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!

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.

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!

the wishthound.........

skates better than you!

all washed up

Free your ankles!

toys

So i've kept this fairly surf based so far, but those who know me will know that guitar & music in general is another of my life's obsessions. I recently treated myself to the little vox amp in the picture. Four watts of lovely rich tube tone, looks like a handmade chocolate and best of all?

It's quiet & aesthetically pleasing enough to be allowed downstairs in the house!

This pic and the water shots on film are from another new toy, an ebay bargain waterproof film camera + some film that expired 6 years ago. Seems like an experiment that has worked so far!

early bird

It's a massive cliche but the early bird often does get the worm, in surfing terms anyway. On this occasion it was Mr Rowe, UK agent for if6was9, reaping the benefits of a dawn patrol for a quiet logging session at a normally busy spot. One of the last few before the barefoot run across frozen sand became too awful we had to break out the booties!
Seems a distant memory with our current sea temperature!

Oh and Happy Valentines to my girls. You light up my life every day :-)

dawnpatrol

A new year dawns

Happy 2010 people!

It's very traditional (nowadays) for people to get obsessed with lists of the best and worst stuff of the year past. Surfermag forum has a "best 3 boards of 09 thread" I actually have 4:

In no particular order:

9'6 Classic Malibu Jai Lee model - just an amazing noserider in a proper logging sense and almost the only thing i've ridden in under chest high waves this year (which we get a lot of)

5'8 Larry Mabile Classic keel. I swear i've never had a bad surf on this. Whenever i take it out, there'll be at least one wave screaming down the line pretending i'm Dereck Hynd followed by a grin inducing cutback and repeat

5'9 Bro Diplock Quad fish pretty much a mandala copy. Will go insane in anything i'm prepared to paddle out in. Always in my van & in heavy rotation. I've even forgiven it for trying to break my nose & giving me stitches between the eyes last Boxing Day

6'10 Spence Designed Hull shaped over here by Tim Mason. Just a real fresh, fun, at times mindblowing new door opened in my surfing. Not for everyone but suits my style & REALLY good fun.

read everyone elses here:

the Bottmeister

hotdogs

The hotdoggers midway through another contest a couple of months ago. Probably the biggest longboard club in the country, multiple interclub champs and boasting members from all over the country. Club chairman Norm is a larger than life character who has run the club, with and without help since it's inception many years ago.

I still remember when i first started visiting here from bristol, watching the longboarders in a hotdoggers contest noseride, awestruck and sure such antics were beyond me. Although i'm not an active member now & i've never done one of their contests, being a part of the club was definately a big part of getting to know people here when i first moved & i'll always have a soft spot for them as a result.

As usually happens, on this day they were running the heats in 2ft onshore slop. Better than herding us all off the main peak when the surfs cooking though!

waxing up

One little pre surf ritual that unites us all, whatever and wherever you surf!

happy faces

There's something special about the first day of a new swell. A palpable excitement in the air, the carpark filled with happy faces and anticipation. Often it means seeing people for the first time in a couple of weeks, especially in winter. The air is filled with the sounds of van doors closing, wax being rubbed onto boards and friendly banter as everyone gears up to hit the water, sure of fun waves in good company.

For me it's even more special if it's early on a crisp autumn morning like this day, a rare morning when the only people at the beach were the regulars and a few early risers walking their dogs.

Although we moan about the number of people in the water, in reality, i'm sure surfing in solitude the whole time would be pretty boring. I have no doubt that the interaction between the regular faces "sharing the stoke" to use a hackneyed phrase, and the sense of community that each beach has, really adds something to the surfing experience for me.

Our beach is long enough to get a good peak to yourself if you are prepared to hike far enough yet most of us rarely bother unless the crowd numbers are past ridiculous. Happy to sacrifice a few waves a session to others for the pleasure of shared experiences

In case you were wondering, chest high & reeling, keel fish & big smiles!

anticipation

bargain!