Crimping

The sky was on fire last night! It's been a while since I've been able to get a decent shot with all this rain. I think we're happy with this one.

 

Okay, we've got a lot to get through, grab yourself a Latte, hobnob and chair and we'll crack on. In no particular order...If you're coming down this weekend for the Bank Holiday and you're one of the first five people to go up to the trailer and ask the following question to the person on bookings, "Have Ginsters been repairing all the pot holes in this village?" (If they're going to be repaired how about making them nice and flat, rather than crimped along the edges! Grrrr - no good for my bike.).... we'll throw in some free board hire for you (as long as you've either booked or are booking a lesson). And if you go to the shop and tell Sarah, "My pockets are lined with the hair of a Camels Hump",she'll give you a 10% discount off Surf's Up! stock. (Don't forget we now have a full compliment of Finisterre gear in store).

 

Just a few dates left for the Beach House (sleeps ten right on the sand), as follows - 20th May - 25th May, 25th May - 1st June, 24th June - 27th June, 8th July - 13th July (that last one's just this minute become available). If any of those dates work for you, then please give Rach a shout (07760 126225). The Duke of Edinburgh residential courses are proving very popular this year - staying in our flat with loads of surfing. Sweet - only a few dates left for those.

If you're 17 or under then you can go for Gold with the Junior Surfing Scheme logbooks. Keeping with the theme of Olympic year, there are three awards - Gold, Silver and Bronze - log your surfing progress, a great guide as to where you are with your surfing and what's next to work on. Free when enrolled onto either the Weekender or the Developer Courses.

 

The fast track booking system is working a treat. Book your lessons in advance, complete all the paperwork and payment before you head down and you won't be hanging on waiting for others to complete their's. That's working really well.

 

I think we're there. Bit more of a business theme today - I have kids to feed. Oh and have I mentioned that I'm on a diet! No? Lost two stone as it goes and feeling 100% beef cake. I drew on some advice given to me by my old school 1st XV rugby coach, Kiwi Lin Adams. After a match that we should have won, he sat all fifteen of us down in the changing room and gave us the Ferguson hairdryer treatment. "Two words," he screamed. "Two words I told you to focus on before you went onto the field. Do you remember what they were?" (rhetorical)... silence. "Disci........pline!" We waited for the second word. But no, that was it - he thought Discipline was two words. I'm not sure what colour comes after purple when suppressing deep mirth, but I was it! Anyway, 'disci....pline' has been the go. For the past two months, no chocolate and no processed sugar, and regular outings on my road bike (please see: road crimping by Ginsters). As I say, 100% beefcake now! (Where's my belly gone? Where's my belly gone? Far, far away! I sing that all the time at home, drives the family nuts.) 

 

Congratulations to Max Payne (report to follow) for doing amazingly at the Junior World Surf Champs in Panama. We have 160 local kids now training after-school to follow in his footsteps.

 

That's it. Hope to see you this weekend. If not, have a great break and we'll catch up soon.

Calm Down Dears

I know it's been so long since I last updated. Shocked myself when I checked to see that last date... note to self. Must do better! News? Yes, there is some - not so sure I can remember it all straight off. Erm, the biggest story of the day is that I've been off the chocolate for seven straight weeks and have lost nearly two stone. No chocolate, no processed sugar, no Mochachinos - and a lot of cycling. I'm up for the Cornwall Tor this Sunday - 100 miles on the road bike over the hardest stretches of the north and south coast roads. This has been the goal. It's such a tough course, I can't say with any real confidence that I'm going to nail it - but at least I feel a million rupees compared to a couple of months ago. In truth, once the decision to lose weight was made, it's been a breeze. I feel inspired to keep it going as a lifestyle choice.

We continue to hit the Ivybridge trail - Billy going great guns. He was selected to race at the London Mini Marathon for the SW team. They raced the last three miles of the course before the front runners of the main event came through - an awesome experience. Turns out 20 yd sprint training at the football academy wasn't the best preparation and he left his mark by throwing up three times on The Mall - can't fault him for his effort. To his great relief, he's been banned from any more long distance races so that he can concentrate on footie - having just signed a new two year contract with Argyle, he's on the right track. Findog followed up with a one year and will head up to Ivybridge after the summer. Be great to all be together again. For anyone interested, Plymouth Argyle is a very exciting place to be right now with the new owner James "He's rich, he's thin, he's Harry Potters twin" Brent. Right place, right time.

Back on the beach, Easter went well. The weather was a mixed bag but on the whole no complaints. I think the general feeling is that it'll be a short season but the main peak will be very busy.

All the crew are back - Luke and Dee from Costa Rica, Paddy from Costa Coffee and Sarah from Costa Lot in the Swiss Alps. Good to have the team re-assembled.

Despite taking the new booking system all the way to having the finger on the big green button - we made a decision to back track, opting instead for a fast track. We felt that having a system that by-passed our personal touch was a mistake. I think the personal touch is a strength. 

We've teamed up with Finisterre to have a full range of their products in our shop - which is exciting. Sarah is off down to their empire on Friday to get some technical training. They've got some wicked stuff in for this year.

Beach House bookings are very strong - only a few dates left.

Surf's Up! Boardrider Max Payne, selected to represent GB at the World Junior Games in Panama has been forging ahead through the rounds. Great job and a big thanks to Kelly for all his work with him.

Okay, I feel that I've made a start. We're back on track. Expect to hear more from me on a regular basis again.

Big up the boy

Billyman's been selected to represent the SW at the London Marathon - looks like they run the last three miles crossing the finish line just before the main runners get home (unless they have a slow day and get caught by Gerbreselassie!). Should be a fantastic experience. At his age, twelve, you can be the fastest at both short and long distance, but as the body moves onto the next growth phase, you have to choose one or the other - all to do with training the slow or fast twitch muscles apparently! At the Football Academy, they monitor growth religiously and fast twitch is where it's at, so this will probably be his last race over this distance. His footie's going really well and they have spoken - they really want for the best for them! Janey's off with him for a match at Bournemouth today, Findog plays them at home (all home matches are played at Tavistock). One day in the not too distant future I'm sure we'll have a day where we're all together!

Is that a record?

This beauty popped through the letterbox this morning! What do you know.... the old certificate from the Guinness World Records!! Five years I've waited for this (I've been keeping busy otherwise)... five years! Do you think that's a record? I reckon they print them, then leave them to settle. As you can see there's a good head on it! I'm not complaining about the tardiness, in fact I'm really rather stoked. I'm gonna get it framed and hang it on a wall (which wall, to be discussed with Janey)!

It seems a long time ago, that paddle. I trained hard for it, was super fit. Now as I look down upon the balcony above the toy shop (ie Belly.. credit Alfie Moon), I can see deterioration in a once supreme being. The six pack is now a big one pack. The pecs... moobs. Age catches up with us all in the end. What am I now - 45? Forty-five! It's the little things I notice, like yesterday I left the confines of our part-time accommodation in Ivybridge and ventured into Exeter. It was hard enough walking past the winter weight cotton rich flat front corduroy trousers in the formal section of the Marks and Sparks menswear department, (dark blue obviously, one shake is rarely enough these days), without being lured by The Edinburgh Woollen Mill. I'm not going into that City again! I might come back looking like my Dad, and he's a champion lawn bowler. It's a look, but not the one I'm after.

Here's a photo taken last week of the Harvster, one of the original Boardriders. He's just come back from NZ. He ripped before he went, he rips even harder now! Found working in TJ's at Polzeath (under new management). There's a lot of Boardriders who now work on the beach, either with us, in the cafe's, in the surf shops. I'd like to think that we had a little hand in encouraging them to live the dream.

Easter just around the corner. Let us know if you need some lessons or hire (07760 126225), it's shaping up to be a busy one. And if you need somewhere to stay, don't forget the Beach House - few dates left. Oh and what I should announce is that we have a whole new range of kid and adult hoodies coming in for April! No need to go shopping in the City!

ps thanks for all your book suggestions - awesome!

Don't call me Helen

Last night I went to bed as a man, this morning I woke as a woman. My name is Helen. This isn't the first time this has happened, it's happening more regularly. Friends, I think I might be 'an Bookwormic'.

You can't beat a good book. The Sealed Letter by Emma Donoghue .... is right up there. I was reading it until 'lights off'. As I entered the land of nod, the story must have lodged itself in my subconscious. Waking up as Helen was one thing. It was waking up in a courtroom that really threw me. I did some quick physical checks. Phew! For one awful moment I thought I was going to have to get up, do the dishes and get the kids ready for school! Instead I was able to just lie there and vent under the duvet!

It's all this living part-time in Ivybridge that's doing it and the lure of the Waterstone/Costa combo. It's indulgent but a joy. Anyone with me on this? A skinny medio Mocha followed by a browse in the fiction section... it's good for the soul. Of course, it's Janey that has form. She's always been one to enjoy a good read, always something on the go. It's a more recent thing for me. We've arrived at the stage where we've even started reading the same novels (not at the same time obviously) - and then we discuss. A sort of Craskie Book Club. She finds me frustrating though. She reads the first word to the last, revelling in the detail of every speech mark and comma. Whereas I'm a skimmer. She'll ask what I think about a certain passage in the book and I'll give her a blank look in reply. I'm a plot man. Although to be fair I forget the plots too sometimes. Characters with similar names, that really throws me. But I do love a book, it has to be a book. A page to turn. A page to feel and smell. I'm not a Kindle man. With high street shops closing at an alarming rate, I really, really hope Waterstones can whether the storm.

It's in the real world that myself and Janey show similar form. I'm the big picture man, whilst Janey immerses herself in the detail. Not by choice it would seem. "If I don't do it, it wouldn't get done". The words cut deep and I battle daily to reach the dagger plunged deep between my shoulder blades. You see what I have to put up with! But like the Waterstone/ Costa combo, it works well. Surf's Up! - Eighteen years and counting.

Right, let me get these stockings off and then we can crack on! In truth I have very little to say... whitter, whitter, whitter. Ah yes, now then this photo below - average one at best, and this purely down to the skill of the workman not the tools nor the elements, they were all perfect. No I choose this photo because I noticed something educational in it. Something to do with the line up of the waves... any ideas?

In the words of a much respected head lifeguard, "The sea is unpredictable. There's no such thing as a rogue wave!" Wise words indeed. Although I feel I should counter this with... many years ago the Royal Navy were passing in a Destroyer and had picked up on the radio that there was a mass rescue taking place on the beach. They radioed the very same head lifeguard. "Is there anything we can do to help?" they asked. "Send me everything you've got!" came the reply! Really? Can you imagine....!

Picture the scene, I'm walking the dog along the coast path, camera in hand. I'm observing the waves, probably five in a set (group) and then a lull. With the light offshore breeze, the waves are nicely lined up across the beach, a corduroy sea. And then this set comes along where one of the waves is sat nearly on top of another, very little space between the two. You can see in the photo above the two broken waves are much closer together than either the one nearer the beach or the one just breaking further out. I wish I'd had the camera out earlier to take a snap before they'd broken. Anyway, it was very noticeable. So what's that all about, any ideas?

Although there are many theories about how and why waves sort themselves into neat lines, it's widely recognised that there's still research to be done in this area. However, we know enough to make educated guesses. In this particular photo, the waves hitting the beach today haven't come from just one pressure system, but two. In other words you could have a swell originating from a storm in the north Atlantic and you could have one originating from the south. If the two swells meet close to shore, there's no time for them to sync, hence you get waves out of sync with the general pattern. We surmise that one pressure system, therefore one swell, will be the dominant party.

Would you notice this if you were surfing? In the white water, probably not. Once the circular motion of the waves touches the ocean floor, they slow and bunch together. You might get a double up, but you can get them anyway. Out the back, in the line-up? Most definitely. I remember some twelve years ago when there was a huge swell forecast for the evening, I was surfing with a few locals. Before the big stuff really came in, the pattern of the waves changed. You could feel that something was happening. Every now and again a few bigger waves would roll in nearly on top of one another. It was pretty freaky!

In summary, I don't think this is a rogue wave as such, more of two things coming together. No need to send in the landing craft and Apaches, not this time around thanks Captain.

Oh dear, I just came over all surf school owneryish! All that stuff about waves, swell and pressure systems.. what was I thinking of! Sorry.

Now here's a thing. This is Max Payne. He's been with the Surf's Up! Boardriders Club since he was eighteen inches tall - boy and man. Over the past few years, under the watchful eye of our elite coach, Kelly 'Snoop Dog' O'Toole, he's put in some real water time and trained hard. And what do you know, he's just been selected to represent the British Team U 16's at the Worlds in Panama. Representin' - sweet! We wish him sucky lefts and high scores. Nice work.

Finisterre

Three of my favourite people on the planet- from the left, Ernie, Tom and me! Ernie and Tom run Finisterre, the outdoor clothing company down in St. Agnes. I wear their stuff all the time! They deserve all the success they get, top boys. I went to see them yesterday, both on fine form, with so much banter going on it's a wonder they get any work done. They're coming up here tomorrow to do a sale at Tubestation. Hope it goes well for them.

Big Tide

My morning beach dog walk has become a ritual. I've seen most sea states. But even I was surprised by how low the tide was this morning. Super low. The lowest I can remember for a long time. Being impulsive (!) I made the decision to walk along the sand all the way to Daymer, which you can sort of do with some minor scrambling on the Moules. Not really one for Gramps. What was a stroll became a mission when I remembered the stacks of my fishing tackle claimed by the rocks at Greenawayover the past three years. This was my best chance of recovery I felt. Alas, all I found in the kelp was some line! No Rapala's. When I do hook that Bass it'll be the most expensive ever landed... about £200 worth! The golf ball I found was of little consolation.

iSurf training, that I mentioned last week has gone down a bit too well. Looks like I'm going to have to do some work! We've come up with two options - D of E, or Work Experience - residential or non-residential. If you want some course dates, don't forget it's petecraske@hotmail.co.uk. It will go up on the web shortly, but you can get ahead of the game by coming back to me directly.

If you're down here over the half-term, let's do lunch!

This is not surf related!

Family news!!! There's no reason this should be interesting to anyone else, but as a proud Dad, I'm going to report it anyway! So there! Parent first, business owner second!

Our Billy lined up against the best U13s from Wiltshire, Avon, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Gloucestershire in the South-West Cross Country Championships at Exeter over a tough two mile fast and icy course (oh the stress of it all) on Saturday.

What a race it turned out to be! Billy went side by side with Robert Howarth (the big gun from Team Bath or 'the whippet' as we called him). In the end, despite a heroic last 100 metres, one yard and less than a second was all that separated them. Having to take the long way around the final bend, was his undoing ('the whippet' showing a bit more race experience). Third place crossed the line 20 seconds later and Millfield's top runner came in 30th, a minute later.

In summary, the boy done good! What does it mean? Very little in the big scheme of things! But in the meantime, 2nd in the South-West? He'll take that and walk a few inches taller for a few days because of it.

Okay, you can open your eyes again now. Report all over! (ps You'll be pleased to know that this is the edited version! My first one was much, much longer!).

Dilemma

You guys think I have it easy. You try choosing between these two benches to sit and contemplate from! There, not as simple as you might think! Walking the dog, always a pleasure, never a chore.

Now these beauties are on the other side of the beach hanging from the cliffs at Tristram. Six footers don't you know.

Great response to the iSurf training - well beyond our expectations. Time for me to do some work!

Best Seat in the House

Is this the best seat in the house?

Fresh down here on the beach this morning. Slippy too, little icy patches catching out the unaware. Fortunately I'm like a mountain goat, nothing there to trouble me (no-one was watching were they?). We've got a couple of foot on the sets, looks lovely. As long as you've got your thermals on, it's a day from the top drawer. Hey, how cold was it last night?!!! My woolly socks managed a complete 24hr without removal, that's how cold!

Surf's Up! Pipeline:

Our new surf school booking system will go on-line next week. Just running through the final checks as we speak. Really happy with it. What it'll mean is that you can Fast Track - book the lesson time, fill in a few details, tick the disclaimer box, make a payment, then when you arrive, you'll be up and away. No hanging around, sweet as. Use the system and you'll get the best offers too and reminds of your lesson time the day before. We really are that good.

The big new development that we're very excited about is iSurf Training. For 'young adults' who are doing D of E, work experience or about to look for full-time employment we're offering a skills / education / employment based course. This is my bag and run by me - with so much experience, pioneering and humour to share, it would be a crime to keep it all in!! Personal surf coaching sessions (hoorah!) combined with relevant work related training (boo!). It'll be fun, but it'll also be hard work. I'll put you through your paces. I'll also be sending you on your way with a much improved CV and a resolve to hit the next phase of life, with confidence and a steely resolve. You can stay in our flat, 5 mins from the beach, so I can keep an eye on you!! - (previous hamster cage cleaning experience not necessary).

If you want to rub shoulders with genius then just give me a shout on

petecraske@hotmail.co.uk!!

5 day (weekday) - £250 including accommodation

2 day (weekend) - £180 including accommodation

I think that will do for now. We're open for Feb Half term and there are a few dates available for the Beach House this year (07760 126225). Looking forward to 2012 what with the Olympics and the Queens Diamond Jubilee.