Winter Surfing In Cornwall

Learning to surf is an addictive past time that really does take over your life. You love and hate the sport at the same time. When the waves are on your side there's nothing better, you paddle out back, you make the drop, you stand up on your board for longer than two seconds, you catch a glimpse of the sun glistening on the water and for a brief moment you are in a euphoric state.
 Then you have a day where the waves are perfect, everyone's catching lefts and rights and you paddle out and catch nothing. Everything you go for you mess up, nose diving, drinking mouthfuls of sea water and spending most of your time washing machined around under the waves rather than riding them.

As you begin to get frustrated and your energy dwindles you go to give up and catch a wave back in... but that wave you caught in was amazing so you go back out for more. Surfing is a constant battle between your own strength, courage and bravery and mother nature throwing different sized and shaped waves at you every time. When you think you've managed to surf the following week it's all changed and keeping on side with mother natures ripples is addictive.

In the summer I get to practice my surfing a lot, perhaps 2-3 nights a week plus both days at the weekend, my arms get stronger, my confidence on the bigger waves (when I say bigger waves anything more than 3 foot still scares me) and it all starts to fall into place and I feel that I'm getting somewhere. Then the winter rears it's ugly head and the evening sessions are non existent and if your lucky enough to get in at the weekend it's a bonus as most weekends are filled with storm swells and gnarly weather,

Surfing in the summer

This weekend things were on a learners side, beautiful weather, small clean waves and a quiet beach. Although their was frost on the ground this wasn't going to stop me from getting in the water. Sadly my fitness in the water has dwindled a lot over the winter months and my paddling and popping felt pathetically weak. Still getting in for a bad surf is better than not getting in for a surf at all and I'm more excited now about what the summer will bring when it finally arrives as each year my surfing does improve little by little.

Surfing in the winter