Archive for: Surfing

During our stay at the Ammos hotel in Agii Apostoli, believe it or not I actually surfed for 3 days. Greece is not renowned for surfing at all and I was quite stoked that I managed to surf, during what was supposed to be a non-surfing holiday.

After a few days of the sea being like a millpond in front of the hotel I awoke on the 3rd morning to find a little wind swell had created a 1-2ft wave. I had seen a kid’s bodyboard lying around the hotel the day before, so I grabbed it and went out for a little session. I was having a bit of a laugh until I snapped it, it is after all meant for little kids and not a 13.5 stone man!

As if by some predestined act, Rose had told me about this “surf board” she had seen lying on the beach the day before. I walked up the beach and found what was actually a 14ft (ish) wind surfing board (without the sail). Keen to get in the water I picked up the massive board and gave it the once over. It would seem it was going to be a bit of a challenge as the board was huge, had no leash, weighed a tonne, had holes in the deck where the sail is supposed to be attached, no wax (for grip) and no fins on the bottom (which provide traction and thrust to aid in turning the board).

Anyway I thought, what the hell I’ll give it a whizz and see what happens. I took the beast out and managed to get a few waves (and the pics to prove it – see below). It was funny riding such a massive and heavy vessel and kind of reminded me of the boards they used to use in the pioneering days of the 1940s-1950s when they utilised heavy redwood and not fibreglass/foam boards.

The board handled pretty poorly as it had no fins, so whenever you got any speed the tail slipped out and you started going sideways into a uncontrollable 180 degree turn, eventually leading to a wipe out and in my case cutting my feet open a few times. The other problem was having no leash, so if after a wipe out occurred and I didn’t get to the board in time, it would be washed invariably all the way to the beach, meaning a 100m swim every time (good for the fitness though). But I had fun and the few people who walked along the beach stopped and watched for a short while at this crazy English surfer trying to get some waves.

I am not sure if I was the first person to surf (not windsurf) at Agii Apostoli in Crete, but I felt kind of pioneering. For 3 days I had the water totally to myself, which is a rare occurrence these days, possibly the surf gods giving me something back for all the crap conditions we’ve had in the UK over the past few years.

This weekend Richie and I hit up a dawn surf patrol at East Runton on the north Norfolk coast. We got up on Saturday morning at the unearthly hour of 5am. We strapped the boards to the frost-covered roof of the car and were on the road for 5.45am. En-route we were treated to a magnificent sunrise, the kind that makes it all worthwhile being awake at that time of the morning.

On arrival we were greeted by a solid 4-6ft swell, clean lines and plenty of enthusiasm to get ourselves into the water, albeit rather chilly.

We surfed for about 3.5 hours and I managed to catch a good dozen or so waves on both the 6’4 and 8’2. It was great to be rewarded with a decent session with some size after driving all that way and also after surfing in Devon earlier this year in quite poor conditions. I think I might have overdone it though, as I was shivering uncontrollably as I got out (took me the rest of the afternoon to warm up).

I took a few photos before we jumped in the water, all of which are on Flickr, check em out!

I returned a few days ago, from what could be described as the wettest holiday in Devon I’ve ever had. We had 1 full day of sunshine and then the rest was either showers or heavy downpours, which put a rather large dampener on the whole thing.

The waves were a mixture of 1-2ft clean lines and 3-6ft storm surf. We improvised and managed to use every board in the quiver from the 8’2, 6’4, 6’2 to 6’0. Richie even got stuck in and bought himself a brand new Tiki 8’4 Megamal and has now he renewed the stoke!

I took my Canon EOS and my new EF 55-250mm telephoto lens and got some pretty nice shots. Check out the a few of them on Flickr.

Hopefully as we move into autumn we’ll get some more sizeable and cleaner sessions, wonders will never cease!

Not many wave shots this time due to 2 factors: 1 not having a good enough zoom lens (yet) to get any close up action and 2. we were in the water all the time and had no one to take any pictures of us (the age old dilema).

Anyway here are a few scenic shots of a moody sunset over Fistral beach. More on my Flickr.

I am sitting in the back of my car trying to occupy myself whilst Beej drives us back from Cornwall. We have spent the past 4 days surfing in Newquay and have had a mixed bag of both weather and waves: a few sunny days, some rain, plenty of wind and varying degrees of small, fun summer waves.

We surfed Great Western (one of the town beaches in Newquay) due to there being too much of an onshore wind at our usual sport over at Fistral. This time we controversially left the 8’2 mal (a.k.a Mitch) at home and packed a 3 board quiver: 6’8, 6’4 and 6’0. The idea was that it would force us to step up our game a little (the longer your board the easier it is to paddle and catch waves). There was swell predicted for the entire week, so we felt reasonably confident that we were making the right decision.

On arrival on Friday morning, we we rewarded for our efforts with a nice clean, fun wave over at Newquay Bay. For some reason I surfed very poorly, I just couldn’t find my flow, and had a rather crap session despite the good conditions. Beej on the other hand was all over it, like a hoover sucking up every possible wave coming within earshot of him. End of day 1, 1:0 to Beej.

That evening a celebratory trip to the Indian summer was the order of the day after 4 hours in the water and the 6 hour drive. We supped on a few pints and then relaxed with a post-meal DVD.

We awoke the next morning to Malcom’s bell ringing and a quality breakfast. Day 2 was characterised by more of the same, although this time I found my flow and grabbed a load of waves, forehand and backhand on the 6’4. Beej bought a new board but managed to put the leash through the tail after about an hour (what a shredder), so that had to go back to the shop. I think it must have been the busted board, but Beej didn’t really get his groove on after returning from the shop, so the score at the end of day 2 was 1:1. That evening we settled for a couple of Strongbows, some fish and chips and another DVD.

The 3rd day, still with new board at the shop, Beej and I hit up a mid-to-full tide Great Western. The waves were a bit thick and dumped a little bit on the beach. The latter half of the day the wind got up and things got pretty choppy. We ended up surfing for 4 hours and called it a head to head heat. Later in the evening we stopped off at the Fort Inn for a massive platter of Surf and Turf and a couple of Guinness’. Bon!

The morning we left, Beej was still without a board after the shop not being able to get it fixed in time for our departure. So after a little stressing and some careful negotiation with the owner, Beej managed to wangle a deal that meant he could swap the broken board for a new one: a rather nice 6’4 Lost short board (that I had my eye on).

Following the “upgrade” we had to test out the new board, so we headed over to Fistral for a “quick” surf before we returned to Essex. The waves were a little bigger that morning, maybe 4ft and a lot thicker. We both got a couple of good rides before the conditions turned to slop.

We left Newquay having had a good time, but as always for me (am not sure about Beej) I wanted more: cleaner, longer and bigger waves. So although my appetite was satisfied for a few days, I am still as hungry as ever to get out there and continue to explore new places, feelings and styles. But there is no rush, as Gerry says “there is always another wave around the corner”.

Beej and I are off to surf Newquay (and the surrounding area tomorrow). We are going for 4 days (taking Friday and Monday off work). The forecast (see below) looks reasonable, plenty of swell, hopefully the wind won’t blow it out.

We just need to decide which boards to take (the age old dilema), hopefully there will be enough swell to merit using my shortboard. As much as I love using the 8’2 Mitch, I really fancy getting a little more technical and speedy, rather than using the usual cruiser, we’ll see!

Watch this space for some nice lomo-style photos (and maybe even some video).

Beej and I had a great time down in Newquay for a few days surf. The weather on Tuesday was amazing: sunny skies, light offshore breezes and a decent 3 ft wave to glide along.

I spent 3 hours solid in the water (overdoing it as usual) and then got out absolutely exhausted (I had got up at 4.45a.m and driven 6 hours to Cornwall). In the evening we chilled with a few bows and some fish and chips and then checked out the sun setting over Fistral beach.

The next day started off sunny, but then progressively clouded over. We hit the water in the morning and although the swell had dropped off and the water was a little cooler we still got a few rides. We then chilled out on the beach for a while and then hit the water again in the evening for another couple of hours. By this time the swell had dropped off again, but we still had a good time.

That evening we hit up the Indian Summer and got stuck into a hearty meal and a few beers to reward ourselves for our efforts. The rest of the evening was spent watching about 10 minutes of Raiders of the Lost Ark, before passing out for a well-earned rest.

We returned on Thursday and faced a mammoth 6 hour drive, which went relatively smoothly, until we hit the M25 and got stuck as per usual.

All in all, it was a good mini break, although I would have liked the waves to be a little bigger and more consistent, but good times all the same. There are a couple of snaps below from the trip.

 

So Beej and I are heading off to the South West tomorrow for a couple of days mid-week surfing in and around the Newquay area. The weather is immaculate at the moment, with pristine blue skies, warm sunshine and a light easterly breeze (offshore for the South West). The surf report says approximately 3-5ft @ 10 seconds which (to non-surfers) that means probably knee to waist high waves. Nothing to write home about but there should be a fun, clean wave to be had all the same.

I spent the best part of Sunday getting my quiver in order. Dings have been fixed, fins and leashes have been cleaned and everything is ready to go. The next task will be deciding on which boards to take: 8’2, 6’8, 6’4 or 6’0 (plus Beej’s 6’2 UB fish), decisions decisions.

We are camping it, nothing confirmed yet, just a bit of see what turns up really, plenty of options and the weather will hopefully be on our side.

I was sitting on the train this morning getting excited and smiling (in a carriage full of grey commuters) as I started to visualise the feeling of being out in the surf again: the water, the smell and taste of the sea, the sunshine, the rhythm of the ocean, altogether making for a stoke-filled experience.

Early start tomorrow, leaving Essex for 5.30am, hoping to avoid London traffic and arrive for a lunch time surf, fingers crossed!

More news and pics/video soon…

Last weekend Ben C and I took off to the South West of England to (try) and enjoy some wave action down in Devon. We’d booked in at the Chapel Farm in Croyde a few weeks previously and were hoping for some warm spring conditions with some decent, uncrowded waves. What we got instead was freezing temperatures, howling onshore winds and shitty weather.

We made the call to go anyway, regardless of the conditions, as we had paid for the accomodation already, so had nothing to lose. As it turned out, we had a cool time, eat some nice breakfasts, took in the beautiful Devonshire countryside, had a few ales, games of cards and a load of laughs.

We eventually got into the surf on the Saturday, having found a slightly more managable and less messy wave at Saunton Sands. So fully kitted up: winter suits, gloves, boots and surf bonnets we hit the waves. Surprisingly we were quite warm and last 2 hours. BJC said, and I quote, “those are some of the best rides I’ve gotten on the UB”. I was stoked that he was stoked, and moreso as now he has surfed in cold water he is a.) not phased by surfing in the cold and b.) more likely to want to go again now he has got some decent rides.

Here are a couple of shot of team “surf bonnet”.

After a week’s worth of debating over whether we could handle the cold, and carefully watching the charts, Deano and I decided we’d make the trip up to Norfolk for what will probably be the last surf of the year.

We set the alarm for 6am and got the quiver ready and then packed up the car and hit the road for East Runton. We were treated to an amazing sunrise, which the photos don’t really do justice to, but anyway. We reached Runton about 9.15 and we treated with a brisk offshore breeze and an air temperature of about 4 degrees. Yep, we were venturing into new territory, the coldest surf of our lives.

Runton had quite a bit of form to it today, but due to the high tide being at 5.30am, and it not getting light until 7.30, we reached the beach at mid-tide, so the waves probably had dropped off a little. As the tide went out, the swell would drop off again.

We suited up, me wearing a rash vest, a 2/2, a 3/2, gloves and booties, Deano in his 5/3 and booties (but no gloves). There were a few other guys around, all fully suited with hoods, gloves and booties. I am not that keen on a hood, as 1. they look a bit gay and 2. they impair your peripheral vision, so we went in without them. Mistake! After getting a few on the head, the pain from the cold was so intense that you felt as if you brain was actually aching, this is probably a little dangerous, but whatever.

We surfed for about an hour, then Deano had to get out due to the fact that his hands were completely numb (they must have been numb when he entered the water, so god knows how they felt after). I proceeded to get a few waves on the 6’4 and then a couple of nice ones on the 8’2.

Afterwards we cruised up to Cromer and had a little fish and chips to stoke up the boiler and then made the drive back to Essex. All in all a cold but rewarding morning.

Are we mad, I’d like to think so. When you look at it, everyone else was probably tucked up in bed, all cozy and warm and relaxed on a Saturday morning. Us two, we left perfectly warm beds and then scraped the ice off my car, and then plunged our bodies into water that can give you hypothermia if you don’t have enough neoprene around your body!

As they say, to get the ultimate thrill you gotta pay the ultimate price! Come on…