Just an amazing day, solid both before and after work, and the winds went fully offshore. Bear and I checked home first and caught Jordan out at first light, looking like he was having fun. My session wasn't quite so great, but made up for it this evening. Solid swell and some great rides, up until i lost my GoPro. Totally gutted at loosing this awesome little camera. Its made a massive impact to the perspective of this blog, and I hope to get straight back out there and either find it or perhaps buy yet another !

As the tide pulled back this little beach break produced some nice punchy down the line wave sailing. The southerly was pretty solid and the waves started pushing through at head height, by the time the light started to fade. No doubt the morning will be even better and hopefully it will have backed offshore. But the best thing about today, has to be the new RRD FSW 90 (in the photo); an absolute gem to sail. Its my new favourite board, and felt great in the waves. One tip though, if you do own this board dependant on where you sail, I would swap out the 26 cm upright fin for a more full on wave shape and probably nothing more than 24cm - it worked so well but still stayed upwind.

Never seemed to have had the time to wax this christmas gift from the guys at Homeblown. However blue skies and a waist high little wave pushed me over the edge and I finally paddled out on the little 9'2 beast.
I had forgotten the simple pleasures of a longboard without leash, and only jumping bass to join me in the line up. 

Pleasure craft.

Missing the fresh air and being stuck behind a desk is usually exaggerated when the wind is blowing or the surf is on. But when my wife sent through some shots of her with the kids during the day, I felt so sad to be missing out and hanging with my best friends. Kids change everything, and nothing makes surfing/windsurfing seem so unimportant as these little guys.

Dropped down to Bude over the weekend and caught up with an old aquaintance, Roger Tout at his store in  town. This picture has been hanging over his till for a couple of years now,  and I meant to ask last time who took the photo. For those who don't know its a very famous spot nearby, and I just love the slab behind almost as much as the extremity of the surfer in amongst the storm. Clive Symm is a locally based photog, who has one hell stretch of coastline for inspiration.

Went running this morning, only to find what looked like a nice little section working at the bottom of the hill. Despite wanting to go in, I flicked through my Inbox and saw this lovely little clip from the guys at Finisterre. Seems like Skelly is moonlighting again as a model, but this time for the Cornish fine purveyors of Surf clothing - go check it out...and if you see him make sure you give him a hard time about it.

Still the swell continues, and as we watched one another on the take-offs, I think it was somewhere close to head high and very clean considering the southerly.  I look forward to a well deserved lie in tomorrow.

Not a soul out this morning despite the 3-5ft forecast and clean crosshore light breeze. One of those days you could almost imagine that no one else on the planet actually surfs.

Forecasted 1-3 ft, so I didn't bother taking my camera this morning. By the time I reached the beach it still  looked too small, but seeing a friend out, I wanted to paddle out to say 'hi'. Fortunately it turned into a really nice session and I picked off the best right hander I have seen for months. Stoked to be riding the Seedhouse Fish with a set of Rasta keel fins. The board felt really fast and I think the cross-offshore really helped boost the power and shape of the wave. Hopefully the swell is building and when it goes cross onshore I am ready to get out for session on the new RRD. 

My favourite tree; where my kids make their camp, hang their swing, chase the dog, hide in its branches, and tell me just how windy it really is.

Third day in a row and getting changed in the dust bowl before work makes for a messy start. Doesn't take long for all the memories of rain to pass and you get kind of used to the heat as if it happens everyday. However what I will never take for granted is a clean little swell in the mid of summer and surfing in the early morning heat as if it was mid day.

Happy Birthday Laura !!

Got up for 5am and caught the pre-work morning glass. Could have worn a shortie but didn't want to jinx the whole return of summer we are experiencing. Beautiful little swell and just overhead predicted for the morning, with light off shores and more brilliant blue skies.

RRD - Freestyle Wave from RRD International on Vimeo.


Thanks Seasprite...one of these turned up today.

West South West Force 5 - 6, 2 mtr swell and good times for an hour or so....then the unthinkable. Catastrophic failure for seemingly nothing but a few nice wave rides and just about 12 months use. The brothers at Seasprite have been contacted, so hopefully this is a straightforward warranty. Apparently Cobra (manufacturer under license)  don't warranty for flat landings, which is fortunate.

Walking out along the cliffs tonight with the Bear, the huge thistle growth looked like a stretch of scottish coastline. 

Deep within the Cotswolds, I felt like I was far away from home, and too far from the coast. However when I saw these two brave soldiers enduring the drizzle, it put things into perspective. 

Was looking back through my blog and found this photo, of an old friend Sir Jezmond of Northam. Whenever I bump into Jez he always has a different board and never too proud to ride with a bit more foam.   He surfs good and currently sports a beard that makes mine look patchy at best, but what is really cool is this photo shows the sun. Just amazing.

Borrowed from the guys at Surf Maroc, this really seems to sum up what's wrong with my life right now. I certainly have one of these down perfectly but am in need of getting the other 4 back on track. Last night, 2-3 ft with offshores, and a glimmer of sunlight through the clouds - it was so appreciated. 

DISSONANCE from FREQUENCIES on Vimeo.

Definitely worth checking out www.theinertia.com, best site I have seen for a while (after Driftsurfing). PS - nice session on Saturday am, but got up this morning to small blown out mess, and Woolacombe looking perfect.

Uncommon Ideals. from Doggerland. on Vimeo.

Somehow managed to miss this a when it came out, but certainly has all the hallmarks of a truly creative group who show that surfing is a bit more than a heartless multi-billion dollar industry. Its also a lot more than just a sport, and for some collective movements like Doggerland, it really is an artistic outlet, that encompasses so much more than catching a wave. Enjoy.

Got up for the early bird this morning, only to be let down by Carlos 'the sleeper'. Best intentions from the night before, were exposed as he slept through a nothing special swell. Fair enough really, but I just found this shot from a session last week, and remembered how atmospheric it is surfing in the early hours. I totally f^&\ing love surfing.

Fell in love with this image from Trent Mitchell - check his work out here.http://www.clubofthewaves.com/surf-photographer/trent-mitchell.php

More wind, brings more swell and rain. Despite a week of torrential rain, the sun shone and it felt like June, if only for a day.

Been saving this board for some special swell, or just that place that I have been meaning to go when its just right. But after pulling it out the bag the other day, I scored some perfect little sessions on a surprisingly quick quad fin. I can't really tell if the parabolic stringers enhanced anything, other than looking like they should. Other than that, Justin glassed this in epoxy, which just felt so completely different, and offered more buoyancy than I thought it would, due to the EPS foam. Still a cinch to duck dive, just easier paddling.