Farrel O’Shea, record-breaking windsurfer who dedicated his life to the pursuit of speed – obituary

Farrel O’Shea, who has died aged 60, was one of the greats of windsurfing, his dazzling feats on a board helping to popularise the sport through its heyday in the 1980s and 1990s.

He was a pioneer of “wavesailing”, pushing boundaries and inventing aerial manoeuvres in the ocean waves. He was one of the first to perform a forward loop, a cartwheel over the end of the mast, as well as a “cheese roll”, a 360º corkscrew-like rotation in which the windsurfer dives over the boom.

Then he turned to speed windsurfing – from Sotovento on Fuerteventura in the Canaries to the barren coast of Namibia – and over four decades became obsessed with the pursuit of speed. He clocked 30 knots in 1986, but it was not until 2008 that he broke the British record, reaching 44.34 knots (51 mph) at Les Saintes Maries in France.

Four years on, the challenge had relocated to a 500m stretch of a purpose-built canal off Luderitz on Namibia’s desert coastline; it had become the racetrack of choice for breaking windsurfing speed sailing records thanks to its strong winds and shallow water, which stays relatively flat in the strongest of gusts.

It was there in 2012 that O’Shea broke the British record again, with a speed of 48.82 knots. Then on November 2 2015, at the age of 52, he clocked 49.24 knots, close to the 50-knot barrier.

Two days later the day began with the wind averaging 25-35 knots, a Force 7 – not enough for O’Shea – but it steadily increased until it was gusting over 50 knots, storm Force 10. Crashing in these conditions would have been like coming off a motorbike at 60mph.

“People who underestimate these conditions can pay a heavy price,” said O’Shea some years later. “The canal is narrow with not much margin for error. You’ve really got to know what you’re doing. If you roll the dice too much here it will bite you big time.”

As the afternoon progressed speeds continued to increase; battling both winds and sand, O’Shea took to the canal and finally smashed the 50-knot barrier, ultimately finishing with a British record of 51.2 knots, almost 60mph.

“I can’t really remember the run too much,” he said immediately afterwards. “I made it round the corner and just thought, let’s go – rock and roll.”

Farrel Terence O’Shea, known as Faz to his friends, was born on August 3 1963 in Wellington, Shropshire, the second of two children. His mother ran an antique jewellery and vintage clothing business while his father was head gardener at a leisure centre. Educated locally, Farrel took up windsurfing in his teens and was soon wavesailing off Rhosneigr beach on Anglesey.

At 6ft 3in he was a big man, completely fearless, with a zeal for windsurfing in the most extreme conditions. His talent was obvious from the start. “I saw this guy at the speed of lightning and thought, who’s that?” recalled one friend. “He could pull off unbelievable manoeuvres off small waves – he was exceptionally talented.”

Competitions did not appeal: he was content to follow the wind and waves, gracing the covers of magazines through the sport’s heyday in the 1980s and 1990s. In 1987 he wrote a popular guide called An Introduction to Windsurfing, which was published in multiple countries.

Despite regularly travelling to the windsurfing hotspots of Maui and Fuerteventura, O’Shea said his favourite location was Abersoch in North Wales; he moved there in the late 1980s and set up a successful business importing, manufacturing and selling surf wear and watersports equipment.

Named UKWA Windsurfer of the Year in 2013, O’Shea was passionate about developing the sport and helping others, and would give his advice freely, preferably over a cup of tea. He also got into wakeboarding, and in 2000 founded Wakestock, a popular wakeboarding festival. He later branched out into stand-up paddleboarding, with his distinctive O’Shea yellow inflatable boards.

In recent years he had taken up wingfoiling as that sport developed, and he broke the British speed record the day he died; he collapsed on the beach at La Palme in France.

Farrel O’Shea, born August 3 1963, died June 2 2024