Tips & Info

It’s not often that a little bit of surfing history turns up at the surf school but I guess if it was going to happen it would be this week.

The surf and weather have been stupendous for the last week so naturally we have been fairy busy. In theory this week is the busiest of the year – something of a hangover when factories used to close the doors for their two week summer holidays 100 or so years ago.
Anyway, yesterday a chap brings in a 30 year old board that by the looks of it has spent the last 29 &3/4 years in his attic. Better yet it was shaped by British surfing legend Bill Bailey, now sadly deceased. Bilbo, as he was known, was Britain’s first surfboard manufacturer and had the original surf shop in the UK and while the board doesn’t really cut the mustard in terms of todays high performance surfboards as a token of British surfing history it is almost unique.
After a bit of haggling the board is now mine but what to do? Do I surf it as was always intended? Or do I put it up on the wall as a bit of art?
If the board was a battered old dog I reckon I’d be straight out on her but now I’m not so sure. Its looking like she will never see saltwater again.
Am I wrong? Does a board deserve to be used?

The schools have released their prisoners and they are all heading for a beach near you!
It doesn’t seem like it was only 20 years ago that I too was released onto the streets with barely a GCSE to my name.

Luckily surfing has been good to me. After a brief foray with John Major’s Surf Team I was fortunate to work in the surf industry in some capacity. Tragically it’s just as unglamorous as working in any other industry – loads or paperwork, emails etc – but at least no one gives you a second glance when you turn up to work in bare feet and smelling of dried seaweed.
After the school activity weeks it now feels like its gone quiet but this is, of course, our busiest period. Last week we had one of the local schools in for a whole week of surfing and while it does get stressful dealing with 40 kids fuelled on nothing but energy drinks and crisps its great to see the improvement  that you get with an intensive surf course.
From now on it will be mainly families who will be surfing with us which is far more relaxing!
The school holidays have certainly started well – its beautiful weather today and looks like the surf should be around waisthigh for the next week or so.
Perfect for surf school.

There were some big, big waves hoofing through at Gwithian today. Way too big to run a safe surfing lesson so we decamped down to Praa Sands on Cornwall’s south coast. There it was an oasis of calm amongst what was, for Cornwall in summer anyway, a hefty storm.

The beauty of Praa is that is a great bolt-hole for surfers. While the North coast is raging during winter storms and howling NW winds you can be reasonably sure that Praa will offer up some small, clean and manageable surf. While the waves aren’t perfect for learners – the beach is quite steep causing waves to break suddenly and powerfully – they are whole lot better than not surfing at all. More experienced surfers, however, love it here. Those grunty waves that might smother a beginner provide a perfect launchpad for good surfers out there.
There was quite a crew out – it’s always busy here when there are waves – but there were plenty of waves if you were sat in the right spot.
The waves and weather are due to calm down a bit tomorrow so it’s all systems go at Gwithers again. Home, sweet, home!

A spectacular week of sun and surf has drawn to a close. There are still a few waves to be had but its definitely dropped off a bit now. Cornwall is, however, beginning to get busier – the roads through Hayle are rammed in the morning and early evenings and you even have to queue to get a pasty. A dire state of affairs if ever there was one.

Meanwhile at the surf school we have been busy with the local, and not so local, schools. I’m sure I’ve mentioned it before that school was way different in my day (which wasn’t that long ago!).  The last week of term was invariably filled up with playing hangman, watching videos – usually a Lenny Henry vehicle of some kind – and waiting for the school bell to ring for the final time.
Now they get to go surfing. For the whole week.
And boy, oh boy do some kids take to it well. We have had perfect surf for the school kids this year. People often think that big powerful waves are best for the surf school lesson but in fact knee to waist high waves are best. You can achieve so much during a surf lesson in this kind of surf – its not too big to frighten anyone but the waves still have enough push to get the students up and riding.
Better yet, the student can go ‘out the back’ and ride the unbroken green waves.
Our previous record for getting someone cutting across the green wave was three surfing lessons.
Now it is two! A couple of young surfers from Bristol Steiners School were absolutely ripping. It kind of makes me wonder how many good surfers we would have if a big city like London or Manchester had the same ease of access to good surf as Sydney or San Diego. We may even have had a World Champion or two.
Ah, well. Enough of the dreaming and back to work.

Whisper it, but I think summer may have arrived. The surf has been trundling through at a very respectable headhigh, the winds are offshore and even the weather is cooperating.
The usual signatures of summer can be clearly seen. There is a healthy layer of sand in the porch, some surf wax has been trodden into the carpet and my nose and neck are blistered wrecks. Even the surf school tortoise is looking spry and energetic in the balmy mid day sun.

Of course the clearest sign that summer is well and truly among us is the crowds. The local kids haven’t broken up from school yet but there are plenty of Scots around and the roads are filling up. The beautiful thing about Gwithian is if you time it right you can still get plenty of waves and a bit of solitude – a three mile beach can usually spread the people out nicely.
I managed a little surf up the coast today at Perran Sands. Now that place is super quiet – probably something to do with the shin busting 1 mile walk over sand dunes to get back to your car but hey ho.
Tomorrow I’m going to give Gwenvor down by Lands End a go before work. I’ll keep you posted.