WINTER WARMER…
November 21, 2007 on 1:19 pm | In Surfing | No Comments
WINTER WONDERLAND
Well, what a load of old bollocks…
The clocks have gone back, the bitter blasts of winter are whipping beneath my towel as I change on the beach and the birds are all gone south (well, those with any sense are).
For winter is here.
And that’s rubbish.
Or is it?
Let’s think about this a bit. It certainly was rubbish a few years ago once the leaves had departed their branches and the woolly hat had taken up residence on the car dashboard.
I’m thinking about the time when a winter ‘steamer’ lived up to its name about as effectively as Timberland’s ‘waterproof’ boots do – i.e. expect the opposite of what the term implies and you won’t be disappointed.
These days, winter wetties are a different prospect altogether, which for Scottish surfers in particular is very good news.
Get the right kit and you really can get in one or even two decent sessions a day without the need of reporting to the local A&E department at the end of the day to have your extremities defrosted.
And, of course, winter means bigger and more consistent swells. Which can only be a GOOD THING. If you’re made from the same mould as the likes of Chris Noble of Thurso it means you can feed your cravings for big drops and long, cold hold downs; and if you’re a weed like me it means you can surf smaller, lesser-known breaks that never work on the lacklustre swells of summer.
The cold blasts of winter will also reduce the numbers in the water, whilst with more waves to choose from thanks to bigger swells everyone gets spread out amongst the breaks, the result of which is more waves for one and all. Which yet again can only be a GOOD THING.
In fact when I think about it I’ve had plenty of short one- or two-hour winter sessions in which I’ve surfed more quality waves than any all day session in mid-summer.
I’m not saying winter is the best season to be a surfer because at the end of the day it’s still cold in the water once we’re on the wrong side of the autumn equinox, but it could be a lot worse.
Indeed, Scottish surfers probably have the best deal of any
UK surfers once winter arrives. They get consistent, empty waves, it’s not actually that much colder than Pastieland (Cornwall) and should it all get just that bit too frigid – well that probably means it’s snowing so you can head to the hills and surf some snow instead.
Try doing that on Dartmoor – its rubbish. I know. I’ve tried…
PS If anyone can give me a logical and justified reason for putting the clocks back I’ll be eternally grateful. Someone tells me it’s so farmers can get up earlier to milk the cows and builders can do likewise to lay the bricks. Well I’m not sure about bricks but I do know that cows can’t tell the time so it’s all a huge mystery to me…
Alf Alderson
http://www.alfalderson.co.uk
Multi-award-winning freelance journalist and author of Surf UK - the definitive guide to surfing in Britain.
November Waves at Sand End
November 15, 2007 on 10:53 am | In Surfing | No Comments
It is always great to feel that all opportunities for outdoor fun are being exploited, especially when it comes to catching a wave. Although the nearer the winter gets the less inviting the water seems, in reality it is actually warmer now than it was in May. Bearing this in mind as we woke up to snowy hills in Aviemore on Saturday morning, we tentatively decided to get ourselves to the Moray coast for a November wave. Fully kitted up in our 5mm wetsuits, boots, gloves and hoods we were sure we would be fine against the chill wind and North Sea.
We arrived at Sand End, just along the coast from Cullen and Buckie in the pouring rain and a howling gale. We did have second thoughts but we knew we did not have much time as it is early dark these November nights and it was already nearly 3pm. A swift glace at the waves told us it would be worth it and off we went, out into the wild storm. We had a great time. In fact it seemed to be a lot warmer and calmer in the water than on the shore. We got a good quota of waves and before we knew it were surfing in the near dark, pretty hard core if I do say so myself!
I love the fact that in Scotland you can easily come face to face with the native wildlife on your way to the beach or the hills or wherever you are headed. This majestic stag lives on the road from Helmsdale to the North coast. It is rutting season so he was out strutting his stuff. We were not sure if he had been impressing the ladies but we were certainly impressed.
Lesley McKenna
http://www.chunkyknit.com
Professional snowboarder, film maker and ambassador for Visitscotland. All sorts of outdoor sports from skiing to mountain biking and now mixes her time on the Snowboard World Cup Tour with time in Scotland doing these sports.
Scotland in autumn
November 8, 2007 on 11:10 pm | In Uncategorized | No Comments
We spent the weekend swimming the A9.
The reason was Anna had a gig with Dougie Maclean at his Amber Festival in Pitlochry, so we took the kids and had a road trip. An early start, Friday, saw us in Inverness at lunch time and into the Jarvis Ramada Hotel and investigating the first pool. Nice not the warmest but a good jacuzzi.
Saturday pack and drive and down to the Scotlands Hotel in Pitlochry and into the pool. A little colder but the staff were very friendly. A nice pool although the changing rooms left room for improvement.
Saturday night, Anna did the gig and with early rising kids, Sunday, I went to the pool after breakfast, so Anna could have a lay in. The start of the two pool day.
The drive back up to Inverness, we didn’t take just the A9, we took bits of the old road.
The end of the road Sunday was pool two in the Palace Hotel, warm and relaxing. A room with a view of Inverness Castle.
Monday morning, revisit the pool to make sure it was that good and the winding road back to Ullapool with three exhuasted children.
Tim Pickering
http://www.canoehebrides.com
Living in the world's biggest adventure playground - The Outer Hebrides
CanoeHebrides.com - Sea kayaking Expeditions
BikeHebrides.com -Quality Mountain Bike Hire
Crowded House
November 7, 2007 on 4:37 pm | In Surfing | 1 Comment
As it should be - one man and his board
CROWDED HOUSE
Alf Alderson offers a few tips on how to deal with crowded breaks.
It was half term last week, which means my local break was almost summer-busy – yes, the surfer’s pet hate, the crowd, was back in town.
How to deal with this scourge of the waves that is the question…
Well, I’ll happily admit to dealing with it a few years ago by being a right grumpy not-so-old man, glowering and scowling at anyone I didn’t recognise, yelling “My wave!” far too loudly whenever I took off, and giving any miscreant who was foolish enough to drop in a loud and sweary piece of my mind (all this was at my local break, I hasten to add – I’d never have done this anywhere else for the quite justifiable fear of getting a thorough drubbing from angry locals…).
Surprisingly I never got beaten up at home either, but in the end I realised that getting wound up about the hordes in the water would achieve nothing other than raising my blood pressure, so now that I actually have become a grumpy old man ironically enough I take a much more mellow approach.
Here’s why…
I’m down at Whitesands as a half-decent autumn swell rolls in, wind offshore (ish), sun shining and too many people in the surf. But look at them – 80 per cent don’t have a clue what they’re doing and can’t even get out past the white water so good luck to ‘em, the only way they’re gonna get in my way is if I have to slalom around them towards the end of a ride (and thereby impress them with my supreme wave riding skills – erm, yes…).
Indeed, it’s quite a laugh watching their bumblings and fumblings in the surf and reminding myself that, yes, I too was once a beginner…
So that leaves the other twenty per cent who do know what they’re doing to worry about, which is about ten surfers in total. Most of these I know, and we tend to show each other a bit of respect (not in all cases though, Ashley the Julian Cleary lookalike of Fishguard, hey, mate…? Sorry, getting grumpy again…). We take our turn and most sets provide enough waves for everyone to get a decent ride, so what’s to worry about?
Sure, a beach packed with surfers will never be as appealing as one with a total population of you and couple of mates, but if you actually take time to assess the situation it’s often nowhere near as bad as it first looks.
Especially in
Scotland, where with a few exceptions crowds in the surf are still quite scarce. In fact maybe that’s the obvious answer for those surfers allergic to the huddled masses of humanity – move to
Scotland.
Or there again, maybe not. Cos then it will be crowded in
Scotland too…
Alf Alderson
http://www.alfalderson.co.uk
Multi-award-winning freelance journalist and author of Surf UK - the definitive guide to surfing in Britain.
