Lastly in this mini-series we have the one, the only, Mr Ben Proffitt. The voice of many a PWA event and one of Simmer’s top international riders. When it comes to storm sailing, chasing storms and knowing the weather charts inside out then he is certainly well qualified to tell us more. It only takes ten minutes with him to realise his knowledge is like that of an old salty sea-fairer crammed into the body of a young professional athlete. So pay attention if you are considering the next storm heading your way.

1. Learn to read the charts/isobars. I mean sometimes you can look at Bigsalty or windguru and think ‘it’s on!’ But in reality it doesn’t come through… the weather sites are not always 100% right! Sometimes the spot is very close to the middle of the low so if it just moves a touch you can get skunked, also if there is a kink in the isobars it can have the same effect with the wind strength or direction changing! I like to have a quick check at the charts and also look at sites like Xcweather. On this site you can have a cruise round all the spots and get a real idea of whats happening around the country and also get some real time weather stats to see if it’s coming through as predicted!