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Sun and surf for the Bank holiday weekend here on Gower

Greg from Gowerlive phoned me and brought me out of a self induced coma to inform me that the swell had arrived

The serious hangover was due to drinking too much Poncha which is rocket fuel and the result of the self sacrifice was a cracking session out at Crab Island with glassy grond swell pumping over the reef to be shared with a surfer from Oz that kept shouting this is like my local break back home..

Here is a shot of Rhossili Beach in the afternoon, the surf school customers who took advantage of the 3 days for 2 surfing had a great time as did the couple on the 1-2-2 session with Ben. Anyway off west today to watch some of our ex pupils competing in the Welsh national championships. Have a good day surfgsd

Storm force winds and damage has not stopped surfers here in the South West filling their boots!!

Picture from GowerLive

You could be forgiven if you looked at this webcam shot taken this morning and thought that it was a nice sunny beach day! Far from it we have been battered again here in the West and everyone but the surfers are fed up with it. These storms bring the biggest surfing conditions to the plethora of breaks here on Gower including secret spots that spring to life in these winter storms.
The langland webcam is obviously feeling the pressure as it has been giving shots of the tennis courts this morning, am not sure if the wave hungry surfers want to watch tennis. 
The surf is bouncing here today and I am hoping that the wind will get a bit of North in it so that I may get some drops out at Crab Island today. p.s it is not a good day for novice or those learning to hire equipment and hit the beach. If in doubt do not paddle out.

 

Crab Island, Langland beach, Gower, Swansea is looking small and sick today

The swell is dropping fast, but looks like the guys are going to get fantastic head high waves out at crab island lunch time with offshore winds and the right size tides, I just took this snapshot off the gowerlive webcam, sometimes I think the internet is amazing but there again with the view I have today out of my window perhaps being able to look and see what I am missing is torture..... Ouch it hurts...P.s I am not moaning just stating the obvious.

Here is my current view for the day at least the sun is shining!!!!

The shore break at Langland the capital of Swansea surfing

I took this picture as I was getting changed out of my xcel wetsuit at the flat. The sun was setting and the temperature an amazing 13 c for this time of year. A post that is on surf nation made me think for a brief moment as a short board parted from a surfer nearly re-arranged my head.  Is it really risky surfing big waves with just a few trusted and trained friends? As opposed to surfing say in Langland with everyman/women and their dogs.  I was on a nice pink 8ft INT softboard which when loose will not hurt, however the hard board flying at me minus a rider was defo' a murder instrument.  The bottom line is, there was only two tow teams out in Ireland surfing with back up support, much safer than 3ft shore break with 100 plus surf crazed surfers. Be careful in the surf guys, as your board can kill. I just hope you are all members of the BSA and therefore have insurance.

Winter surf in Swansea, started back today with a swell board no leash session out at Crab Island with Gower legend, 'Grandad'

Wow, 3 weeks ago I had just jumped off a plane after working on the Algarve feeling fit and fresh raring to go.  With the winter swells due, I was feeling good.  Well, as I have kept stating, the surf situation here for the last 3 weeks has been best described as PANTS (sorry if I have been to negative).  I have been cycling, walking and swimming but found out today when I went back out Crab in much colder water than my last dip, I was not ready for the cold shock!

Grandad, the Crab Island enforcer, nearly laughed his way out of his 5 mil wetsuit at the sight of me wiping out on my first wave and being bounced through and over the rocks, resulting in a 'religious' wetsuit and a nice long swim to the beach for the 9ft foam board. (N.B. I only surf without a leash when by myself and when using a foam board)

Anyway, after the swim in to recover my board I paddled straight back out and caught some lumps, the first for 3 weeks. I have been an absolute nightmare to be around the last few weeks due to the lack of a drug called 'adrenalin' and I must say sorry to Amy and my close friends for this.

Also a mention to top surfboard repair man and friend Paul 'toots' Preedy who fell off a roof a while ago and did a great deal of damage to his body, he is on the long road to recovery we wish him well. Also, I have to mention that yesterday Mr Crab Island (aka Paul Henry) popped around my house with his mad stories and pictures of his local surf break in Europe (sorry it is a secret). Paul Henry has been featured in Surfer and Surfing magazines and showed a very young grom called Carwyn Williams around the Canary Islands way back.

After spending time talking to Toots, Paul and Grandad and getting a reality check out at the ampitheatre of surfing here in Swansea I must say, I am starting to feel much more positive about surfing again, amazing what a surf does isn't it?

p.s. well done to Ben and the Holbrooks coffee shop team in Swansea for being rated by the Evening post as the number one in Swansea, the hot chocolate and cheesecake are probably one of the reasons that I got bounced over the Island.

Surf is coming back from hopefully this week until mid-december 2007

After what most long time surfers are calling the worst period of surf here in the Uk (east coast has been pumping though) it looks like the dart boards are starting to re-appear on the charts and sending surf to us and the rest of the Atlantic coastline of Europe. 

I spent last Saturday looking at properties in Clifton, BS8 and had an awesome coffee and cake in the Boston tea company on white ladies road almost as good as Holbrook's in Swansea  then headed down the m5 to meet up with the Mullins clan and food in the famous Lotus restaurant in Newquay. You must try this place guys especially the 'weeping tiger'.  On the Sunday I went to the BSA surf school and surf coaches seminar and gave a talk on sports development and surf nation,(Based on the book by Alex Wade). I highlighted the poor performances of English football and the Welsh rugby teams (post big Mike) and how surfing can learn from the mistakes that major sports have made, ie no clear strategic sports development and not addressing activity exclusion. Sport in the UK has been described as 'class institutionalized'.

As I drove away from Fistral the surf was fairly stormy but least it was surf!

Anyway, have you got time owed? If so why not jump on a plane, a car or train and head west as magic seaweed is giving a plethora of the major surf spots a five star for this Sunday.

Not sure what I am doing yet, think I will watch the ocean forecasts closely before putting myself in a pole position for some prime surf at last...... Will keep you all posted as the charts become clearer..

Oahu surf

Well a few days to go and just seen the latest forecast, it looks like winter is finally kicking in for the NorWest Pacific chackout this link for the up to date surf size for the North Shore of Oahu.   Surf Forecast for O`ahu   

Hoping to get some good image sover the next few weeks for you of the North shore pumping.

Thank you God, for delivering perfect crab to me.

I knew it would be on a few days ago. Got up this morning at 7 a.m to check the wave buoys and bingo, it was on, today was a crab day.  A crab day?  A crab day, is when everything else in my life stops and the only focus is what time to suit up and paddle out.

I had a massive bowl of porridge today followed by fruit and heaps of water, tried to do some work, but kept getting sidelined by the web cam amd my mobile with incoming txts from the boys around the South West Coast. Yes today was going to be a magic crab day, the best experience a surfer can get here in the Uk is catching a set wave out at classic crab. It is the Champions league of waves here in Wales and today it was on.

I surfed until I could not possibly catch anymore waves, in total my time out crab was 4 hours and 20 minutes, my last wave in was more of a straight hander so as to ensure beaching myself without too much more paddling as I would have surely drowned !

Today was a crab day and I am glad that I was there to take part, in a few weeks I head out to the North Shore of Hawaii. I  will have one eye on the charts for crab, I know it sounds mad but I hope I do not miss another day like today.

I am stoked, tonight will be fun in the mumbles talking through the crab drops and wipeouts... Happy surfing from simon @ GSD a crab day stoked individual.

The surf is going off today

Well at last the crazy winds have dropped and it looks like all surfers in the swansea and gower region are going to be given an early christmas present.

Crab Island is looking likely to be 6 foot plus and offshore today, as the other reefs and points on the south coast line should be firing too it will spread the crowds around and mean that we will all get our wave fest.

I am heading out there early and staying out for as long as I can, hence currently eating a massive porridge oats breakfast.

I am so excited as I have surfed crab 3 times over the last two weeks and snapped two boards and damaged the other! Thats what happens when crab is on and in the 6 ft region.

Will update report after I have been surfing.