6-14th April
After a five plus week gap since my last surf, it was a welcome return to Bude to break this drought. Our arrival on the Saturday [6th], was greeted with a glorious sight which sadly didn't last much beyond that day; namely 5'+ surf fanned with a very strong offshore. The only regret is that we didn't have the camera with us this as we pulled into Widemouth. It looked awesome although persuaded me to have a peep at the town beaches, Summerleaze in particular, to find a little shelter with Ben & Suzi in mind. Summerleaze got the nod, as the harbour would provide a more sedate area for them to play with while I tried out the more exposed peaks further out.

I was pleased to find that recent improvements in fitness and weight loss thanks to a three month stint lambing had made an immediate difference. The paddle out which normally has proven quite difficult in the past here, was achieved with relative ease and so I went on to enjoy a lively and eventful 2 hour session. The rides were of a roller coaster nature, but looked so I am informed by Suz, to be well executed; one in particular which was comfortably overhead. I also experienced being blown off my board by the offshore on take-off more than once, which was enlightening.

Later that evening as the tide began to ebb, it did look as if the swell was beginning to drop. And so it was no surprise to find it down to 2-3' but still offshore the next day [7th]. We opted for Widdy as a consequence, and enjoyed a far more mellow 2 hour+ session which allowed me to experiment a little with some tentative attempts to get some toes over the end of my board. I have to say, at this point, the progress I have enjoyed in the last 18 months or so, seems a lot more noticeable. The current 'BMI' of 26 obviously helps, but there is an air of sustained confidence with me now that once upon a time seemed so far off. I knew there will still be the not so gentle reminders of 'who' is actually still in charge [as I found out the following w/e at Gwenvor!]; and I know I still have to work on improving my take-off/ride ratio. But hey! Cut the old guy some slack eh?!

The rest of the week at Bude was sketchy to say the least, but I did get in each day, even if it turned out a complete waste of time on the Thursday [11th], when it completely flattened off the moment we got in at Middle! There was though the pleasure of seeing Ben get out back for the first time, in small offshore conditions at Widdy on the Tuesday [9th]. His techniques with regards paddling and other general awareness are heartening particularly after an effective 8 month absence from the sea; and a winter of hibernation in front of the Playstation!!!!

Friday [12th] at least gave us something more to play with albeit in a cross-onshore 2-3' foot at Widdy. It was messy but certainly do-able and I made the most of what turned into a better than expected surf sess'. Things looked a little more promising for the weekend [13th/14th], and our relocation to Gav's at Penzance.

As it turned out, the Saturday was a glorious day without a cloud in the sky, and after checking the south coast at Praa, we ended up at Sennen. Andy O was in on the action too, and it was decided to wander along the beach and get in at Gwenvor which was looking quite promising. It was long paddle out, but again it was encouraging to see that I was able to keep up if not get out faster than the others. Eight months ago, when I last surfed with Gav', this hadn't been the case as I struggled relatively to get out back. We settled into a nice right peak which at this point wasn't crowded and when I got up to speed on the different nature to this break than I am used to, I began to catch a few and work on my backhand bottom turn some more. After a couple of hours though it was becoming distracting with the number of folks now in the water, and so we came in. In so doing, I had a couple of those earlier mentioned 'reminders', and enjoyed a couple of drillings on the steeper, suckier inside.

Our last full day saw us [Gav, AndyO & moi] take the Gwenvor otion again, although having parked up above G', we later in the session came in and wandered over to Sennen to try there instead! This came after a heavier swell, and a tougher paddle out saw little reward other than a couple more drillings on my part. It was a pity as the signs had been encouraging all morning. The Sennen move proved frustrating in increasingly choppy conditions and produced only one ride of sorts for me.

It shouldn't surprise anyone therefore to know that on the drive home yesterday [15th], we stopped off in Bude to find a teasingly good 2-3' and clean wave by way of a middle digit wave bye-bye!
posted by wollocks at 4:18 PM