Tuesday 30 June 2009

5 BASIC LONGBOARD RULES



Sharing waves back in the day

Summer's here, a great time for paddling out on the longboard to catch a few waves. BUT there are still a limited amount of surfable waves breaking at a limited amount of accessible places around our coast. So to make it enjoyable and fun for yourself as well as those around you consider these 5 Basic Longboard Rules.

1. Don't hog the sets. Don't take all the best waves. Spare a thought for those not advantaged by nine-foot-plus of paddling power. People moan about bad vibes in the surf these days, but remember tension in the water is a direct result of actions taken by those actually in the surf. So be cool and let a set or two roll through for the guys on the inside between rides. You'll get your fair share and you can feel good about keeping it sweet.

2. Don't bail at the sign of an approaching set. Never let go of your board. That's nine-foot-plus of uncontrolled hardware bouncing around, add another nine-foot-plus of leash at the end of your leg. And you have just carelessly endangered anybody unfortunate enough to be within 20 feet of you. If you can't duck dive your mal, learn to roll it or stay in the whitewater where you can hold onto it. As a last resort if you do have to bail or let go of your board, make sure there's no-one behind you (you should always be aware of where others are) grab the 'rail saver' part of your leash at the tail of your board and keep hold of that sucka.

3. Do learn to turn. Longboards can get you up and riding decent waves relatively quickly. Which means there is even more of an obligation for you to be in control of what you are doing. A thick, fat board with a huge fin means you are a liability in the lineup if you aren't able to turn it.

4. Don't shuffle instead of walking. If you want to get on the nose you've got to learn to cross step. Walking the board allows the smoothest possible weight transition as you move from tail to tip. Throwing shapes while standing 'near' the front, does not make you a nose-rider. Put simply, if you can't cross step you won't get those toes on the nose. It's essential for surfing longboards well and is literally the only way forward if you wanna glide with style.

5. Don't ride a longboard just to get more waves. Go for quality NOT quantity of waves. Longboarding isn't all about catching waves earlier than shortboarders. It's about soul, spirit and style. Get into it... and have fun.

Saturday 27 June 2009

KERNOW - SOME STATS



Ye olde mappe of Kernowe

• Cornwall is approx 132 miles from end to end, yet has over 400 miles of coastline.
• Permanent population of around half a million (and growing) which swells to accommodate over 5 million tourists during just a few short months of summer.
• Cornwall is actually one of the poorest areas of the UK, with only Conwy in Wales and Moray in Scotland faring worse in earnings compared to the rest of the country. Yet house prices are in the top ten per cent countrywide.
• Cornwall is officially a Duchy, and not a county. The first born son of the ruling monarchy automatically inherits the title Duke of Cornwall along with the associated revenue of over £16 million.
• 90% of Cornish place names are of Celtic origin and derived from the Kernewek language. A language closely related to that of Wales and Brittany.
• The Cornish flag is an exact reverse of the former Breton national flag (black cross on a white field) and is known by the same name "Gwynn ha Du" - white and black.
• Dolly Pentreath (died December 1777) of Mousehole, is often considered to have been the last native speaker (ie: not being able to speak any English) of the Cornish language.

Monday 22 June 2009

Now please wash your hands



Every time - don't forget