Breaking the waves as published in The Observer on July 8th.
Think 'British climate' and the word 'watersport' rarely springs to mind. Contrary to popular belief, however, surfing is big news in Britain, whatever the weather. Dive in and discover
Just think how many people are in traffic jams right now', says surf instructor Simon Jayham, beaming from ear to ear, as we bob like bottles in the churning water, clutching our boards and waiting for the next wave.
In front of us the vast, three-mile beach of Rhossili bay stretches out, entirely empty and framed by an epic gunmetal sky. 'Right now they're in their cars, and we're here, with all this to ourselves.' Then he nods over my shoulder and points out away from the beach to where the green sea is swelling up to meet us: 'Here we go. Here comes another set of big ones.'
It's only been a few hours since I first picked up a surfboard in the empty field that serves as a car park and walked down to the beach. Thanks to Simon's attentive teaching I am now out here catching waves.
I'm wiping out a lot, going head over heels and swallowing a bathtub of the Bristol Channel in the process, but I have stood up and ridden waves a couple of times. Perhaps without the poise and pose of the pros, but it's still an amazing feeling being picked up and hurled towards the beach by the sheer power of the ocean. To be really good at this must be unbelievable. But even if you do only manage a few graceless seconds up on your feet, flailing around like a windmill, it's well worth a lot of tumbles for a few glorious moments up on the board.
The feeling was amplified by the fact that the day hadn't begun with the most auspicious of omens. 'You should have been here last week,' said the bronzed girl in the Swansea petrol station with the bead necklace. So did the bleached-blond guy in the cafe. And even Simon was waxing lyrical about the fine weather and bountiful surf I've just missed when I turned up.
With the rain skidding down the windows of the beachfront sandwich shop where we meet, the sky a fuzzy grey, and the paltry 'Smurf surf ' breaking on the sand as dark and foamy as my coffee, it was easy to think my timing was way, way off.
'We'll find some waves,' reassures Simon, a big man with an easy manner and an encyclopaedic knowledge of the sport. 'We'll get out there. It'll be good.' So begins the serious business of tracking down the surf. With a wi-fi enabled laptop he scans the webcams that stud the beaches all over the Gower peninsula, checking tide and weather reports. 'With this I can track a storm over the Atlantic, and know roughly what we're going to get two or three weeks in advance.'
Understanding the weird alchemy of wind, tide, atmospheric pressure and temperature is understanding the conditions for good waves and finding the right beach. 'Wherever you live, you only really learn to surf when you're 17,' says Simon, 'when you get your driving licence and get out and look for proper surf.'
He settles on Rhossili, and then we're off, snaking down sunken lanes lined with banks of cow parsley and over wind-washed hills glowing with yellow gorse flowers. Here and there among the lonely stone farmhouses and grazing sheep are the signs of the Gower's magnetic draw for surfers: occasional camper vans daubed with stickers, board shops in tiny villages, and posters advertising dub DJ nights in isolated pubs.
Soon the rain is pattering gently on the empty sand around us as we put down the boards and run through safety drills ('don't hold your board parallel to the waves, it'll flip up and you'll get two black eyes'). I learn the different ways of paddling into a wave and, most importantly, standing up when you've caught it. 'The objective is to get you catching those green-faced waves, right out there,' says Simon as he points out beyond the breakers to where the sea peaks before it crumbles into the foamy surf we're going to be riding.
Then we're off, wandering out into the breakers, which must be a good three or four feet high and much better than expected. Once in chest-high water Simon scans the horizon for likely suspects rolling in. When he spots one, I point the board at the beach and paddle like mad to get to a speed that will allow the wave to pick me up.Having caught it and begun racing forward, now comes the tricky bit: moving from lying flat on my belly to standing up and riding the wave in.
While I'm pleased to learn I'm easily strong enough to do 'pop-ups', a kind of sprung press-up that serious surfers use, after a load of tumbles it becomes obvious I don't have the co-ordination yet, and so rely on a slightly easier technique that takes you from your stomach on to your knees and up.
And then suddenly I'm standing, feeling like a god as the wave sweeps me into the beach. Or, rather, I pitch straight over the front, or the side, and suddenly I'm inside a roaring washing machine of foam, sand and salt. But it really doesn't matter. I come up spluttering and smiling, turn around and head straight back out: next time I'll get it right. Before I know it, hours have passed by.
'I reckon I've got the best job in the world,' says Simon proudly. As the seagulls wheel overhead, the sun begins to burn a hole in the clouds and some promising waves loom on the horizon, it's very, very hard to disagree with him.
Expert's view:
Simon Jayham, director of Surfgsd
Once you have had a lesson with an approved BSA school, you can hire surfing equipment and keep improving your own. When you get to the point when you are standing up, contact us and have the next step lesson, which will help you improve your development.
Generally speaking, the younger you start, the better - my daughter stood up on a wave at three and by the age of 10 she'll be a better surfer than me and most of my surf coaches. The good news is that people can start at any time of life, as long as they can swim 50m and are reasonably fit.
Practice is key, but if you feel like you're just not getting it, get out the water for a few minutes rest. Sit on the beach with the surf calling you back and focus on how you are going to succeed at jumping to your feet. It is all in the mind; get in tune with the beach environment and you'll be surprised the difference it will make. Setting yourself a personal surfing plan is also important. I teach a group of guys on a weekly basis. They started as complete novices and their aim is to be good enough to come to Portugal with me in the autumn, where the waves are more challenging.
www.surfgsd.com
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Written by Matt Ford
Thursday June 15, 2006
Guardian Unlimited
For more info on activity adventure articles this summer check out the link below:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/fordsmax/story/0,,1797984,00.html
Caswell Beach on an icy Christmas morning.
