https://www.thewave.com/be-first-surf-our-biggest-waves/

£60 for advanced plus.
£95 for expert…

Errr no thanks, I’ll happily plod along in intermediate for a bit longer.

Think I’ll leave those to the experts…

I started off well with the adv wave but after a couple of decent rides started to find the slow section challenging.

Need to get back asap, but my most recent booking was cancelled due to Ciara….

https://www.thewave.com/be-first-surf-our-biggest-waves/

£60 for advanced plus.
£95 for expert…

I can barely see the difference between the two, adv + looks like a 3ft beachie; expert looks like a good bank on a 3ft beachie. Does look fun though, but at that price… 5 hours on the expert setting would pay for a budget trip to Hossegor for a week!

£95 is bonkers. I can see how they’ve arrived at it, and I guess if they keep the number of sessions very low, they will fill them. I might pop down and see what it looks like. The advanced plus looks fun, as I seem to find the M3 and M4 settings a little bit slow, probably more because i can’t link by bottom and top turns as well as others

@pedroball – if the wave is a reasonable shape and slow, esecailly on your forehand, think about coming out more into the flats to place your bottom turn, you’ll naturally come up the wave face straighter and match the (slower) wave speed. I find (or rather found when i was surfing a lot) that if you get the first bottom turn right the whole wave will be timed well, as you sort of hit the right rythym

Thanks @ferrals I’ll give that a try. I’ve been trying some of the different boards there (which have changed a lot since I got my last board 12 years ago!). The take off there is a bit fiddly, but if I get my feet right and take off in the right spot, it can give you a decent amount of speed for a good cutback in, it then walls up nicely for the inside bit. Its when my back foot is too far forward, getting used to the board, wearing boots, I end up cruising it rather than being able to cut back properly. I need to try to concentrate on some proper bottom turns to create some space on the wave I think, specially as its quite small.

Really fun there yesterday, warmer than November and nice to be surfing again after a month of storms.

Another fun session this morning. Missed my first wave somehow but managed to cut back round and get a second wave in the first set. Then got everything I went for in the rest of the session. It was busy but it did stop me paddling back to try for a second wave in every set so I’m nowhere near as knackered as last time I was there.

So, thinking about a trip. Is it worth the hassle of a very very early start or getting home late for the advanced plus/expert settings or is advanced still fun for the novelty of surfing in a pool? I’ll be surfing a standard 5’11 thruster.

no idea, i’d been considering another trip soon as its been junk down here for ages.

but if you believe some of the models, thursday could be fun…

I had a few sessions over the weekend. All advanced, the higher quality waves are only on at 7am (from what I could find) which wasn’t going to work for us. Still a lot of fun, you might want to consider a different board though – most folks struggle to make it round the first mushy bit and onto the inside section – I swapped my 5’9 puddlejumper (37L i think) for my 6’6 fish (probably around 45L) and got on a lot better. The freshwater isn’t as floaty as seawater so the extra boyuncy makes a lot of difference. the popup is fine on either, but the wave backs off a lot after that.

its warmish – too cold for boardies (a few folks in were looking very chilly) – my 2-1 shorty wetsuit was fine though. I’d try to go during a non-busy period – they packed too many people into our session (17?) including a few foamies who were messing up the waves a lot, so a few times the last in the line got nothing out of the whole set, which is very frustrating.

by all accounts the advanced + is better in every way, but there are small barrels and lots of walls to be had on advanced. A way better wave than snowdonia

17 in a session? No thanks. My first trip there was mid-week early morning and there were 3 of us in the water.

yeah. I get the impression the advanced+\expert are almost always sold out as well – so 14/17 in the water being fed by a shorter set. I personally find the fact that you can’t do an advanced-then-an-expert in one morning (as the expert is always first thing)

They alternative expert and adv+ on each days, and I think its 7am and 7pm everyday. I’m trying out the adv+ on Wednesday morning and can’t wait. There’s usually space on the adv+ lefts but the rights are really busy.

I’ve been in with 14 on advanced and managed to get a few 2 wave sets, but if you get a couple of people struggling with take offs it affects the dynamics a bit.

Really pleased they saw sense and aren’t charging over the top for the expert and adv+ now (it was going to be £90!).

The expert does have a lot of water moving around in it too, with lots of decent surfers not making the wave. It seems like a really narrow take off window. Looks can be deceiving when you’re mind surfing it!

Cheers all. There are only early mornings left the week i was thinking of going which for me would mean a 4am start so I think I’ll stick to trying the advanced! Means I can make a day of it with the family too, also I can book late when I know it will be light winds and there wont be waves at home. From the video I’ve seen the wind does seem to affect it fair bit

The freshwater isn’t as floaty as seawater so the extra buoyancy makes a lot of difference.

I wondered about that, unfortunately all my more buoyant boards are homemaders that are at best idiosyncratic so probably not for taking in the pool.

Will probably bring a long sleeve wetsuit top and boardies as well as a 3/2 and make a decision when I’m there.

What’s the crack with getting there an hour before? I can’t believe it really takes that long to walk from the car park, sign in and suit up!

its a stupid long walk from the carpark – maybe a mile each way? Who knows what they were thinking..

you don’t need an hour, but first time round its not a bad idea to do that – park up and faff (5 mins), sign in the first time (5 mins), walk (15 mins), sign in at the desk (5 mins) – watch surfing (20 mins), do your breifing (5 mins) and you’re pretty much at the hour.. I’d book 2 sessions for the same day, an hour apart, as it can be tricky to get your eye into the wave.

we did turn up for our second day with just over 40 mins to spare. they said they’d block you if you turned up later but I don’t know the truth in that.

They have boards there, foam tops are free, or a tenner for a decent board. Depending on how good you are at catching in the sea, I’d maybe suggest getting one of those. Smash some sugar down before you go in, it knackers you out, especially if you’re getting the odd 2 wave set.

It seems like a really narrow take off window.

interesting – I didn’t know that. Is it the same for A+ or is that easier? have you been to watch expert?

I struggled with the takeoffs at first. The fact the wave just appears takes a while to get used too.

If i go back, I’ll make the most of it and book two or even three sessions.

its a stupid long walk from the carpark – maybe a mile each way?

That’s good to know.. especially as I’ll have a small child in tow. I probably better allow more than an hour!

@5lab as you been recently, whats the covid protocols like? Especially related to the cafe/food options. Are the servers wearing masks etc? We’ve been being pretty cautious regarding the return to normality, so I’m wondering whether to bring a picnic rather than buy stuff there.

Also can you just change poolside? Not sure I’d want to go into a changing room, also no real point if just pulling on a wetsuit top.

Depending on how good you are at catching in the sea, I’d maybe suggest getting one of those

I’m actually more surf-fit recently than I’ve been in years, since lockdown I’ve gone from surfing twice a year to twice a day! I’d thought about bringing a couple of gels for energy, could stash one in my wetty for a half time boost!!

I didn’t pay much attention to what the staff were wearing im afraid. Its an order-at-the-bar-and-get-a-buzzer job.that said, there’s lots of room to bring a picnic too.

You can get changed anywhere, the changing rooms are open air anyway, so I think would be pretty low risk. Be careful of the wind with your board, i saw a couple fet blown along the concrete floor with gusts..

I think there’s a charge per spectator so bring some money for that too..

Forgot to add, theres also a food truck or 2 there, but i don’t know if they’d be there mid week or not?

Cheers. Looking forward giving it a crack. should be real-world waves after work today too 🙂

I think you need to pre book spectators so they can track the visitor numbers – its £2 per person, so best booking ahead. I get there about 45-50 mins before my session – 15 min walk down, get the rash vest and watch a few sets come through before getting changed for the briefing.

I think it’s pretty covid secure – lots of outdoor food stalls, staff inside are wearing marks and they insist on you wearing them too. Changing is all in outdoors stalls.

Take off wise, it’s the expert that looks pretty full on. Some photos don’t do it justice, but the take off you’re either too far forward and get thrown, too far back, or just right and a steep angled drop. A lot more water moving around and waves in the same set vary quite a bit.

I struggled with the take off my first few surfs on advanced. the water draws back like a reef. Different people have different approaches. Mine is to sit near the back blue marker as the person in front goes off, then start paddling to stay still after they’ve gone, then a few propper strokes, close to the wall as mine comes in. It’s steeper right next to the wall and then it backs off a bit.

oddly I didn’t struggle with the takeoff at all, but did struggle with loosing speed in the bit just after that (then not making it to the faster section with enough speed). I normally paddle to the wall as the guy in front is taking off, then paddle to the front blue marker and let the suck move me back into the middle. Couple of lazy paddlestrokes and a diagonal takeoff and I’m off – I found adapting to the ‘just trust it’ fairly easy (didn’t bother looking back for the wave). I was on quite a fat board mind, maybe that’s the difference.

Funny how different folks find different bits easy/hard..

I think I’ve just done a massive positive jinx as if you look at the current GFS charts next week could be wall to wall surfection across the SW UK… which means I’ll save my trip for another time. Then again I’ve probably just jinxed that 🙂

Sounds good from a covid persepective.

just in time for the schools to go back and cornwall to empty. result…

surfline forecast is better than MSW. i’ll go with that…

You bunch of buggers. I was trying not to think about surfing as my board is broken. This talk has put me right in the mood for a session.

fix it or buy a new one. simple.

slightly related, i have put hexagrip on one board and when i get around to it, have another set for my other regular board.

depending on how it lasts over winter, can’t see me going back to wax anytime soon.

can’t see me going back to wax anytime soon.

Funny story.. I started to learn to surf by accident, my folks bought me a cheap old board that was up for sale in a chandlery: problem was, being sold in a chandlery, they either didnt know or neglected to mention you were meant to wax surfboards. First couple of weeks were completely impossible till some kind soul on the beach pointed out I needed some kind of traction 🙂

my first surfboard was the tiniest toothpick thruster that looked cool but was almost impossible to learn on.

I was trying not to think about surfing as my board is broken.

Actually this isn’t 100% true. It’s fixed, but it’s in Surfed Out in Braunton waiting for me to collect it. But that’s 200 miles and a day’s driving away.

buy a new one. simple

Simple, if the fun money tree wasn’t quite so bare right now. It was harvested last month for a new bike.

slightly related, i have put hexagrip on one board and when i get around to it, have another set for my other regular board.

depending on how it lasts over winter, can’t see me going back to wax anytime soon.

do you know if it sticks to epoxies? I normally struggle to get the first layer of wax onto mine (doesn’t rub on like a glassed board as its too smooth..)

it went fine onto epoxy glass. a bit like tailpads, prep is everything spend a bit of time getting the wax completely off and then keying with some fine sandpaper.

i didn’t buy the genuine stuff, i got it from aliexpress for 1/3 price.

I ended up going to the Wave last week. I really enjoyed it, was a great day out. I thought the whole place was set up really nicely and my family who tagged along enjoyed it to with plenty of space to mess around. Seemed very covid safe too, even in the Café.

I was a bit concerned it might be wind affected as it was a howling westerly when we went but it wasn’t at all. Like others had said, it was affected by reflections around the pool after the first few waves which did seem to mess up the wave quality. Luckily, I was near the start of the rotation for most sets. We had a really busy session, 17 I think and a few who could barely get to their feet, which meant I only got 1 two wave set. I did get a wave every set though which some people didn’t manage to do. Because it was so busy I wasn’t as knackered as I’d expected after 1hr and I was left wanting a bit more, I couldn’t justify two sessions in a day cost wise I don’t think though!

I thought the wave itself was fun but tricky to surf well (as a very average surfer). Maybe going more than once would help to get used to it, I also felt quite conscious about not blowing waves given the cost which affected my approach. I agree that first flat section was a real pain. It seemed like you really needed to nail positioning there to make the most of the wave; the one time I did a good roundhouse and rebounded off the foam to carry speed I had my best wave, including a micro cover-up. Most of the time I was doing an awkward half cutback in that bit and loosing a bit of speed that I needed to re-generate. I see what Pedro meant about it being a bit tricky to do turns, I was managing a couple of reos in the middle section but they weren’t great turns. While the wave was nicely sucky, it seemed to bend away from you like a point rather than bowl in like a reef and so I found attacking the lip hard as it seemed to encourage quite lateral surfing. A few times I was tempted to race the steep section to try for a cutback but on the advanced setting there didn’t seem to be space to do a full cutty before the wave sped up again so I ended up doing midface slash type things.

I definitely want to go back – probably to try the advanced plus or expert setting. Here’s the rub though: on Friday I thought the surf was going to be rubbish but as I was off, went to look at a local reef/point expecting waist high onshore junk, it was overhead, not too windy and quite, I had a belter of a surf and was buzzing till late last night. The wave will never be able to replicate that element of surprise. Its like the Zwift of the surfing world! (said by someone who’s never been on Zwift..)

I’m booked in for tomorrow morning, the 9am intermediate session. I had a call from The Wave this afternoon and it turns out they are using that slot to run a test wave. They have refunded my money but I still get to surf, what a result. I’ll use the refund to book a second session later in the day.

saunton or shipsterns?

With my limited skills I very much hope Saunton-esque.

I somehow suspect (if its a test wave) it might be more the latter, it’ll be fun to have a go on anyway 🙂

looks like there’s a fresh expert slot on saturday afternoon if anyone is keen