Save the wave @A1Surf @surfline @transworldsurf @surfingeurope @CarveMag @European_Union spread the word and please help

In a time of economic cut backs affecting all parts of Europe and EU funding being pulled back. You would hope that pointless spending on projects such as stated in the above newspaper article would be a thing of the past.

The govt on this island must really hate surfers as they have ruined so many world class waves as well documented by campaigns that have failed to save them.

The EU must stop giving money to these questionable projects that ruin waves and achieve very little in economic repayment for investment. 

Here is a quote from one of Portugal's Big Wave surfers Mr Frederico Mendes > 

 

'...Please help us save one of the Best waves in Europe.

 

Paul do Mar is in serious threat of dissapearing so that a few politians and business men can pocket more money from the European union. They intend to build a Sea Wall that will destroy the wave completely and have a terrble Enviromental Impact in the whole surrounding zone. Please share this facebook page > Save the Wave at Paul Do Mar with as many people as possible to create awareness and support to try and save this Gem of the Atlantic...'

The EU can be bombarded via twitter for answers on this project, pretty sure that the Germans and French would not want to see more money wasted on a rock in the middle of the Atlantic when the money is needed elsewhere!  The EU twitter address is @European_Union

Please help fight against this short sighted project

Mahalo! 

Good music makes the journey somewhere so easy

Left Swansea at 03.00 a.m yesterday and cruised down the M4 towards my destination Bristol airport with some cool new music blasting. My favourite at the moment is the feel good summer is coming & life is good track by the 'Goldhawks' see video below. The other two CD's were also awesome for the drive and by Tiffany page and Kassidy click on, have a listen and share the stoke!

We made it to Bamako and back! The Sahara Surf team was made up of the following great bunch of guys:

Jerry ‘Camera’ Aylmer

Tom ‘Beard’ Bulfin

Jon ‘Forecast’ Ashmore

Steve ‘George’ Wilson

Rob ‘W.D.Z.’ Pearson  (Author of this article and also this one > Useful Welsh Words  Rob and his pals will be in Swansea this weekend looking for surf and cheering the boyos on in one of many pubs here in town)

Our route took us from London to France, through Spain, past Gibraltar, into Morocco, through Western Sahara, across Mauritania and finally into Mali. Tom even made it all the way up the Niger to Timbuktu. Driving conditions have seen blizzards, blistering heat, sleet, rain, sandstorms, hail, ice, and even a journey through the sea. We had several close shaves including a two near head on collisions, which were far too close for comfort, and have also been run off the road a couple of times. We have been rally driving, gone airborne, done tail slides and drift raced the cars in the dessert. We have mowed down a dog which decided to run in front of the car at 80mph, but managed to stop successfully for camels, donkeys, goats and cows which all tried the same trick. We had to abandon a Range Rover in Kent, a Mitsubishi Shogun half way down France, a Peugeot (and half of my gear) in the Sahara desert, and some surf boards in Mali (which has no sea!).

 We have seen cats, storks, lizards, camels, jackals, dragonflies, eagles, pelicans, snakes, fish, goats (of the tree climbing and non- tree climbing varieties), African swallows (unladen), donkeys, vultures, falcons, scorpions, ostriches, herons, horses, dogs, giant spiders, flies, cormorants, mosquitoes and a dead dolphin. We’ve fallen fowl of the law in four countries, been asked for bribes on our way in to one country and had to bribe our way out of another. We have been bitten, urged, bounced off the sea bed, hawked, robbed, howled at, coerced, hassled, sniffed, burnt, welcomed, and mistaken for international football coaches. We have corrupted, debated, sweated, surfed, shivered, laughed, cried, confused, haggled, recruited, given, swam, jogged through a minefield, avoided being kidnapped and started about 1000 games of football.

 My personal thanks go to the AA, Geoff Armstrong, the two Neils at www.juniorsoccercoach.com , Hermione Barnett, Derek Holdrup, Daou, Phillippe Chanlot, all the less mechanically challenged individuals who travelled across the desert with us and kept everyone moving, Jerry for suggesting this adventure, and for all the African smiles we saw on route. Voodoo dolls are in construction for the ground crew of Afriqiyah Airlines at Bamako, the night porter at the Mende Hotel on the River Niger and Mohammed our ‘guide’ who blatantly failed in that respect in the Sahara. However I may yet decide not to insert the pins!

Most important of all we have raised a load of money for charity, which reminds me to make one last plug for you all to dig deep for these excellent causes because we are still some way off our target figures for both. For all those who have not yet donated or were waiting to see if we made it back alive before stumping up some cash, there is still plenty of time for you to contribute via the links to UNICEF or SurfAid on our website (www.saharasurf.co.uk ). £10 could save 15 of the kids I saw on route from fatal diseases, so thanks for anything you can spare.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Surfing Year 2 u all

Live, Surf and Travel...

Gower 50 years of AONB status.

This breakdown on what makes Gower so special is courtesy of the Tourism section of the City and County  of Swansea.

Gower was designated in 1956 as the UK's first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). In 2006, we celebrate its 50th Anniversary as one of Britain's most beautiful holiday destinations.

• Gower AONB covers 188 sq km and was chosen as an AONB for its classic coastline, (much of it is HeritageCoast) and it's outstanding natural environment (33% is national nature reserve or site of special scientific interest)
• Gower's richly varied natural environment is nationally renowned for its heathland, limestone grassland, fresh and saltwater marshes, dunes and oak woodlands
• Gower AONB has a highly valued and wide range of important habitats and species, and has geology that has given rise to a wide variety of scenery in a relatively small landscape area.
• There are at least 1200 archaeological sites in the AONB of different periods and types. These include caves, Iron Age forts, medieval castles, churches, a lighthouse and 19^th Century parks. 73 of these are of national importance, with 124 listed buildings.
• The dramatic limestone cliffs at Worms Head and OxwichBay, interspersed with sandy beaches and rocky shores, dominate its southern coast.
• Whilst in the north the coast is low-lying with extensive salt marshes and dune systems.
• The western part of the AONB has been included in the Register of Landscapes of Outstanding Historic Interest in Walesfor the rich and unrivalled evidence of a long sequence of land use and occupation from the prehistoric to the industrial periods, including Iron Age forts and a surviving medieval open field system, known as the Vile, near Rhossili.
• There are also three National Nature Reserves and three Local Nature Reserves that have been established in the AONB, plus a number of Wildlife Trust nature reserves.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Gower has over 30 miles of inspirational coastline with 70 beaches, many with awards helped by the fact that Gower has some of the cleanest waters in the UK.
• Country Life readers (2005) voted ThreeCliffsBayon the Gower Peninsula as their second favourite coastline views in Britain.
• Worms Head Rhossili, Gower, is a 1 mile Peninsula reputed to be the 7^th most photographed sunset in the World

More info  about visiting Gower can be obtained from

www.visitswanseabay.com    1st stop for information about Gower region.

www.gogwa.com                   activities for all the family

www.gowersurfing.com         Gower surf school open all year.

www.gowerkiteriders.co.uk   Gower Kite surfing school.

www.tourismswansea.com    places to stay