Killer Shot of Tassy Swallow

Here's a fine photograph if ever I saw one. It's by Sharpy and is of St Ives grom Tassy Swallow. Nice work.

PS Coming soon - the Top 10 "it's not tragic to die doing something you love" ways to die. I've been thinking about this a lot. Must be my age (42 and six and a half weeks).

Comments

[Kate]

Awesome picture - great photographer.

[alf alderson]

Nothing at all to do with the pic, but here's a moan for you Alex.

I was at an SAS presentation in St David's last night, during which I found that they have 7,000 members in the UK.

That, frankly, is feckin pathetic as far as UK surfers are concerned - that fewer than 5 per cent of the country's surfers can be bothered to support SAS says a lot for our so called commitment to cleaning up our environment, particularly when you consider that every single bit of gear we use is dereived from petrochemicals and we invariably use a car to get to the surf...

And if you take into account the hordes of wannabes that will be flocking to the coast with their pop outs next week that percentage figure becomes even smaller.

It also embarrases me to report that the turnout from the N Pembs crew was bloody abysmal. Those of you who couldn't be arsed to come along should be ashamed of yourselves - it's not as if you even had to miss a good swell to attend.

N Pembs surfers - quite possibly the biggest slack arses in the UK.

[Sam]

Surely, Alex to die young is always, always, always tragic.

[Barry]

Quite surprised to hear Alf's thoughts on 'Wannabes' and Cornwall in general. I bought his Learn To Surf book, and yes, I do ride a BIC pop out. Does this make me a wannabe? I surf for the enjoyment and don't seem to hardbour the resentment that Alf has for sections of the surfing community. I say, if you ride waves for the enjoyment of it, why resent people because of the boards they ride or where they come from? If this makes me a wannabe fine - I wannabe a surfer and I wannabe enjoying it. And yes, I'm a member of SAS!

[Doz]

I thought Alf was happy sitting in his corner of the world...
"Seems to me all the politics is in Cornwall/competition surfing...
Stay in the backwaters and surf purely for pleasure and you can avoid it all." Surf purely for pleasure, not worry about the SAS, BSA etc.
Nice hijacking of a post about a great photo anyway...

[alf alderson]

Wow, I'd better start defending myself!

First, the wannabes/popout remark - can't see where I'm showing 'resentment' there Barry - it's more irritation that so few of the vast numbers that will be appearing on the coast any time now support a sound organisation like SAS.

I guess it's a lot more apparent to those of us who live on the coast just how many aspiring surfers there are inland when Bank Holidays come around - here in Pembs we'll see the numbers in the water go up tenfold if there's good surf over a holiday weekend. Yet its clear that very few of these people - whether they be on pop outs, belly boards or just splashing around in the shallows - are behind SAS despite all the good work they do to keep clean the seas in which we all play.

Nowt wrong with BIC pop outs either mate - I have been known to play on one myself from time to time. That is simply an 'observation' - these are the boards most likely to be used by visitors.

So, on to the 'politics' issue.
The environment is inevitably entwined with politics these days Doz whether we like it or not - and maybe if politicians procrastinated less and acted more on the various issues we'd have more time for them.

Politics, politicians and their machinations - whether surf oriented or more mainstream - one can try and avoid. The environment one can't - we're all part of it...

[Archie]

Go Tass ! What a great shot and a brilliant duck-dive. More, more !

[Ryan Sheppard]

Didnt know there as many N Pembs bodyboarders Alf! I was planning on attending but couldn't, I am however a SAS member and upport them where I can so that comment cannot betrue of all of us.

[alf alderson]

Course it ain't Ryan - but there are a few who it IS true of (you can probably guess who they are!)

[Aged Crone]

While I'm not sure you meant your comments to come across the way they did, I can see exactly why they were taken the way they were. It is a fact that not everyone is lucky enough to live by the coast, so by definition that makes them visitors. It did sound a bit sniffy and condescending to equate visitors with wannabes, and wannabes with pop-outs. Given that not everyone's an expert and not every wave is a big one, what's so wrong with a pop-out or people wanting to learn/get better on one? I was definitely all the more surprised given you write about learning to surf, then gave the impression that you'd rather they didn't do it in your manor. Is that NIMBYism or perhaps it's NIMLU - Not In My Line Up?
Also a bit frustrating was the whole visitor/wannabe/pop-out equals scumbag litter lout analogy. You can live inland and know to clean up after yourself, recycle and compost, even if, like me, you own an NSP, are fairly new to surfing at a clearly ludicrously advanced age and may always be a bit of a rubbish wannabe - if not a rubbish chucker.