E.G.O.S

I love the sound of breaking glass.

Aiming for a backside cover-up.

E.G.O.S = (Evening glass-off session)

DO THE GODS PLAY NOUGHTS & CROSSES?

Wow! What an amazing run of weather; sun, warmth & the bluest skies... and a few waves too!

CLIFFS

Last Thursday night was good!

Real good!

STRANDED

Local neglects to check tide-tables before going for morning stroll on beach.

...

HISTORY LESSON - PART II

Front pump.

Just been given these old snaps of the much younger me skating the bowl at Playing Place. This was in the days before Patrick Best and Andrew Garner built the infamous extension, so I'm guessing it's either 77 or 78. On a Dogown Red Dog - Jim Muir, looks like Trackers, Green Kryps and a home-made tail saver.

Front punt.

Photos courtesy: Andrew Garner

PANO

I can see my house from up here. Clicky pic to go bigger

IT'S A NUM3ER5 GAME

Check the forecast and it's saying 3-4ft at 13 seconds. Alright!

What are the winds doing? Light SE but building to 15-20mph and swinging south westerly later. Have to get in sooner rather than later then...

Check the tides - low at 8.50am and it's a big one at 6.9m, so aim for mid-tide on the push.

Which board, the new 8'6 or the 9'0 Skinny? Lovin' the Slide Projector at the moment - so stick with that.

Load up, get gas on the way - 30 quid hardly nudges the needle past half-way. Get to the beach, how many out? A quick scan of the line up reveals at least 15 already in and half a dozen more cars pulling into the carpark.

Suit on in just over one minute. Paddle out, catch a couple.

Whoah! Big set looming, scratch over the first. Damn, at least another 5 or 6 behind, just manage to punch through the second. C'mon, dig deep and ten or twenty hard strokes will sort it.

One and a half hours later and a dozen good rides, time to head in.
Today the numbers all added up, a good session. Go home happy.

Based on a true story.

BLUE & YELLOW

David Hockney put in plenty of hours studying water.

So as the UK political landscape changes colour to blue with a splash of yellow...

(At least it gives me an excuse to admire Hockney's view of a Californian swimming pool painted in 1967)

NO HANDER!

Experiencing one of the first thrills of living dangerously...

INTERVIEW - CHRIS HINES

Chris Hines with his trusty 7'2. Photo: Andy Hughes

Journalist, campaigner, environmentalist, media presenter, motivational speaker, inspirational thinker and of-course, last but definitely not least, surfer. Chris's love affair with the sea has taken him from being more than just a participant to dedicating his life to making not only the ocean, but the environment as a whole something we can all enjoy for many generations to come.

When did you become aware of surfing?

My folks first took me to Widemouth when I was a couple of months old. Earliest memories are from when I was about 4/5 and I had my own wooden bellyboard by age 6! First proper board aged 12. There was a great surfing book in Tavistock School library and I used to always read it in library session!

Can you remember catching your first green wave?

Think my first green wave was during an epic 5 hour session when I was 13 at Sennen. Just pushing out and catching small inside waves and one suddenly reformed...

I know you try and get in the water as much as possible, just what exactly is it that keeps you coming back for more?

Being in the water, one decent wave and it's been a good session. That interaction with natural energy and the environment. Being away from the pressure of normal life. Importantly, every day has something and even if it's not great surf then remember that you could be a member of the Bosnian surf team at which point 2 ft onshore mush would be the best day of the decade!

Going for a backside cover up! Photo: Andy Hughes

APRES SURF COFFEE

Post-surf coffee anyone?

The C-Bay crew know how to do it!

WOOLNUTS

Ewe tube...

JJ'OLLIE

No one did f/s ollies like JJ.

A Jason Jesse frontside ollie is just beautiful. The style, the power, the commitment - all totally evident.

In his very first appearance as a professional in a vert contest he found himself going head to head against Gator, who at the time was a well established pro, very consistent and always hard to beat. During their heat Gator had a couple of uncharacteristic falls leaving the door wide open for JJ to easily advance to a possible top place finish in his debut. All he had to do was stay on, complete his run and he was guaranteed to win the heat...

But no such thing as playing safe for Jason Jessee, he dropped in and went full bore for a head high air to fakie and slammed! Gator won the heat.

Afterwards JJ shrugged it off saying "I don't care, I'm going for a surf."

NEW FACE

Welcome Nellie, new member of the family.

TELL ME WHY?

I asked all the West Country based bloggers in my list one question - WHY DO YOU BLOG?

Here, in no particular order, are their answers...

"Because I secretly love shouting 'look at me I'm great!' :-)"
CP Adventures in Trim

"I've always seen websites as constrained by branding and marketing objectives whereas blogs allow a true personality to shine through. Blogging has been the easiest way to share my passion for alternative post modern surfboard design with like minded souls… I don't have to push myself out there, I just share stuff as it happens and people who are interested find it, and have regular updates on everything from my latest bonzer designs to who I snogged on the beach at Penhale between surfs in 1981… There are no rules, just expression and I find that really appealing…"
Tim Just Bonzers

"It is quite simple really. I started back in 2004 with the Alma Pura blog while living in Brazil to try and show the more alternative, and simple side of surfing. Then did the Royal blog just for my boards. I found that it was silly and time consuming to have 2 blogs, so dropped the AP one and now just use the Royal blog.
My main interest is using it to showcase people/things that may not be out there yet, be they friends of mine or just interesting folk. Of course it also allows me to display my own boards, but I intend on that being a way to show that the UK has some great and current designers/board builders and that we aren't just following US trends, but can innovate on our own. Plus, the UK experience is unlike anywhere I have lived before, in terms of climate, countryside and culture.
Other than that, I guess I just need to find another hobby to keep me busy..."
Rob Lion Royal

DAYS OF DRY

I actually can't remember the last time it rained.

TRAIL

They're back.

BLU PERRAN CLASSIC

If you are thinking of going along to the Bathseba & Watering Hole Classic this weekend - don't! It's been postponed due to low-flying volcanic ash... (lack of swell actually!)

New dates are 8-9th May instead.

AFFIRMATIVE

Simple truth.

I like his style, both in and out of the water...

NORTH CLIFFS

Betwixt Deadmans Cove and Samphire Island.

AMBIGUITY

Make it - don't fake it.

SOUNDTRACK

Don't you forget.

It's my life
It never ends

THE REPUBLIC OF ME

... and this is my flag.

CRANTOCK

We spent hours upon hours skating in this barn. Originally it housed a 9ft vert ramp, one of only a few indoor halfpipes at the time. Although a private ramp, skaters from all over the UK would somehow find their way along the winding Cornish lanes, pad up, drop in and roll to the sounds pumping out from Dave's mighty boombox.

Evenings spent in the Bowgie, sleeping bags on the platforms, fresh gaffer tape and stinky pads donned again the next day for yet another session. Lots of tail slaps, lots of body slams - good times indeed.

Downsized to a 5ft mini a few years later.

Photo courtesy of Chris Fowler

PT

Lookin' fine in the Spring sunshine.

PAVEMENT

Slanted and Enchanted.

Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain.

Brighten the Corners.

I'm having a Pavement day...

TENNIS GIRL

Over the last few years I had often passed him walking his dog as I made my way home from work. Usually meeting him along the same narrow country lane, I'd be in my car and would slow down as I drove by and we'd exchange nods. Then often during the summer if I was on my bike, we'd say hello in greeting. Nothing more than that, but it almost became a small ritual in my daily commute. I hadn't seen him for a while and recently saw a woman walking the dog instead.

A few days ago I found out he'd died after a long bout with cancer and that his name was Martin Elliott, the photographer who took the infamous Tennis Girl picture.

Tennis Girl - 1976, Martin Elliott.

CERAMIC

Flip-flops made of stone.

I really like Gerry Wedd's pottery. Check out more of his stuff here.

SST

The awesome SST Records label.

There was quite a long period of my life when 99% of all the music I listened to was produced by just one Southern Californian record label - SST.

Along with Black Flag (SST founder Greg Ginn's band) they released albums by Minutemen, Hüsker Dü, Meat Puppets, Saccharine Trust, Sonic Youth, Bad Brains, Descendents, fIREHOSE and Dinosaur Jr among others.

There was no need to go elsewhere really...

FINTASTIC

It's a beautiful fin...

Following on from Wheardo's new fin post over at the Log Blog I thought I'd mention the new rudder I'm running in my 8'6" diamond tail.

When I got the board shaped, I'd always imagined that quite a thin, smoothly raked fin with a bit of flex would suit it, and recently got hold of a Fluid Foils 8" Soul Flex that I thought would fit the bill.

Wow, what a difference a fin makes! This new fin works with the board perfectly for the waves I've been riding lately. I can feel the drive from it so positively and it gives a nicely measured response out of the turns too. Very happy with the fin set up now.

Fins really do make a big difference to the way a board rides, and probably more noticeably so on longboards. Of course fins work in combination with a multitude of other factors such as rocker, rail, tail etc, etc. But you can totally tune up your ride by simply changing the fins on yer longboard.

LOCATION-LOCATION-LOCATION

It's all about location...

A smaller property with limited parking, but very good access to the beach.
From LIFE picture archive - late 50s to early 60s, somewhere in Kernow.

EARTH-HOUR

Turn off the lights for one hour on March 27th.

PINK WAVE

Detail of a painting by Pete Fowler.

This is a painting that Pete did for us a few years ago (it was a b-day prezzie for R). Pete's done album cover work for Super Furry Animals and Magic Numbers, as well as animation for Kia Motors he's also the creator of a whole series of designer toy characters and is involved in a myriad of other artistic endeavours. He just never stops producing good stuff... Check out Pete's blog here and his Monsterism site here.

DOH!

New board - first ding. That's life...

SLAINTE

Hope you have a Happy St Patrick's Day (and enjoy a pint of the good stuff too).

Framegrab from Guinness surfers advert 1999.

Painted on a beam at the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin.

PEACEOUT

Hope you have a colourful weekend.

Rollover image to turn the volume up!

VINCENT

A tortured soul, but he sure knew how to make his brush flow...

Starry night.

Vince G - self portrait (on his good side!)

KIDS EYES

I let the kids loose with the camera at the weekend - interesting to see the beach through their eyes.

Shadows.

By Tyde, aged 9

By Cealan, aged 9

By Tyde, aged 9

By Cealan, aged 9

SUPERCLEAN

... and super small unfortunately.

HAPPY ST PIRAN'S DAY

St Piran, patron saint of tin-miners, and also regarded as the patron saint of Cornwall.

Kernow pride in the Perranporth dunes.