Any here? Just been in at my local break and it was near perfection. That and a lovely MTB ride this morning – not a bad day!

Stick a kite up and I'll do it, but not without wind assistance 🙂

yeah, where's your local break?

Porthtowan and Perranporth are the same distance away but grew up in Polzeath. How about you Johnny?

Most recent pics – small but fun clean waves in February this year – yes it was a bit nippy (beach was frozen, howling NErly) in Polzeath:

PT just now was head high and utterly lush!

Not so much these days but planning on getting back in the water this summer andgetting surf-fit again.

Who makes decent wetsuits now? My ten year old snugg is a little stiff and a little too snug.

Xcels are miles ahead of anyone else – see those pics? Xcel 5mm suit and I was the only one with no hood. Stayed in for 1.5 hours and lived. In a poor wetsuit I would have needed a hood and still half died. And I'm a bit of a cold poof too.

Awesome Mat. I get to Hell's mounth about once a month/whenever it's working (2h drive). You're miles ahead of me though – those pics are great. I'm a proper cold water poof, but my c-skins steamer has kept me toasty right through the winter.

who took the pics?

Johnny – a guy I vaguely know who is often on the beach with about £3ks worth of camera kit! He takes pics and hopes people will buy them – I think he's doing alright out of it.

Had similar a while back at Godrevy except I didn't know the guy was taking pics – my wife spotted him and got the prints as a surprise for a present. I was rather chuffed!

Hells Mouth can be nice – surfed a couple of semi secret spots that way. Went to Uni in Swansea too – more for the surf than the degree!

C Skins make good kit and well priced too.

sponging_machine is not, despite his frequent 'wanted' threads, named after sponging in the scrounging sense but he likes a bodyboard and a surf, prederably at silly o'clock in the morning.
Phillips also considers himself a surfer.

Yeah, north and west coasts of Ireland here. Just treated myself to a mini mal as I'm a little heavy for my shortboard these days…

Silly o'clock is the best time to go – wind often light, crowds usually non existent. It's just hard getting up!

Andy – very nic. Did SW Ireland for a week earlier this year, paid £45 extra for the board, winds onshore and howling the whole time – doh! Got home (flew into Newquay airport) and it was firing – double doh! Some amazing spots your way though – Easkey, Bundoran, etc looking superb!

Yeah I surf, surf on the North Yorkshire coastline. Mostly reefs and pointbreaks with the odd heavy beach thrown in for good measure. Its cold, the water is brown and horrid but its uncrowded and when it fires….it really fires 😀

I surfed for 10 years before a blown ACL put me out of action for a couple of years. I now bodyboard more as I dont get to surf enough to get back to a competent standard. I still head to the local mellow beaches, borrow a longboard and have a play around.

This breaks right where I live…literally 5 mins from my door (not me in the pic):

Creg, I went to uni in Scarborough and had a marvellous time getting smashed to bits sponging the local reefs and points. It was **** baltic though. Lack of rights used to frustrate rather too.

Despite my online moniker, I rarely bodyboard any more (only when it's really firing and hollow) and have really been getting into longboarding over the last couple of years. Been chatting with my local shaper about a quad-fish recently, which may spell an end to the sponge for good.

As for Phillips, no-one had better tell his missus about the new quad-egg that's hidden in his garage.

North Devon, by the way (which was 2' and onshore today).

under the right conditions (2 – 3 ft, clean, well spaced sets), me an my longboard can have a few hours of fun.

Tell me about Porthtowan – I'm planning a week there with the family in September.

meant to be away for ten days of surf and biking in scotland as of today, only work is rubbish and have cancelled all leave. so i'm not. which is poo.

Surf-Mat – Member
Silly o'clock is the best time to go – wind often light, crowds usually non existent. It's just hard getting up!

It also means avoiding the robbing bastards that own all the beach car parks around here.

Creg, I went to uni in Scarborough and had a marvellous time getting smashed to bits sponging the local reefs and points. It was **** baltic though. Lack of rights used to frustrate rather too.

Yeah its definately 5/3 suits all year round, with boots, gloves and hoods in the winter. A lot of the guys here even have thermal rashies as well.

There are one or two rights, but they have to be hunted out first 😉

I have been missing out on all the decent surfs recently due to uni and work. Hoping for some little waves tomorrow thouhg its been flat in the Northeast (scotland)which is a shame since i recieved this at the end of feb.
😀

Creg there's a right at the end of my street and if your were I think you are I'm the other side of the hill with the oxygen thieves 😆

Tell me about Porthtowan – I'm planning a week there with the family in September.

The actual village is a bit scabby but the Blue Bar is nice. The beach is smallish at high tide and massive at low – very dramatic. Surf is a bit fickle – sometimes it doesn't work properly, other times it's one of the best beach breaks in the UK. There's a decent village shop and stunning coastal paths around.

Is that the sort of info you were after?!

Creg – nice! Must surf up that way soon. Ouch about the ACL. My shoulder has dislocated many times duckdiving. Also got a big scar just below my nose from slicing it with a fin!

Sponging Machine – cool. My current favourite board is a 6ft Bunty Quad. Pretty thin but it does everything and snaps off the top soooo well!

Tonight was great – proper "stunt" surf with some hollow sections just right for some tail out action. Been flat for ages so it was extra fun!

I got into cycling whilst trying to get fit for surfing (the buzz lasted longer). Have had the pleasure of a lot of breaks in N Cornwall, Saunton etc, Easky, Venice Beach, Hourtin down to Spain, Great Ocean Road, Phillip Island and……Byron Bay. These days neither the cycling nor the surfing are particularly impressive but they ar enjoyed ENORMOUSLY. Back in BB this August, JOY!

Bill – these pics are all Byron Bay in 1999 – we only had a non digi camera so I scanned some pics that my wife took (not realising that it's best to be able to see the person you photograph! Only full visible in the second pic.

used to windsurf about 2 years ago and i love the proper body boarding not the s,all wave straight chute stuff

Creg there's a right at the end of my street and if your were I think you are I'm the other side of the hill with the oxygen thieves

Seriously?

Or have I just fallen for a major pisstake?

I went in on the mid-push at about 2pm when it was still windy, but seemed to drop right off as the Sun came out this evening. Should be a nice mellow day tomorrow. supposed to be working in Exeter but have figured out other jobs that I can do a little closer to home. 😉

SM – I hastily edited (got the wrong person)! Too busy with work tomorrow so very pleased to have got in.

By 7pm it was pure glass and the crowds even naffed off too.

Oh, I'll still be working all day, but closer means I can get in before and after, whilst working in Exeter would mean a 12hour day.

6' quad would be nice, but I'm 6'6" so looking to go meatier. Same idea, just scaled up (~7'2" x 23" x 3"). Still floaty but duck-diveable. I'm gonna borrow Phillips old 6'2" twinnie to see just how small I can go though.

Are any of you interested in buying this?, I haven't bothered putting it on ebay yet.
comp rash vest

there's nothing down here, its flat.

flat flat flat

🙁

Creg if you live at Beware falling kooks, then yes there is a right infact two as there is one inbetween us. Sorry for the cloak and dagger talk but its very rear I surf with any one unless I invite them 😉

and there in action is one of the reasons I drifted away from surfing.

everyone is so damn protective, secretive and downright grumpy. I really noticed it when I was back in the water last summer after a couple of years out. no-one seemed to actually be enjoying themselves, one guy nearly fell off in shock when I shouted encouraging words as he surfed by me.

edit: that and when I lived in taunton the quantocks was ten minutes away and north devon over an hour. no competition really….

jambo your more than welcome to surf with me I just don't want to give out some one's address 🙄 and as to why people don't surf at the end of my street they be afraid of the locals 😆

Kaya did you make boards a while back??

No but Johnno did, If that's who you think I am. I'm also on the east coast and not in North Wales, But I used to spend a lot of time around there 8)

SM, Byron has got a lot busier it seems since then. I take it that's Julian Rocks in the first pic and it's a right from The Pass?

Mat – thanks – I've surfed most of the SW but never Porthtowan. I can recommend an East Coast trip – Scarborough North up into Northumberland. Some of the most consistent surf (honest – proven through a degree study by a guy at Newcastle Uni a while back) and some great waves. Gabe Davies and Sam Lamiroy grew up on the same beach as me in Tynemouth – they do something right up there!

NE has predominately offshore winds too. The same SW winds that plague us down here.

everyone is so damn protective, secretive and downright grumpy.

Only so many waves to go around, see. I know what you mean though. I often surf at a beach that is really quiet compared to the others in my area. It has a totally different vibe where people are always happy to chat and smile when something goes on/off. A crowd here is 15-20 people. Compare that to 200+ people in the water at Saunton, Woolie, etc and you can see why there's a difference. If I'm surfing here, I'll normally walk 10mins up the beach and find an empty bank.
Surfing at Croyde has to bring out my aggressive nature, otherwise I'd never get a wave.