Saturday 21 August 2010

Big Swell forecast for bank holiday

It's a way off yet, and things can change but as it stands the surf forecast leading into the Bank Holiday weekend is looking pretty meaty. Start waxing up those sticks.

Friday 20 August 2010

ASP World Tour

The ASP World Tour has made it's annual pilgrimage to Tahiti to surf the heaviest wave on the planet. The forecast is for the surf to be pumping! Teahupoo - it's a wave that many of the pros fear. Starts on Monday and the action will be shown live on the ASP site. Definitely worth checking out. Here's some footage from a few years back....

Thursday 19 August 2010

Offshore!

Come on - we have 2ft surf and the wind's offshore! At the moment. Makes a change! August has been disappointing on the surf front - we've had surf but it's been small and choppy. Nice to see a proper ground swell.

Wednesday 18 August 2010

Get your own Swellboard.

I've mentioned before that we're going to be downsizing next year. After 16 years we'd like to change the way we operate. Judging by how busy the beach has been in August, this is not before time! Because we're downsizing this means we have some gear to sell - boards, wetsuits etc. And this includes Swell Boards, you know the type you use for lessons! Swell boards are like gold dust. Hugely expensive to buy off the shelf as they're all hand made in this country - but they're the best. Manufacturers try and copy them, but there's nothing quite like a Swelly. So give us a shout if you fancy owning your own!

Many people have been asking what I get up to these days? I'm sure someone did! I'm sure someone out there cares! As the beach, shop and office are all covered with fantastic people, I get to be with my boys. And where they want to hang more than anywhere is at skateparks! I don't know how many hours I've stood and watched. I'd like to get stuck in myself, but skateboarding and bad hamstrings are a poor combo! More recently I've used the time to take some photos and video..... so here's a little Craskey montage. Nothing serious, just a bit of fun! It's amazing how many amazing skateparks there are around here - is that the same everywhere or do we have more because of the beach scene? If you've got a good one near you, please let us know.

Monday 16 August 2010

The weirdest year!

There's no pattern to the beach this year! Except that the sunniest days coincide with the weekends and then it's carnage! With only three weeks to go of the main season it's going to be interesting to see which businesses are doing well and which are struggling. Word on the street is that Women's fashion is the sector struggling the most in the surfing industry. My overall take on Polzeath is that the beach has been quieter than normal - which is no bad thing! We were doing really well up to the end of July. We might be dropping a bit in August, but no real concern.

Okay, now onto more important things!! Over the weekend the Billy and Fin along with cousins Charlie and Jamie headed up to Plymouth. Man Utd were doing a training camp for a load of kids. Up for grabs was the Champions Prize, an invitation to join twelve other boys from around the country to play a match on the Old Trafford pitch and meet the players. If you couldn't get fired up for that... what an opportunity. Billy played okay on Saturday finding his feet. On Sunday, myself and Bro-in-law cycled to the training ground and met up with Janey who was already overseeing proceedings.

So we settled down to watch the mini tournaments. Billy was playing as well as I'd seen him play. But I wasn't sure his coach was quite on the ball. I moved down to watch Fin and his cousins. Then the main man joined in with Billy's tournament and played against him. Watching from afar I could see that Billy was playing really well. Janey was in ear shot as a conversation took place between the coach and main coach after the match. "So that's Billy then?" As we went into the assembly room at the end of the training, Billy's team mates were telling him that he was going to win. And then they called out his name! Just amazing. Proudest moment.

Only problem is that the prize is for Billy and one adult!! Could be an almighty scrap for that one!! ps there's a book out called Bounce. If you have kids that like sport, it makes for a very interesting read.