Tips & Info

What is supposedly the coldest time of the year is passing by nicely thank you very much. Sure, we’re not in shorts and t-shirts but its been dry and relatively warm though the mist has been a bit of a pain. I haven’t even had to light the fire in the evenings so thats a pretty good sign.
And the surf? Well, that ain’t been too shabby either. There has been plenty on swell in the last week or so and the settled weather has brought light winds making two surfs a day possible without having to spend hours thawing out in between.

Fatherhood, contrary to expectations, has made me much keener for surfing. This is probably due to not being able to choose my moments for a surf as well as normal so I have ended up surfing Gwithian at unusual, for me, times and tides. I’m normally a ‘high tide’ or ‘two hours before low’ surfer but now that my surfing window is dictated solely by Finns (the little’uns) feeding patterns I am surfing waves and parts of the beach that I would never normally bother with. I used to be quite choosey about the quality of waves I would risk putting on a wet wetsuit in a cold gravel car park but now if there is any sort or rideable wave I’m in there.
Today, thankfully, the waves are absolutely smoking so I should get a few during Finns afternoon snooze.
Meanwhile Ian (aka Gab – surf school manager and top dog in my absence) has been getting a lick of paint round the surf school and getting everything ready for summers stock which should arrive any day now. It’s looking ship shape and bristol fashion down there now and ready for the doors to be flung open on Saturday 31st of March. Can’t wait.
And finally, we are running our first ASI Surf Coach course of the season on the 4th, 5th and 6th of March. If you’re looking to fritter your life away at the beach then this has to be the best way to do it!

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!

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.

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!