[Falling Down]

  the wave height debate is far, far worse than any V vs Font vs Tech grade argument in climbing.  As I've got older, more experienced, travelled a bit and surfed in foreign climes I tend to subscribe to the Aussie & Hawaiian scale which sort of correlates to the swell size running on a reef or wedge at a 12+ sec period. 

What this means in reality is that anything waist-high is flat to 1ft.

Shoulder high 5ft face is 1-2ft.

Head high 6-7ft face is 3ft

Head and a half 8-10ft face is 4-5ft

Double o'head 12-16ft face is 6ft

Fucking massive (by our UK standards) 15 - 20 ft face is 6-8ft.


It doesn't make any sense on paper but it just works 

When I was in Hawaii I've surfed waves that would be described as 5-6ft here when it was 'flat' and our Aussie skipper in Indo describes what we think as freight train death maulers as 'fun'.

It's not a macho thing, it's just we don't get proper open ocean swell in Europe apart from the Canaries and the Azores.

[chris05]

Very sad news:

http://www.surfertoday.com/surfing/4822-welsh-surfer-tom-padden-dies-in-car-accident

[Dr T]

there's been a load of video shot at Jaws...
here's some more....

[SA Chris]

Warning - do not look at this link unless you want to see a bloke with a piece of surfboard stuck in his face.

http://www.rationalskepticism.org/general-chat/surfer-lucky-surfboard-embedded-in-his-face-t15963.html

I warned you.

[Idol eyes]

Fully pumping!!! Four Ft and really clean! good low tide banks! Fistral of course...

[Falling Down]

The Eddie could be called today...

Watch live at http://theeddie.quiksilver.com/home.en.html

 

[Falling Down]

No Eddie

Tough call by George Downing and the organisers.

Waiting period ends 21st Feb.

[granticus]

Gentlemen... Tis not about height, tis about girth! 

[philo]

had a long session yesterday on waist high slightly choppy super shorebreak style waves yesterday - rushed to the sea after work at 3 and smashed the shite out of a dozen peeling lefts slightly over head at a secluded sheltered beach near mine.  ace - please tell me you were all out today?

[clm]

this is my source of weakness now, outrunning the wave and cutting back up the top of the wave.  To me i think the key is the slight crouch out of the end to get the power back down the wave - many times my arm flailing and pointing back down the wave leaves me over the top of it when I don't get the power back with a good lean on the forward knee.  (i cant fully snap but its more of a pivot)

Im also focusing on going over the top of sectioned out waves rather than going around them - smashing the lip of the wave/broken white water to go over it as my local beach break seems to section quite often. 
 
On a bit of a NNFN i was so blind on a rocky hidden pocket spot the other day I managed to mangle the nose of my mal that I rarely surf.  Its pretty much a 7'2 log and fun to play around with on 3ft waves etc.  Hit a rock and went head over heels.  GME et al, what do you surf in the sub 5ft (If you go out at all)  as mentioned before I still want a old fish

I was about to compliment you on getting through a whole post without saying 'wedge' but then you said ...

aye i meant face, 5 ft wedges we get up here messy beach breaks usually

Is Sunderland pier on Oahu or Kauai?

[philo]

aye i know, im a man of short vocabulary. we only do them here, no other type of wave (apart from shit) - and i got in seaham today if anyone has ridden it. 

[gme]

Volcom pipe pro on.
Really good waves really good surfing. Bit of a local comp for local people which makes for very good barrels
lucky bastards as I have not been properly wet for weeks. Worst winter I can remember. It's so bad I have managed to develop a finger injury.

[philo]

how did you do at the comp at climb newc?  I didnt end up going, shoulder is still bad and last time i went to a comp was durham with watson and porter and i managed to make it worse. 

[gme]

I did the last durham comp to. Adam won

I was in the vets. Came joint 2nd I think.

Didn't do that well at Newcastle as I had surfed all day first.

Tweeked my finger on the motherboard at the works. Not too bad though. 

[SA Chris]

I was in the vets.

Dog trouble?

Not been in water since 3rd. So bad I have actually been to the climbing wall twice this year already.

[gme]

John John Florence won. Really good surf and comp, ended up sitting up until 1am watching it. Lucky bastards.
Looking at the charts up here you would think it was August. I have never known a winter like this.
Have been coping ok until watching the comp last night but now pissed off. I need to get wet.
I was supposed to be in Aus for two weeks (work but i should get in the sea a good bit) on the 6th feb but have just put it back 4 weeks until march so fingers crossed we get something.

[SA Chris]

Forecast for the East Coast for the next week is off the charts. And not in a good way. Are you sure this is winter?

[gme]

I have been surfing 12 years now and living next to the beach for the last 4 and have never ever known a winter like this. We had more surf in August and it shows no signs of changing. I have almost given up looking.
Big swell hitting the north coast which i would normally try to head up for but too busy. I haven't been to Thurso this winter either for the first time in 6 years as there has never been a swell that has offered the minimum of three days surf to make the trip worth while.
Uk surfers try to convince ourselves is good here when in fact its shite other than a hand full of days a year.

Head north if you can Chris it looks like it will be pumping.

[SA Chris]

I'm trying to accumulate credit for a weekend in Glen Coe the weekend after next, so I don't think it will fly.

Hopeing a bit of the swell will wrap around to Fraserburgh, or even better, Banff. But the low looks to be dying out before it gets too far east.

[Idol eyes]

Good week of waves, and a good forecast for the coming week...
Its fully cold now too!

[Idol eyes]

Talking about the Orkneys, and one of the boys on the recent 3 month epic trip there (10 surf days!), and Gor was on about The Old Man Of Hoy... Apperently, Aliens is a reef formed by a colapsed monolith... similar to TOMOH!
They want to demolish TOMOH!!! hahaha! Jet Skis and Dynamite!

[philo]

you get the same sort of wave - though much messier and less consistent from the collapse of half of marsden rock.

You hear about projects putting in artificial reefs, has anyone surfed one here?

[fatdoc]

random french surf question... bear with me... newbie gay on tray asking for advice...

OK.

7 years ago I went to Brittany... family holiday.. had fun. camping on a nice little site nr guillnivac. ( northern end of the long north to south coastline, BUT 5 km from ponte de la torche over land)

I learnt my first lessons there, you know... losing flippers... eating sand... going round and round etc... all the waves seemed massive.

Big advantage was that it's near  to no drive from the ferry, and has real flat bays for very little kids and then you can pop over the headland for the pont de la torche beach break. not so vital now.

Now.. I'm no bodyboarder with skills. But 2 weeks in last years august at cayton saw me 4 days of clean lined up 3 to 4 ( perhaps) ft waves that I  had  a wicked time with.

I'm sure I'll never see that again, there ,at that time of year when I'm on holiday.....

So.... to avoid disappointment I'll be considering brittany again... I'm averse to devon / Cornwall as it will be in the height of the august summer holidays & we will camp en famile in a massive tent... so apart form the travel costs in essence the location is not different in cost terms. France will be less packed.. not just in the line up.. but on the beach!

What's the score on reasonably short drives from the ferry port to good probs of surf ( remember.. body boarding, so just about anything over 3 ft is OK, irregardless of wave quality in all honesty.. I'm on holiday!) in brittany? I am remembering pont de la torche with rose tinted specs? or is it OK?

beach breaks only please ( kids dont like getting mauled)

cheers..

[philo]

sounds like you had an amazing time but i'm guessing that their beach breaks are going to be as consistent as ours on the east coast in the summer.  I can only imagine what the crowds are like in august down cornwall though. 

[Idol eyes]

The Gower!
Ireland?