As part of the RYA Instructor of the Year Awards, Bob Shillito picked up the award for T15 Coach earlier this year. Bob is head coach of the Axbridge Animals and has done a fantastic job with the club since it joined the T15 ranks at the beginning of last season. The RYA team would like to thank Bob for his support of the T15 initiative and we wish the Animals luck in winning the SW(n) Zone series - they have already won one event this season.

How many years have you been windsurfing?
Quarter of a century - arrgh!

Where do you windsurf yourself?
Burnham-on-Sea, Weston-super-Mare and Daymer as often as possible. All good locations, with different conditions. At Burnham you are sandwiched between the effluent of Bridgwater coming down the river on one side and Hinkley Point nuclear power station on the other but it’s worth the risk: just don’t drink too much water!

What kit do you sail?
The favourite board of the moment is a Maui Project Style which is just such good fun and really versatile. I also have a Fanatic Cross 120 which is good for the lake and marginal winds, and an old but trusty F2 Axxis 268 which doubles as a high wind bump and jump, and as a wave board. I’m also a big fan of F2 Discoverys and mess about on one at any opportunity. I mainly use Tushy sails although I had a really nice Pryde V8 and currently have an Arrows Zest which is great for freestyle.

Best windsurfing moment?
Hmm, tricky. Probably getting to the end of day 3 of the Bacardi HiHo in 1998. Just arriving at the right island and finding the finish after about 20 miles racing was quite something. Finding that I was ahead of many of the others was something else!

Favourite place you have ever windsurfed - UK & abroad?
It has to be the Camel Estuary (Padstow, Cornwall) - Daymer Bay and the whole doom bar is awesome. But Vassiliki in Greece is fantastic for a week or two – and very flattering!

Who or what has inspired you the most?
Possibly a trip to the indoor windsurfing at Bercy. A chance to see all the stars bigging it up and a fantastic atmosphere.

How long have you been an RYA instructor?
Only a year and a half. After years of teaching informally, I thought I ought to find out how to do it properly.

What motivated you to become and instructor?
To get Axbridge Animals Team 15 off the ground.

What's the biggest buzz about instructing?
When they come back for more and keep on going.

Have you had any other careers?
Running a team15 club isn't exactly a career, although it is very time consuming and makes use of most of the work-related skills that I have. In my spare time(!) I run a graphics software company.

Any hidden talents outside of windsurfing?
Anything else to do with water; liquid or solid: snowboarding, skiing, wakeboarding, sailing, rowing, etc.

Any other Hobbies?
Fixing almost anything with cable ties. All windsurfers should have some in their kit bag!

Alive or dead, who would you most like to meet?
No idea!

Any top tips for T15 clubbers?
Make sure that you are having fun. Then you’ll do it well and get better.

Finally, what's the best thing for you about team15?
Being able to pass on my own love of windsurfing, which has kept me stoked - and sane - for a very long time.