MIXED DOUBLES

A beautiful and sunny Saturday morning, clean little waves and no wind. 

It's changeover day, which means all the tourists are either packing up, vacating their holiday homes and hitting the road if they're of the outgoing variety. Or they're stuck on the A30 in traffic on the way down if they are the incoming variety.

It leaves a nice little window to get in the surf without the crowds.

Me and R hit Gwithian before breakfast, just as we're getting suited up Cealan & Z pull up with exactly the same idea in mind. So it's almost a family affair and we paddle out to a little right hander that works pretty sweetly on an incoming tide.

We have it all to ourselves for a while and then Pete Dudley paddles over and joins us. We know Pete, he's a good surfer and a nice guy, originally from Wales but now a St Ives local (and incidentally an uncle to the very talented longboarder Elliot Dudley).

We all take turns sliding into quick, glassy peelers. During a nice 5-wave set Pete, Cealan and Z have all taken waves. R and I both paddle for the last wave & find ourselves riding in side by side. As we glide along the face next to each other Pete is paddling back out. 

In his broad Welsh accent he yells, "Lovely... Just like Torvill and Dean!

(Disclaimer: R and I have never ridden a tandem surfboard together. And it is impossible to find a tandem surfing image that isn't blatantly sexist.)