Now that it’s gone flat seems like a good time to look back on what has been another epic Winter for us in Wales.  Ordinarily the thought of not escaping the cold onshores even for a week or two is pretty daunting, but this last Winter has proven that sometimes its not so bad beeing stuck at home. 

 We’re very fortunate in this area to be able to surf pretty good waves when the wind is 30mph and onshore.  Not all the spots are easy to find, nor easy to surf with our huge tidal difference yet the rewards are definitely there if you have a good look around.

After each low’s gone past there have been some smaller days out on the Gower Reefs that have been super fun, especially with the water not being as cold as it has been in previous years. 

 This Winter Jon has shaped me some amazing new short boards especially for the (relatively) small waves we get here in Wales.  They’re very close to a hybrid shape, very short 5′10″ and quite wide, 18 3/4″ keeping the rails sleek at 2 1/4 ” These boards will ride in the pocket like a more narrow board but will also skate over the fat spots and chop when the surf isn’t that clean.  The result is that you can go out on the not so perfect and pumping days and still have heaps of fun…..

The remnants of the last swell have now gone, but at the end of last week there were some pretty good days on the west facing beaches, with especially good banks at Gennith at Rest Bay.  With the evenings drawing out thoughts turn to longer days in the water and the opportunity to surf fun waves on more fishy type boards. 

 Since moving back from Hossegor its actually been quite hard to work out what boards you need to get the best out of our waves.  There is always a tendancy to look at what the pro’s are riding and try and use the same thing.  Some people manage to get going on their 6′1″ rounded pins but not me.  With that in mind I’ve got a curved channel 5′10″ ready for Spring.  It’s the same as my standard shortboard but has the extremely deep oval shaped channels in the bottom.  These channels work in pretty much any type of surf, but seem especialy good in the type of waves we get here in Summer.  Jon’s also got a new ‘Project XYZ’ quad fin coming soon so all we need now is some surf

Popularity: 46% [?]

HAWAII – Land of two types of surfers. Those who paddle out at 30 foot Pipe on 8’0 foot plus boards and those who paddle out on 7’0 foot plus boards. Now you ask what’s the difference here, well let me break it down so you see my reasoning for this. Those who paddle out on 8’0foot plus boards are more than likely going to be sitting further up the line up and closer to the drop/impact/death zone than those who paddle out on a 7’0 foot plus board, this person is most likely going to be sitting on the shoulder and paddling into the left over insiders. So in basic terms there is those who surf and those who dream of surfing and there is no other place on earth that sets these two surfers apart than that of the great islands of HAWAII.

This was my first ever trip to Hawaii, while growing up as a grom I had a number of opportunities to go to Hawaii but always ended up going somewhere less crowed instead. So in my head I had been there over and over and over, seen millions of pics and videos of the place that the day I landed it felt like I had already been here year after year.

I stayed in front of Sharks cove which was just a bit further back from Pipe and Backdoor but still had the ocean in front of our house so I could still get a feeling for how big the surf was and it wasn’t anything under 6feet while I was there. In fact to give you an idea of how big the surf was while I was there they almost ran the Eddie which hasn’t run in 3years due to lack of good BIG swells, so now you know that when the Hawaiians say BIG they mean business.

Every morning was a early one with a surf check up the whole North Shore slowing pumping myself up to where ever it was that I was going to surf. I was well prepared, with a whole new quiver of JP’s that went insane. My favourite was a slightly thicker 6’4 that I surfed Rockies with and had the barrel of my life at and then surfed Pipe after the Backdoor Shoot out comp one afternoon. I paddled for this wide set and though I was in a good spot to get into but I wasn’t and ended up just catching my rail on the way down and going over backwards head first into the reef SMASHING my head while getting held under and coming up to a clean snapped board.

The whole trip was everything and more I ever imagined it to be. Next time I’m gonna hang abit longer and take two 6’4’s. Thanks again JP and all the boys at the factory that make things happen. Best boards ever.

Reubin Pearce.

Popularity: 100% [?]

Stuart wins the Devon Schools surf contest on Friday, and then goes on to win the Gonzo on Saturday. Not a bad weekend then, Stuart!

Great surf conditions for both events. Stuart completely dominated Devon schools and was great ambassador.
Saturday on home break Stuart won the Woolacombe board riders main event on the year, The hotly contested Gonzo to become Champion. Stuart surfed great in the huge waves and in the after party attended by hundreds of mad surfers played the part of Champion well. He now goes down in local folk law as a true Champion.

Popularity: 66% [?]