Saturday 3 March 2012

In Devon, Salcombe.

Tomorrow morning at mid tide I will be surfing Bolt Head! A nice right breaking over a sandbar, the sw swell is definitely on its way!! Then I will be heading to Bantham, a few miles from Salcombe. A river mouth break, there is a right at low to mid tide, which can be hollow (!) and a left and right beach break.

Monday 27 February 2012

Sunday 26 February 2012

Hyped up weekend....

... So happy to announce the arrival of some much anticipated waves this weekend. East witt hit it off Saturday morning, with some really clear lines, no wind, and at high tide peak the walls got quite big and chunky. Was so nice too see it work. Plus the sun was shining and we caught 4 crabs!

Wednesday 22 February 2012

WAYO WHILAR

So the first board I had shaped was by Peruvian shapers Wayo Whilar http://www.wayowhilar.com.pe/ 
These are the guys who planted the seed that started off my dream to teach myself to shape my own. I was fascinated by the process, but was oh so worth it. The Surf school on Makaja beach, Lima, that I was working for were sponsored by them, so it was very fortunate that I was introduced to them personally. I also had competent surf friends who had been evaluating my surfing over the previous few months, instruct and advise me on what sort of board I needed to be a good all rounder for my future surfing and the best to help me improve as quickly as possible as I was so eager to do so. Most days after working on the wonderful, vibrant beach, in the glorious sunshine (yes I am very much missing living in Peru) I would pop into the shaping house to see how it was getting on. A beautiful process to see, I loved how tenderly and precisely the blank was shaped. I had to wash my hands to touch it! The little things like that made it so precious, it was so intricately made and so much love and care was put into it. I then spent a lot of time with the painter, and had designed my own flower print for the board which he executed exactly as I wanted, showing me along the way how it was done. The finished product was perfect, perfectly shaped by beautiful shapers, just for me. Here it is...

Tuesday 21 February 2012

A good friend of mine...

... taught me to surf at my homebreak East Wittering in the South of England. Having not seen each other in a few years by chance meeting in our local Surf store he invited me along for a surf lesson that afternoon. By chance my mum had bought a second hand wetsuit at a nearby jumble sale. After making my way out to the beach break grasping for dear life onto his hand I managed to catch a few waves, in the white water maybe, and maybe not completely on both feet but I did catch a great big surf bug. The next weekend we found a gorgeous Mini Mal 7ft 4" (pictured below) and then obsession began, not just with surfing but also with boards. My bank balance has certainly taken the strain of this in the years since, as has my various storing spots. I now have boards stashed all over the world, some have been unfortunately left but not forgotten in various countries where money became scarce and airlines did not take to my flirtatious charm of trying to blag them on board, and the lucky ones which have made it home safely have taken pride of place mounted on walls and shelves around my house. Surfing has definitely taken over.

My first board... where it all started.

WHY, HOW, WHERE

Ok, so a little over a year ago I ventured off in true me style; sporadically, on a quest to feed my obsessive love for surfing and travel, not having any real plan, I flew out of New York armed with the Stormriders guide to South America, a board and some wax and landed in Bogota, Colombia. Obviously not a surf spot, however the flights being a lot cheaper to Colombia, I figured I would make my way to Peru, a Goofy footers paradise. And oh my did I! Planning on spending a few weeks there I ended up staying near on 7 months, running a surf school, managing a hostel bar and surfing my heart out! I learnt so much along the way and want to share it.