FLOATING down the River Chelmer with his best mate and pet Labrador Tinkerbell, surfer dude Jake Moore shunned the Queen's visit on May 6 to create his own spectacle.
"Tinkerbell loves the water," Jake told the Chronicle.
"It's not too difficult because these are bigger boards. They are relatively stable and she can just sit on the front. Occasionally she jumps off but she will then jump back on at any time."
For the 21-year-old, such antics are nothing out of the ordinary.
Mr Moore, who as owner of Curve Board Sports in Navigation Road could well be the youngest shopkeeper in Chelmsford, is this week appealing to others to enjoy the county's waters as he does.
"You can get so much out of the English ocean and in the summer it's no colder than in Spain or France," said Mr Moore. "Here in Essex we are the luckiest people around.
"I've travelled around the UK kite-surfing but have not been anywhere as good as here. You've got Frinton, Clacton, Mersea, Southend, Maldon and Bradwell.
"Clacton is not the prettiest place but if you go down to Martello Bay on a sunny day you could be anywhere in the world. And even here in Chelmsford, you could paddle board, like me, down the River Chelmer to Danbury. People drive over that river and don't realise what they can do with it."
Mr Moore, from Dedham, has dabbled in water sports ever since he could walk and was soon competing nationally as a kite surfer.
He brainstormed the prospect of setting up a shop eight months ago, opening up in March, thanks to his mother's £40,000 investment.
"It's one of the hardest things I've ever done," said Jake, who sells clothes as well as boards.
"People say doing A levels is hard but I would like to see them set up their own shop.
"There are so many things to think about, business rates, water, electricity, and that's before you kit out the shop with equipment, posters, and get a website."
On top of this, qualified instructor Mr Moore leads Stand Up Paddle (SUP) boarding lessons while also helping tutor at Zenith Kiting, run by "best mate" Matty Hurrell.
The two met when Jake crashed into four of Matty's students while kite-surfing in Clacton.
"It's a pretty good partnership," joked Jake.
