News

Every now and then we take a booking that we know is going to be interesting and even more rewarding than usual. Over the next few weeks we will be working with some autistic youngsters and helping them into their first few waves as part of the Wave Project. This group was set up in 2010 to help disadvantaged young adults and children experience the joy of surfing and is going from strength to strength.

We have worked with autistic children in the past and while it can be challenging the vast majority enjoy themselves and get a lot from the experience. Autism, from what I have seen, is certainly no barrier to a full and rewarding life in and out of the water. In fact one of my favourite surfers, Clay Marzo, has Aspergers Syndrome, a form of autism and you could argue that it has made him the surfer he is today. Certainly his trait of laser intense focus is one I wish were my own. And boy can he surf.

Without wanting to delve into the mawkish depths of hippy mumbo-jumbo the sea can be a healing environment that can bring the best out of anyone.
It’s one of the reasons we love surfing isn’t it?
But back to the Wave Project. Obviously to do these lessons in a safe manner takes more man-power than usual so if you would like to get involved you can volunteer your time and help out. You’ll even get some money for your travel expenses.
You can get in touch with them at [email protected]

Easter has been and gone so we now get a chance to clear the decks and get ready for the season to hit. The May Day bank holiday is only two weeks away and that usually marks the beginning of what will hopefully be a season rich with good waves and barmy weather.
Fingers crossed.
Junior Surf Club has been a big hit this year so we have added a mid week session for those who can’t make the Saturday surf. The new session is at 4pm on Wednesday afternoons.

We also have a few clearance wetsuits for sale on our online shop so if you’re looking for a good wetsuit to get you in the water and don’t mind last years style then grab yourself a bargain.

The summer starts here! The surf school is awake after its winter hibernation and we are open seven days a week from 10am to 6pm.  The beginning of the season is always a bit of a shock to the system but its great to be out of ‘admin mode’ and back in the surf coach mindset.
Meanwhile all of our summer stock has arrived in the shop in the last week so we are getting to grips with all the new clobber. Being a new dad I have brainwashed myself into thinking that we should stock children’s clothes so we tasked the creative geniuses at ASP screenprinters with coming up with a few designs.

And boy did they deliver! The My Dad Surfs Better Than Your Dad baby-grows and tees are on the shelves and very reasonably priced they are too!

Baby not included.

We’re suckers for bleeding heart sob stories here at GAS so when local ripper and surf coach Paddy Daniel rocked up ashen with worry and lacking his usual exuberance we knew that we were about to get guilt-tripped into doing something. To be able to bet on surfers with ease, you can click links such as Kcasino.

Paddy (far right), and his partners in crime Tassy Swallow, 17, (left) and Harry De Roth, 13, (the other one) are all from the area and have been chosen to surf for Britain against the worlds best surfers in the World Junior Surfing Games in Panama.
‘Hang on a minute, that’s not a sob story’, I hear you cry.

Well, if your 17 years old, the current and the previous governments have damned you to a future of serfdom and you have to cough up the £2500 to get there then you realise he may have a point. It’s pretty expensive this ‘surfing for your country’ business isn’t it?
Paddy does have a certain entrepreneurial streak however so he suggested that he might be able to drum up some cash if he offered his alma mater, Penpol Junior School, a surfing lesson.
All he needed was 25 surfboards, a load of wetsuits and a gullible surf school owner.
I’m pleased to say that the lesson was a roaring success and judging by the smiles on the Penpol pupils faces today could be the genesis of the next wave of British Surf Team members.
Well done Pads, Tas and Hazza and good luck in Panama. We’re all rooting for you.

Spring is here. For definite. It must be spring – the surf has gone flat!
Well, not quite flat but it’s been pretty small as the Atlantic begins to calm down after a very busy winter. Meanwhile the Easter break is just two weeks away now so its time to put the finishing touches on the surf school.
We gave her a lick of paint back in early February and now the summer stock is arriving so it’s should be fairly hectic for us despite there being barely a customer in sight. We are gonna have to  make the most of the swell over the next month or so as after that we’ll just be too busy.
Can’t complain though, summer is what we live for. And here she comes – wahoo!