Saturday 28 March 2009

HOLY COW

I Love this image. I had to look severel times before I noticed the surfer getting a backside barrell. Country at its best!

Friday 27 March 2009

SUNNY DAYS!

Just found this shot of a volley ball game whilst in Perth just before Christmas.
Dreaming of weather good enough to bust out the volley ball net.

SUPER DUPER 8

Its possibly my most expensive hobby and it can be so rewarding but waiting 2 weeks for footage of my last trip to be processed is killing me!
I sent 15 rolls off to germany to be processed yesterday and I will only view them on my projector in 2 weekstime when they return. Keep a look out for some old skool film on my facebook vids.

Thursday 19 March 2009

WISPA IS BACK!

Some of you may remember the excitement surrounding the SSC boys last summer, as news filtered through the school, that Wispa had returned!
Having declared to a class of 20 that I so badly wanted one that I would be slightly more helpful to the person who bought me one, slightly disgruntled parents were dragged to Penzance by kids, to no avail.
Well guys! yesterday I had my first Wispa and it was amazing! You can find them at the St.Just Co-op!!

Wednesday 18 March 2009

Too much sun.... is there such a thing?
It appears the high pressure has meant more sunshine, but less surf.
Who's complaining?, lets make the most of the sun!

Tuesday 17 March 2009

When the surfs flat, take pictures!







SUMMER THE DOG

Hadn't seen my dogs for months whilst away and returned to find this cuddly bear with a fantastic winter coat....hope its not a sign of things to come!

AAHH SPRING!

Found this Pisky (cornish fairy) in a field of Daffs this afternoon.
So nice to have some sunshine and warmth.

Friday 13 March 2009

BAY BACK IN ACTION


Its been a fair few months since a blank was transformed in my shaping bay, but the eagerness of a so called Russ Pierre has brought it back to life.
Having cleaned out some 15 boards and made space for some action Russ arrived at the dream factory yesterday!!
each summer I try to create a few boards that will work on the Cornish waves and Russ seems to have a good idea as well.
These shots are Russ's of last year mid creation!!




Thursday 12 March 2009

LOG LUGGING (Cornishman article 12th March)

Arriving back in Cornwall after a long trip like the one I’ve just completed can mean different things to different people.
It can mean the end of an amazing adventure, the end of spending each day in a different place or the joy of being home with loved ones and sharing tales. To me it means all of the above but more importantly the end of lugging a 9’2” bright red 2 tonne long board around the world.
Arriving at Heathrow to see my family greet me at the gate meant I need not worry about the prospect of negotiating a First Great Western train and a Black Taxi.
Now I’m sure I’m not the first person and definitely not the last to decide to travel with a long board, but it will be the last time I decide to cart a traditional log through several continents.
Having past safely through Japan and China simply borrowing boards and wetsuits, we arrived in Australia and was successfully convinced that a long board would allow me more waves, especially while the long term forecast held little hope of any decent swell. In Australia this advice paid off very well and like many Ozzy surfers I found the temptation of long point breaks to much to pass.
Some of the worlds best long board waves dot the East coast and my campervan meant no hassle on public transport.
My next few destinations made life slightly more difficult.
Like most, arriving in the Cook islands means relaxing and a week or two lounging on a beach under tropical palms, sipping coconut juice through a straw. My recollection was slightly different as most mornings, in fact most hours were spent circling the island on a moped on possibly the most unsuccessful surf trip of all time.
Day one: Perfect!, and I mean perfect waves. The kind that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. The kind that your favourite surf film might have -and definitely the kind I should have surfed.
Still fighting jet lag and having witnessed the most incredible waves here the last time I visited I decided to wait until tomorrow.
Tomorrow brought heavy wind that lasted a few days and before I knew it the longest flat spell Rarotonga had seen that year decided to seal my fate. It was in fact 2 days before we were scheduled to leave that the swell arrived and when it did, it came in the form of 15ft Southern Pacific monsters. No, I wont pretend I was tempted but the long board didn’t help!
Despite the fact many thought I was crazy to take a long board to the North Shore of Oahu, I couldn’t see the problem but regretted this while queuing for my first flight from Los Angeles. Ironically the waves wern't the problem.
Up until now I had been allowed to carry ‘Big Red’ free of charge on all my previous flights, however, domestic flights that didn’t feature on a world ticket meant paying, and paying big bucks! I could have actually bought a new board for the price of the following four flights but it was to pay dividend once we arrived on the North Shore and the home of surfing.
There was the small matter of the ‘Da Hui’ (Hawaiian Mafia) but that’s another story and one I’d rather share over a ‘properly’ poured Guinness.

Wednesday 11 March 2009

SI CALLS IT A DAY!!!





Today I recieved an e-mail from our senior Instructor Simon Day.
Simon has worked for the school for many years and has been an incredible asset to the school.
Simon in unable to return this year as an intructor and we are all saddened by this news.
A big thanks to Si for all his hard work and cabin frollicks, we look forward to sharing a few waves when he returns on holiday.
Going to be sorely missed.

Friday 6 March 2009

KYOTO

Having spent the last week trawling through thousands of images of my trip, I picked a few to share with fellow bloggers.
This was taken in Japan at the famous Tori tunnels near Kyoto where memoirs of a Geisha was filmed. They continue for 7 miles!!!

Thursday 5 March 2009

STILL TRAVELLING

Having returned last week from a lengthy trip this winter I was reminded via facebook (damn thing) that Emily, Grace and Sam were still globetrotting.
Emily and Grace are on their first trip since leaving college and Sam is in Brazil as we speak sharing his hippy values and musical talents with South America.
For those of you returning to the surf school this summer, be sure to question them on their travels and hear their tales from the tubes!

BACK ON THE BEACH

Its always nice to get back on the beach with the dogs and suck up that winter air.
Another beautiful crisp Sennen winters day!