Surfing

December 23, 2013

A pretty busy week

Well there’s been so much swell I’ve been out filming pretty much everyday. And when I’m not filming, there’s always editing, writing and mixing that needs doing. Plus its Christmas in a couple of days so it’s been kinda stressful!

We’ve been driving up and down the coast of North Cornwall and North Devon, looking for shelter for the gale force winds that have accompanied the long run of swell. Once in a while there has been a day where the wind has dropped just enough for a couple of complete hell-sessions. Bude has been producing super talented surfers for a while now, and they were just going to town on the long walls on offer at spot M.  I’ve accumulated quite a lot of usable footage from the last few sessions, so I’ll be putting up an edit soon.

The shots of that angry looking hollow wave were taken down in this little cove I shall refer to as spot B. It’s a bit of a trek to get down to it even when it’s good weather, but in torrential rain and howling wind it becomes an absolute nightmare. Walking for me is just about bearable, but uphill is pretty painful, and after a long session walking back up that hill, absolutely soaked to the bone, I was about as miserable as it is possible to be.

As well as all of this photography stuff, I’ve been writing this article for http://www.magicseaweed.com for a little while. It’s all about my injury, and what’s happened since then. I was stoked to get a really great response, as it appears that spinal injuries are much more common than I had previously realised, and a lot of people found that they could relate to my story. I’ll chuck the link in below, so you can go have a gander if you want. And yes, they did spell my name wrong in it!

I’ve included a couple of shots below, but they don’t really do the surf justice. I’m still holding on to the best shots from the sessions, and most of the time I was filming, so expect big things.

http://magicseaweed.com/news/the-trials-and-tribulations-of-a-broken-surfer/5891/

December 15, 2013

One long day!

Well it all started at about 6:00am yesterday morning. I was up and getting my camera gear and warm clothing ready well before first light. The forecast was for a massive swell, and increasing wind and rain for throughout the day. Tim and I piled into Edna (Jobe’s van) along with a full quiver of surfboards, spare leashes, and a spare of pretty much everything I need. We drove to check out the local point, which is our first port of call during the winter months, when the Atlantic swells get wrapped round these enormous prehistoric rocks, and the just peel down the point for hundreds of yards. Well that’s what it’s supposed to do anyway. Something wasn’t quite right this morning, maybe the swell was too big, or perhaps the swell direction might have been slightly off. Tim and Jobe dutifully paddled out anyway and had a go, whilst I sat there filming (Check out the shot below). They weren’t in long before they decided that they’d had enough of the constant paddling, and the constant 8ft white water sets just rolling through. This left us with a bit of a problem. We had hours to kill before the next spot we were going to started working.

After a quick bite to eat we headed up to this reef to check it out anyway. Surprise, surprise, it wasn’t working. It needed another few hours for the tide to fill in. This is something as a surfer you just have to get used to. Patience truly is a virtue, and we’re constantly waiting. Waiting for the swell to pick up, the wind to change, the tide to rise/drop. Not fun. But it all comes with the territory of being reliant on the sea for our sport really.

Anyway, fast forward a couple of hours, and after we’d defaced another friend’s surfboard in permanent marker, the tide was finally high enough. Spirits high, we once again charged down this muddy track to the sea. I sat on the rocks filming again for another couple of hours, and afterwards managed to get caught in an absolute deluge on the way back up to the car. The black rain clouds that had been looking menacing all day had finally broken, turning what was before a muddy track into a Glastonbury festival style slip and slide. Awesome. After about another hour of driving, I finally got back home, wet and exhausted, but quite pleased with some of the footage. It also just happened to be the climactic finals of the Billabong Pipe Finals when I got home, so that was just the perfect way to cap off the day.

I only took a few photos, and they’re included below. Expect an edit of the footage pretty soon!

 

 

December 13, 2013

The Holiday

I’m just in the middle of editing some footage I took whilst on holiday with my family this summer. We had been planning this around the world trip for years, and I’ll cherish the memories for the rest of my life. It was slightly overshadowed though by the fact we had only been back home for 3 days before I broke my back. So its only recently that I’ve started going over the footage I took with my trusty gopro, and we’ve all been reminded of how much fun we had. That’s the amazing thing about gopro’s, they can capture those moments that you’d otherwise just have to narrate to people. Now you can subject people to watching endless videos of your travels instead of just holiday snaps.

Well in our travels we ventured briefly to Singapore, then on to Gold Coast, Australia, further North to Port Douglas, Australia and then back via Los Angeles (USA). We did some pretty sweet things whilst we were out there, and I think some of the footage is pretty fun. GoPro’s are so small and versatile you can just carry them around and chuck them on to anything to film. In my opinion too, they are very affordable for what you’re getting. Unfortunately the fish eye lens on my GoPro Hero 2 mean that all of the underwater shots have come out kind of blurry. But the new GoPros have flat lenses, and the stills they can capture are unreal.

I’ve included the little edit from singapore, as well as a few other vids from the trip that are over on my vimeo channel. I’ll finish off the next edit, with all the underwater stuff soon. It definitely made a nice change shooting in that tropical water, as i’m so used to putting on inordinate amounts of neoprene just to survive for a couple of hours in the water. But I wouldn’t swap cold water surfing for anything. I would definitely be tempted, but sometimes there’s just something magical about freezing pristine waves.

The Holiday (Trailer) – A couple of highlights from the whole trip thrown together for your viewing pleasure

Gold Coast – Check this one out for all of the wave action from the trip. Super clear water and fun little waves on the Goldie.

Turkey Chase – Don’t even ask, I was pretty bored.

December 11, 2013

Mid Week (not really much) Mayhem

Well it was a bit of a wash-out really. Today just hasn’t gone as I’d hoped. I just took a few shots and came home. The disappointing results from earlier are displayed below. I’m just hoping that the weekend is as good as forecast really.

December 10, 2013

An average Tuesday in Kernow

Well we had been checking and re-checking the forecast. This whole week is meant to be good, getting bigger and bigger with 9ft at 15 seconds predicted for Saturday 14th. In the end we just decided to meet up in the morning and see what happens. This is what normally happens, being Cornwall; we just drive around pointing out flaws in surf until we finally convince ourselves to get in somewhere.

Tim picked me up in the morning in the executive (his car’s name), and after grabbing Lee we headed down to Crooklets to meet Ben. It was a really drab, dreary day, and the wind had picked up. Crooklets was shit. We ended up driving and walking around checking various spots, with the constant hope that the grass would be greener of the other other side. After lunch, Ben headed home with the decision made it would be better to keep his wetsuit dry for tomorrow. So the strike team that consisted of: Me with a broken back, Tim with a sprained ankle, and, umm Lee with that thatch.

We rocked up at the spot just as the sun finally broke through those stubborn cumulus light-blockers. The surf wasn’t great, but it was okay, and after a quick viewing of a surf film in the car to get up a bit more keen they headed in and I set up the camera, with the plan to take a bit of film and a few shots. It wasn’t anything groundbreaking, and the light got pretty glarey, but it was fun, and besides, it look way better tomorrow. We’ll probably repeat the whole malarkey again tomorrow, and end up back in the same place after checking umpteen spots.

December 9, 2013

Surfing and Studying

I study Marine Vertebrate Zoology at Bangor University (North Wales) because of my passion for all things ocean. I think surfing for so many years, and being around the sea for my whole life meant that I always was going to pursue a career relating to the sea, and it wouldn’t hurt if I could surf whilst making money.

Foreground: Perfect inter-tidal rocky shore habitat. Background: Perfect habitat for the common surfer (Stokus maximus)

Foreground: Perfect inter-tidal rocky shore habitat. Background: Perfect habitat for the common surfer (Stokus maximus)

Its quite interesting being a surfer in North Wales, there’s some great potential, but the bloody emerald isle shields us from most swells. When the winter swells wake up though, it can be a truly awe inspiring place to be. There are so many different facing beaches, and little coves so you can normally find something to surf. I’m a part of the uni surf team, and whilst that means we’re not too popular with the locals in the line-up, its a sick group of guys and girls, and they really make the most of any size or shape of wave. At the more local spots it is pretty funny with the natives, as they normally switch to all speaking welsh when they see a student paddle out. You just have to let your surfing do the talking I guess!

A few of my favourite memories, including Hell's Mouth, Bangor Pier, Llanddwyn Island and Newborough Beach

A few of my favourite memories, including Hell’s Mouth, Bangor Pier, Llanddwyn Island and Newborough Beach

Back to the Marine Biology. I mustn’t get too distracted by surfing, as I always do. Its such an interesting subject, and I’m learning so much about the environment that I spend the majority of my time in. I now try to name the various algae (seaweed’s an algae not a plant) and all of the little creatures around me when I’m down there filming. Its an incredible ecosystem, and there are countless little wars being waged the whole time that we just don’t notice. The environment that we study most is the inter-tidal range, as there is such diversity here, between aquatic and terrestrial organisms. In the space of a few meters of tidal range, there is a complete change in the variety of species and habitat. Around Bude and North Cornwall we have some fantastic examples of exposed rocky shores, and kelp covered reefs. So next time you’re surfing, have a think about what’s going on around you. It’ll blow your mind.

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The common lobster (Homarus gammarus)

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An amphipod crustacean (Talitrus Saltator)

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The common mackerel (Scomber Scrombus)

 Above: sketches from some practicals at uni. (Sorry for poor quality)

December 7, 2013

Occupational hazards

I was watching some footage earlier today of myself and some friends cliff jumping, filmed back in the summer, and it got me thinking. We take calculated risks all the time, whether we know about it or not. This is especially true for surfers, for example we have to decide whether to paddle out when a stacked set comes in, whether to sit where we are, or whether a wave will close out or hold open etc. Obviously these calculated risks occur outside of the surfing world too, maybe whilst driving, or cliff jumping like I mentioned. We have to make a decision, is the risk worth it? We have to weigh up the rewards, the chances and the consequences of failure. 

I personally can remember a few of these moments, but I wouldn’t recommend trying to remember them, as once you start thinking about them, your brain seems to have a nasty habit of dredging up every stupid decision you’ve ever made! Well mine does anyway, and I’ve definitely made a few bad judgement calls!

I guess the most clear and obvious decision of my recent life was getting on that rope-swing. But the chances of falling, and breaking my back were so insignificant I guess they never even crossed my mind (For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about I broke my back a couple of months ago, I’ll explain it another time).  Someone asked me if I would do it again, and hindsight’s kind of a bitch really. The thing is though, the risk is so small, I guess I probably would do it again. I can’t live my life worrying about the 5% chance that I could injure myself in some way. I can however avoid those slightly more risky pursuits, such as hang-gliding, parasailing, and BASE jumping, as these are all spinal nightmares.

Perhaps I won’t be so eager to jump off 60ft+ cliffs like I did before. But if I decide the risk is small enough, I just might be stupid enough to do it.

http://www.youtube.com/user/deathbywafer – the cliff jumping videos are summer shenangians part 2 & 4

Photo below: Taken by Louisa Baird, me in the foreground. Time to decide whether to paddle out or stay where you are. Anticipation.

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December 6, 2013

Tim and the left.

Although its a pretty well known spot, I won’t divulge too much, because we, as surfers, are a selfish bunch on the whole. We tend to keep good banks, or recently discovered waves to ourselves. I love this place because its actually pretty close to my house, so its convenient for me. I’ve recently been going quite a lot, and I always seem to be going with groups of all-goofys. The wave is a left, and so they’re all on their forehand, which I guess most people probably prefer.

Anyway, one guy who seems to have this place pretty dialed is Tim (Holland). He can contort his tall frame into the smallest of kegs, and seems to hunt them down. He’s always on the best wave of the set, and always in the right place. Maybe it just seems like he’s in the right place because normally I swear he’s everywhere at once. His wave count is ridiculous to be honest. And it’s because he catches so many waves that we seem to come away almost every time with some very usable shots. I’ve included a couple of my favourites below. Its a really cool place, and I love the angle you get from the rocks, just shooting straight into the barrel.

I really can’t wait to get back in the water, especially for this wave, on its day it can just be so much fun.ImageImage

 

 

 

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