Half term is upon us so its time to get things up and running for a week or so. Cornwall is still a little on the quiet side despite the kids having broken up for a week. This is not unusual for this time of year – there may be a few more people around but its barely noticeable. I guess if you are thinking of a holiday at this time of year most people would prefer to hit the slopes in Europe rather than a Cornish beach holiday.
There are still a few brave souls on the beach but then the Great British holiday maker has to be an optimist. I even saw some people swimming in shorts yesterday despite the mizzle and the 8˚ water. For the record I won’t even go in the water in shorts unless its over 20˚ and the middle of August. And even then I won’t last much more than 20 minutes. I’m just too used to wetsuits and warmth these days to even consider it – pathetic, I know.
Meanwhile we are making the most of the quiet time to give the surf school a lick of paint, a very deep clean and rearrange things to make the most of the space we have.
We also have a ASI surf coach course coming up on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th of March so we will be putting some new trainee coaches through their paces and getting them ready for what will hopefully be a lifetime of surf coaching. There are still a few spots open if you’re keen!
News
The Next Generation
To mark the beginning of what must surely be the best week of weather for the entire winter I did something extraordinary on Tuesday. I witnessed the birth of my son Finn Luke Bear Greenaway who weighed in at a healthy 7 lbs 10. Clearly I haven’t been getting in the waves at all this week and from the screaming I heard earlier its doubtful if I’ll get back in the water for a week or two but for the first time in my life I think I have found something that rivals surfing. I just hope the boy will love surfing as much as I do and we can spend a whole lot of time at the beach.
By pure chance this week coincided with a chap asking if he could bring a four year old for a lesson this summer. Normally we won’t teach anyone under the age of six but it got me thinking how young an age could you begin surfing at. I’ve seen footage of a three year old riding tandem with his father – hell, I’ve even seen a kid barely able to take his own weight surf tandem but in both cases the children were being held in place and didn’t have to actually do anything themselves other than admire the view.
I guess that providing a surf coach or an adult could get the surfboard to knee depth on a very small surf day then it would be safe enough for a four year old to catch a couple of waves and stand up unassisted. I suspect a lot depends on the four year old in question. I also think that if the conditions were anything less than perfect then it could put the child off surfing for life and who wants to risk that?
The funny thing is that any 5 – 7 year old can stand up with almost no assistance whatsoever. They seem to be able to stand on any board and on any wave but they do need help with getting their surfboard out to knee/waist depth water and catching waves.
It’s great to be young, eh?
Storm Force Ten
There was I prattling on about how good the weather had been when all of a sudden the heavens opened. Its been a bit damp and stormy for the last couple of weeks to say the least and we have been stuck in a Westerly wind cycle. Westerlies are the ‘pointless’ winds in this part of the world. They just bring rain in the winter and there are no coves where you can shelter unless the swell is so large that you can surf on the English Channel side of the Lizard peninsula. And that don’t never ‘appen!
There has been the odd break in the winds though. Usually when a storm passes overhead you get a few hours respite with light winds, ideally from an easterly direction, like in the above photo. This little beauty was taken a few weeks ago now but it was one hell of a weekend. Swell, good winds and good banks. Its rare to get three of those at the same time in January so to get good weather as well is nothing short of a miracle.
As for the coming weekend its looking like a cold one. Northerly winds and clear skies. Surfing in this weather means its almost impossible to get enough feeling into your hands after a surf to grips your car keys and unlock the doors. Thank God for central locking infra-red key fobs – without them I’d still be in the car park now.
New Year
We are well and truly into 2012 and it looks like at long last there is going to be a break in the cycle of westerly winds that blight Cornish surfing.
And hurrah for that.
A nice big high pressure is looming into view but she just needs to track north past Portugal and over our fair shores. It’ll bring some cold weather thought the winds will be much lighter; definitely lighter than the 100mph gusts that have been wreaking havoc in Scotland and the North and destroying the sandbanks that had been developing on our beaches since Autumn.
Today is the first day in a week that it hasn’t rained and there is nothing like getting changed in a damp car park to completely take away any enthusiasm you might have for a winter surf.
When the wind and weather is like what we have had since Christmas then all you can do is drive around hoping that you can find a sheltered cove that will make sense of the swell with cliffs high enough to take the edge off the wind. Then you’ve just got to steel yourself for the hellish five minute struggle into your wetsuit!
There is a cracking wave that breaks into St Ives harbour (pictured above last April) but it’s rare that you get tide, swell and wind all working together for this little beauty to fire up. It almost got going on Tuesday but by the time the tide was right it was dark but at least Praa Sands has offered up a few waves during the week.
I’ll keep my fingers crossed for the coming week!
Bye Bye 2011
And 2011 draws to a close. Not with the bang that the early Autumn swells promised but with a bit of a whimper. There has been surf during December but there hasn’t been a lot on offer other than some surfs down at Hayle on Boxing Day and the 27th and a few, by and large, diabolical surfs at Praa Sands.
Overall though you’d have to say that 2011 was a good year. Surf-wise its been an incredibly violent time in the Atlantic and so long as there is enough swell you can always find a sheltered cove somewhere that will make sense of it.
Even the summer provided plenty of waves but next year some more sun would be nice!
If next year is as good I’ll be stoked – we’ve got a child due at the end of January, our first, so I have a feeling it will be a good one. Though I’m told very tiring. I guess I wont be surfing as much as this year!
Well, have a great 2012 from all of us at Gwithian Academy of Surfing – hope it gives you loads of waves and sunshine.
