Surf trip on the mainland 6.

Where the trip ends, now

Yeah, I did exactly what I had planned, there was no hurry today, surfing at Crantock again, nice two hours session. When I started driving to Weymouth I just stopped to use my brand new mini camping gas stove. Being a nomad is a great feeling, I can stop anywhere, now I did at a car park beside the road to cook my 9p Tesco chicken soup after that I had a coffee, that’s perfect, like in a posh restaurant.

I got back Weymouth, now I’m exhausted, but things this way are good. As a pathetic bloke told once, hitting the road is the freedom, arrival is death. Tomorrow, by ferry, I’m arriving in Jersey, but this is just a temporary stop.

Surf trip on the mainland 5.

Where you’re suppose to go

Today project was very complicated: finding a place where I really could surf, not like yesterday. So I thought if I needed to drive 50 miles, Praa Sands or Penzance are on the bottom side of Cornwall, it didn’t matter just I wanted to use Tunnel Vision in proper circumstances. According to the Magicseaweed the combination of waves and wind seemed to me good at those spots, but just for sure I went to Boardwalk (or Overhead? so many shops beside each other), the place, where I bought a TV, and asked the seller. He told me that there was no point in going so far away, because the swell was coming from a different direction, in short, I got perfect advice how I could find good place for surfing.

So I just drove to Crantock, a small village next to Newquay. This bay is protected by hill against the wind, so it didn’t smash the waves. The view was gorgeous, at the right side of this wide sand beach there was a small river, so you could practice river surf too.

At the car park I met an Irish bloke, Ian, who had been living here for long enough to learn this place. We introduced ourselves to each other and our boards, too. He bought a brand new long board on Monday, and I got mine yesterday. It turned out that he had forgotten his leash at home, and surfing without that could be a big s.cks, if you have to swim always after your board, so I lent mine to him, because now I have two!

(Desert surfer) Eventually we got into the water, finding our cosy waves, and I was over the first when I realised I had already stood onto that by TV. We had 3-5 feet high waves, great rides for two hours! Ian promised he would leave the leash behind the first right wheel. He did, but I almost lost that because I almost completely forgot about it.

Tomorrow, surf again I think at the same bay, and after that go back to Weymouth, because I have to catch the ferry on Friday.

Surf trip on the mainland 3, 4.

Being arrived 3.

After a full British breakfast I went to the town to take pics from and of cliffs. I walked in the small streets and I felt the whole town makes a living from surfing. Long row of surf shops in the main street, you could hire board and wetsuit anywhere. Even if Newquay has only 20 000 habitant in summertime this figure jumps up to 100 thousand(s). Imagine three people squeezed in a normal bath, surfing here seems like this for me.

Around 10-11 am, I just saw that waves were good to ride them. I went back to the hotel, picked up my stuff, struggled to find a proper place (where I didn’t have to pay for parking), jumped into the half wet wetsuit, run into the water. It was challenging rather than perfect, but yeahhhhh, good! After about two-two and a half hours session I was back to the hotel, and next to do on my list was to find a pair of roller skate shoes.

(Don Quijote's nightmare via Truro) Ok it’s weird looking for roller skates in the capital of British surfing, but I promised to myself that I buy a proper pair on the mainland. I drove to Truro, it’s about 15 miles far from Newquay. I couldn’t find any but I have a new watch. The previous one, the Gul was taken away from me by the ocean in Jersey. I think we didn’t liked each other too much and it just went way. OK, go, be happy! But even though I have a new time meter it’s not the beginning of a new time period.

Tunnel vision 4.

My projects for today were surfing at Fistal and keep looking for proper roller skate shoes. I just went down to the town centre and started asking retailers about good pair of shoes. Eventually I find something that doesn’t have any blade on the middle and four wheels but it has three fins at the back end. Yeah, I must admit I bought, again, a board. Second hand, because until I’m good enough I won’t buy a new one! That is the agreement with me.

You can blame me that I have Tunnel Vision but it is literally true, that’s the brand name of my new board. So for £ 190, I could buy a full equipped nice board, nice red one, actually. The colour dynamic is overwhelming if you see this beside my blue Bilbo.

I didn’t hesitate and went down to the Fistal. The Fistal! One of the most famous surf places in the UK. Tough, choppy waves but I struggled two hours among them, so that I could feel this longer board. Bilbo length is a 6’2”, Tunnel Vision is a 6’10” one, but TV is less stable, much easier to get tilt at one of the sides and get off it. Today, a lot small waves hidden into the big ones did this favour for me.

Surf trip on the Mainland 2.

In the Capital of British Surf

Sidmouth or Bath, that was the question this morning, Sidmouth was the answer. On the way to there I had to stop at couple of places to take pics. I love the British countryside, and swinging on the slim roads isn’t comparable. The best place was an old motor museum somewhere around Seaton and Cloyford.

Down Sidmouth I asked a bloke about waves, and he told me, today I couldn’t expect anything good. Anyway, the upper side of south west peninsula is always better, from this angle. So after taking some breathtaking pics, again, there, I jumped back to the car and drove to Newquay, the capital of British surfing.

Amazing place, as far as I know the town has about 20000 inhabitant, it’s not a big one, but how little sugar candy! I just could take a quick look to the Fistal, I saw the swell, ahhh, clear lines-up, and the water, not like that dirty, sink risen liquid at Kimmeridge, but clear, deep blue. I just stormed in the middle of the town and, at the town beach, got into the water. Imagine a magical place, where there is a sand beach divided by couple of huge rocks, some of them connected by bridges to each other. Just wow! The whole place is about surf! You can come across surf board fabric shops everywhere. I found the Bilbo factory (My first board is a Bilbo, but when I was writing this post this was the only one)! You can book in advance to learn how to surf at every second house.

I wasn’t sure that I would be able to surf today. But I managed it. I met a carpenter guy and his mates at the car park, he showed me the shortest way to the water, and gave me some advice. Eventually I could ride for one or one and a half hour. According to the magicseaweed two-three perfect days are coming!

Surf trip on the Mainland 1.

Hit the road

Yesterday I got on the ferry with my car and with my rumbling stomach. Instead of getting worse I just fell asleep owing to the swinging ship. I woke up in Weymouth. First mission was to get prepared for the next day, which meant I had to find a place to spend the night. It was quick, the seafront was full of hotels and guest houses. 20 quid per night, perfect.

Message to Nadine that I’m alive, wasn’t wiped out by the storm, didn’t sink into the water, and actually I arrived at the place where I wanted. After I thought I solved a problem just got another one. I wasn’t able to send a message from any of my SIM cards. So next day's program was to find out what happened to this technical device, get internet connection, buy a mini gas stove and above all find a surf place.

This morning I saw the bay, from my window. Not bad! After spending my morning taking some tourist pics and solving this technical disturbance (but I don’t still have internet connection) I just kept asking people about good surf spots. Three were recommended, but Kimmeridge “Kem’ridzs” won, because a sales guy from a surf shop told me this is the most popular location.

I was struggling on the way there, just kept asking people about the right direction, fortunately I met a couple who live there, and they offered to lead me there. So I got there fair fast. The view was spectacular, like before the way down there.

It was completely different, not like waves in Jersey, they were fast, entirely unpredictable, coming from two, three directions, duration was high, but they looked like lower and wider, so I went among them, and that sucked! The water was dirty, the bottom was rocky – ok it was told to me that place is a reef break. Even though it was worth doing this!

Tomorrow, heading to Sidmouth, where I wanted to get today, but I changed my mind, anyway, I like this way. Maybe I’ll drive up to Bath, and after visiting that, I’ll go to west Cornwall, Newquay, Bude, Polzeath, etc.