Take me to Pleasure Town... oh, we're going!

Calendars yesterday, vouchers today - "Surf's Up!, with all these Christmas goodies you're really spoiling us!" And I haven't even mentioned yet the lovely Surf's Up! beanies and scarves that have been handmade for us in a small French hamlet.

Surfing vouchers are brilliant as Chrissie pressies because the recipient thinks you're the bees knees (did I tell you about the lack of bees?). What they'll think you're saying about them, is "I recognise you as a person with an adventurous spirit; brave and strong in the face of

adversity; who laughs in the face of crisis; loves the outdoor life; a maverick; a leader; a giant among men (or women); embraces life and loves to laugh." Oh yes, and as you've recognised these qualities in them, they will surely thank you, as to them this is the ultimate compliment.

Of course none of the above may be relevant, might just be that you've run out of ideas and are looking for a simple solution - your secret is safe with us! Vouchers are available as one off surfing lessons (£26), Weekenders (£69) or Developer Courses (£105). This can be at any ability level. Jobs a good un!

ps don't forget the beanies!

Here it is! And here's Jamie modelling the blue number. Jamie (15) is one of the lads up from St. Austell. A really great young lad - we've got a lot of time for him. If he can keep himself out of trouble, he'll go a long way. Back to the beanies... we've got a pink girls one as well! (he wasn't keen on modelling that one). ps. those are cartoon surfers riding the waves on the main hat bit, not monkeys!

Figure this out

It was 5,800 days ago that we started Surf's Up! That's quite incredible - I never thought I'd hold a job down for more than twenty! When I was born there were approx. 2.6 billion people on this earth and now there's more than 6.9! In forty years time there will be twice as many people over the age of 85 alive on the planet than there are today ..... and did you know that with the drastic reduction of bees, farmers are getting quite used to the fact that crops don't grow in the middle of their fields, - lazy bees! These are my facts of the day!

We've got our boys up from St. Austell today! Kinta (14) has been along to take some photos for me - here's one! Surf today - magic seaweed calling it 15ft. Not so sure - hard to tell when the winds onshore.

Cornwall - Wet!

News of flooding this morning around Cornwall. We're not exactly dry as a bone, but apart from the beach stream running quite fast by our trailer, there's nothing much to report. Pentewan however, where all the drama is unfolding, is where we were on the weekend walking our black lab. She got into a massive brawl with this oversized dog, the size of a small pony. Billy quoted Ron Burgundy "that really got out of hand, fast!"

Limited Edition Surf's Up! Calendar 2011 - just in!

Here's a few screen shots of our new Calendar - which we're loving. It's desktop size - so you just have it there on the side as a reminder of the beach. Very handy indeed. We've assembled some of our favourite photos from over 16 years here at Polzeath - some wild ones, and some hot ones. You can get the calendars on-line for £8 each - great Christmas gift for anyone who's been down here on hols!

We hope that every time you look at it, it reminds you of great times. This one was taken only a few weeks back. High tide, sun just rising, a few empty waves for someone to enjoy.

Here's the horses of the King's Troop being exercised by the stable hands. They came down last year for a couple of days and put on quite a show. The horses were loving every minute.

Not all the photos are black and white - but I think this one works well. As a surf coach I've stood in the water on so many days when it's like this. Students get such a buzz when the Surf's Up! (too easy!).

No apologies for sneaking in a few sunset photos! Captures the best of the spectacular scenery.

Winter wonderland - it's pretty rare for snow to fall and then settles on the beach. We've had a couple of days like this over past few winters. It's definitely warmer in the water than out - takes a bit to convince yourself that that'll be the case though! Try getting out of a nice warm motor!

Update - these are flying off the shelves!!

On today's Menu in the Surf's Up! office - Alana cooked us two varieties of Flan - Crab and Asparagus and Bacon and Cheddar ... oh and chips! And it was all very, very tasty!

Bali is go!

Yep, we can confirm that the Surf's Up! Bali trip is definitely on. Just a two week hit - Wailin will be there guiding from February 12th to the 26th if you fancy joining him. All you have to do is get yourself to Denpasar airport and we'll do the rest. Bali is one of the best places on the planet - not just for the perfect surf. The culture, the people, the smells, the heat - your senses just go into overdrive. And when you come home, you just look forward to going back again!

Sky's the limit

Our Sky dish moved a fraction last week during the stormy weather - so no telly. It's been a revelation - what we've discovered is the telly progs that we really like to watch are all available online - free as you like. Even the Grand Prix! So we're in two minds on whether to ditch sky and get the freeview. Any thoughts anyone? The other thing we've discovered is that without the tv the boys find other activities to wind away the long evenings. They like to re-enact WWE wrestling when they get bored! Friday night though - all was quiet. Not a peep from the boys. This normally means they're up to no good. So we went on a search. Not in Fin's room. Not in our bedroom. Neither on the computer, nor the Playstation. No sound coming from Billy's room - they can't be in there, but best check. Open the door and there they were, sat on the floor, playing .... chess! As I say, it's been a revelation!

What a fantastic day! Surf 3ft clean, the sun's shining. We've got Wailin in he office with Chris, Alana, and Aleisha. Chris, Alana, and Aleisha are looking for work, and come to us for two days a week just to gain a bit of experience in the work place. Actually they're very competent. Chris is excellent on the computers and in the shop - so he cracks on with that. Alana is hoping to get in the Navy as a chef - so we've got her honing her skills by cooking up the Surf's Up! team lunch everyday. Broccoli and Cheddar cheese soup is on the menu today. Great for her cv. And then we have Aleisha who's strengths lie in the creative department.

Hm, new challenge?

I really struggle to get physically motivated without a challenge. Without a reason to train and a date to aim for, I am a lazy slob. When the challenge is fixed, I can be as focused as anyone. And I definitely have some endurance events left in the old body - endurance sits well with me. My best competitive days are still ahead, I believe that. I guess in the back of my mind I've been waiting for someone to beat the record that myself and James Cracknell set for paddling across the English Channel. So that I'd have a reason to have another crack. But that hasn't happened so I'm looking in other directions. I am amazed at how many times I get asked, "So what's the next challenge?" Is it that obvious that that's the way I work?

Hm, it seems that it is. For some time now I've been on the look out for a 'biggy'. One that lights that fire, inspires and really grabs my attention. I often visit the Woodvale Classic site and have the info packs - I've spoken to the organisers ... trying to get my head around rowing across the Atlantic. When James did it with Ben Fogle I followed their progress hourly and wrote to them regularly. I felt as if I was in the boat with them! But, having prioritised family life above all else, to put that personal challenge ahead of them, well what sort of dad would that make me? No, it needs to be a physical challenge where the chances of death are not in the equation. Pain, certainly ("Pain is only temporary" Lance Armstrong), but death, no way Jose!

The RAAM is the ultimate endurance challenge. A bike race across America - 3,000 miles non-stop. I keep going back to it - it keeps coming back to me. It's just come back to me again? I like it a lot. hm.... much to think about.

Back to more pressing issues - Boiler's been on the blink. Ever since we got back from Centre Parcs we've had no central heating. "It's not that bad" Janey argued as the boys ate their breakfast in front of the roaring coal fire! Fair point. And now Sky's on the blink.. turns out that our Sky insurance that ensures that an engineer will come out in three days, can't make it until next Friday! Oh well, I'm on iPlayer listening to the radio - News Quiz with Sandy Toksvig .... starts off with a reports that the Miss Naked America contest has apparently come under some criticism, but then again it will always have it's knockers! I think I'm going to enjoy this.

Don't forget "It's for the kids!"

Spent the last two days manning our stand with Mikey and Wailin at a careers exhibition down at Redruth. Around 3,000 kids from around the county visited the show. Lots of different industries and colleges represented, answering questions and trying to help the kids with planning for future employment. We took our surf paddling trainer along to make it fun and a lot of the kids jumped on board for a go. Not sure how much careers advice we ended up giving, but we seemed to be one of the more popular stands!

Windy!

Here's today's beach scene. Very windy from the North - this peak looks surfable but it'd be nearly impossible to stay in the right place to catch it - you'd be paddling all day for little reward. This is in the middle of the Bay. So we need to find shelter.

Polzeath faces West - North - West.....

... which is why when we look at the Northern end of the beach, you can just about make out that there's a bit of shelter to be had here from the Head at Pentire. It's one of the only beaches that offers a bit if shelter in a Northerly. The only other alternative would be a trip down to the South Coast.

Large crack found on Butlins Slide!

Of course that should have been the headline "Large Crack found on Butlins Slide" as a 20 stone woman had to be rescued last week from the flume! We were there for the Exmoor Beast the previous weekend. Must have been quite a scene!

Last weekend saw us at another holiday camp - Center Parcs. Centre Parcs is great - if you've got young kids, they absolutely love it. And on that basis we love it too. I think it was our seventh time. Yes, it's cool even with the surfers! In fact last time we bumped into one of the owners of another large surf school! Anyway we met up with my sister and her kids, Charlie (11), Alice (9) and Jamie (6) who are the best of mates with our two boys. My Mum was there in the mix too. The day revolves around footie in the morning, then up to the pool and the rapids for the rest of the day. The rapids is an absolute winner. The kids go round and round and round. As do the adults!

We had a stroke of luck when we were there. It was the weekend of the 'big' firework display being Nov 5th and all. But we decided not to make the trek back down to the lake - instead opting to stay in the pool. And this proved to be a master stroke as we ended up being the only ones left in the pool! This led to lots of tomfoolery as the lifeguards went to sleep. We got away with five of us all going down the big green slide together (normally one every minute!), time and time again with no-one to queue behind! Happy days. Not a peep from the boys in red and yellow. And we had the rapids and jacuzzis to ourselves as well. It's not often that's going to happen - we made the most of it.

Centre Parcs isn't cheap - if you eat at the restaurants, you're going to pay for it. But it is a very good break that the kids always really look forward to. Highly recommend it. Oh, and it's pretty quiet right now - lots of upgrading of accommodation areas.