Lovely day - 3ft on the sets, offshore breeze. Keeping everyone on the beach happy as Larry.

My mate Simon came down to visit - he's been staying with us for a few days. Not used to all the mod cons down here - he stands there for ages switching the lights on and off, on and off. Bit like Tom Hanks in Castaway when he returns home. He's from Newcastle!! We worked with him up at Bude, before he set off to Falmouth to do a film making course. This led him to doing various stuff all over the world filming extreme events and then closer to home working for Sky behind the cameras at the Premier League games. His love, though, has always been with the mountains.

We chatted about his new ski chalet business that he's set up - sounds exciting.

Oxbow XPY

Okay I have the full lowdown on the weekend competition now with the Surf's Up! elite crew - this is the team of riders that we train. Report from JP.

"The Oakley XPY is the biggest Junior event of the year, and had loads on offer - very big cash prizes and final ranking points.

Max and Liam both reached the Quarters of the under 16, and then both reached the final of the under 12s.

For the under 12s this was the UK tour finale, deciding the champion for 2010. In a fantastic final Max finished second and Liam fourth, unfortunately unable to contain Harry de Roth who took the title and the Championship. Max finished second overall for 2010.

Harry Timson took fourth in the under 16s, in another emotionally charged final where, in the dying seconds he and Jobe Harris crashed into each other, taking them both out of the comp with a double interference (and broken boards!)."

Congratulations to all the team who've produced some spectacular results this year - the majority of whom still have at least one more year in the same age division next year.

Great results from Volcom

Big Volcom comp weekend before last - Check this out, our three Surf's Up! Elite Riders in the under 15 category, results as follows - Harry 1st, Max 2nd and Liam 4th. And then Gabi took first place in the Open category. A stunning performance from the team. Nice one. There was a comp yesterday as well - haven't got the full report yet - will come back to you.

Here's Max on his way to 2nd place - great result.

Billy's 11th birthday yesterday - started with the first league footie match of the season! They've stepped up to the full size pitch. Not their finest hour, but they managed to retain their 37 match unbeaten record with a 2-1 win over Helston. One hour of running around on that then a bike ride on the Bissoe trail and then around Falmouth (he got a road bike for his birthday) - then dinner at Pizza Express - it was a fantastic day. But here's the thing when we got back home we realised that it'd gone very quiet. Normally this would mean that the boys are on the computer. But no! Further investigation led to them both tucked up in bed - they'd had it. Not a word, just gone to bed. First time ever!

Load of fuss for a Country and Western Singer

Pope Benedict XVI? Isn't he the country and western singer from the US? I'm not really a country and western fan so his visit means little to me. Hang on, silly me I'm thinking of George Hamilton IV! Oh well, at least we haven't had to dig into the tax fund to pay for his visit...

... what we have?!

What a Grey Day

Okay, so most of the photos I put on here are the ones that make the beach look amazing! There's a reason for that - we want you to come on down! But, and I know this will surprise you, just every now and again, we do get days that dreams are not made of! This morning might fall into this category although as I write the drizzle has got brighter and a little less drizzly.

Janey is on a mission! She seems to have come out of the blocks firing! Which in my decaffeinating state is hard to go with. She's given me loads of jobs now that I'm back in the office full-time. Yes the summer holiday is most definitely over! Accounts, bookings, ordering product - you name it, she's got me on it.

Talking of my decaff state. I cycled the 45 miles to the skate park at Mount Hawke yesterday - Janey drove down with the boys. The coastal route is torture, up and down, up and down. More ups than downs from where I was sitting. And being very low on energy and with a big bad headache, it wasn't fun at all. At one point coming out of Newquay on the Perrenporth road, I was overtaken by another cyclist. Being a competitive chap, I did my best to stay with him.. but the 80 year old got away! Yes, that bad! There was nothing in the tank. The World Wide Web informs me that I should get my energy back soon. Here's hoping!

Caffeine and Chocolate Cold Turkey

"Often, people who are reducing caffeine intake report being irritable, unable to work, nervous, restless, and feeling sleepy, as well as having a headache."

Thirty six hours into cold turkey and I can report that progress is being made. I feel considerably better than I did yesterday, which was quite horrible. Chocolate and Mocha are my friends - any time of day they're there to be my comforter! Not only have they become part of my life routine, (the early morning coffee at the Cone Zone is a social ritual to start the day off), but I just really like the taste. Sitting here with a cup of Detox Tea, is not quite the same.

Yesterday's activity didn't help mind! Fin had a footie tournament down at Newquay, an all day affair. I think our supporters on the whole are quite reserved, those of other teams, not quite so! Standing next to them with a thumping headache is bad news! SO NOISY! And then we ended up at Wooden Waves the outdoor skatepark where I fell asleep in the car! So that's headache and sleepy accounted for. 'Unable to work, nervous, restless' - hm?

Janey's Mum and Dad have left to go to OZ for a couple of months - Janey's Nan lives in Brisbane. Sylv is brilliant with our boys and does so much to help. And Evan, is the practical man who can put his hands to anything. They're definitely going to be missed.

Nothing much to report

Urm, yeah , well not much to report today really. Surf's pretty good - 3ft, little bit onshore and mushy with the big high tide. The boys took the trailer off the beach last night just in case a surge decided to place it elsewhere. Many years ago during a storm, a huge Portacabin that acted as a temporary home at the top of the beach to the Surf Life Saving Club was lifted by a storm surge and dropped right outside the entrance to TJ's! That was quite a sight. I remember the TJ's staff were stood in the doorway as the Portacabin floated on by, then came back and stopped. That would have been quite a surprise. And our own trailer was lifted up many, many years ago - but fortunately didn't go too far. We had the assistance of about 20 local kids sitting on top of it to hold it down. That's the sort of amateur error you only make once! Hence, we edge on the side of caution. If there's any doubt that the tide might come up for the early morning surge, then we just take it off. Much more conducive to a good nights kip!

Oh I can see Bill from Escape Surfboards taking the Polzeath morning wave photo to stick up on Magic Seaweed. He's always very disciplined at that. I do it sometimes but am easily distracted. As well as crafting custom boards Bill imports these NXT surfboards from China - which are moulded, means they're durable, but they're also performance orientated. They're not like the old pop-outs you used to get. The price point is excellent and we sold quite a few last year. As with a lot of products from China this year, I think the delivery got stuck on one of the slower boats and has only recently arrived. Worth giving him a shout though to see what's come over - there's about one million boards in the range to choose from.

Myself and Janey are busy working on new products for the shop. We've taken out the boards and are selling the last of the wetsuits to make room for a new range of Surf's Up! surf wear. So the whole shop next year will be a voyage of discovery trying out new and varied products. As we speak we're trying to get everything ready for the Christmas rush.

Cracknell on the Mend

James Cracknell is a one off - there he is lying in hospital with a fractured skull and he's taken time out to reply to an e-mail I sent him, pre-accident. A few years back we paddled across the English Channel on surfboards (one each!), for charidee! I think we raised about £40,000 on the back of James's Olympic status (and got in the Guinness Book of World Records for the fastest crossing - 5hrs 26mins). He is the most focused man I've ever met! As someone who'd spent limited time on a surfboard, he relied pretty well entirely on his massive engine and strength of mind. I'd spent six months training really hard, going for long paddles from Polzeath Beach to Port Isaac most days; sometimes out beyond the islands, on to Trevose Lighthouse and back; sometimes up the Camel Estuary to Wadebridge and back. I put the time in and was in the shape of my life. But then I needed to be with James giving up his valuable time for the challenge.

The crossing was an amazing experience, from the Monster Mushroom Risotto the night before; launching the surfboards in the dark early the next morning to begin the pain; chomping on energy bars thrown from the support boats whilst at all times still paddling with one arm; and indeed just paddling for over 5 hours with the stench of diesel fumes in our nostrils from the very same support boats; and then the pure relief and magic of touching the rocks at Cap Griz-Nez. The realisation of a dream come true. Every part of it is etched in my memory. But funnily enough it was an event in London to publicise the crossing that was one of the best bits for me.

James comes with a PR machine - when you're raising money this is essential. And on this particular day we met at St. Catherine's Docks where the press had assembled to take photos. This in itself was all new to me and was exciting. After a couple of interviews we jumped into the Thames and proceeded to paddle under Tower Bridge, followed by a strong contingent of boats full of the 'Papps'. Sitting on our boards under the bridge was amazing, mind blowing. My only regret was the one photo that made the Telegraph, one with me and James sitting side by side under the bridge .. I never got a copy of! Damn.

Anyway, I learned a lot from James and we shared some special moments. He's gone on to do some mind blowing feats - anyone who crosses the Atlantic in a rowing boat has my full respect (especially as I get hideously sea sick!). He was training on a bike for some crazy new challenge across America when he was hit from behind by a truck. He's recovering well - as he says "I feel okay just a bit more tired than normal with a bloody sore foot and slightly sore head but yeah I’m making good progress."

It goes without saying that we wish him well.

Kit - Happy Travels

We said goodbye to Kit yesterday as he packed his bag and headed to the other side of the world for some R and D on the waves in NZ. Kit has been with us on and off for a while - first as an instructor, and then secondly as an office boy. I guess in reality when he came back for a second stint, we probably did have him down as an office helper, rather than a key player, but within a short space of time he became just that - a key player. And when Julia fell ill last year, his role overnight changed. He adapted and held that part of our business together. Excellent on the phone and e-mail handling enquiries, always polite and attentive - and just as importantly he would make it his business that the booking was accounted for and logged in.

I've said this before, no apology for repeating it - the best people to employ are those who you know when you step back, will fill your shoes. When you're not on site, will run their part of the business as if it were there own. This is the ideal - in reality this is much more difficult to achieve. In Kit we found someone who we could trust to just get on with it and get the job done - play his part in the team to the best of his ability. Brilliant - and even to end when his job was done and he was on the home run, he didn't switch off and head off. He made sure that we knew exactly what was what, he listed it all down.

So wish him well. He's away for a year and then who knows what he'll end up doing. They'll be a place for him here if he wants it. All the best Kit, a big thanks for your support and efforts - you will be missed.

Lovely Weather

The sun continues to shine and the surf continues to please. What have we got today.... um, 3ftish on the sets, light winds. Fun for all.

Now I was in Asda yesterday and Tony Blair's book caught my eye. So I bought it. And I'm loving it. It's a really good read. Hard to put down in fact. Highly recommended!

Stand-Up Paddle Boarding - we've started to see this hit our beach but we have to hope that it's appeal is limited. I can see the attraction, I remember watching from Daymer Bay as a few locals on their SUP's paddled across the glassy estuary to surf the wave over at Stepper and Tregirls - looked fantastic. Must have been a memorable experience for all concerned. And there are a few people at Polzeath that are really good at it, Alex for example, rips it up and is fantastic to watch. Trouble is when you get novice surfers taking it up, people who have no prior knowledge of waves, that's where I have a concern. It's definitely not something we can get involved in - can you imagine one of the behemoths hitting one of our Boardriders or my own kids on the head! People would ask serious questions about our judgement. We had the opportunity to get involved a few years back and turned it down on that basis.

The bottom line - everyone, has an equal right to be in the water so maybe it's something that we'll just have to get used to and who knows maybe like the skateparks that have been taken over with scooters, perhaps everyone will be doing it soon and the pop will be a thing of the past. It's a fast track way to catch unbroken waves - great fun. But let's have some dialogue as to what level of surfer we think should be allowed to hire out the boards. Food for thought, nothing else.