November Waves at Sand End

November 15, 2007 on 10:53 am | In Surfing |

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.