Plans afoot for 2011

It's all true... in 2011 we'll be moving our surf school to the beach house... and cutting back our capacity by 60%!! Really? Yep, we've written to the council informing them of our decision and on the 1st November we'll drive off the beach for the first time since 1995! When we tendered for the beach licence last time out, we didn't have the Beach House - but now that we do have our own premises right on the beach, it makes sense to make the change. Keep it all under the one roof.

But why cut the surf school by 60%? Since 1995 it would be fair to say that we've been one

of the leading surf schools in the UK. We'd like to think that we have a good grip on the surf school industry. We think now is the time for a new type of surf school. Of course we wouldn't be going into this without a plan and we have one. If we were doing this in year two, this wouldn't work, but after 16 years we can make the change with real confidence. Most of our

business is pre-booked, so that's a strength. But there will be significant changes to the way we operate. We're very excited about it.

As for this year, it's business as usual. We're currently enjoying potentially the busiest ever and a year in which positive feedback is at an all time high. Credit to the team. No changes until Jan 2011. We've got the rest of the year to let everyone know of the changes in 2011 - can't wait, very excited!

Just finished three days at the Royal Cornwall Show - really not much point in doing that again. Unless you have old stock to sell (which we didn't) no-ones there to pay full prices. It was fun though setting up next to Ollypop who kindly gave us some space. I gathered all the profits on the last day to buy a nice slice of Blue Cheese from the food tent - says it all really.

Pilgrim Pete pays a visit to our stand - I use the term 'stand' very loosely!

A big up to Billy's footie team who completed the cup and league double. What an amazing bunch of young lads! And a huge thanks to coaches Tom and Nick who's dedication to the team is inspiring and selfless. Totally committed to what's best for the boys.

New designs big success

Tee shirts have historically not been great sellers - not entirely sure why? However, the new ones with new designs and colourways have been flying off the shelves.

Peace and quiet

The beach has returned to normality following a sensational Whitsun. Just great for everyone. Funny that Pirate FM did a report saying that Cornwall businesses were saying that numbers were 10% down - maybe that's because they were all here. When you get the combo of surf and sun there's no beating it - and that's what we got. People were calling the surf yesterday, the best ever. Even past instructor and former Western Oz surf champ Mick, reckoned it was one of the best he'd had at Polzeath. 4ft, maybe more on the sets, super clean with great banks.

Britain got Talent - Big up to Spelbound, brilliant and so understated. Where do these people hide?! As the Janey Cutler? You just start when you like love!

What happened?

The beach at 9am this morning

Anyone know what happened yesterday?! It just went totally manic on the beach - it seemed like everyone in the UK arrived at Polzeath. I can't really remember a day quite like it, certainly not at this time of year. Just for the record, we taught 100 more people than on the equivalent day last year! Insane. Even I did two lessons! You'd have to say, recession what recession? The shop was on fire - no-one holding back there. A big up to the Surf's Up! crew who were fantastic to a man... admirably led by Wailin and Mikey..oh and Big Sam who put in a guest appearance.

Pumping Whitsun Swell

Pumping, overhead and clean. Best of the year so far? And over the Whitsun half term - it's what dreams are made of. Pumping in the surf, pumping on the beach.... pumping everywhere!

Help for Heroes

The Help for Heroes boys have been down for a surf. Here's the report written up in The Sun today...

"MILLIES hero Ben McBean achieves another milestone - by going SURFING.

The former Marine, who lost an arm and a leg to a Taliban bomb, went into the sea for the first time since suffering his injuries in 2008. Ben, 23, was hailed a hero by Prince Harry after they met as he was being flown home injured from Afghanistan.

And Ben and other amputee soldiers chose to surf at Polzeath, North Cornwall - where Harry learnt the sport as a teenager.

Ripper ... Nic and Jay head out

The determined Commando previously won a Sun Military "Millie" Award for Triumph Over Adversity after running the London Marathon and climbing to Everest Base Camp.

But he admitted: "I was mega-negative about surfing. I haven't been on a beach since my injury.

"I thought it would be patronising to be pushed around on a board but you get a massive sense of freedom from being in the water so I loved it. No one stared at my leg, no one cared. It wasn't embarrassing."

Ben was joined by Nicolas Gibbons, 19, of Sheffield, and Jay Hare, 29, of Anglesea, Wales, who were also injured in 2008.

Jay and Nicolas were both with 45 Commando. Jay lost his left leg below the knee, injured his right hand and lost an eye, while Nicolas lost his right leg below the knee.

Nicolas said: "Surfing is awesome. I've never been and never thought I'd be able to do it but it was great. I'm going to take it up as a hobby."

The trio are all attached to Hasler Company, the Royal Marine rehabilitation unit based at HMS Drake in Plymouth.

Royal Navy surgeon commander Anthony Lambert operated on both Jay and Nicolas in Afghanistan. Now he dedicates part of his time looking after "his boys" as they continue to recover in the UK. Anthony said yesterday: "I know these boys really well and it's great to be able to get them out here surfing.

"They were all fit before they got injured and apart from the fact they've now got bits missing they're fitter than their civilian counterparts because of the way they are. They've got the will to succeed." In Cornwall they were with other soldiers who are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Former tank crewman Rich Emerson, who now teaches injured combatants to surf, said yesterday: "The aim is to give these guys a break and help them enjoy themselves."

Rich, 44, who served with the Queen's Royal Irish Hussars during the first Gulf war in 1991, began surfing 12 years ago. He suffered from PTSD but found riding waves helped him beat his depression.

He has since formed Surf Action to support all combat veterans."

Anthony has been a long time friend of the surf school - and we thank him for asking us to get involved.

The beach is packed for the Whitsun half term - what a weather combo, sun and surf. Fantastic. Even I tickled in to a double lesson yesterday. So no sign that people are being cautious despite the economic woes. It could be that everyone has decided to make the most of the holidays. Or could it be that the sun and surf combo has just made everyone a bit crazy! We're not complaining! Happy days.

Just got one of the new West Aero wetsuits - it's a summer one and toastie, toastie warm. The neoprene has these air bubbles trapped inside. Makes a difference.

Sun and Surf

The sun is out, the sky is blue .... sweet as! Just about as good as it gets - nice 3ft clean wave kissing our shores. We've had a few good days of it now - long may it continue. And the water's warming up - we're looking at summer suits now, which is a blessing. The water temp gets down to 8 degrees in the winter if it's really bad - this past winter it got down to 6.5!! Yes, your read it right, six and a half degrees which is unheard of. So it's taken a while to get back up to where it should be, you'll be pleased to hear that the corner has been well and truly turned.

What's to report? We had a few team riders over in Portugal for the Europeans. I've heard that Max and Gabi did really well. A big up to them.

We held our Combat Attack last weekend for the Boardriders - they have to get across the estuary from Rock over to Tregirls Beach (top tip on a busy summers day) without being seen. And then wait for the signal to attack the camp. Simple enough only this year we set up two camps! Confusion ensued when the attack flag was raised. Big thanks to all the BR mums and Dads for their help and especially Kit and Alan who helped bring the day together.

I fell through the ceiling in the lounge; Billy's team won the footie league and Bill came second in the St. Minver fun run - he came first in the school but was beaten by a 20 yr old from the Royal Engineers! A really impressive run. Fin came 16th overall and 2nd in his sprint - a pretty amazing achievement considering he'd spent the night before on his death bed and played a footie match just prior to the run. A 3 miler is not insignificant at the age of 7! I think he was shattered by the end of it all.

What else do we have to report. Oh yes, a luck out. I've been concerned that over the past few years our e-mail newsletters had been getting less and less effective. And then, only a couple of days ago I discovered that what should be an automatic e-mail capturing system had been failing. It meant that all our 'special offers' hadn't been getting through to our most recent clients. So we've tracked back 3 years and have now created a new bang up to date database - absolutely crucial in this day and age.

Which reminds me of our Facebook Surf's Up! page - we created one a couple of years ago but what we didn't realise at the time was that a young lad had created one for us and was using it as a Surf's Up! fan site. As delighted as we were, he'd used our name in complete innocence! No big deal but it's taken us ages to get it switched over. It will be back on line asap but for the moment it's a private site while we get it to where we want it.

The on-line shop selling all the latest Billabong, Quiksilver, Animal stuff is going really well - I'm hoping now that we've got the database updated we'll generate a lot of traffic. It is the way forward - and I'm sure others will follow. Makes sense for small operations to do business in this way - no risk, no costs, no P&P, no returns to deal with - genius. I guess shops will eventually just be seen as changing rooms where you go and try stuff on and then order on-line where you'll get the best prices, particularly in the current climate.

Okay, I'm off to go and get some plaster board to repair this hole!

ps gutted - trained all winter for this bike ride last Sunday only to wake up on the day with what can only be described as a humungous headache. Now if you factor in that I haven't taken a day off work through sickness since we started back in 1995, and this was something that I really wanted to do - then you'll understand that it was a big bad one. Getting on board a bike was not an option! As a say, gutted. Oh well I said to Janey, at least I've got the event coming up in Wales on the 6th June, the Dragon Ride (very hard to get into) - at least that's all booked and my accommodation sorted. What date was that? she asked. The 6th? That's the day of the boys football party! Ho hum.

Colours

I'm sure it hasn't gone unnoticed where you live, but aren't the flowers on the trees this year spectacular? Beautiful. The Apple Blossom and the Magnolias just seem to be alive. And the trees themselves seem so full of leaves and healthy. Some amazing shades of colour. Signs of a hot summer?

Bought the bargain of the year today. One of those big trampolines with a net, £100 from Asda. Boys can't get enough of it. Only took a couple of hours to put it up! Even got it the right way up!

Centre of Excellence

Celebrate good times, come on! Well it's taken a while, but finally after 16 years we get the recognition that is surely deserved. We've been awarded the exclusive BSA Centre of Excellence standard, a standard that many aspire to but only a handful achieve. 

This seal of approval is something that we're very proud of! Having pioneered so much in the industry, it's been a long time coming. Much of what we've pioneered since 1995 is taken for granted now. But we've changed surfing in this country, no question. 

We've been waiting for the approval for a short while, now we can press the button on our marketing drive. At the same time, I'm putting my name forward for the Exec Committee of the BSA as head of Strategy. Certainly we've noticed in more recent years that our opinion carries more weight. As it should - we run the largest surf school this country has ever seen (possibly the world), have written training programmes for the governing body since 1996; and have developed a surf club for local kids that is unprecedented. You have to be voted in ... I'm hoping to go one better than David Cameron and get a clear majority!

It's funny really, I'm not a certificate man! I've always felt that I can decide for myself how brilliant I am! But this is a good moment and myself and Janey would like to thank all who've been on the journey with us over the past 16 years. Clients, instructors, office staff and friends - each and ever one. We've been very fortunate to have been surrounded by some very good people. Life really has been a Beach!

In what direction do we go on now? I touched on this yesterday, but having watched Bloomberg live as the Dow crumbled, we know that basics are where we're at. Over the short term that means keeping it simple and working on the quality. 

Vote for the Beach Party

I can't be the only one who entered the polling booth still unsure who to vote for? As enjoyable as the leaders debates have been, I couldn't find a clear favourite. But, in the end, I just felt that change would be good and ticked the Tory box. 

No matter who comes in, we can expect some tough times. Over the past few weeks we've been in negotiations for a new business, one that we felt would sit very comfortably with our long term vision of Surf's Up! - but yesterday we pulled out. We couldn't reach a deal on the ingoing figure. And the thing was that actually during the negotiation period I was sure it was the right thing to do, on reflection it was exactly the right thing not to do. It would have required a good deal of investment in both money and time. Now is a good time not to be spending money, in fact we've made some serious savings on our running costs both in the office and on the beach. So rather than feeling disappointed, I actually felt some relief. I knew that Janey wasn't 100% into it, and that for me always sets the alarm bells ringing. No matter how amazing I think it's going to be, Janey is the reality check. And the reality check is that whatever is around for sale today, will most likely still be for sale in a couple of years time, and it'll probably be cheaper. And then of course, we have a very good work/ family balance right now. That's where we're at - priceless really. Talking of family - we took the boys to the go kart track down at St. Eval on the weekend. I can't help myself, as soon as the visor goes down, I'm in the zone. Can I apologise to all the mums and dads who complained about this idiot barging their kids off the track! haha - what fun!

Have you taken a look at the austerity plan for Greece? These are serious measures that could potentially come our way. It's not out of the question. So our game plan, is to keep things simple; make sure that we're efficient and avoid waste. Simple as that. And then when everything settles down, then we can emerge from our hibernation, refreshed and energised. 

Off to play squash with the Billyman... as soon as that racquet comes out of it's bag...!