Since returning from Sardinia in September 2012, Jake, now 20, has worked at Boylos Watersports shop in Lyme Regis, Dorset, through a friend Murray Saunders, who he met on his SI course.

As well as working with distribution for major windsurfing brands, Jake also teaches Paddleboarding having been fast-tracked through his instructor course thanks to his windsurfing instructor qualifications.

He admits while his windsurfing qualifications set him on the path to the life he now lives, it’s been the people he has met along the way that have opened the doors.

Jake added: “I spend my days overlooking the lovely bay at Lyme Regis, with two flexible days off each week that allow me go wavesailing locally or in Cornwall. When I started doing T15 at Pitsford I couldn’t have imagined this would be my life!

“You meet so many different people in the watersports environment it’s impossible to know what opportunities you might get next. I’ve met a Belgian filmmaker who’s worked on ads for Red Bull and Quiksilver, and a friend of mine now works in the marine industry through someone he met while working for Mark Warner.

“When you start as a windsurfing instructor you think that is going to be your life but it’s the contacts you make that can really define what happens. I owe everything I’ve got at the moment to windsurfing. That is a pretty cool thing to be able to say.”

To find out how you could become an RYA qualified Windsurfing Instructor, and dates for forthcoming courses visit www.rya.org.uk