I’ve just got back from a holiday to Faro, Portugal with Catherine and I was stoked to be able to get a couple sessions of boarding into the last two days of our holiday. I really didn’t think there would be any waves as the hotel we stayed at wasn’t far enough west but on the last two days a really messy swell came in from the south-west. I managed to borrow a body board from the life guards and had a great time! It has been a while since I boarded in trunks and had forgotten how painful a board rash can be. No pain no gain I guess.

Those couple sessions have got me really excited about a surfing trip some good friends and I have got planned for the end of October! Brian, Chris, Steve, Brian’s uncle and I are heading to the Isle of Harris to surf what we hope will be the best waves we’ve surfed in Scotland. Of course we are all pretty much beginners which makes the trip even more exciting given that they will most likely be the biggest waves we have surfed in Scotland! I can’t wait to see Steve’s face the split second before he drops down on a wave with a face over 6 foot (if they will even be that big)!

Wow! The last time a post was put up on this site was back in February! Sorry to anyone who actually reads this blog. Actually is anyone there… didn’t think so. Hatch and I are going out to Pease Bay tomorrow to catch what looks like some awesome waves. The forecast on Magic Seaweed gives it a full 3 stars with a descent 8 foot swell and a 10 second period. Can’t wait, been looking at the web cam from St Vedas all day and the waves have been huge!

We get to go surfing so infrequently, I wish I didn’t work or at least work part time so that I can surf whenever the waves are good and not just on the weekends. Actually more to the point why can’t there be good waves closer to Edinburgh. Who put Edinburgh so far up the Firth of Forth? Someone at city planner was slacking off when they were deciding were to put it.

Rant over, pictures hopefully to follow of our trip tomorrow provided I remember to take my camera.

Well Steve and I finally had our first surf of the year. The conditions weren’t brilliant but it was just nice to get out amongst the waves. The conditions were very choppy with no real break to the waves, they just kind of collapsed on themselves. Despite this we made the most of it and spent about an hour in the waves and I managed to do a 360 on my bodyboard! Quite excited about that.

Eventually we just couldn’t take the cold any more and decided to call it a day. Changing by the car is always an experience in winter but yesterday was something else! The minute we took our gloves off our hands started stinging from the cold and to make matters worse, it started snowing! It took us the rest of the day to warm up.

We knew the conditions wouldn’t be great but we decided to go anyway partly so that we could explore a few potential surf spots just before Pease Bay. We had a look at a couple, one by the power station and another just before that near Skateraw next to the lighthouse. There seemed to be a small reef break, which can just be seen in the following picture. We might try and explore it when the swell is a bit bigger.

Finally we’re going on our first surf of the new year! Hatchet and I are heading out to Pease Bay today to visit those liquid hills. We’re going a little earlier today to give us time to maybe explore a few potential surf spots along the way. Can’t wait!

It’s a rough job but someone has to do it! Yesterday I took a group young guys from one of my literacy groups to Easter Road to watch Hibs play Celtic. We were there courtesy of the Easter Road press team so had complimentary tickets to the posh, soft seats in the West Stand. It was a great game to be at with Celtic coming off the back of their 1-0 win over Man Utd on Tuesday. Hibs were really up for it tho and started the better team, going 1 up after 12 minutes through Ivan Sproule, who I am hopeful will be a big star for Northern Ireland in future. He was playing really well till he went over on his ankle towards the end of the first half.

Hibs goal scorer Ivan Sproule

Kevin Tompson put Hibs two up in the second half and it was looking good at that point but as the second half went on Celtic got more and more into the match. Aiden McGeady came off the bench and changed it for them setting up Sno for the first and then scoring the equaliser himself. Disappointing but made it a good game for the neutral. Hibs could have won it right at the end through Steven Glass but he shot over the bar. Good banter tho and I’ll hopefully get a few more complimentary tickets through this group if I have my way. like I said, someones got to do it!

The second half kicks off

Morning all! I thought I would kick off the new ‘Away from the waves’ category with a bit of music review. Last night I was at the Josh Ritter concert in Cabaret Voltaire with Rachel, Boom, Grey-ham, Mark and James. It was brilliant! To be honest I wasn’t expecting him to be that amazing live but he was fantastic and I highly recommend people go and see him if they get the chance. He has to be the most cheerful man you will ever encounter and his band are amazing, a bit of a bizarre crowd admittedly but really good to watch.

‘Girl in the war’ , ‘Lillian, Egypt’ and ‘Kathleen’ were particular favorites and he did a little solo song as part of his encore that isn’t on the albums which was good too. Definitely not a fan of Sunday night concerts though as I’m struggling to get the work head on this morning! Anyway better stop stalling and get to it!

Steve

Since it’s been a few weeks now since we’ve been for a surf I thought it would be good to have an area where we could add updates on what’s been going on away from the waves. So here it is, a section for everything and anything which is going on in the lives of Chuck and Steve.

Ok I admit it. There are times when I am jealous. When I see the tips of Chuck’s fins disappearing over a wave and heading out back as I prepare to take the full force of the break on my head and my arms burn from the paddling (a 7′6″ NSP is impossible to duck dive by the way, any tips from anyone out there would be much appreciated as it just aint happening) I do occaisionally envy the freedom of your small, foam board and fin-powered feet to paddle with. There was even a time when this may have caused me to belittle the bodyboarding genre as a whole and pass it off as a mere childs game compared to the real thing.

However I have matured and come to realise that the joy of the waves is in sharing them with your ‘crew’, even if that means a ‘gay on a tray’. It just isn’t the same paddling out on your own and I never seem to stay out as long on my own as there is no one to share the banter with. Plus Chuck’s board fits in the car a lot easier and he isn’t half bad to be honest. He’s getting a few accomplished looking rides these days!

 So, even though I still believe that surfing is where it’s really at and body boarders are missing out on the full thrill of the ride, it’s good to have someone else out there with you. So I embrace the way of the ‘foamies’ and say ‘let us all be friends!’

 I look forward to our next session together my body boarding friend.

Steve

It’s true! I (Chuck) am a bodyboarder! I started out learning with Steve and co to surf, but in those early days we didn’t go very often and I felt it wasn’t worth trying to learn to surf when you only go once a month, if that. You just don’t progress and you spend most of your time falling off! Just like Steve is doing here (don’t be fooled, he’s not doing a bottom turn!).

So I figured I’d just have fun and bodyboard instead, as I had learnt to do it a few years earlier in South Africa. Don’t get me wrong, surfing is great and I will keep learning, but I love bodyboarding!

I assume most people have this stereotypical view of bodyboarding as a bunch of girls jumping on the board as the broken wave approaches, that is not me! I’m am out the back with the surfers riding the nice clean unbroken wave! As can be seen from the following picture!

Steve used to make fun of me, but he doesn’t so much anymore. I like to think it is because he has seen me ripping up the waves on my nice new Hot Buttered bodyboard. But I suspect it is more because when the big waves come, I’m out the back about half an hour before he is.

Chuck

As you can see from the photos the waves were not exactly massive but we had fun! Since the swell was small we headed straight to Pease rather than stop at Belhaven and we were in the water for around half three. The sea has definitely taken a temperature dive so Chuck became pretty envious of my gloves and hood over the two hours in the water!

Although the waves were small they were really good for experimenting and I felt I progressed more then I would have in a bigger swell. I managed to get some of the longest green wave rides I have had to date including one that seemed to go on for miles, felt like it anyway! The last forty minutes or so we were the only two out and we were surfing purely by moonlight!

Low point of the day for me was an almighty calf cramp which nearly drowned me and I can still feel three days later!

Steve