twinkling toes

I tell myself my hooked toes are an evolutionary advantage to aid my control while hanging five or ten but really i'm just deformed!

With the forecast looking promising, hopefully today's wind allows just a temporary rest between the fun waves of the last week and what lies in store for next.

I've had plenty of hull related stoke recently, culminating in probably my best session on the slippery wee thing on Tuesday. I know i've said before but the feeling of smooth drivey projection off the bottom and the knife through butter high line trim are just awesome. It's also kind of fun lending it to friends who are good surfers and watching it confuse them. Trying to surf hulls off the back foot just doesn't work (eh Ben?)

There's a Isaac organised surf jumble in St Merryn tomorrow, in the village hall i think. He'd love it if lots of you stopped by. I wish I could!

who was mr smith anyway?

 answers on a postcard please............

One of the most stylish lip tricks around & high on the list of stuff i wish i could do!

fun things in small packages

First off, if you are near Bristol today, Andy Haworth is showing (and selling) his "for charridy mate" surf film "Devon Lanes and Longboards" at the surf show. Not sure what time but it's today at the Anson Rooms, check the link for details, check the post below for a little about the film.

 Obviously it's not cool to froth about tiny surf (is it Ramon :-), nor is it currently cool to ride an SUP but i have to admit to enjoying both on occasion. The last couple of days the waves have been barely rideable at the stage of tide i've been free and probably with just a longboard i might not have bothered but the trusty, fantastic plastic popout takayama sup has yielded some much needed fun for a couple of hours. At least it's helped wash some of that volcanic ash off & the travel stress it caused us.

I hope anyone else that got stuck is on their way back soon.

The pics are with our new little waterproof pentax optio digital compact. I'm still struggling a little with the settings but it's been a fun experiment so far.

Devon Lanes and longboards

There's a new British longboard movie out as you read this, made by father of Ben, Andy Haworth. It's a loving look at the longboard scene in our corner of the world and well worth getting a copy, especially as all profits are being donated to cancer charities.

There's more rumination about the film and Andy himself over on drift here. For more on the film or to order a copy go here

jus lookin

They say procrastination is the thief of time (i've always loved that phrase) and they are probably right. Most of us always look at the surf when we get to the beach (despite often having spent a fair amount of time checking a variety of webcams beforehand) but i think sometimes you can look too long. Especially  if it is small or cold or massive or onshore, too much time looking can just allow that element of doubt to creep in, is it rideable? is it too big a paddle? am i feeling a bit tired? Usually you are actually better off just changing and going in anyway, if you're like me you will rarely regret it. Take this pair for example, watching a succession of (admittedly occasional) very loggable sets come through before going home again.
The next few days were flat. Moral of the story, make the most of what you've got and never drive away from clean waves without getting wet first!

twinkling fingers

This is a slight cheat as it isn't my photo, it's taken on a diana by my friend Jim (star of the old blog banner!) but it is a picture of me indulging in one of my other obsessions, keeping the winter blues away with some proper blues (a bit of john mayall if i remember correctly). I really like the picture and, as you know, love a bit of self promotion :-)

summer is coming.....

along with millions of kooks no doubt!

unseasonal

Another holga self portrait. I'm off to france to slide down some mountains again this week. Kind of seems weird to be going to a snowy place now spring is in the air and summer logging seems just round the corner.

p-land

Like many other locals, i've had a bit of a love/hate relationship with this spot over the years, lately i find myself ending up here more and more. It's the site of my first proper surf beating after an ill judged decision to paddle out during my first year surfing and it's one of those spots where it often seems to look better from the carpark than it is or better 50 yards down the beach until you paddle there and decide it looks better where you just came from. I, like many others, have had some frustrating trips here.

I'm not sure if i'm just better at sitting in the right spot now but over the last two years i've had some epic waves here and it definately has it's charms. It can be a good noseriding wave when it's small, a fun wave on a shortboard when it's bigger and a godsend when the wind swings southerley. It's definately underated. Interestingly, unlike the other local spots, it doesn't really have it's own locals, it's more of a melting pot of refugees from the other breaks when the wind dictates, which is kind of refreshing.

you want fries with that?....

Jack Brull, of salt stained photography and a major inspiration to me, is curating the New York fish fry blog and just used a couple of my pictures i sent him, which i'm taking as a compliment. This one is one of the first photos i took with an eye to it being more than just a snapshot. Gulfstream fish in front of a funky shed in the garden of a holiday cottage in the dunes behind Sennen cove we rented a few years in a row.

For a whole plethora of fishy related photos or info on the event, check out the fish fry blog here

It's happening on May 15-16th at Lincoln Ave Jetty, Long Beach NY, just in case you're in the neighbourhood!

Happy Easter everyone, hope the Easter bunny brought you something!

sated strollers.....

Another crew heading home (hopefully) stoked after their dawnie. These chaps had a very fine zeph bing indy noserider and a coop to aid in their morning stokemining. Left me thinking there's still a little room in my shed :-)

In Other News, I am excited to report that i'm featured in this months Devon Life magazine as a surfer who has a "proper" job. I'd love to say it's nothing to do with the fact that my friend writes for them but i'd probably be misleading you!