybe 3-4 times a week. the conversations were so long that if he called me at home and my parents took the call, they would say to me “Son its Colin on the Phone, Shall i keep a plate of dinner for you to warm up” as even they knew i would be on the phone for over and hour!. I will Miss him so much as i know i cannot ever have those funny conversations, and i will never see him shaping and working in the garden anymore. but remember one thing when you read this: Caroline, Josh and Mia Colin loved you all more than Life, and to have you all in his world was all he needed to be a very Happy and content man. there isnt a day goes by when i wonder why this had to happy to such a great man, friend, Dad, Husband and Son. this was an Injustice take care and thank you for letting me into your lives
I have three enduring memories of Colin. A supreme athelete, a gentleman and a loving father.
The morning after Caroline and Colin were married Colin went kitesurfing ! I couldn’t beleive what I was seeing. He hung under his kite for 10 seconds at a time, as high as a house and travelling the length of a football pitch. So much longer, higher and further than anyone else. It looked impossible, against the laws of physics.
I watched colin kitesurfing in a force 8 gale at West Wittering sending plumes of white spray over the angry brown waves. He was the last one in. Tired and elated he asked me for the van keys. I said he had them. Colin searched frantically for 10 minutes. I found them in my jacket pocket. He smiled at me and jumped in the driver’s seat. A lesser man would have reacted very differently.
That evening after kitesurfing in the morning and shaping boards in the garden in the afternoon. Colin curled up with Josh in the lounge. They were both wedged in the corner of the big L-shaped sofa. Laughing and cuddling, the best of friends.
The first time I saw Colin was back in 2000, my dad had known him for a while already from his windsurf days but on this occasion he was visiting for a kiteboard so I came along to see his small work shop in Redruth. I had only been into it for a few months and there was this one board I had seen in a mag that I really wanted, when I arrived I saw in the corner an almost identical shape that he wanted to test, being Colin, always willing to help others, he let me take it, I think he must have seen the excitement in my eyes.
Even in recent times when I came to visit or collect boards our conversations were away from boards, he would always advise me on my career and try to help me with my best interest at heart.
When I was a young kid I wanted to follow in my dad’s footsteps, if you follow in your fathers then you will go far.
Mia and Josh
I can’t help but come on here and share stories as I remember them. One of the funniest sayings that your dad always use to use when we were having chats about all the stuff he was making went something like this.
Leon “colin you boring me with all this talk about how good this new board is”
Colin “Ok enough about me, more about you, what do you think about me?”
Leon “I think you are boring me about all this talk about you”
then would come that big cheeky grin that your dad had and that raising of the hands like a cowboy, that wobbly head and then those calming words that lead you into the next hour of discussion and cherished entertainment.
Colin “Nah, nah its all good, ……….”
and on we discuss
Truth is it was all about you two, Josh and Mia or “Team Scream” as he used to call you.
My Uncle Colin was very funny,
My Uncle Colin was happy,
My Uncle Colin had a big smile,
My Uncle Colin made surf boards,
My Uncle Colin liked spending time in his garden,
My Uncle Colin liked making things,
My Uncle Colin spent time with his family,
My Uncle Colin loved his family,
I will miss my Uncle Colin,
I love my Uncle Colin,
Love from
Bethany Fisher(age 8)
xxx
I first met Colin at Hillhead back in 2001/02. I was watching in awe at the kitesurfers on the water, when this chap came in did a masssive loop, taking his board off in mid air and landed gracefully on the beach. My eye’s were wide with amazement, only for this chap to tell me how crap the wind was!!!! This was Colin all over, his ability was well above everyone else’s even in marginal conditions. For me he was a true innovator, excelling in sports like Kitesurfing and SUP, way before the mainstream.
Colin captured my complete respect as an amazing windsurfer and kitesurfer. Someone who progressed for the enjoyment of the sport and not for competition. The first proper board I had was a LostCause 120 x34.5. He made it just for me, perfect in stance and most importantly colour. I insisted it was a beautiful shade of pink. I couldn’t believe my eyes when it was completed, it was fabulous, I almost took it down to the pub that evening to show everyone!!! 6 years later I still have that board going strong, even though it has taken some punishment over the years.
When I went travelling around to other beaches, I realised how lucky we were at Hillhead to have such a talented board shaper, living only a few minutes down the road.
I will miss Colin dearly for the enthusiasm he had for all watersports, for the chats we had in his garden about beach politic’s and his amazing travels.
He will truely be missed.
Emma xx
HI Josh and Mia
I was at school with your dad, and remember when he first got into windsurfing, he would tow all his gear down to the beach cycling one handed on his BMX bike. It was early in the school holidays and we were messing about on his bike, unfortunately Colin fell and broke his arm, within a few days he was out surfing again,one handed, with a plastic bag covering the cast on his arm.
A very determined man.
He was my best mate. Knew him from way back when we used to go to acid house clubs, but we became close in the last few years. Your dad was an amazing guy and a real inspirtion.
The first time I surfed, it was on one of his boards. The first surfboard I owned ws one of his. I got him to make me a custom longboard a few years back and he insisted that I help him laminate it. We had the cloth cut out and ready to be glassed, resin all mixed up. Then he lifted the glass wrote “I love Abba” in big letters on the bottom of the board and slapped a load of resin over it so I couldnt shift it.
I also remember the first time we surfed the left point break at Lynmouth. It was a cold wet day and me , your dad and Andre sat in the car for about fifteen minutes deciding if it was too gnarly for us. It was your dad who made the call to do it. We climbed over the sea wall, waded down the river and paddled out. Your dad took it apart for two hours, I caught a couple of long left handers and Andre got nailed, but we had a ball. After the surf we got a take away coffee each and as we drove up the hill out of the town my coffee upended in my lap scalding hot. Your dad laughed uncontrollably all the way home.
His sense of humour was wicked, his boards were the dogs and he made me laugh every time I saw him. You can be proud of him
Dear Josh and Mia,
Way back in 2001 was when I met your Dad through Justin and our combined love for kiteboarding.
It was never dull coming over to your house to pick up a board or watch him making something up for someone, bits of foam and dust in his hair, swearing away.
He gave me a fair go when I started to compete and although there was plenty of criticism (which I was convinced was his way of motivation) there was a lot of encouragement too.
Some of my most favourite memories are of our time we spent living together in Australia, when the two of you were very little. It was a great time and I can say I really got to know him better.
A memory from that trip that I just cant shake off is one day when your Dad was very cross with me. I had unfortunately driven over his surf and kiteboards that were in the driveway waiting to go with him to China. He was really angry and I was sure he wouldnt forgive me. But when he got back from his trip he came and spoke to me and it was ok. He was very understanding.
There are many words to describe how great your Dad is, and in time you will come to know it, he was truly amazing in so many ways and I am proud to say he was my friend.
He loved life, loved the sea and loved you so very much.
He will be truly missed.
Emma x
I met your dad buy chance in about 1997 when i was windsurfing with the the young guys at Hillhead.
After coming around to your house most days in the summer holidays i think he got the message and let me help out now and then in the board shed and spray room in return for a cheep board… He gave me two for free.!! But i had to re spray them both and re build one making a complete mess of his shed. I think he regretted it instantly.
Over ten years on i’ve had 15 or so boards of your dads Kiting and windsurfing and i’ve always sworn by them.
Colin was a good friend of mine and i am so glad we shared a few waves and laughs together.
We last spoke while having a coffee in your garden shortly before he went to the hospice. He was in good spirits and you two were playing in the garden. Im glad my last memories of him were in good humor and high spirits.
i’ve always look up to you mate and now i always will.x
All my love to Caroline and the Kids.
Love Tom xxx
I met Colin and Caroline in 1999. I spend some time with Colin and Caroline in Paia, Maui in 1999. We went skateboarding downhill of the vulcano and windsurfing! Nice to find out that he started his business that same year. Colin was very funny to hang out with. I have some very nice pictures of him that I will send over for the story book. I haven’t talked to him ever since 1999. Am totally shocked by this news! Rest in peace Colin! Rob
Dear Caroline, Joshua and Mia, So very sorry, its a great loss for anybody who knew Colin. To me, He was a very funny, motivated, energetic, perfectionist, who helped and inspired me to do things i would not have done otherwise. Still laugh about our first kite surfing experience at Hill Head. He very generously let me go first which turned out to be a good idea, as we launched the kite directly down wind i did 100m sprint in less than 5 seconds, bruising the balls of both my feet so i couldn’t walk properly for a week ! But it was so bloody funny, an old lady on the sea front laughed so much she nearly fell out of her wheelchair. It was always a great suprise to get that knock at the door when he came to perth, he always kept me up to date with family and friends. We will miss Colin. Thinking of you all, all our love, Paul, Caris and Reed xxx
I’m writing this the day after your dad’s funeral which was, although was really sad, was a great day that he would have really enjoyed. After the funeral we all went down to his local beach (hillhead) and paddled out on SUP boards and surf boards and floated a flower wreath in honour of your dad. To be honest it was a bit unsuccessful to begin with as we wanted to set fire to it, and someone got the lighter wet, so we had to paddle back in and get another. I couldn’t help thinking what your dad would have said about the whole thing!!! Eventually we managed and it was a really nice moment, I then paddled back in on a green fish surfboard your dad made me to go to Portugal in 2008, its such a nice board and has your surname on the underside and lost cause on the top a really nice reminder of a great mate!
I think it was your great uncle or a close family friend who spoke at the funeral and said death is natures way of telling us to slow down to me that summed up the way your dads life was, everything he did he really put a lot of effort into, he was an ultimate ideas man, and the amount of projects hed tackle and complete with such painstaking effort and a real quality eye for detail I dont think we could even count!
I didnt know your dad as long as some of the people who have put comments on here, but I did really enjoy my friendship with him, he was a guy with a sharp wit and quite a black sense of humour, which was why I think we got on so well. I met him properly in about 2003 at a student kitesurf event, he was there with neal hilder, and they both went out and just tore the event up with some really stylish riding. Anyway, I was living in Southampton at the time and training to be a teacher, and during my holidays, when I wasnt away traveling I would spend a lot of time round at your house just messing about with your dad, chatting crap and kiting or surfing, locally at Hillhead or Wittering or day trips to Saunton sands. He was such a kind guy, (although he really liked to pretend he wasnt at times), I remember one half term, in probably 2004/5 when I went round to pick him up, we went for a kite at Jolliffe road in Wittering, the wind was pretty average and we packed up after a bit. We were in my van and he asked if I wouldnt mind taking him to a scrap yard in Littlehampton to get some parts for his van, which was a transporter like mine, only mine was a real rustbox. On the way there he observed just how much of a rustbucket my van was and said to me why didnt I sort it out. I said I didnt really know where to start that was enough for your dad, when we got there he bought a load of stuff for his van and got the guy to throw in some cheap body parts for mine. When we got back to his he showed me how to use his electric polisher, he got some paint out of his booth and helped me tidy up my van, bit by bit. He spent atleast 3-4 days of his own time helping me with that (much to your mums dismay who didnt seem to massively appreciate my crappy old van on you drive). That, to me illustrates the type of bloke your dad was.
It was around this time that your dad discovered the joys of ebay and he really did embrace it. I did mention your dad was the kind of guy who was meticulous and had a real eye for detail and quality, well, for all the stories people will tell you about that side of him, and all the beautifully finished boards and gardens I have to tell you about the one story which flaws that. I remember ringing him one afternoon, he knew I was into boats, wakeboarding, sailing etc and he told me he had just got back from Wales I think it was, with a new ebay boat purchase that I should come and look at anyway, when I got round there, in the middle of your lawn was this red thing, that looked somewhere halfway between a jet ski and a pedalo, that had been thrown down a cliff it was knackered.. I think I told him he would have been better to pull it out of a skip that have driven from Fareham to Wales and pay 200 quid for the privilege. He told me that basically I didnt have any imagination, and wait until next time I saw it when it had been sanded back and sprayed gold Last time I saw your dad, about 2 weeks before he went into the hospice, I was helping him move some boards from behind a shed,and guess what I stumbled on! I gave him some abuse about it, and he said you wait, when Im sorted, that is going to be a bling machine! Youll all be jealous of me up and down hillhead see front in no wind!!! That same evening we talked about the forthcoming winter of 2009 and a trip to Western Australia, where he had spent a lot of time, he told me about all the places he would show me and Lucy to kite and surf and how good it was going to be. Not once, whilst he spoke to me from his wheelchair was there a doubt in his or my mind that he didnt mean what he was saying, as far as he was concerned he would win his fight. It really did show me how much of a truly strong spirit your dad was, and I only hope that I tackle any problems in my life with the same tenacity and positive attitude your dad did.
In November 2008 I went away with your dad, in a slightly better campervan that I now own. He had recently had the tumour operation on his brain and was on chemotherapy pills. I went round to pick him up, and your mum was obviously really worried about letting him go away for the weekend, with all his medicine, and only me to supervise him!!! Anyway, me your dad, my big black dog Ben, a paddleboard, about 4 surfboards, 5 kites and a massive bag of food and medicine all piled into my camper and we set off for Gwithian in Cornwall, with a brief stop in Redruth to pick a board up from his old mentor Tris at Blownout. We were going for a wave kiting competition, but at that time your dad was not really that keen on kitesurfing as he didnt want to risk banging his head. Instead he was really motivated by surfing, and basically as soon as we got there, he paddled out on his new board. That night we went for some food at a bar in the village and he treated himself to a pint or two of Guinness. We bedded down about half 10 as we were both pretty tired from surfing all afternoon. Anyway about 11.30 that night a minibus pulled up in the beach car park and started blaring out Dizzee rascal dance with me on full blast. I lay there thinking, Im sure theyll move in a bit, but no, 2 hours later and they were still going, and playing the same song over and over again. Your mum and dad had told me he was on Chemo and would sleep through anything, so obviously I didnt want to wake him up to move the van so I just lay there for what seemed like hours. Anyway, about half 3 in the morning, the music was still going, I whispered to see if your dad was awake thank god for that he replied, I thought you were sleeping through that s**t!!!, Ive been awake for 4 hours!, needless to say I got up and we moved the van to a more quiet clifftop location, and bedded down a second time to what we thought would be the remains of a goodnights sleep, about 2 hours later we were woken again by the noise of a dustbin lorry reversing right next to us as it came to collect the bins. That day we surfed and I kited all day and we left Cornwall about 6 in the evening, it was a long drive and your dad chomped some haribo for some of the way, only to tell me this was the most unhealthy weekend hed had for months, I thought to myself 2 pints of guiness and half a bag of haribo was about the healthiest weekend I had ever had!!! The reason I tell you about this weekend is because it just showed how motivated and determined your dad was to beat the thing in his head, he didnt make an issue of the fact he had cancer a problem, and was a continual source of banter and amusement for the whole time, never once showing any signs of tiring or letting up.
I feel really lucky to have spent some great times with your dad, and as Im sure lots of people will tell you he really was a good guy, who you should be proud off. However Im sure he wouldnt have wanted you to live life feeling you had some weight of expectation to live up to, he was all about fun and enjoyment and getting as much in as you can. If there is one thing I have learnt from your dad, it is that, I will make every day count and live my life in as full a way as possible. I really hope you guys do the same.
All the best
Luke
p.s.
sorry its such an epic!!!
luke
I have 2 little boys and i remember discussing fatherhood, kiteboard shapes, stand up paddle boards, windsurfing, skim boards, and kitesurfing with your dad for hours (my phone bill was allways huge!) Colin could spot a trend or new shape a mile away and was allways at the fore front of board design. I know he took so much pleasure from being a “waterman” in the truest sense of the word. He led the U.K. waterman scene but was never aloof, allways encouraging and kind. I allways felt privaledged that we were the only shop he would deal with and loved the endless banter.
Looking back i know he would want you to take as much pleasure in the water as he did and i know you will ride the swells and watch the sunset over the sea and think of your truly astonashing and amazing Dad.
All our thoughts
Alex, Anna, Oscar & Louis Fishpool
Josh, Mia
Colin, What a character! First met him at Hill Head in 94 or 95, I had just learned to kite and he was intent on getting me to do the most stupid of things. He took great pleasure in showing me some trick that looked so easy, He was full of speed and grace. He would then egg me on to copy him.. Obviously I crashed lots and would hear your dad laughing his head off at me and then no sooner had I put myself back together and he was at it again.. Needless to say your dad taught me a lot, How to front loop, how to back loop, one thing he never managed to teach me was patience. I would turn up 3 or four times at your house begging him to finish my bloody boards. One time I went around back to the shed and he said “yep all done, All i got to do it paint it, what colour do you want, ill do it tonight” I replied metallic blue with red stripes. I was promptly told that it would be yellow and white! I thought he was joking but yellow and white it was. Ha!
Your dad was passionate about sport, Always up for a laugh, I nicknamed him “the pepperami” not only did he look and sometimes act like the Hot salami character he was a bit of an animal. Ill miss him.
Keenan.
i knew colin and caroline only briefly in june/july 99. i kipped in the same place, johns in paia opposite mana foods. i remember him and you caroline often. colin was the most incredibly talented windsurfer i\’ve met and sailed with. it was effortless. goiters before anyone could spell the word. and i remember caroline being under fear of a row, if you didnt keep the video trained on him for the whole session when i know you;d of been happier catching some sun up on the cliff. a wonderful fella. funny, unique and mellow if its possible to be all 3. he set the tone for my maui experience… breakfast of vanilla crunch from mana food, all day sail, jack in the box, quick tour around “ross dress for less” for more trainers, a bottle of beer and talk rubbish back at johns. i think of what he’s up to often and now i\’ll just remember that talent and the smile on his face when he came back into the beach to tell me that he’d landed a push loop in front of josh stone and he’d given him a “woop”. bless you mate and you too caroline
Hi Josh, Mia, and Mum too.
Well I knew Colin for over 25 years. From the early days of windsurfing through to his dominance of Kitesurfing. I remember him turning up at the beach a skinny 14 years old with a bottom half of a pram and his 1st board on the top. He used to turn up like this every day till he learned to drive. He was always on the water, I was a keen windsurfer but your Dad was addicted! Mind you he progressed faster than any one I have ever seen. He learnt to forward loop a windsurfer under a year after he started. I only think he didnt learn earlier because it hadnt been invented then! He used to make me laugh so much and would also infuriate the hell out of me with his larger than life attitude to stuff. But God he was talented. I have so many memories of sitting with him at Hillhead, then Hayling/Witts, Tiree, then Maui, laughing about manouvers and what we should try next. He would always sit there and call me a “pussey”(ask Caroline or Paddy when you are older!) for not pushing hard enough, and ribbed me to the point that I would try things new. I still have scars! Then when I had completed something new it was my turn to wind him up, unfortunately he was so damn talented that he would learn so quickly so I did not have as much goading time as he did.
I remember one day sitting in Maui in 2000 at baby beach when a so called pro windsurfer was out having photos taken of his new manouver in secret for the magazines. Colin and me sat and watched and then went out and did the same trick. The guy was so angry and Colin just kept doing it and shouting over to him to ” go get another job, your sh*t” I havnt laughed that hard for years.
Above Paul Hartley has added his comments about the first Kitesurfing exploits with lauching the kite at Hillhead. I was on the other side of the kite when Colin suggested just throwing it up in the air dead down wind, as he put it “hell it will go up at least” Watching Paul run at speeds in excess of Usain Bolt was and reamins till this day the funniest thing I have ever seen, if only we had a cam corder then.
The thing about your Dad was that he never stopped, except for chocolate, and was always experimenting. The first time he spoke about kitesurfing I thought he was mad (I’m a windsurfer through and through) but its now massive, He told me about SUP and I thought it looked daft (I now have one) He was a genuine inovator. He touched a lot of people in his too short life, and above all I will remember him as being a superb athlete. I have his boards and when I get too old or raggetty to surf its going on my wall.
He loved you both very much, and left a legacy to all who knew him of having fun and enjoying the ocean. I hope you Josh and Mia learn to love the ocean too, because above everything else you have fantastic genetics in your favour.
I will miss him very much, my old peparami mate. Bless you all x
Hey Guys
My student days were spent daydreaming about heading down the coast to go kite surfing and popping in for a cup of tea and a chat with Colin and Caroline. I spent a year trying to go up wind with a 2-line kite and a wakeboard before Colin called me a Twat and made me my first Lost Cause Board. Every board after that just got better and better (or less and less gay!) Colin couldn’t make you a board without calling it Wank 6 months later!
I also remember Colin spinning baby Josh on his backside like a spinning top on the polished floor – amazingly you loved it! (If I ever have kids I’ll do it to them too!)
I also want to remember Caroline putting an angry, punchy Kiter back in his box after starting on Nick for landing his kite wrong. – Caroline – you are the best!
I wish we could do it all again
We’ll miss you Colin – I hope I leave a mark as big as yours
James
(doctor james)
Dear Caroline, Joshua and Mia
I knew your Dad through kite surfing. Back in 2001 he came to Littlehampton there was only Col me and Debs Carling out as it was very windy. He was doing these insane loops and stuff and riding in full bindings. It was inspirational and that gave me the boost to push my kite surfing harder. After the session he was only too happy to give me advise and tips to doing tricks he said “there’s always a trick to doing a trick” so true. I kited with him at various spots and he was always smilling and going for it. Such a zest for life. I started to break alot of boards and in 2005 Colin started to make my boards, he would always say”yeah it’ll be ready next week” but you knew if the wind was blowing then that would never happen. One day he said that one of my boards was finished, great. I poped down and waited in the garden with a brew, he said” I’ve only got to drill the holes,fin it, strp it,put the grip on and paint it!” and started laughing. You could only laugh with him especialy when he kept painting them yellow. My local beach at the time was Littlehampton and every kite boarder if they knew their stuff were and still are riding a lost cause board the beach was littered with them because we knew they were the best.My camper van had all lost cause stickers on the back. I am still riding your Dads boards and will treasure them.
Rest in peace Collin, your a legend
Dear Joshua and MIa, I’ve known your dad for a long time, from school to college to work. We started windsurfing togeather and when he bought his BIC Gun we had a race over to the island. I’d been windsurfing a little longer and to be honest Colin’s new board wasn’t the best and landed on the beach at Osbourne House a few minutes before Colin, ready to gloat as I was, only for Colin to tack, stick his fingers up, shout looser and head back to Hillhead. We would sit watching all the older lot windsurfing, doing loops and the like. A few months later I was still sat there but this time watching Colin doing the loops and taking the level of surfing at Monks Hill up a notch or two.
Always the inventor and pioneer he was the first I knew in to kites and thankfully I was there when your Dad helped Mr Paul Hartley break the land speed record,a memory that with out fail makes me laugh like an idiot everytime.
Crazy, manic, ambitious, funny. Your Dad is an inspiration and I feel very proud to have known him.
I didn’t know your dad that well – but I do know what he had.
I came down to the house a few times to buy boards in 2004/2005/2006. I’d always come home raving about this guy who seemed to have everything – a great (noisy and chaotic) family, talent, drive and a lifestyle I envied.
A few years ago the thought of having children of my own was too scary – I thought that would be the end of having fun. Seeing for my own eyes that your dad had you and loved you and yet still lived the life I envied was a real revelation and inspiration.
I don’t pretend to live the life the he did – but your dad unknowingly showed me what is really important – my little boy Ollie owes something to you.
Dear Joshua and Mia, I didn’t know kite surfing existed until I met your dad, then of course I rapidly got aquainted with the sport. Your dad worked and played so hard. It was because of your dad that I live so close to you as he persuaded me to buy the house that I had discovered down the road. I remember him plumbing in my washing machine and a few years later knocking down the wall in my garden that was threatening to fall.
I remember the day you were born Joshua and the look o pride and joy on his face when he held you in his arms and then reluctantly allowned me to hold you. When your mummy was being attended to by the nurses he discussed with me whether to call you Joshua or Robert. He decided on Joshua as you ‘looked more like a Joshua’.
The same look was on his face when he held you as well Mia. He had his little girl as well as his little boy. I remember there was a compromise on your name as mummy liked the name of Pia and daddy liked the name of Maria so they gave you the lovely name of Mia.
I remember the very energetic times that you had on the trampoline with your daddy when he taught you many tricks and how to do them safely.
You were too young as yet to try water sports but your daddy was so proud of your swimming and when you splashed in the sea recently I know that he was looking down on you and feeling so proud.
Remember him always with pride and love as I know you will. xx
Although I didn’t know him as well as some of the other people on this site, I still had some great times with your Dad.
One thing that I will always appreciate about him was that whilst he could be marvellously quick to take the mickey out of other people, he could also handle being the butt of other people’s jokes.
Also, he could also admit that he wasn’t always right. For example, after nearly 3 hours and 3 CDs he did acknowledge that all Faithless music tracks do eventually “Become one”! (Look that up in an encyclopaedia when you get old and don’t know what CDs are any more.)
However, my favourite memory does relate to your Dad’s wicked sense of humour. He, Paddy and I were on one of our day trips to surf in the west country. Your Dad had a “short cut” that went through these villages in the middle of nowhere in Wiltshire. It was dark, cold and about 5 o’clock in the morning. Paddy was driving his van, I was in the front passenger seat and your Dad was in the back of Paddy’s van, telling us what we were doing wrong. Suddenly, in a village that noone could ever find again, we passed a speed camera that flashed. Paddy’s face was all indignant that he wasn’t going too fast but he was totally gutted that he would be busted for speeding. As Paddy get more stressed and worked up about the speeding fine and the points on his driving license, your Dad was grinning more and more. I thought that he was going to burst with evil glee as he revealed to Paddy that, at the moment we went passed the speed camera, he had flashed his own camera in the dark to wind Paddy up. EXCELLENT!
Dear Josh, Mia and Caroline
I first met colin when i was 16 and shared a house with him in Tiree when we were competing in the tiree wave classic, he wasnt like all the other windsurfers of the time and he and I spent our weekend clubbing and partying. If I remember correctly he was a DJ at the time with an brilliant collection of Strictly Rythm Records( impossible to get, but he had the lot!)
I remember once in cornwall when i had just turned pro I had all brand new equipment, cutomized boards from hawaii all tied to the roof of my golf. Unknown to me colin had got up in the night and robbed the lot hiding them in his caravan. After an uncomfortable 2 hours stuck in the local police station making a report of the theft he decided to confess to me that he had them all along! the best times we had together where stoned in the van far too many stories to mention….The last time I saw him I confronted him about copying a shape of a board I had designed he replied ” yes I did and it was shite!” so I copied one of his the week after………..
He was amazing in the water both windsurfing and kiteing but im sure I dont have to tell you that, he was a legend and will be sadly missed
Danny Seales
Only just found out…. in a force 6 and waiting to go out for a sail down at J Rd…one of the locals told me.
Totally stumped…didn’t want to sail. But thought your Dad would mock me for bailing out so had a blast.
I met Col when I was travelling through WA some years ago….I can remember being jealous of his lifestyle and his silly oversized flip flops!
He was a regular down at J Rd and we all loved sailing with him…he raised the stakes and I can only dream of ever being half as good as he was!
Ive since travelled to many windsurf spots around the world and didn’t meet anyone who said a bad word of ‘your smiling father’.
He will be missed.
Brack – just one of the Joliffe boys
I just heard the news and am in shock. We lost touch when I moved to Australia in 2001 – so he’ll always be in his 20’s to me. Wherever I was I seemed to bump into Colin. I used to sail with him at Hill Head in the mid 90’s and again in Weymouth a few yrs later. He gave me lifts to the beach in his ‘A-Team’ van in Maui, (and assigned me as the designated driver on the nights out). We’d always see each other in Cornwall and we finally met up briefly in Perth around 2006. I only ever saw him sad once……..when we were about 28yrs old in Hawaii and didn’t have ID on us so they wouldn’t sell us a beer. One thing still bugs me though…….It’s been 10yrs and I still have no idea how Bjorn Dunkerbecks heavy timber mailbox ended up in the back of my hire car that morning.
Only just came across the site as I was clearing out some boxes in the attic and found some transfers for a board Colin made for me about 6 years ago. I kind of lost touch with the whole windsurfing/kitesurfing scene, so a shock to hear Colin is no longer with us.
I first knew Colin around 1985/6(brains cells struggling), he used to live in Halletts Close and used to take his big poly windsurfer down the beach at seafarers on a trolley. Must have been about a mile at least. Anyway his board really was ancient and holding him back and as a teenager he couldn’t afford something better. As fate would have it, another friend of mine had just got a car and used to tear around the place. One day he must have judged things too finely and clipped Colin’s board as Colin was walking down the beach. Board was a write off, but Colin was happy cause the insurance meant he could get the kind of board he deserved!
When Colin got sponsored by HillHead sailboards I remember we used to drive together down to places like Sandbanks or Mudeford. We were really addicted to windsurfing at the time and I always remember we would be pretty relaxed driving, but as soon as we caught the first glimpse of the sea and wind/surf was up that was it, we went pyscho. Pity any traffic that got in the way, forget about the fact you were desparate for a pee, don’t worry about the parking ticket, this was now a race to get on the water. Still have fond memories of just how excited we used to get. God knows what passers by must have thought.
Anyway, a great guy that I used to share my early windsurfing days with. He left me behind pretty quickly and I was proud to see how good he got. He will always bring happy memories for me.
Hello All,
What do i remember?
A lot so many good and funny things.
Let’s say first who i am, I’m Dennis from Holland and been traveling with Caroline an Collin thru west OZ down in 1999 during our winter time summer in Australia,
I don’t know the accet moment we first met but remember that the feeling was right from the beginning. We went to the beach had bong fires went fishing and most of all windsurfing. I remember Collin got a windsurf board for caroline so she could stay in the bay and we went out in de big waves where we had fun all up. and Collin learned me to do the tricks Forward and backward.
We also stayed up in Gnaraloo the place where there was no running water bud good swells wind and fishing locations.
One night we went fishing and caught a shark. that night we eat it and Collin got really sick not of the shark but from the sun. he’s been throwing up for the whole night next to the van and my tent.
there where also friends with Ian and a girl can’t remember her name it’s been to long. but we went on and on along the coast.
I can go on and on about the stories but they will all and the same in a helerias story.
Lost June i met Peter Vogt a windsurfer from swiss down in Holland again on a Mystic Meeting also he’s been traveling with us and we spook about the fun we had had with Collin Caroline and most of all the whole group.
At that time we didn’t now Collin already had left us but we will keep up all the great memories we had together.
Thats what you see you will never forget the great moments of life.
Some friends stay for ever even when you don’t see each other very often.
I met Caroline about 6 years ago down in Holland when she visited her relatives in Holland. same story we know each other well and the feeling is right again as soon as we meet up.
That’s why you are always welcome and very happy to stay with us when ever you want or need.
I hope my english writing is ok and love from me. Tamara and Luuk
i miss you uncle colin
you will always be the best
always
i wish i could see you now