Right. Off to Morocco on Monday morning. Dakhla to be precise. Last time I was in Morocco someone let a dog they felt sorry for into the apartment and in the morning it was dead. From rabies. Forecast is looking OK but it always seems to be the way that the more remote the location the more knots you can add to the forecast. Shall keep updating El Viajo Blog when I am out there.
A few years ago I saw a news item in a surf mag about a surf board with a waterproof internet terminal set into it so you could do your emails while you waited between sets.
I remember thinking that was the most God Awful thing I’d ever seen. The sea was meant to be the last refuge, the place where THEY couldn’t get you! I even hated that old phone advert where the guy says ‘I email from the beach’.
Attitudes and needs certainly change though and since acquiring (purchasing actually, dunno why I had to be so mysterious and say ‘acquire’) my first smart phone late last year, I’ve found time and again that the ‘always on’ communication aspect of it has massively increased the time I can spend out of the office (house) since I never have to be at home to do my emails. I get around 50 emails a day, so you can imagine the hours I’ve spent plonked in front of the PC working through that lot. Well no more!
Now, I can create word documents, excel documents and send them via email, conduct interviews and record the audio (and send that), check forecasts, find the phone number of near enough everyone I would ever need to speak to (via Facebook) and of course see exactly where the mates are that we’re waiting for / trying to find (as well as my own way to anywhere in the world) via the magic of GPS. In fact I recently created a map where none existed (the roads didn’t exist either) of the routes to the best kite spots in Boa Vista. Within a few clicks I’d up loaded it to the internet.
The ability to keep on top of work as well as actually generating new work on such a small device is a marvel. No need to carry a laptop, no need to hunt out wifi. All internet and email is free for me anywhere there is a mobile phone signal anywhere in the world.
If that all seems a bit ‘fanboy’ or unrealistic, I’ve typed this entire post on my BlackBerry. I’ll probably do most of my updates from the BlackBerry from now on since I can blog whenever the inspiration takes me rather than forgetting half the point of it when I get home.
In conclusion, I can work anywhere now with just a phone in my pocket. Once a week I need to sit down and view large files, the rest of the time I could indeed be at the beach, down the pub, up a mountain or round a mates house. Still wouldn’t have one in the surfboard though.
Which is why I haven’t updated the blog. No point really just putting hot air up there and thoughts and imaginings and this and that, the internet is full of enough cobblers and half formed opinions as it is, just take this blog for example. However, today a glimmer of hope emerged and we caught a few beauties at our special South Coast Cornwall spot near the clock tower. The treachery of trying to kite out through the rocks and thumping shorebreak was only matched by trying to kite safely back to the beach from around the huge stone walls of the harbour.Here’s a little sneak preview of what was going on:
I’ve got a bit more action to share with you from Boa Vista and also bizarrely enough from the mountains of Dartmoor and South Wales. Plus a bit of snowkiting too. Right-o, see you anon!
The pictures above are from Tuesday the 27th’t of October, a day when 2.6m of swell with a WSW direction and a wave period of 14 seconds decided to visit Newquay.
Earlier this year, it had been a very long time since I’d had a good surf; literally I couldn’t remember the last great session (other than the fabled ‘annual surf’ of late 2007). It can get like that very fast, and you find yourself having conversations with friends along the lines of ‘I dunno why people bother surfing in Cornwall. Fair enough if we had a big pointbreak on our doorstep it’d be it…’ and ‘Thank God for kitesurfing, for multiplying the number of days we can get waves by 10 to the power of 20′. And so on.
And as if to confirm our lack of faith, the reputation of Cornwall overseas, as a surfing destination, is often one of ‘You have waves there?’
But after the last two weeks of swell and offshore winds (this morning was great at Fistral and tomorrow morning looks set to be even better - head high plus and offshore winds ) there can be no denying that the Newquay area is capable of delivering some serious goods for shortboard surfing. If I was to compare the last week with the average surf trip, to somewhere like say, Morocco, Indo, Sri Lanka, (OK so they are wildly differing in terms of wave quality but I’ve grouped them together since they are all popular destinations for Brits), I’d put it like this:
Typical Overseas Surf Trip
Locals: some friendly, plenty of dickheads who think it’s their job to be pissed off
Visitors: as above
Bars and restaurants: eating abroad is generally a nice experience
Accommodation: usually bloody terrible with cockroaches and fecal matter the only decoration
Getting there: hell on earth
Newquay in the last two weeks
Locals: who know’s who’s local and who’s not anymore? Regardless there’s a distinct lack of bitching and everyone is calm
Visitors: as above. Beginners should stick to Newquay Bay until they can hold on to their boards though
Bars and restaurants: getting better in Newquay. The Carnmarth Hotel is leading the way
Accommodation: bloody brilliant of course!
Getting there: what can be nicer than driving along the A30 in the rain, then spying Newquay ahead in the distance, all bathed in sunlight and surrounded by blue green seas. Road trips always win over flying. Everytime.
Conclusion: The last two weeks have been a world class surfing experience on all levels. What’s more, with 16 degree air temp it’s almost like being in the Azores.
A while ago I lost the keys to my old Mercedes 190E. Absolutely vanished from the face of the earth they did. I hate keys at the best of times; it’s a daft system. If you can ‘lock’ your credit card with potentially unlimited funds with a 4 digit number, then why not your old banger of a car? Stupid keys, getting lost all the time.
Anyway, I thought the solution would be really straight forward. The fastest way would be to call a locksmith, and have them come and sort it out. Or, I could order a new key from Mercedes Benz and that’ll arrive in a week.
I started looking into the first option, and after calling every mobile local auto locksmith, none of them could help. ‘Can’t be done on those cars, they are a nightmare’ they would say. No problem, I’ll order the new keys from Merc. (Note - there are TWO keys on the 190E - one for the door and one for the ingition). A week later, the keys arrived (I was originally told I would only be able to pick them up if I arrived in the car they belonged to; how would that even work?) and what do you know, door key only. Can’t do the ingition barrel key.
So, I thought, I’ll get it hotwired and break the steering lock. I’ve got the door key, so that’ll be fine. Well, a mobile mechanic came out and hotwired it, but could we break the steering lock? No. You cannot break the steering lock on a 190E, the steering column will break first. We left it there, and the mechanic said it’ll take two days to strip it down and get the old barrel out and fit a new one. Two days…that’s a lot of labour.
After a lot of frantic deadline action I was finally ready to face the problem of this stupid car again. I called a few mobile mechanics, none of them willing to help. ‘Real nightmare of a job.’ I was about to call the chap that said it was a two day strip down, when I thought, ‘I’ll just call Lee at Mount Wise Garage’. I’ve dealt with Lee in the past, always does a top job. Should’ve thought of it earlier it seems…
‘It’s about an hour to drill the old barrel out, then the new one drops in. It’s about a couple of hours all told.’ A couple of hours, not days? Brilliant! ‘Are you mobile Lee?’ I asked. ‘No not mobile, but where are you?’ After a quick chat, Lee’s coming out on Thursday to get the job done in two hours.
Two hours for a job that EVERYONE else says is a nightmare and cannot be done. I guess it comes down to a measure of an individual’s skill in his trade.
My tip for the month is if you live in Newquay and your motor is giving you problems, call Lee at Mount Wise Garage on 01637 871293.
In the next issue of Kitesurf Mag, you’ll see a new photo competition. We’re looking for the biggest wave kited between April 2009 and April 2010, so submit your photos to us of macking waves you have ridden during that time with the kite.
The Poole based kitesurf and surf store, King Of Watersports, have been amazing and got straight behind it when we mentioned it to them. Co owner Charlie Kernan has put up the following list of prizes for this amazing comp:
Biggest kited wave: Choice of ANY 2010 Cabrinha board. What more needs to be said??
Runner up wave: An Animal Assassin wetsuit. These brand new suits are super toasty, stretchy and generally the cat’s whiskers. You get to choose your size and gender, of course.
Best wipeout: A Sector 9 Waimea longboard skate - something to encourage you to get your dangerous carves on dry land!
Winning photographer: Go Pro Helmet Hero camera! Now you can send even more kiters to their doom in pursuit of the perfect shot.
Above is a photo from earlier this year, taken at Watergate Bay, (it’s me by the way!) just to show that the big stuff doesn’t have to be from Indo or Hawaii or Oz or Bognor Regis, rather it could be from somewhere more accessible.
We’ve backdated the comp to April 1st 2009 and it runs ’til 31st March 2010. It’s really easy to win, just send your biggest kitesurfing wave pic to me and hope that no one sends a bigger one.
Top prizes and immortality as the world’s first big wave kitesurf award winner awaits all those who are too untalented to do handle passes.
I notice the blog is getting a lot of hits from people wundrin’ whether the Boscombe Surf Reef project is working or not.
Well, maybe it’s too early to say, but I suggest keeping a close watch on the 22nd October when a forecasted 4m plus swell will slam into Cornwall, no doubt sending the Cribbar into overdrive. Such a swell, you’d hope, would see barrels peeling off the Boscombe surf reef. Because if that doesn’t do it, nothing will.
Now just to make my position clear - I’m not bashing the reef, just stating the facts. The above photo was taken at Hengistbury Head, kiting on a day when the waves were - well, see for yourself. Boscombe Pier was ‘breaking’ at about a foot max, the reef was not working at all. People were having surf lessons at the Pier, some were getting to their feet for a few seconds. The reef meanwhile, you couldn’t have done anything on. It certainly wasn’t two foot - or double, as we were led to believe by the company that built the reef after selling the idea to Bournemouth Council.
Meanwhile on this day, the surf in Cornwall, more specifically Newquay, was overhead and a hell of a lot of fun. Don’t write off the ’surf capital’ just yet then!
The other picture? Well we wouldn’t want you to get too bored reading all this techy nonsense now, would we?
One thing I’ve noticed people are searching for on this blog is how to do a hard toeside carve with a surfboard. A good toeside carve is very much like a bottom turn when you are surfing; it is completely fundamental as a good toeside carve / bottom turn dictates your approach - and thus your enjoyment and success in the next few seconds.
And since we can be sure that you never throw a bottom turn in when you don’t need to, and in fact probably carry more speed / power through a bottom turn or toeside carve than any other surfing manoover (given up even trying to spell that stupid word) then it’s totally essential to get it right.
So what are people doing when they get low to the water and stretch out but seem to still be able to carve the board round tightly? Well, look at it like driving a fast car. If you want to turn into a tight corner and exit w
City2surf is the name of a package deal that gets you to Newquay and back from Hammersmith, London and two nights accommodation (Fri and Sat) or three nights accommodation (Mon, Tue and Wed) for £94.The coach is laid on by BioTravel whose fleet runs on vegetable fuels so there’s no pollution other than the crisp packets you throw out of the window on the way down. The coach stops at Stone ‘Enge for a quick gawp and leg stretch, and kitesurfing flicks are shown on the TV’s to get you in the mood.Accommodation is at the worldly infamous Surf Sanctuary, Newquay’s only surf lodge that gives a monkey’s about kitesurfers. As you’ll know, Newquay has seven beaches in walking distance and all the pubs, shops and things that you need are very close by.Over the winter, the coach runs twice and month and the timetable is below:OCT: Fri 23RD / Mon 26THNOV: Fri 6TH / Mon 9TH / Fri 20TH / Mon 23RDDEC: Fri 4TH / Mon 7TH / Fri 18TH / Mon 21STJAN : Fri 8TH / Mon 11TH / Fri 22ND /Mon 25THThe dates only show when the bus is leaving. For Fridays, it returns on Sunday and for Mondays, it returns on Thursday.We’ve been getting enquiries about the sea temp and feasibility of surfing in Newquay through the winter, and it’s probably best answered thus: Wetsuits have come on in leaps and bounds and are much cheaper and warmer than they were ten years ago. Any decent surf school or shop will have winter wetties for rent, but you can buy a real good’un yourself for as little as £100. You’ll need boots, maybe a hood for the coldest days but most people don’t bother with gloves. Air temp can be as mild as 12-14 degrees in the very depths of January, and often will be if the wind is blowing from the prevailing SW direction. Northerlies are certainly colder, but very seldom do we get a frost, much less a freeze. Besides, North winds mean sunshine too!The sea, depending on what resource you look at will be from 9 - 12 degrees; hard to say but it is noticeably warmer than even North Devon, and as for the rest of the UK - well our winter sea is like the North East’s sea in May. Any q’s, please just ping us an email or call and we’ll gladly help you out. Oh - nearly forgot - we also offer surfboard storage for London surfers who don’t want to keep lugging their log about, and also discounted mountain bike rental, surf lessons and kite lessons. It gets no cheaper!
I’m in Egypt, and more specifically Dahab, which sits up on the eastern side of the Sinai Peninsula. If you look at the map of the Red Sea, that’s the bit at the top that sticks down like a tiny version of India. It’s hot as a kiln out here, so clean and pure and in the distance accross the sea I can see the lights of Saudi Arabia.
I’m out here courtesy of Harry Nass, proprietor of the world’s largest JP and Cabrinha set up. Harry’s operation has four centres, and I’m in number four. There are 80 kites and 30 boards here, all 2010 Cabrinha kit and I am one of THREE kitesurfers here at the moment. I am like the cat that got the cream, and this cream wasn’t left out in the Egyptian sun but has been kept in the fridge at a purrfect temperature.
Until now, kitesurfing in Dahab wasn’t really on most people’s lists. There is a lagoon, but it gets crowded. Now Harry Nass has opened centre 4, downwind at the Bay View Hotel, the kiting potential is off the scale. There is so much space and a brilliant system in place that it’s possible to have 25 lessons going on all at once with none of the hazards or hassles you’d usually expect. Way downwind of the launch, the beach curves to meet the wind so there is a perfect esape route up onto the sand. Still, if you manage to miss that (!) then the rescue boat will come an gethca.
I’ll add photos in a day or so, but suffice to say for now I am pretty blown away by the experience so far. The hotel is just incredible, the Egyptian staff are incredibly personable and helpfull. The pool is great, the gym is packed with gear and chilled to an ice cool temp, and my room is just dandy. Went snorkelling earlier and I’ve never seen such a collection of fish. There’s everything down here on the living coral - Nemos, clams, you name it.
I’ve seen a lot of reefs over the years, next to Fiji, this is the most healthy coral I’ve seen and it’s only 2ft from the shoreline. I’ll be putting a full on write up in the next issue of Kitesurf Magazine - believe me, you’ve never seen a set up like this. Just wait ’til you read about it and prepare to book a week off from the graftery.
Until next time, وداعا رياح جيدة
( good bye and good winds)
