[Nibile]

mega wind swell getting in this morning. if the wind drops monolith and rich will have their fire baptism today.
and if the wind drops it will fire.

[ben]

all time waves in cornwall last night and this morning. Porthtowan was pumping last night and I heard rumours of stand up arms spread barrels to be had at Perranporth. Times like these you realise climbing fitness has NO bearing on paddle fitness, the only solution is to get in the water more!

[Idol eyes]

Penhale and Crantock also killing it! Fistral is a bit fat on the high!!! heading to Watergate on low later! corner should be going of its nut! then heading north to meet climber types, any knowlege of venues that may be worth a look, Woolacombe way???

[ben]

bouldering venues or surfing venues?  plenty of both up that way, waves forecast to stay around over the weekend but getting smaller i think so might end up being a longboard wave in devonshire

[SA Chris]

then heading north to meet climber types, any knowlege of venues that may be worth a look, Woolacombe way???

http://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php/topic,9143.0.html??????

[Idol eyes]

Yeah, been good, did Croyde...

[granticus]

Aye! Croyde was in good form Thursday through Friday.. Had some excellent sessions on both days..  Shame there wasn't some spring low-tides to make the most of the swell.  Swell had weakened to piddle again by Saturday
By no means 'all time' but pretty fun all the same..
Wednesday and Thursday look promising this week, happy surfing folks...

[SA Chris]

Got in at Aberdeen on Thursday night. Cleanish, but crowded by Abs standards (first decent surf in about 6 weeks!).

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

Had a good session on a rented bodyboard on Labadi beach (Accra town beach), Ghana when I was out there with work last week. Got an afternoon off so I made the most of it. BIG but friendly, warm waves, that were the kind that deposited you high and dry every time. Sweet. I even got a round of applause from a crowd of locals for one landing, now you don't get that very often at Hell's Mouth!

Didn't see any of these shenanigans (but the waves were a lot bigger)



Check this dude
(not my pics)

[Falling Down]

I've been back from Sumatra for a week and grappling with a dreadful jetlag and the remnants of a sickness virus that took hold throughout the entire boat.  There's a full online photo album, video and journal on the way but here's a couple of tasters..

This one is me riding my 6'5 Single Fin Egg at Turtle Point on a typical day during the trip.


Here's another one of moi riding a 6'3 Quad on a very (very, very) fast and very (very.. sharp coral) shallow right in the Bay of Plenty.

[SA Chris]

I never noticed you were goofy before?? Or have I just forgotten the fact. Good trip in general?

You have missed little here. Had a go on a mates longboard in Aberdeen last week, marvellous fun. Sadly he had great fun on it too, and has now decided not to sell it anymore.

[granticus]

Lurvely looking waves in Sumatra FD, shame about the sickness going round must have taken the shine off the situation.
North Devon hasn't been serving up much juice recently, maybe a little dawn session tommor before the onshores kick in... 

Got in at a secret reef, on a reasonable swell last week and found the only big rock sticking up high enough to cause a problem.  Badly bruised lower back and hurt pride    Should have pulled out sooner but the wave kept on opening up.  Had the day off work iced and rested.  Bending over, standing up and sitting down all became an 'issue' for a few days.  Fortunately things appear to be repairing quite well and I am now mobile again.  Lesson learnt it could've been v. nasty, be careful out there folks!

[Nibile]

joel tudor's life: no wonder he smiles.

[SA Chris]

Had two good sessions on the new longboard. Saturday at Banff was good, started on beach to get hang of board then moved over to Point. Good, but wind picked up now and again. Had first dawnie if the year today (how slack is that - solstice has come and gone already). Good at first, but wind messed it up later. Loving the new board, great fun. It's got a big middle fin and two little ones. Had a go on it without the little fins this morning, and found it much looser (?) managed to get it to turn more and get back up the waves rather than going straight across.

[Falling Down]

Nice one Chris... try changing the fin position in the box too (Back - better for nose riding and will be more tracky/stable; Forward - Loose) You'll be surprised what a difference it makes to the handling of the board.  I look forward to having a go next time my Aberdeen visits coincides with a swell.

[curly ben]

Nias still works for sure.
sorry to hear about sickness.  i got laid low for a week with the hershey squits- rapidly turning to rice water coming out of the back end.. ilness in hot countries is not funny.
surfed turtles in west java- then nias. powerful wave bit too much for my limited surf skills. snapped prize pin tail , fin through thigh and coral scarred feet came as a result. To say the locals are weird is an understatement. glad to hear you are all getting swell back in blighty

[Falling Down]

Glad to hear you're having a good trip. Have you ever read the amazing story of the discovery of Nias called 'Guardians of the Point' from the The Surfers Journal. It's a really extradordinary tale and one you must read if you've now been there.  I bumped into two guys in Medan on our way back and they'd just come from Nias and said there was 70 people in the water at times!!!

I'm still editing pictures and video but will be done soon.

[curly ben]

oh i heard about that.. would like to get my mitts on it. Some of the locals were telling me that the local chief put a curse on the pioneer surfers there.. and lo and behold they all keeled over.

hmmm the crowds.. definately a problem. + the general level of surfing was pretty high as can be expected. I was there for just short of month and i think 70 folk in the water was an exaggeration. It seemed to ebb and flow each week. a lot of crews would leave on the same day freeing up some space. I guess the underlying problem is that all the attention is focussed on one wave with exceptionally easy access from the accomodation. For sure there is more waves in the area but sourcing good and fairly priced transport is annoyingly difficult on NIas.

like your pics fella

[Idol eyes]

This week i have been mostly surfin Joss Bay!!!

[SteveM]

What advice would you give to a complete beginner heading to California?

We're heading out for a bit of a roadtrip around the Sierras but want to spend the last week or so on the beach. My girlfriend's surfed before but I've never played on anything larger than a bodyboard. Always fancied the idea of learning though, so I'm looking for somewhere suitable for a complete beginner - any recommendations? We're flying out of San Francisco so I'm naturally biased towards somewhere in the Bay area. Santa Cruz was mentioned?

[SA Chris]

I've got the Stormrider's Guide, can have a look tonight. No personal experience though. Santa Cruz is an obvious option, but the water get's colder the further north you are. You could go to Half Moon Bay, just south of SF,  Mavericks looks good!

[Falling Down]

Santa Cruz is a great place and has loads of places to surf up and down the coast. The main centre of attraction is Steamer Lane but that's not for beginners so you're best going to the beaches nearby.  You'll find loads of hire shops and tuition should you intend to take lessons.  Further South there are more remote beaches and breaks...

Before you go buy a copy of 'Caught Inside' by Dan Duane which I've mentioned earlier in the thread. It's an account of an ex Yosemite climbing bum moving to Santa Cruz and taking a year out to learn to surf. It's a beautiful book...

Ben

[Idol eyes]

A point break like Swamis would be a better option, if a little further,,,
Or Malibu...

[Falling Down]

A point break like Swamis would be a better option, if a little further,,,
Or Malibu...

Sorry Idol I totally disagree... Swami's and Malibu are mega crowded (I've surfed the latter but not the former) and a beginner would never get a wave. He's also flying in and out of San Fran so why drive all the way to LA and San Diego ?

[Idol eyes]

Mega crowded for a beginner, would be better than soft core surfin hard floor rules,,, IE: steamers, I have only surfed Huntingdon and Trestles, and would not recommend doing a drowning fish impression further north than Santa Cru, and its obvious big fish problem at the mo. but, my point is, if you are around Cali, do the equivilent of going to Stanage Edge,,, more crowds, more wave's, more fun and tollerence? just an opinon< no direction intended.com