Baby Sitting

Laura's first day back at school, and I feel so drained looking after the little people. Predictably the surf was on this morning, so Rosa and I watched from the pebbles and reflected on whether we could ever leave this perfect spot, despite not having a home. The perfect house has turned up for us, but its on the wrong coast and we can't move back to South Devon - any thoughts would be appreicated.

PS - Please get in touch with Edge watersports if you are looking for any windsurfing gear. They have a massive sale going on as all the windsurf kit must go. Follow the link.

Windandsea

Blue skies and a Westerly breeze got me on the water for a few hours this afternoon. It was just nice to be on the water, even if the wind wasn't really playing ball. Apologies for being lazy with the camera of late, but sometimes it's more important to get out there - hence the Webcam image (from Saunton - courtesy of eyeball)

Beer Festival

Sadly Newton Abbot Beer festival has come and gone, and I didn't get a drop to drink. Due to 'other commitments' I was restrained from this mid devon drink-a-thon. Apologies for not making my one yearly commitment to the Teignmouth contingent and the Grand master Ben Thompy. Driven by the fear of further emasculation that evening - I paddled out solo and had a great little surf on my 6'8 fish. No photos - Sorry.

San Clemente SurfBoards & Art: Custom painted wood boards & Surfboards by Paul Carter

San Clemente SurfBoards & Art: Custom painted wood boards & Surfboards by Paul Carter

Summer is coming

First week in a shorty, and water temps have risen to just about comfortable. Managed to sneak out for a surf, between the house hunting. No clear sign of potential new home, but a very good forecast for wind/surf this weekend. Swell also looks to be improving, although tomorrow I head south under the watchful eye of Steph and Eric @ Edgewatersports.com . Expert kite surf tuition from the team (wind permitting) to renew my confidence. Many thanks guys !

Point Guard

After the Big Tuesday swell dropped away, I sat down to review some of the other photos. What really impressed me about that day was how different spots started working at different stages of the tide, and I just had to post these pictures of the lone surfer who really left no margin for error. He was the only one out at the point, and the bigger sets he left alone. Smart guy !

If you made any mistake you would end up directly on the rocks, and when the bigger waves pushed through the rocks started to appear in the wave face.

Apart from having large cajones, do you reckon he has some secret talisman to ward off the darker forces of the cliff ?

Big Tuesday

(Click to enlarge) WindGuru.cz gave it 4 out of 5 stars, and all the forecasts suggest it should be 4-6ft. However after a busy Easter and a stinker of a cold - the reality for me was to stay on land. A good walk on the beach and photographing from the ridge, actually had me buzzing. The set waves pushing through were huge, and the ground shook when some of these waves broke. The outer reefs should be working at low tide. Stand by for more pictures.

Holy Saturday

Had been up since 5am and couldn't sleep, so went for a stroll down to the beach. I felt so tired and have a stinking cold, but after watching these guys I raced back home to grab my board. Justin and Keith were on fire this morning - thanks for inspiring me.

Southerly strikes

I have been really interested to see what happens when the Southerly blows at Westward. It should be crosshore, but it seemed more cross off so I stayed in the car park, as I wasn't sure I could sail. Andy attempted to get out, but the wind seemed so gusty as it blew off the land, by the time I finally got round to pulling on my wetsuit, I just grabbed the surfboard and headed out. Hope you enjoy todays shots.

After the weekend.

After the masses return to the grind, the sun goes in and the wave height drops. Or at least that's what it felt like today. I was dragged to the city this weekend and had to leave a beautifully clean 2-4 ft wave. When I returned last night I promised myself whatever the wave, I would make it out tonight. As you can see the sky was dark, the rain poured and it all felt a bit lonely. So when I saw this little clique sat on the horizon, they captured my interest. They sat waiting for the set waves and seemed to have something 'not of this world'. After I took the picture, I paddled out and it felt like the wave seemed to double in height, the guys knew just when to paddle, and picked off wave after wave. However when the next set pushed through, and it was my time to paddle, I looked round and they had vanished.

What the f&*k !?!

After five years of posting on a friends website I have had to cut out all surf pictures. It seems that with all the shots of North Devon, I could be setting a precedent for other surfers to start posting pictures of other wave breaks. Apparently due to localism and protection of wave spots (in B.C.) they want to avoid sharing information on locations. In essence, celebrating nice waves at a good spot, could lead to too much notoriety. Reminds me of why I never really got into surfing at other spots before. Either bad waves or bad attitude - or a combination of both. Here are some shots of todays action - enjoy and get out there and maybe say 'Hi' to other surfers. Share the love : )