Though I haven't as yet spoken to anyone who may have got in yesterday [Sat], I suspect they may have caught the best of it all round. Just as well the Pirates won at Nottingham then, and that our viewing in the morning may prove fruitful too.

Even so, there was still a super clean, if small wave to be had this afternoon over at Sandilands. Returned Brox's calls after Ben's rugby training was over this morning to confirm that he was well on his way by then. Meant a mad dash back to grab a bite, the gear and Suz, but no probs. We were at the beach by 2.15 to find it as above, though there was a brisk offshore thrown in for good luck too. No further time was wasted as Ben and I suited up and were in within 15 minutes.

We were going to have to dodge several anglers between the slipway and the Griff, though after a preliminery sortie at that end, and a couple of waves, we moved en masse further up. There seemed to be a more consistent peak there anyhow, and so it transpired. Ben certainly got in to the swing sharpish, with a string of nice rights to satisfy his needs, while Brox and I played the Old Men routine. For the first half hour I'd struggled with the wave count, but by the time we got out around 4.30 [HT 6.05], I'd upped the ante some to my relief. Still not up to preferred levels, so I guess I may have to play around with the fin settings to see if I can sort that out.

Talk of some more swell midweek on, so watch this space.......
posted by wollocks at 7:27 PM

Everything pointed towards today being the day when the expected swell would pick up to a more exciting size, though as ever, the question mark was with the weather conditions locally. Even at lunch time I was in 'should I - shouldn't I?' mode. Brox had rung to say he'd need to concentrate his efforts now towards a possible session on Sunday; while Russ had texted to indicate that he'd be heading Sandi/Mabo way for Saturday. [We can't as we have viewing tomorrow am, and then off to Nottingham to watch the Pirates in the afternoon.]

Around 1.30pm it all became too much and I had to have a look. With a NW breeze, it seemed logical to head more Skeggy way, as there at least would provide some shelter, and give more chance of a cleaner wave. Mindful of the nature of the break at Skeg', and how generally it doesn't suit [me], I thought a look at Chapel Point first would be prudent. On arrival, it was nice to see some size to the waves, but I couldn't help but feel that maybe Skeg' might still be the better bet. If only there was more west in the breeze or at least a little lighter; I'd have felt happier at going in there for the first time in 10 months. So, I trundled off back towards Skeg'. I got there about 3pm, and true to form, it was cleaner there, and surprisingly, a similar size; solid 3-4'. With it being near HT [3.52pm], I ambled around for a bit to get a fiver changed for the £2.50 parking fee; all year round now this is! Oh how times change.

Once again, the digi camera's batteries were flat, so once again pre surf photo's were off the menu. Never mind, I'd wasted enough time and was eager to get in; so doing at 3.40pm after some stretching exercises. The paddle out was just about well timed between sets, though I was nearly sent back to my starting point by an extra large wave; just rolling under it in time. I decided to position myself near to the end of one of the groynes just north of the slipway, knowing that it'd peak nicely, but wary of the consequences of taking the eye off the ball! Shouldn't be long I thought, and then I'll be able to entertain the few spectators that had congregated.

Must have been Big Match nerves or something, because it ended up taking me a good half hour to get the waves wired, and maybe three quarters before getting a proper ride snagged. It was worth the wait, though the crowd had long thought not ;o) To be able to stand up straight and still have the face well above head is always a grin-maker. Pity then that by the time I'd got out around 5pm, I didn't have anything more on the notable scale. So be it. Just hoping now that the waves will still be around come Sunday afternoon. Looks like they won't be much after that....
posted by wollocks at 8:29 PM

Just got back from a short session over at Sandilands and can report that talk of several days of swell on the east coast seem to be founded. I got there around 1.15pm, about 45 mins after HT though didn't expect a great deal, nor a long surf if there was anything much; what with ebb usually a dead loss in these parts. That said, with little or no [W] breeze I had set off with a feeling in my bones that there could be a surprise in store.

To be fair, on arrival I'd initially been disappointed to find only a very small ankle slapper, but there were small lines visible, and so I decided to observe. True to form, within a few mins these lines developed enough over the usual peak areas, to convince me to get in. Before suiting up I rang Brox to see if he had managed to get to Spalding as hoped to in an earlier email, but it wasn't to be for him. By the time he could be over would be way too late to be sure of any waves. So, just before 1.45 I was in.

It was glassy by now, and with the light the way it was, spotting incoming waves would be tricky. Not so much looking for approaching shadows as picking out the lighter patches moving your way. I was into the first one straight off, and this set the tone for the next hour at least before the water had receded to a mid tide mark and flattened right off. Still, it bodes well for the next few days and, despite only being knee high at best, had been a pleasant change from the wind spoilt mess of the last two visits or so. More later hopefully...
posted by wollocks at 5:51 PM

Bit of a first for the site. Have put some pix up for a surf bud off Off the Lip email list, Edryd Kaill, who has a board and 2 pairs of boots for sale. Link to the page via this [text link] for more info.
posted by wollocks at 7:07 PM

Brox rang as I reached Ings Lane approaching Sandilands to say he was just south of Grantham. With the time then around 2.15, I estimated he'd be easily an hour and half which would mean he'd be there and in around an hour after LT. All we needed now was for a wave and for the breeze to ease a little. Within 5 or so minutes I had found a not too inspiring first view. To balance it out a bit, the ebb was still in flow, albeit in it's last stages, but the breeze though offshore was strong. Too strong at times!

I decide to watch for a while and see how things developed. There were 2 out even then, but they didn't look to be having much joy. Clearly the cross-offshore was making things difficult all round, and was flattening a lot of the swell size too. Not long later and one of the surfers was on his way back in for a breather, a bite to eat, and to give it until the push took hold. Maybe then things would improve. By 3.15 it did look as if there was more substance and more lines trying to come through.

A quarter of an hour later and I was suited up and in, though it quickly became obvious how deceptive things looked. Yes there were more lines heading towards shore, but the 'cross' element to the wind had had it's effect with a lot more cross-shore wind waves beyond the inside having their effect. This was not fun by a long chalk, in fact it was quite an effort to stay anywhere near what peaks there were before finding you'd drifted further out. Swiveling round to paddle in to a potential wave was tricky in itself, and required more anticipation than usual to get into the correct position and direction in time. I took a few minutes to adjust and get up to speed, but even then, the quality of ride was nothing to write home about.

I put up with this for about 35 - 40 minutes before getting in to see if Brox had arrived, though also to wait for a while on the long chance of some improvement. Brox had arrived and was almost suited up. After passing on my experiences so far, it was decided to watch some more. Remarkably, after about half an hour the breeze did appear to ease off a little, which also gave the impression of allowing a few more rideable sets through. We went in. For a while there was a general feeling of having been conned by an illusion, but as the tide came further in and over the banks a short period did emerge where things became a lot more do-able. Sadly this didn't last long, in fact by 6.15, and with the tide now well up, what swell there was, despite being super clean in the now calm conditions; had flattened off. Time to call it a day, and with very few satisfying waves to remember.
posted by wollocks at 11:32 AM

Couldn't get this morning for one reason or another, but am about to set off now to see if I can catch things in time. The breeze has picked up but doesn't appear [here] to be significant enough to spoil any swell that may be around locally. That of course can be a totally different story at the coast!

Received text from Naips to say it was excellent yesterday [as suspected], and also an email from Brox hoping he'll be able to get up later this afternoon too. Will post back later this evening or first thing tomorrow...
posted by wollocks at 2:14 PM

It's been a couple of weeks, but it now seems we may have a short-lived swell to play with. Timing could be crucial; it's a case of either diving over first thing tomorrow morning for the ebb, or risking it and going in the afternoon around low tide, and hoping the weather plays ball locally [It's forecasting the sw'ly to pick up as the day goes on-which won't be good news]. It's a pity I couldn't have got over late this aft/eve as the cam at Cromer suggests we may have a clean wave to go with this side of the Wash. C'est la vie....
posted by wollocks at 7:03 PM

"Meanwhile on the beach, Suz Tarantino had been busy too...." [31st Aug]

More short AVI vids from the session with Ben and Brox on Tuesday. They can be found via the relative links on the home page, or by using the following numbered links:

1|2|3|4|5|6|7

As before, no great surf action, in fact the waves were not in any way inspiring but... in some ways the vids make the waves look better than they were. Either way it's nice to have a record of sorts for myself and Ben, and for that matter Brox. Will have to make sure something of Suz's fun in the sea has a moving momento...
posted by wollocks at 11:53 AM

You may have guessed that I'd find it difficult not to have a look yesterday and so it was....

The Cromer cam was showing the stated 2-3' in the morning, though with the tide turning to ebb, and the swell forecast to fade fast, it was always going to be a wing and a prayer thing. I rang Brox around 11am to see if he was to be tempted too..and he was! This time, he'd head towards ours, and we'd travel coastward from there. I thought it good policy to keep checking on the cam between then and his arrival just to be sure. Around 2pm the phone rang. It was Brox. However, rather than providing him with instructions to get from Sleaford as planned, it was to discover that he was still only as far as Huntingdon! Clearly another mare of a journey was unfolding once more. What a guy..what dedication!!!

Ben and I therefore set off around 2.45 to Sandilands; we'd meet him there...but when? Still it was a pleasant late summer afternoon with clear blue skies, and our arrival around 3.30pm just after low tide was greeted with an encouraging offshore breeze; which in turn was fanning a small but clean wave. It looked too as if it may perk up a little when the push took hold. As we returned to the car, Naips arrived, so things were setting up nicely for a fun surf. All we needed now was for Brox to get here for a complete set.

While Naips and I caught up on recent events, Ben was already changed and in. We followed soon after, around the 4pm mark. Ben was already up to speed, and we were straight on to it too. Let's not forget this was a swell on the wane, however the waves, although generally waist high [occ. shoulder] were fun to catch and an opportunity to try stuff out. Soon after getting in though, we noticed that the breeze had swung round to the south. Naips had checked the Hutt out on the way and reported it being more or less onshore there; we were now obviously under that influence, though here it is a crosshore thing at worst. Not a problem yet, but certainly as time progressed the effect it had of creating a mixture of wave directions was obvious.

Brox arrived and was in by 5; his relief at getting in after another longer than needed journey was obvious. The comparison with the time it would have taken to have got somewhere better surfwise needed no reminding. However, the first wave eased those frustrations immediately. It was just a shame that once again his water time was ultimately limited to just over an hour. By 6.15 with the tide already well up the beach [another high HT due], an angler resolutely fishing right in front of one of the only remaining peaks, and the number of rides taken having dwindled to nothing; all 4 of us opted to end it there.

Prospects for more soon? Looks like not for now...
posted by wollocks at 9:33 AM

The signs were promising yesterday, but the result was frustrating. Forecasts were seemingly coming into place with a tasty looking northern fetch down the North Sea, and local breezes easing and W-NW. We surely had waves and clean ones at that. The cam at Cromer was telling a story of onshore 5-6' in the morning, though ceefax had Cayton at 2-3' and messy. Bit of conflict there but I spoke with Brox and we decided to give it a go.

Suz, Ben and I made our way to Sandilands via Skeg' to see if, with breeze apparently NW it may be wiser to go there for a cleaner more sheltered wave. It was clean for sure, but not unsurprisingly as the tide was near low, really small. OK Sandilands it was then, after all, there was little or no breeze...

Brox in the meantime was having a mare of journey. I'd rung him from Skeg at 2pm, and he was well on his way to Boston up the A16. We pressed on to Sandi' and arrived around about LT at 2.40 with a mind to observing until Brox and Gill got there too. Worringly, what waves there were here weren't brilliant and were also being messed up by an irritating onshore sea breeze. Still, as the push got going, it could, [should?] improve surely? Mind you, with big tides at the moment, I was expecting a longshore rip sort of day...IE..get in-ride-drift-get out- walk along the beach etc. Then Brox rang saying they were stuck in some roadworks just south of Boston, so don't wait around and get surfing.

Well Ben and I did, deciding to make the most of things. It was bigger by now, than last Thursday, but as mentioned already, messy. However, waves were snagged, and some helter skelter rides were had by us both. To be truthful, the main enjoyment were the takes offs, as the rides were often cut short with mixed up nature of the sea; but, beggars etc. I nipped back to the car park around 4.30 to find Brox suited up and just about ready. Even now though, the tide was well in, but we each still found time to enjoy an hour [more] plus before decidng to call it a day. Brox was relieved after such a trip to at least be able to get wet, and managed several waves of note.

Meanwhile on the beach, Suz Tarantino had been busy too....

So, do I have another look today? Still 3' at Cromer and Cayton.... Could be cleaner if smaller....I think we know the answer!
posted by wollocks at 11:47 AM