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The O'Neill Highland Open by Swatch was won yesterday by Australian ripper Adam Robertson. The final was an all Antipodean affair, with Robertson prevailing over compatriot Adam Melling. I'd been expecting Sunny Garcia to continue to dominate the event, but ultimately the slick, super-fast moves of the Australian contingent won the day. Robertson's frontside air in the final has to be seen to be believed - check out the O'Neill website for this. What you might not see there is the emotion felt by Robertson when he clasped the Chieftain sword, the trophy for this event. He was ordained by the beach marshal for the event, local legend Andy Bain, and was clearly touched to the core. As he said: "I'll keep this sword until the day I die."
Thurso feels strange now that the circus has left town. It's a grey and wet day, and the reef is just about working. To stand on the pier contemplating paddling out, alone, is an immersion in desolation, and yet there is a melancholic poetry to the town and its nearby waves that is undeniable. I could imagine staying, for a week, and then a month, and then for a very long time. There'd be immaculate waves and nothing like the crowds of Cornwall. The cold doesn't matter - in fact, it enhances the place. There are great people here, the likes of Pat Kieran, Rick Picken, Andy Bain, Chris Noble and the crew who run the Tempest Cafe on the pier. Life here might be a little harsh and bleak, but it'd be full of stoke.
But tomorrow I hit the road with Stef Harkon, John Navin and Matt Smith. We're giving a lift to St Ives surfer Tassy Swallow - good to see her here. We should be back in Cornwall by Friday afternoon, by which time I will have reluctantly handed back the excellent VW California that we've been cruising around in thanks to Kamper Hire. My son Harry tells me that there's been good surf back home, and that Saturday is looking good. More when I'm back in a normal routine, but until I have a chance to write, just this: Bernhard Ritzer, the global event director for O'Neill, promises that the Highland Open will be held here for many years to come. And Lord Thurso, who loans his land for free during the event (and never interferes with surfers who paddle out from rocks that are his, all the way to the low water mark), tells me that he loves the event and looks forward to seeing the standard of surfing on Scotland's North Shore get better and better. As one of my old boxing trainers was fond of saying, it's all good.
Yes, I have drawn level as The O'Neill Highland Open by Swatch draws to a close. This is a short post because as ever I'm juggling rushing back and forth between the hotel and the contest site (clean and solid Thurso East today) to write things, and must get back imminently for the final. My money remains on Sunny Garcia.
Anyway, how have I evened the score? Why, by surfing, of course. I had a nice, chest high wave at Melvich two days ago, sans injury too. So that was one goal pulled back. Then, today, I paddled out at the Shit Pipe. Yes, not a great name for a break, and I believe it doesn't even deserve it any more. But good name, bad name, and ill-deserved or not, I had some good waves at the Shit Pipe, a wave that both Sam Lamiroy and Stef Harkon say can be every bit as good as Thurso East. So I'm now closer than ever to surfing - at long last - Thurso East. Who knows? Maybe it'll happen tomorrow. But for now, it's definitely 2-2.
Yesterday's O'Neill Highland Open by Swatch was tough. Brims was not just rain-swept but deluged. It blew a hoolie all day and the sea was a frothing mess. The world's best surfers still - somehow - contrived to produce some great performances, though sadly both Russell Winter and Sam Lamiroy were eliminated from the contest.
But things change very quickly around here. The sun is shining and Thurso East is apparently working. I'm off to the contest site now in my nice and toasty VW California , and can't wait to see the fabled right-hander being surfed by the likes of Sunny Garcia.
Meanwhile, I had the privilege of meeting Pat Kieran yesterday. Pat was born and bred in Liverpool and is the first the man to settle permanently, in the mid-Seventies, in Thurso for its waves. He used to live a cottage overlooking the reef, in which he would also shape boards. More on Pat when I have a chance, but he very kindly showed me a letter which he sent to friends at the North West Surf Club after a few cracking Scottish sessions in the winter of 1978. Here are a couple of lines from its closing paragraphs:
Help! 1 or 2 surfers wanted to share perfect
rivermouth break, 6-12ft. Glassy peeling usually offshore at this time of year.
Location: Northern Scotland. Experience of
similar situation essential as wave is very fast and very heavy... Must
appreciate peaceful surroundings with very laid back inhabitants.
Having surfed Melvich at chest to shoulder high a couple of days ago, and as my second visit to this neck of the woods draws to a close, I can say that not a lot has changed since Kieran wrote that letter back in Christmas 1978. This is a wonderful part of the world to visit and surf, and thanks to modern wetsuits, it's not that cold. Honest.
The Point at Brims was firing this morning for The O'Neill Highland Open by Swatch. Double-overhead bombs, held up a fraction by a stiff offshore, were detonating on the slabs of Scotland's North Shore. It was even sunny, with a hint of warmth.
As I write this I'm back at my hotel, to which I returned to write up an interview with legendary surfing cinematographer Larry Haynes. Here in Thurso it has not escaped my forensic journalistic gaze that the town's fabled right hand reef break is working. Not at size, but just right for me.
Trouble is, I have to undertake more of that dread four-letter word - "work" - and am not sure that time allows me to paddle out and, at long last, try Thurso East. Then again, perhaps I'm ahead of schedule...
Meanwhile here's what Larry Haynes had to say about The Point at Brims today: "It was really gnarly out there. There are rights setting up nicely but they're alternating with big close out sets. I got worked on the inside and taken away by the rip. It's really heavy, like Backdoor Pipeline."
Now that's praise indeed, coming from a man who knows. Check out the photo gallery on the O'Neill website later for images of what, so far, has been the best surf (in a contest) that I've ever seen in the UK.
(Yes, the picture here is of yesterday's inclement conditions. It's a lot, lot better today.)
The action for the O'Neill Highland Open by Swatch is a little slow today owing to Brims being uncharacteristically lacklustre. However, things can change rapidly here so hopefully the contest will be called on again at 5.00pm. Here are a couple of nice shots from yesterday.
Meanwhile, I hear that top Welsh surfer Gwen Spurlock might be about to sue Swansea Leisure Centre over an injury she sustained while riding its new flow-rider. Apparently she suffered a serious head injury, though according to this  link the leisure centre say they've heard nothing about it. Does anyone have an update on this?
Flow-riders look deceptively perilous to me but here's some footage of one of Gwen's comrades from the Welsh surfing scene, Beth Mason, getting to grips with the one in Swansea.
The day is but young but aside from briefly getting the front nearside tyre of Kamper Hire's VW California stuck in some mud at the contest site, NOTHING HAS GONE WRONG. This remarkable turn of events was complemented by some great surfing at today's O'Neill Highland Open by Swatch. More on this soon but join me in a word of praise for Josh Hughes. The teenager from Cornwall made it all the way to Scotland's North Shore (quick question: why aren't there more Brit surfers here?) and despite looking a little over-anxious put on a creditable performance in one of the early heats. Good effort.
Meanwhile, the pictures are of Hawaiian powerhouse Sunny Sennen Garcia and Justin Mujica in the kind of barrel regularly served up by the Brims Bowl.
Today saw the action get underway at the O'Neill Highland Open. Brims delivered perfect A-frame surf with an offshore wind, allowing for plenty of cover-ups and some stand-out surfing. Perhaps the best waves were those had by 2000 World Surfing Champion Sunny Garcia. The Hawaiian paddled out pre-heat and blitzed three waves, leaving spectators suitably awestruck. On this form, Garcia's bid to re-qualify for the WCT looks to be well on course.
I can also report that although Garcia isn't exactly sure of the provenance of his middle name (Sennen), he is keen to paddle out at the surf break which is perhaps the furthest from Thurso in the entire country. "Sennen Cove? No, I didn't know that was a surfing beach. But I'd like to surf it," Garcia told me earlier.
Meanwhile, my personal battle with the Scottish roads continues. I whizzed swiftly off to what the water safety crew have dubbed 'Wade Hill', after my near-death experience while skating there on Tuesday (I promise to put the footage up soon). My plan was to skate the hill again, by way of a getting-back-on-the-bike-after-a-fall slice of psychology. As I drove along the deserted Scottish roads, my mobile phone rang. I answered it to tell my wife that I couldn't speak, for I was driving and had left my headset in Cornwall.
I must have been on the phone for all of three seconds, but in that time a police car appeared, as if by magic or, perhaps, a sinister force. I sped on (within the speed limit), wondering if the constables had witnessed this momentary and uncharacteristic contravention of the law. Needless to say, they had. They turned round and came up behind my VW California, blue lights flashing. I decided that attempting to outrun them would be ridiculous - the kind of decision only a fool would make - and so dutifully pulled over.
Result? Three points and a £60 fine.
After they'd gone, I drove on to Strathy, to skate the ill-fated hill. But I found that the lads had built a memorial at the side of the road, a cross to mark the spot of my 30mph impact. I took it as a sign, and returned, sans skating, to my hotel. What, at this rate, will happen if I paddle out and try Brims for myself? It doesn't bear thinking about. Fortunately, however, there is a significant international surfing event underway around here. It might be wise to sit on the reef (appropriately wrapped in cotton wool) and check it out.
It's a lay day here at the O'Neill Highland Open by Swatch, but I'm stoked to report that legendary Hawaiian surfer Sunny Garcia has made the (considerable) trek for the event. Readers might recall a post from a few months ago in which I mused about his middle name (his full name is Vincent Sennen Garcia). I'll find out in the next day or so what the Sennen connection is.
I'll also be posting some footage of a skate slam which happened yesterday on the perfect, super-smooth hills near Strathy. It is hilarious but, rather unfortunately, I am the casualty. As tends to be the case when you come off a skateboard at approximately 30mph, the tarmac won the day. Look out for this, for it is, as John Navin (one of the water safety crew) put it, "comedy genius."
We're here. Great to be back in Thurso. Here's the lowdown, hot off the presses.
With just a day to go before the O'Neill Highland Open presented by Swatch gets underway, things are hotting up in the remote Scottish town of Thurso.
Thurso, the home of some of the best waves in Europe, is hosting the O’Neill Highland Open for the third consecutive year. The previous two events have raised the bar of cold-water performance surfing on the World Qualifying Series, putting the icy barrels and clean, walling right-handers of Caithness firmly in the minds of the surfing cognoscenti.
Local surfing legend, Andy Bain, says that conditions will good for the 2008 Highland Open. “There is a swell coming in for Thursday or Friday,” says Bain, one of the fixtures in the small but dedicated local surfing community. “The wind should be offshore with nice weather and a five foot swell from the west. I think the contest will probably be held at Brims over the next few days. Thurso is obviously the first choice wave, but Brims picks up the swell.”
Continue reading "Thurso Hotting Up On Eve of Highland Open" »
A flying visit to Carlisle en route to the O'Neill Highland Open enables yours truly and the water safety crew to provide this guide, in a reverse order, of five top things about this fine city.
1. Stepladders.
2. The Shaha Restaurant.
3. The afore-mentioned eaterie's No Swearing policy (Stef, pictured here high on the full pipe at The Coach Shed in Liverpool, particularly liked this. As he says: "There is simply no call for swearing in public places. Or anywhere, really.").
4. The Premier Inn. It's just off Junction 44 of the M6. Its car park is an Original Skateboards skate paradise.
5. Garfield 2 features Carlise Castle, in spirit at least (we believe scenes were actually shot elsewhere, at a rival castle, but Carlisle got the name-check. No wonder, for it has a very good castle of its own).
Meanwhile, these pictures appear courtesy of Darren Burdell. The team shot shows, from left to right: John "I wasn't posing, honest") Navin, yours truly, Stef "If anyone swears, I will be very angry" Harkon, and Matt Smith. See yesterday's Save the SIMPARCH shot for a couple more top skate shots kindly sent in by Darren.
We find ourselves in Carlisle with seven hours or so to drive to Thurso tomorrow but stopped earlier at SIMPARCH state installation in Liverpool. What a place. This is an architectural installation in The Coach Shed at Greenland Street, something created to exist "between the borders of architecture, design and popular culture". What this means, in practice, is that Liverpool has been blessed, for the past few months, with a 20ft full pipe and kidney shaped bowl. They're both made of wood and are, quite simply, awesome.
Stef Harkon and Matt Smith loved every minute of this detour, as did many of North-West's long-time local skaters, including the likes of Runcorn Rich, Pete from Preston, Toby, Danny, Colin and The Professor. No wonder, for the SIMPARCH skate installation is skate heaven.
But here's the rub. Today was the last day of the installation's life in Liverpool. Tomorrow, The Coach Shed, a large warehouse on the banks of the River Mersey, will be shut to skaters.
Liverpool's skaters aren't happy about its departure. They want the council to find the money to pay for the full pipe and bowl to continue to be housed in the city, at least, if not (ideally) at The Coach Shed.
If you've skated the pipe and bowl, or if you're a skater, or if you just happen to be a fan of skating, post a comment in support of the SIMPARCH installation staying put. It's probably too late - but you never know.
Meanwhile, the O'Neill Highland Open looms and our VW California is the business. Pictures of today's skate session will appear sometime tomorrow - fortunately, another long-time North-West skater, Darren Burdell, was one of a couple of snappers there to record the action.
Here's the cover for the paperback edition of Surf Nation, due out on 2 June. OK, I know - the book's first appearance last year was in paperback. But modern publishing etiquette dictates that last summer's offering was a hardback, really. One that was cunningly disguised as a paperback. The version due out on 2 June is, inescapably, a paperback (in the real sense of the word).
It's got Robyn Davies on the cover. Why? Because, girls, the elusive yet wonderful Robyn is a person to emulate. Let's see more of you in the water.
The stoke builds as Thurso looms. The VW California is packed. The boards are on the roof. Nothing can stop us. Except Stef's quest to skate an insane bowl in Liverpool en route. This could be problematic. But meanwhile, check out Emma Vardy's show on Sunday for a line or two from yours truly and Stef Harkon about the O'Neill Highland Open.
Until then, here's the man.
"No sooner are you back from Zed's Place than you're off again."
That's what an old friend of mine said when he heard the news that I set off this coming Sunday for the O'Neill Highland Open. If ADR is reading, I'm talking about the same friend who was in danger of running riot near Biarritz last year. He's still stuck in his City job, and loathes me ever more for having manufactured a lifestyle that entails a satisfyingly regular involvement with the ocean.
Do I feel guilty? Er, no. My friend needs to plot his own Great Escape, before it's too late. Meanwhile, the forthcoming Scottish jamboree should be killer. I hit the road on Sunday morning with the three lifeguards in charge of water safety at the Highland Open: Stefan Harkon, John Navin and Matt Smith. The latter appeared in a recent issue of Carve magazine charging ultra-heavy Irish barrels somewhere near Aileens with fellow St Ives surfer Tom Lowe. While there he nearly drowned, but when I met him the other day he was wearing a natty suit and so is probably quite sensible. Nav, as he is known, is a fireman, and is therefore also clearly a dependable type. As for Stef, I've mentioned him before on these pages. He's one of the UK's first pro skaters, a fine surfer and a top athlete.
So he's reliable too. Indeed, the only member of the quartet setting sail from Land's End to Thurso - in a VW California courtesy of the kind folk at Kamper Hire - who might not be classed as totally reliable is yours truly. Apparently Al Mackinnon and Jesse Davies are still undergoing trauma counselling following their trip with me to the Orkney and Shetland Isles in January 2007.
But that was then. I haven't made a million mistakes in my life for no reason whatsoever, as if I were some kind of insane automaton blundering along like blog without words. (What is the reason for your many mistakes? I'd love to know. Ed.) No, I am now a new and improved version of my former self, prone only to conflict in the following places: garages, pubs, restaurants, back gardens, front gardens, art galleries, art houses, houses of the holy, holy wells, The Well House in Exeter, my own office, my wife's studio, London, Paris, New York, Munich, all villages in Cornwall, Essex and County Durham, the tops of skyscrapers, the depths of basements, the ends of subways and the beginnings of oceans. In short, I have seriously reformed and so very little, if not nothing, can possibly go wrong for the duration of our 10-day odyssey to the frozen north.
Talking of our odyssey, the Highland Open is centred, of course, at Thurso East. The event will move around, depending on the swell, with Brims Ness the most likely alternative venue. I doubt I'll take on Brims but I do intend (groin strain permitting) to paddle out at Thurso and show the pros a thing or two. Or, perhaps more realistically, test the rescue skills of Stef and the boys (who should be ready for action thanks to some fine, warmth-securing kit provided by Finisterre).
Enough rambling. As ever on a Thursday night, I've been training at St Just Amateur Boxing Club and sometimes the result of this is a mild dose of derangement. Apparently, indeed, the British Medical Association believes that boxing is bad for the brain. Why ever would they think that? After all, even at this juncture in a post that has run away from itself and its author, I can tell you that the said Mr Mackinnon may just have bagged a very notable British first. I think he's the first snapper from this realm to make the cover of the much-esteemed (and deservedly so) Surfer's Journal. As weathered East Anglian surfer Neil Watson says: "In an age of surf-mag saturation, when more is becoming less, I reckon the
Journal sets a high standard in photography and journalism, so all credit to Al
for making the grade with his hardcore Scottish coverage." A good point, well made - Mackinnon's piece runs to 14 pages, and is accompanied by his typically excellent photography.
That's it for now, save to say that I think Kamper Hire might be onto something. I was loaned a VW California last summer. They're great vehicles but, in truth, well beyond most surfers' budgets. In addition, if you're like me (Let us hope that very few of your readers would admit to this, and that fewer still would agree. Ed) you might be stupidly attached to a fast but fading car, one that you don't want to replace with a practical but ever-so-slightly boring van (i.e, one within your budget). So what's the answer, for a marathon drive to Scotland or a summer's hike down the west coast of France? You hire one from www.kamperhire.co.uk, and Bob's your uncle.
Photos of Thurso looking awesome courtesy of Al, while that of Sam Lamiroy in the kind of Scottish barrel regularly served up at the O'Neil Highland Open is thanks to Sharpy.
My good friend Clare from The Times alerts me, as I'm enjoying Clerks 2 on Sky, to this piece of Shane Dorian magic on the good old BBC.
Please check out the BBC link, and enjoy. I'd post the footage here but there doesn't seem to be a way to embed the link. Perhaps the BBC should be more generous, and make it easy, like everyone else in the Web 2.0 world? For here - sans the usual mainstream-journo-meets-surfing errors in the BBC's commentary - is a slice of similar Chopes perfection, courtesy of Mr Dorian.
If anyone has two minutes, please post a comment letting me know this: did you bother to go to the BBC site, or did you content yourself with the easy option, right here in front of you? Or maybe you did both? Let me know. It's for the greater good...
Nice work by Mark Harris to claim first place at last weekend's Saltrock Open, held in testing conditions at Croyde Bay. The result puts the Newquay surfer at the top of the leaderboard in this year's UK Pro Surf Tour. Nicole Morgan bagged the spoils in the Women's event, while Bude's Reubyn Ash won the Relentless Money Move with an air reverse.
See this link for more on the contest, including the Pro Junior and Grom events. Picture of Mark Harris courtesy of Lucia Griggi/PST.
There's an interesting post on Simon Jayham's site about the rise and rise of Stand Up Paddle Surfing in the UK. Check out this link, which recounts what I think is fair to describe as Simon's ambivalent view of the SUP revolution.
I've only seen a couple of SUPs here in the far west, though while in Barbados recently ran into a squadron at Freights on one occasion. Well, there were five of them, compared with some 25 surfers, but these guys are on (very) big boards and they make the average longboarders' ability to catch a wave early look non-existent. They get on everything beyond early, and once they're there, you really don't want to mess with them.
At Freights, two of the guys I saw on SUPs were very impressive. But they, and their mates, severely reduced my and the other surfers' wave counts while they were in the water. Back in the UK, I stopped in Exmouth on the way home, and saw long-time surfer Tids out on Pole Sands, enjoying a SUP. Now the thing about this was that there was no one else anywhere near Tids (who's been thoroughly stoked by playing around with his SUP), but what happens, as Simon asks, when SUPs start appearing in crowded summer line-ups?
When I interviewed Laird Hamilton last summer in Biarritz, he couldn't say enough good things about SUPs, and they're clearly getting more popular. But could this debate make the Sennen Cove leash v no leash longboard controversy seem like a fireside chat by comparison?
Or is it? Sennen Cove looked marginally better than this a couple of hours ago - but only marginally. My wave count, and that of the few other surfers dedicated, or perhaps foolish, enough to paddle out was not exactly high.
I can also report that surfing with a groin strain is not a lot of fun. Every wave you catch, you wonder just how badly it'll hurt when you pop up. This has a negative effect on the desire to pop up in the first place.
But enough moaning. The last thing on my mind was what it might be like in Barbados, for as we all know, a messy wave is better than no wave. Isn't it?
A while ago I was stoked to see that this humble blog had made it to 9th (in over 4,500 sports blogs) in the sports category of www.blogged.com. I'm similarly pleased to see that Wikio rate it 6th in a list of the most influential UK sports blogs.
Who'd have thought it? Me, influential? I have trouble influencing my kids, let alone anyone else. But armed with these rankings, I'm off to make them do the washing up. Times are changing in the Wade household. I'm a man of influence!
Check this link for the evidence. (But wait, what's that I hear? "Shut up Dad, we're going skating." Oh dear...)
A week has elapsed since my return to the UK. I've surfed but once, for it has been resolutely flat, but gradually former routines have re-established themselves and I feel happy to be back. How, indeed, can I moan, being lucky enough to live in the far west of Cornwall?
Well, I could moan about my groin strain, something which is now so acute that I can't sleep properly. I could lament my obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, which forces me to keep training even when injured. I could question the overt macho posturing of The Bra Boys, but ought to point out to my US readers that it opens in a number of select theatres tonight (see this link for a trailer). I could also, like Radio Free Mike, condemn the seemingly ever-increasing speedboat rudeness seen by Severn Bore surfers.
But I'm a glass half full character, so this post's watchword will be optimism. Here are eight reasons to be stoked.
1. The O'Neill Highland Open. Yes, it's back in just under two weeks. This is both the coldest pro surfing event in the world, and one of the best. I'll be there and will update this blog every day with coverage of what goes down.
2. Huck Magazine. Belatedly I've caught up with the latest issue. It's as cool as ever and features an interview with Jack Johnson. I confess I'm looking forward to the May issue already - its cover feature is an interview with Tom Curren by yours truly.
3. The Surfer's Path. Again, something I've got to late thanks my stint in paradise (and to Sam, who commented recently, I didn't see any gangs or crack in Barbados at all - honest). Great interview with John Milius.
4. Sea Fever. This is a gem of a film about Irish surfing. It deserves a longer review and I'll post one soon. However, there's some good stuff about it on the Surfing Genie site.
5. Boxing. Yes, I trained again at St Just ABC last night. OK, not a great idea with a groin strain but boxing keeps me away from the Wrecking Machine demons. Boxing also seems to work for the local surfers in the Sennen Cove area, many of whom turn up for training which itself is often taken by Mick Jackson, a surfer and the father of Christian, one of The Cove's young rippers.
6. The Sennen Surf Cadets. The Cadets start again in a month or so. If you live in West Penwith and would like your kids to be part of this superb local club, get in touch with Dave Muir on 01736 871561 as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
7. Surf GSD's Junior Academy, which starts next week at Caswell Bay, Swansea. The Academy runs Monday to Friday after school and into the summer, and has produced many fine surfers, including the likes of Gwen Spurlock and Beth Mason. Contact Simon Jayham here.
8. The Gill. One of UK's surfing's legends. I have him in my sights for Pit Pilot. Check this link for what he's been up to lately.
That's it for now. See below for more on the O'Neill Highland Open and put the dates in your diary - 23 to 30 April.
Continue reading "Sea Feverish Things" »
I've mentioned Zed Layson a lot in the past three weeks or so. No wonder, because I stayed at one of his apartments at Surfers' Point recently. But who is he? What makes him tick? And should anyone looking to surf in Barbados try to hook up with him? What follows is a portrait of Zed, thanks to whom two important things in my life have happened: one, I got the idea for Surf Nation, and two, I survived the Soup Bowl (OK, it was only head high and on the small side for the likes of Zed, but for me it was an achievement).
"Life is like the Soup Bowl," says Zed Layson, 37. "There's an edge but you've just got to gun it and trust the wave. If you do, you'll be OK."
Thoughts and theories about a myriad of different topics abound when talking to Zed. This is a man who, besides being one of the best surfers in the Caribbean, has turned his hand to just about every job under the sun. He's run a restaurant, been a supermarket owner, operated a car valeting business and sold surf clothes. As a surfer, he's competed against the best in the world - literally. He narrowly lost to Kelly Slater after a five wave count-back in one contest at his beloved Soup Bowl, but says "I lost interest in contest surfing when I was 20. I wanted to do other things with my life."
Zed has certainly done that, but an ever-present ambition was to run a beginners' surfing centre on Barbados. His dream was realised in November 2004 with the opening of Zed's Surfing Adventures at Surfers' Point on the south-east corner of the island. "I'd been working in a watersports business when one day someone asked me to teach him how to surf. I took him to Surfers' Point and after the lesson karma played its part. I met David Giddens."
Karma is, as Zed puts it, "my king, my queen and my God." The meeting with Giddens - who knew Zed's mother Lynn - proved to be of the best kind of karma. "We got talking and one thing led to another. I now lease premises from David. Thanks to him, I was able to open up a business teaching people to surf. I'd always wanted to do this, on the one hand because it's great seeing people stoked from learning how to surf and on the other because of the danger aspect. Too many people turn up here and paddle out at breaks like the Soup Bowl when they shouldn't be there. I wanted to teach them to surf on safe, mellow waves."
Fast forward three years, and business is booming. "We're busy all year round," says Zed. "We have over 100 boards in stock." His clients arrive from the UK, the US, Germany and France as well as a number of other countries. At Surfers' Point, they will find a break that almost always has a wave, one which on its day can be a perfect, peeling, head-high left-hander. Nearby there are another two top quality surf spots - Freights and South Point. The former is suitable for surfers of every level and though mainly a left, can deliver exquisite, seemingly endless rights too. South Point is a reef break of slightly more forbidding reputation. Elsewhere on the island, Barbados cements its reputation for world class surf with breaks for experienced-to-expert surfers only such as the Soup Bowl, Duppies, Tropicana and Parlors. "Barbados is a perfect place for surfers of all levels," says Zed, "but it comes into its own for beginners. The water is warm and there are easy, forgiving waves such as Surfers' Point and Brandon's as well as a break like Freights, which caters for beginners right through to experts."
Zed speaks with the quintessential Bajan lilt and gives the impression of being laid back, at ease with everyone and everything and wholly unhurried in everything he does. This is true, but there is more to the man. Behind his ready smile and charisma, Zed is tireless, energetic, perhaps even restless; perceptive, astute, always interested in people and the world. He agrees that "I've always been an entrepreneur at heart. I left school at 16 and have always been doing this and that to make a living." He once managed to sell an engine-free VW Camper Van, the profits from which went to helping support his family - and the purchase of a new board. Avowedly non-materialistic - "when money goes, life starts" is a favourite saying - Zed will spend money on surfing. "A new board was the one thing that always struck me as worth it," he says.
Indeed, Zed shares something in common with many other high achieving men - an uneasy relationship with his father. "I credit my mother with everything," he says, his father having left the family when Zed and his sister Melinda (who helps him run the business at Surfers' Point) were small children. It is clear that his father's disappearance still rankles, but not in a way to make Zed appear bitter or resentful. "I'm just curious," he says. "I'd like to know how he decided to abandon his wife and a young family. What goes on when someone makes that kind of decision?"
Zed's drive and determination to make something of his life has been assisted by a lifelong spiritual sensibility. He narrates a number of anecdotes about key moments when "things have happened," not least when he once woke up in the middle of the night, dreaming of lines from the Bible to the effect that 'the wrath of God will descend on the errant man who refuses to change his ways.' It wasn't Zed who needed to reform, but a friend with whom he'd lost touch. How, then, to convey his dream to the friend? "I couldn't for the life of me think of how to get the message to my friend, whose image was in the dream. We hadn't been in touch for 10 years or so and things had been left a little awkwardly. But a day later my computer broke, and someone told me that my old friend was in the business of fixing PCs. So I called him. He came over and we got talking. I told him about my dream and it was as if a weight had lifted from his shoulders. He told me he'd been doing far too many drugs and that his life was a mess. Next day he checked himself into rehab and sorted himself out."
While not overtly religious, spirituality and a firm moral compass are fundamental to Zed's way of life. "There are two things you should be - faithful and honest. For me that means that if I say I'm going to do something, I'll do it."
His love of surfing has seen Zed paddle out in places as diverse as Mexico, Venezuela, the US, Brazil, Jamaica, Italy, Trinidad and Tobago and even England. "I was in England with a good friend of mine - Sam Bleakley. We went for a surf at his local break. To be honest, I found it way too cold." Zed has also travelled to Haiti with Bleakley, and is contemplating another surf trip with him, to Sierra Leone. However, with marriage to his fiancee Claudia (whom he met during a surf lesson) in a few months, he reckons he might have to stay put and concentrate on wedding plans. "We'll see," he says.
What, then, has surfing given to Zed? "Peace of mind," is his unhesitating reply. "When I'm stressed, I'm happy that I have the ability to release everything through surfing." He looks forward to surfing some more - "one day, for sure" - with Bleakley, and can list a who's who of well-known British and Irish surfers as friends. "Russell Winter, Ben Baird, Richie Fitzgerald, John McCarthy, Pete Robinson, Elliot Dudley, Sam Lamiroy, Ben Skinner and Roger Mansfield have all surfed here in Barbados. Their standard is really, really good."
Zed runs his business with administrative help from Claudia and Melinda, with two instructors, Christian and Junior, working full-time. Both are excellent surfers, with Junior also rated as one of the island's best kite-surfers. Two other instructors, Bodie and Greg, also help out from time to time, and Zed's son from his first marriage, Jacob, will often be in the water with the surf school. At 12, Jacob already looks to have inherited his father's talent, and his nephew, 10-year-old Tyler, is no slouch either.
What to say, in conclusion, about Zed Layson? For me, two visits to Barbados convince me that he's one of life's gentlemen. I don't mean in an antiquated colonial fashion - far from it. I mean in the sense that he's warm, welcoming, trusting and kind. I can think of nowhere better to go for a surfing holiday, whether as an outright beginner, intermediate surfer or expert. And if you're thinking of taking the family, go for it - they'll have the time of their lives hanging out with the local crew at Surfers' Point.
Some readers might not be aware of the inspiration for Surf Nation. The idea came to me when I was sitting in the line-up at Surfers' Point two and a half years ago, on a beautiful clean day with only a turtle in the water for company. Read on below for the first chapter of Surf Nation - called, appropriately enough, 'Zed's Place' - for more on Zed Layson.
Continue reading "Portrait of a Surfer: Zed Layson" »
When cheeky lad Tony returns from Indo (one day), we'll be putting together our very own Land's End homage to Original Skateboards, with the emphasis on Mad Dog Hill. Meanwhile, here's a glimpse of what they're all about.
Yes, it's still flat just a couple of hours after my last post. I've just filed something for Pit Pilot and am still wearing my Homeys. I wish, in fact, that I was clothed head to foot in some kind of all-purpose Homey insulation material, because then I might have been protected from this link on the Deputy Dog website.
In a quiet and lacklustre pre-skate moment, I encountered the world's Top 10 Physically Modified People. I am not sure I will ever be the same again. Look away if you are easily scared and say this unto yourself: however aggro your local line-up might be, at least none of this lot are in it. Are they?
Here's something to wile away those dull moments in the office. It's called Legend of Surf and may well have a negative impact on your productivity.
I'm playing it wearing a pair of Homeys, a nice pair of slippers from a company that doesn't want me to do "anything that requires any effort whatsoever." I quite like things that require effort, so I'm not totally sure about this bit of branding, but I do know that my Homeys are keeping my tootsies nice and warm in the coldest spring temperatures I can remember for ages.
I'm also checking out this Cooler mag cover shoot podcast featuring Sophie Hellyer, which is a fine piece of footage.
But now it's time to stop playing Legend of Surf and watching Sophie - and get back to work.
Zed Layson could never be accused of not keeping himself busy. He started up a blog just as I was leaving Barbados. Check out this link for some killer waves.
Photograph courtesy of Kirstin Prisk.
This footage arrives from Pete at the British Surfing Museum, in his ITV Local role.
My Bajan friends should note that here in the UK, we're as surprised as they might be to see snow on the beach in spring (especially one in southern England).
They might also ask, "Do you really go surfing in conditions like that?"
The answer is a resounding "Don't be daft. It's flat!"
The revised date for The Saltrock Open is approaching fast and it can’t come quickly enough for the stars of UK surfing.
Top names including Alan Stokes, Mark Harris, Nicole Morgan and last year’s Saltrock Open winner Sam Lamiroy are counting the days until the first event of the UK Pro Surf Tour, to be held at Croyde this weekend. Lamiroy, from Newcastle, went on to take the 2007 championship (which he added to his 2003 title), so is eager to defend his crown and claim his hat trick. Entries for this event have also been received from South Africa, Australia and Brazil.
The Saltrock Open was scheduled to be held over Easter weekend but was postponed due to lack of swell. Charts are looking much hopeful for the new dates of 12th – 13th April so the organisers have everything ready and raring to go.
The event will begin on the morning of 12th April and the winner should be crowned late afternoon on 13th.
Relentless energy drink will be not only providing refreshments for all the top athletes competing but also a prize of £250 for the Biggest Aerial of the contest. Christian Surfers will also be on site providing food for the competitors and raising awareness of Surf Relief UK and their mission to help disadvantaged and disabled children enjoy surfing.
As usual, this year’s contest will be celebrated on Saturday night with a party from 7.30pm in The Manor in Croyde.
For further information please contact Dave Reed on 01637 854854 or dave@uksurftour.com, also visit the website www.bpsauktour.com. You can also email Evo Management: martin@evomanagement.co.uk. Photograph of Sam Lamiroy courtesy of Lucia Griggi.
Following fresh fresh revelations in the News of the World to the effect that powerful car person Bad Max Mosley knew all along that the Chelsea basement into which he strayed was a torture chamber, reports just in suggest that Troma Films have RULED OUT any remake of its classic surfploitation fest Surf Nazis Must Die starring Mosley.
A source said: "Troma were initially intrigued by Mosley's suggestion that Surf Nazis Must Die be remade and set entirely within a Chelsea basement, but after careful consideration of all the available evidence have decided to shelve the project. The lack of surf in Chelsea was a factor."
Psychoanalysts the world over continue meanwhile to ponder why Mosley went on the offensive by both threatening to sue The News of the World and putting himself forward for the lead role in Surf Nazis Must Die: The Sequel. Speaking from his couch in Wisconsin, Professor Dwayne Formica (Jnr) hypothesized that Mosley was suffering from an acute form of the Spitzer Syndrome: "This occurs when a rich and powerful man is undone by his predilection for high risk sex and yet, in the face of a barrage of calls for his resignation, decides not only to tough it out but to seek salvation through the spiritual purity of surfing. In Mosley's case, attempting to cast himself - in whatever role, whether active or passive - in a new version of Surf Nazis Must Die may actually be a cry for help. What is his family history, I wonder?"
The surfing industry was said to closing ranks against Mosley. "He is far from the natural choice for the lead role in Surf Nazis Must Die: The Sequel," said renowned surfer and shaper Alan Orange. "At least some of the actors in the original could surf but I've never even seen Mosley in the water, let alone shredding 6ft Leven." The head of a global surf co, who did not wish to be named still less appear in compromising pictures in the media, went further: "Mosley should give up all thoughts of surfing and concentrate on what he knows best - cars."
But local surfers at Sennen Cove took a more charitable view. "If Max wants to ride a few waves that's a matter for him," said one, before adding: "Who is he anyway?"
Somewhat belatedly given my Bajan sojourn, I learn from the excellent Surf Biz News site that Californian line-ups might be taking on a rather raunchier hue than usual thanks to Wallin Surfboards, an Orange County surfboard manufacturer which has done a deal with Playboy to make the first ever line of Playboy surfboards.
Wallin has been in business since 1991 and is a contender for the Noisiest Website in the World award (check the site - I jest not). The company will be selling long and shortboards in 30 styles featuring variants of Playboy's iconic imagery. The cost per board is between $600 and $2,000 but Wallin owner John Levandoski doesn't envisage producing boards that will feature actual playmates, even if they're as elegant and right on as Holly Madison here. "We want to do something more classy," he told the OC Register.
Speaking on behalf of Playboy, Sarah Haney, the brand's vice president of licensing, said: "The Playboy brand has long represented a lifestyle that speaks to the aspirational values of the good life. Entering the surf category has been a natural extension of the brand, merging one of the world’s most recognized brands with a favorite pastime sport."
Which is all well and good. But would you ride a board that looks like this? Surf Biz News says that Orange County surfers aren't sure, and this post alludes to what some will say is the subtext: the ever-increasing use of the humble surfboard as a branding tool rather than item of sporting equipment. 
Still stoked from my Bajan sojourn, I escaped from the many and various work tasks on my desk for a surf at Sennen Cove yesterday lunchtime. Driving down Cove Hill, I couldn't determine whether there were any waves or not, for all was shrouded in mist, veering helpfully to fog. However, the infallible Greg Martin had emailed me earlier to say that there would indeed be some surf, and he was right. This I realised when I walked to the water's edge, for yes, somewhere out there in the gloom 3ft surf was rolling in.
I paddled out with Harry and one of his friends, Mark. I admire Mark for he surfs, even in winter, without boots. Harry and I were frozen within seconds of entering the water. This time it wasn't brain freeze but a sense of one's fingers being about to drop off because they'd frozen and cracked. However, once out the back the decision to paddle out was vindicated. The cold dissipated, or, at least, we pretended it was warm, and had some very nice right-handers in a relatively uncrowded (for the April holidays) line up. Adjusting to a shortboard (even quite a long one, in my case) after riding longboards in Barbados (save for the Soup Bowl session) was not all that easy, and nor was surfing with a groin strain, aggravated by hours of sitting cramped on a plane, much fun. However, despite the inevitable bungling I have the memory of a few good rides as I write this. And for once, an impending London trip (for work and to witness the ongoing awakening of QPR, English football's sleeping giant) doesn't seem so bad. I can rest and return to the fray next week, hopefully without feeling a twinge of pain on every take-off.
And so to the question I promised I'd answer once back amid this grey and ancient land. Andy Martin stunned the surfing world - well, a lot of Brit surfers anyway - by his assertions last summer that there was no surf worthy of the name around Britain or Ireland or, if there was was any, that it was too cold to bother with anyway. He subsequently back-tracked a little, conceding that there were some good waves every now and then, but appears not to have revised a vow that he made some years ago: that he would never take his clothes off to go surfing in this country again.
Having just surfed for two weeks in Barbados, I've had a slice of overseas surfing paradise the like of which last came my way when I was 22 and in Australia and Bali. And I confess - my twat cap experience of a couple of months ago made me desperate for some warm water surfing (and slightly worried that Andy was right). But what do I think, when I compare surfing in Barbados with surfing here in Cornwall?
It's obvious. Only a lunatic would choose foggy, freezing Sennen Cove in April over surfing Freights, in boardshorts, in Barbados. But here's the thing. I don't live in Barbados, and though I find myself thinking of how I might one day be able to do so, the reality is that I'm going to be here for the foreseeable future. Just like all of you Brit surfers out there, reading this. To say 'No' to surfing while we're here, because the waves aren't as consistent or as warm as those in Barbados, seems daft. Better to paddle out, curse the inconsistency and lament one's eternal mistakes than clock in overseas once or twice a year. Doing this ensures, just as in my case yesterday, that your surfing stoke is a contemporaneous, if cold, part of your life.
(Bet you wish you were still in Barbados really. Ed.)
Pics of a strangely familiar surfer, at a strangely familiar break, courtesy of Greg Martin.
Hot on the high heels of his apparent participation in Nazi fetish orgy, FIA president Max Mosley is understood to be in talks with Troma Entertainment about a remake of Troma's all-time classic slice of surfploitation, Surf Nazis Must Die.
Mosley, hitherto not known for his acting skills, is understood to have approached Troma in the wake of revelations in the News of the World to the effect that he delivers a fine line in WW2-themed S&M.
A pal says that Mosley is not one to bend to the outrageous slings, arrows and whips of anyone, least of all the world's press. "Bad Max won't let a prank video with a number of card-carrying aficionados of basement sex ruin his life, just because no one present brought their equity cards," said the friend, who would only be named on condition that she was paid much more than this blog can afford. "He will rise again, as he has shown he can do. His first step is the approach to Troma."
While some observers feel that Mosley would be well advised to keep a low profile, perhaps by way of wearing a disguise for a few weeks (maybe even dressing as a woman and speaking in a foreign language), the powerful car person has gone on the offensive. It is understood that he will contend that Surf Nazis Must Die is not the world's worst film but a critique of the decay in morality in late-twentieth century California, one which offers a searing analysis of what some pyschoanalysts are calling the the Spitzer syndrome.
"This occurs when rich and powerful men have an urge to self-destruct through expensive sex, only to realise that surfing or, at least, regular surf-related adrenaline fixes could have saved their careers," said Professor Von Paulus de Gill of West Wales. The Professor's controversial theory is endorsed by at least one eminent surfing magazine editor, ADR of The Surfer's Path. Speaking from his home in paradise, ADR said "If it is true that Mr Mosley is seeking salvation through surfing, this is no surprise. However, I would question whether Surf Nazis Must Die is the right way into surfing. Far better for him to subscribe to my magazine and then, once he's suitably stoked, take some lessons at his local friendly surf school."
But Mosley's pal said that "time waits for no man - and anyway, there are no surf schools in London." She insisted that the red-blooded thespian believed that Surf Nazis Must Die was deserving of a remake, with the action to be confined solely to a Chelsea basement. "Max feels that he is the man to take this project by the horns," said Sharon (for it is she). "He even has a twist on the original, with the cast to feature FIVE women in the roles previously taken by male actors."
A spokesperson from Troma said that the company regularly hosted parties for people who had still not got over Surf Nazis Must Die or, indeed, any of its other films. "We will listen sympathetically to what Mr Mosley has to say, as we do with everyone who has ever rented, seen, heard or been proximate to one of our films," said Sharon. "As for a remake, the video evidence is inconclusive but yes, he seems to have all the right credentials. He could go far - but how far? That is the question."
Meanwhile, Radio Free Mike is coming to a beach near you to research a new book on surfing. His views on the Mosley/Troma development are not known - but if you see him, do talk to him. He writes a mean blog.
I'm back in England's grey and repellent land. Actually, it's not so bad but hanging around at Gatwick for a couple of hours this morning, waiting for our luggage to materialise, did convince me that we, as a populace, severely lack the general dudedom of the citizens of Barbados. So many Brits look miserable. We're so uptight and unchilled, so aggressive and obsessed with money, so materialistic and intent only on our place in the rat race. It's depressing.
Here are a few shots of the people the Wade clan were privileged to spend time with over the last couple of weeks. Above, from left, are Christian, a hotshot free surfer if ever I saw one; Moo, who sometimes resembles a pirate and is allegedly a bad influence (but a very fine chef); Zed Layson, about whom more soon; and yours truly. I'm looking happy for this last day photo but was actually fairly downcast to be leaving and was doing my best to look jolly. Also, after some 25 surfs in 13 days, I'd just come in from possibly the worst of the lot. Always the way. Always my way.
Here's another shot of some stray British writer pretending to be happy as he gets ready to leave paradise and Zed, with another of the latter's instructors, Junior. Like Christian, a top surfer and a top bloke. Not too many of his ilk at Gatwick earlier.
Then there's a shot of the Groms - my sons Harry and Elliot playing chess with Jacob, Zed's son (who's showing every sign of having inherited his father's talent in the water), and young Tyler, another surfer and the son of Melinda, Zed's sister (shown below, not really smoking; incidentally, Melinda is one of the kindest souls I've met).
 And - a wave. In Barbados. Is it good to be back? I'll answer that tomorrow.
Here are a few shots from yesterday's modest Soup Bowl session.
Harry and I were stoked to paddle out and catch a few waves at this world class wave. Zed Layson had us up early and over there by 7.00am. Conditions were onshore with head high sets coming through. I say 'head high' but as anyone who knows the Soup Bowl will confirm, the place has a habit of delivering outsize monster waves from nowhere, even when small.
So it was yesterday. I got nailed a couple of times by the pitching, vertical takeoff on waves that reared up out of the Atlantic blue and, initially at least, found the experience of being in the Soup Bowl line-up more than a little intimidating. But small waves did come through, and Harry and I went for them, as shown here. Meanwhile Zed and one of his instructors, Christian, demonstrated the kind of surfing to which we aspire (and which Harry has a lot more chance than me of emulating).
All in all it was a fantastic experience to paddle out, take one or two beatings, get some waves and return in one piece to Surfers' Point. We'll definitely be back for more. |
