Another coasteer and close encounter with a seal
Posted on September 5, 2007
Filed Under - adventures | 3 Comments
Did a full day of coasteering today. Rich and Phil from Breathe Adventure were taking out an army regiment from Southampton and invited me to tag along. I must be some kind of adventure activity charity case…..but I’m not complaining! Last time we left rather late so the tide was not high enough to do the biggest cliff jump. But this time it was game on for the 35 ft jump. Most of us were fine with it as we had worked up to it on the smaller jumps, but one girl took ages to work up the courage to go for it. Fortunately she did it in the end, otherwise we’d still be there now waiting for her!
The picture above shows the coastline on the south side of Newquay Bay where we did the coasteer. There are plenty of caves, nooks and crannies to explore as well as ledges to jump off. As a bonus, today the local harbour seal was out and about. He is attracted by the fish brought in with the fishing boats in the harbour or the people who fish along the coast, so he associates people with food. He kept popping up and following us for a bit; it is really cool to be in the same water as him. He’s a big bugger but still quite cute - he is all huge eyes and huge nostrils.
We did a long coasteer in the morning at high water, and a shorter coasteer in the afternoon at low water. Most of the army group didn’t make it back in the afternoon as they were nursing hangovers and wanted to do something more sedate. Richie and Phil were also nursing hangovers to be honest but, like the professionals they are, soldiered on throughout the day. I lost a contact lens in the afternoon session while trying to dive down to the bottom in my helmet and buoyancy aid. It’s really difficult, you have to dive straight down otherwise your buoyancy aid prevents you from being able to dive. It is the source of much hilarity, watching people attempt this. Almost as funny as watching grown men getting the old ‘disco legs’ at the top of a 30 ft jump.
There is also good coasteering around Porth, including a large cave with a blowhole that can be accessed at low tide. Somewhere for me to explore soon!
Stumble it!
New surfboard christened today
Posted on September 3, 2007
Filed Under - leisure | Leave a Comment
I took my new board out today, even though the surf is rubbish. I thought I might as well get it wet and paddle around a bit. I did try paddling into a few waves but I still suck at this. The conditions were not ideal but I just wasn’t getting enough speed. Practise, practise! I went to Whipsiderry beach, which is the next one up from Porth beach. Whipsy is a cool beach for kids as it has lots of caves and rockpools. It is generally much quieter than Porth because of the steep steps you take to get to it, but the surf is better. At high water there is no beach, but at low water I believe you can walk all the way up to Watergate Bay on the sand.
Talk about bad timing, I buy my new surfboard at the start of a two-week flat spell! I will be praying to the god of swell and doing my wave dance. My neighbour has got himself a paddleboard, so he’s the only one having any fun right now. Paddleboards hark back to the ancient way of surfing, when surfers stood on a very long board and used a paddle to catch waves. The flat waters of Porth at high tide are a perfect practice arena for him. He reckons that Thursday and Friday have potential for surfing. Having just checked the forecast on Magic Seaweed, I see that although the waves remain small, the swell will be coming straight on to the beach while the wind is offshore(ish), so it looks promising!
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The 2007 season is over
Posted on September 3, 2007
Filed Under - leaving the rat race | Leave a Comment
We’ve hit September and the season is over, as suddenly as nightfall in the desert. It builds and builds from Easter onwards until the peak on the August bank holiday weekend - and then everyone goes home. I was out in Newquay a couple of weeks ago and the bars were packed. Last night I was out in some of the same bars and they were almost deserted. There are still one or two stag and hen parties wandering the streets but other than that it is really quiet.
Newquay has a bad reputation locally for being a crazy party town, but I haven’t found it that bad. Perhaps it depends on what you are used to. If you come from a big city, then Newquay on a Saturday night is no great surprise. In fact, I find the atmosphere much friendlier than in London. People are on holiday, so although they are being wilder than they would be at home, they are genuinely trying to have fun. There is less of a sense of imminent violence and things turning nasty. I am quite happy walking home at two in the morning in Newquay because it is fundamentally not a dangerous place. I read the local papers, I have an idea of what goes on and it’s much safer than London.
Local businesses will be counting the cost of a bad summer. The surf trade has been affected , especially since they did not have a good year last year either. People have been saying they can’t remember when the surf was so bad. The last genuine surf shop in Newquay, catering to the dedicated surfer, is being sold. We’ll have to wait to see what the new owner will do with it but it could end up pushing the same kind of crap that all the other shops push.
Normally, the fact that the hoardes are going home and the place is quietening down would be something to look forward to. But as the season ends, a lot of the people whom I have met here are also heading off for the winter. People who work in the bars or holiday camps are thinking about doing the ski season. The surfers are planning their winter trips. A friend is opening a surf school in Lanzarote. I would love to visit, perhaps after my tenancy agreement runs out in December. It would do wonders for my surfing to spend a few weeks somewhere with great weather and a consistent wave.
In the meantime, there should be some good deals to be had over the next few months so I should try and get some of my London friends down.
Stumble it!
A bad moment
Posted on September 2, 2007
Filed Under - work, Emotions | 5 Comments
How do I say this? I am having a bad moment. I had a temp job for a couple of days with a solicitors in Truro. I thought it was all going fine but I found out on Friday afternoon from my recruitment consultant that they were really unhappy with me. I have no idea why, to be honest! Something is wrong, they were saying I did things that I didn’t do - such as surfing the net while at work. Anyway, it really upset me. It was like a slap in the face. I am also pretty embarrassed writing about it here. My first attempt at earning a bit of money down here and I get fired on my second day. I can’t tell you how that makes me feel….
I’ve just been sitting here looking through my budget. I have kept a record of what I have spent on moving down here, and everything I have spent since I got here. It all amounts to thousands of pounds. I’ve spent all this money and what has happened? Some fat, middle-aged secretary has decided she doesn’t like me.
Actually, when I put it like that, it sounds almost funny!
But when things like this happen to throw you off your game, all those feelings that usually remain at bay do come back. Loneliness and the feeling that you’ve made a huge mistake. Nobody to pick you up again, except a bottle of wine and your iTunes. One positive thing came out of it though. I was so angry and upset that I was really keen to go for a run! I wanted to feel that physical effort and that endorphin rush. I’ve got a local 10k race coming up in October so maybe what I need is an army of vengeful secretaries to make me angry enough to train my heart out!
Stumble it!
My first surfboard
Posted on August 29, 2007
Filed Under - leisure | Leave a Comment
Read my guide to buying your first surfboard here.
I am now the proud owner of a surfboard, which I bought second hand from Tunnel Vision. 
I wandered into the shop late afternoon; the board had been brought in at lunchtime and would probably have gone by the next day, so it was a ‘take it or leave it’ opportunity. I trust the guys at Tunnel Vision and they seemed to think it would be fine for me, so I went for it. It’s not the prettiest board in the world but it is in mint condition – just a couple of minor dents in the deck but no sign of any dings or repairs. Rich threw in a second-hand board bag, as well as the obligatory leash and wax, so I got a very nice package in the end. My new baby is a 7’6’’ Bilbo mini-mal with polyester resin and a concave bottom contour. This makes it a good beginner board that should last quite a few months for someone who is surfing regularly. I can also get most of the value back if I trade it in or sell it, provided it is in reasonable condition. Bilbo is a British brand, although the boards are manufactured abroad.
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Surfing at Perran Sands
Posted on August 25, 2007
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Ever since I moved down here I have been keen to learn how to surf. I’m not after the full-on surfer lifestyle, it’s just that surfing looks so much fun. So far I have bought a wetsuit and had a few lessons. But the surf has been so inconsistent this summer that it has been difficult to get much practise in. However I have been spending the voucher that my ex-work colleagues bought me as a leaving present. Rich from Breathe Adventure has been sorting out surf lessons for me courtesy of his stable of surf instructors. He has also been great about lending me boards to get out and practise, so I’ve had much more than my voucher’s worth. Rich really is a star!
Rich has a surf shop at Perran Sands, a Haven holiday camp in Perranporth. I’ve been going up there the last couple of days to surf and just hang out at the shop in the sunshine. The shop is a popular stop-off point for some of the staff at Haven to sit and have a chat or a smoke during the working day. Here are surf instructor Phil and camera-shy Rich, working hard as usual!
I am actually starting to make progress with my surfing. I’m able - more or less - to paddle out and catch waves but there’s a lot of work and refinement to be done. My stance, for example, is the cause of much amusement as I have a tendency to crouch down quite low and look like I’m trying to surf the barrel! I had a hard time paddling out back yesterday even though conditions were not that difficult, so my paddling needs a lot of work. And then there is also the skill of waiting for the right wave and choosing your moment. We were reminiscing today about the classic Guinness “white horses” advert. The voiceover says “he waits; that’s what he does”. And then Waimea Bay goes off. What a great ad!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zff9hVH3ptY]
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A trip down Blackberry Lane
Posted on August 22, 2007
Filed Under - leisure | Leave a Comment
I want to show you some of the countryside and views surrounding where I live. Today I went out blackberrying along a route that I also use for running. First up, this is where I live - in the sand-coloured block of flats on the right, above the beach. It used to be a hotel but was converted to apartments around six years ago.
I head up to the hills above the flats, where there is a footpath leading to the next village, St Columb Minor. The climb is rewarded with a great view of the sea. I also manage to work out how to use the timer on my digital camera and have fun setting the camera up on handy fence posts and scampering into position. What larks! But to find the best blackberries, we must continue inland.
I make my way through the picturesque village of St Columb Minor and strike off just past the church, down a bridleway. I’m not sure if it has a name, but I am calling it Blackberry Lane! The path cuts across a valley, so it’s a sharp downhill to the bottom followed by a steep climb up the other side. When I run this, the climb is really hard work!
This path is prime blackberry real estate and the blackberries soon start piling up. Many of them are already out, but even more are yet to ripen so there should be plenty for a while. Some of the best blackberries I find are guarded by an enormous spider web complete with enormous spider. He has attached structural silk to key fruit which I can’t pluck without destroying his edifice. So I leave his house alone. I get scratched, stung and prickled in my quest, so I take a break by the stream at the bottom of the valley. Time for some more amatuer photography where the position of the sun makes me look as if I have been kept in a cellar for ten years without sunlight. But with plenty of food, apparently…!
When you reach the top of the valley on the far side, you emerge from the confines of the bridleway to find yourself looking straight down the centre of the valley to the sea. Nestling in the valley’s folds there is Porth Beach tourist park. There are a number of caravan parks in the vicinity but they haven’t been particularly noisy this summer – at least to a girl used to city life. And in the summer they provide a bus service to town which is much more frequent than the local one-an-hour service.
However, this seemingly peaceful valley is once a year turned to madness and mayhem when the infamous Run to the Sun festival descends for the May bank holiday. The green hills are covered with the many hues of the VW camper van and you can’t walk outside your front door without being squirted by a water pistol. It’s basically like having Glastonbury in your back garden. I wasn’t around for this year’s event but if I’m still here next May I’ll bring you some pictures. My running route takes me off to the right, over the fields to Watergate Bay. But I had a full tub of blackberries so I headed home to enjoy them. Mmm, can’t you just smell them?
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A trip to London and some yoga
Posted on August 21, 2007
Filed Under - leaving the rat race | Leave a Comment
I had to return to London last week to see family. I hadn’t planned to be back in the big smoke so soon after leaving, and if I hadn’t been so eager to see my sister and little nephew, I wouldn’t have bothered. 
Here is the handsome young fella, wearing a little t-shirt I bought him – who could resist, eh? Actually, my adventures are nothing compared to my sister’s. She gave up job, home and friends in England to move to a small town in Turkey, get married and eventually have Handsome here. My other sister has just put in an offer on a house – which is an adventure in itself. Being back in London made me realise that….I don’t miss it very much. I’ve got used to the brisk sea air and wide open vistas. The things I want to spend my time doing – the outdoorsy things – are here, not in London. It’s funny how my perspective has done a one-eighty. I used to be of the school of “the countryside’s nice to visit but I wouldn’t want to live there”. Now I’m flirting with the club of “London’s nice to visit but I wouldn’t want to live there”. Today someone asked me, “How’s life in the slow lane?” and that is a pretty good description of what it is like at the moment. I am pootling along in the slow lane. Sometimes I make plans in advance; sometimes I just decide when I get up in the morning what I am going to do that day. Much of what I like to do is weather-dependent, so you have to adopt a ‘go with the flow’ attitude. If there’s no surf but it’s dry, maybe you can do some rock climbing. If it’s wet, a run or a hike could be a good idea. If it is pouring down and howling a gale, I go out to the headland and take pictures of the sea.
Everyone in London commented on how healthy I look. I’m eating well (lots of fish, fruit and veg), my skin is in better condition than it’s ever been and I’ve got a rugged outdoorsy tan. And my hair is……well, my hair will always be slightly wild. But don’t get me wrong, I’m not ‘Sally of the Fields’ all the time. I also read books, watch DVDs, surf the web and potter about the house. There’s no pressure, nothing much that I have to do. So I’m finding time to do those things I always thought would be quite nice if I ever got round to them. For instance, I have taken to starting the day with yoga sun salutations. This is partly to address my poor flexibility and partly to see if it really does help you to wake up and improve your day. Certainly after only a week it has made a difference to my flexibility. I’m not sure what effect it has on my general well-being as I haven’t controlled for all the other things that could be making me feel good. I’ve never done a yoga class but I am familiar with the moves in the sun salutation and there are plenty of clips on YouTube which demonstrate the sequences. Most clips are instructional, but this one below is just a rather nice film of someone doing the sun salutation at dawn on Maui. The next time I arise at dawn (!) I will go down to Porth Beach and do the same.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOH6M7himkw]
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Rip Curl Boardmasters Finals at Fistral beach
Posted on August 13, 2007
Filed Under - leisure | Leave a Comment
Newquay has been hosting its most high profile festival this week: the RipCurl Boardmasters, a heady mix of surf, skate, music and chicks in bikins. I’ve only popped my head round the door a couple of times this week but I thought I would go down to Fistral for the finals.
First up was the surfing final between American Ben Bourgeois (in red) and Brazilian Heitor Alves (in white), who had been a favourite with the crowds throughout the week - perhaps because there were quite a few enthusiastic Brazilian fans flying the flag! Conditions were not ideal to say the least, with 2-3 ft surf and onshore winds making the waves very choppy. The surfers had to work really hard to catch waves, fighting through churning surf each time they finished a run or wiped out.
Ben Bourgeois won the day by a safe margin. His performance was really tight and he made the most of the crap waves. Alves seemed happy with his performance in the competition overall.
Further up the beach, the Vans vert final was getting underway. The line-up was a decent mix of older, international heads such as Aussie legend Renton Miller, Terence Bougdour and Jussi Korhonen, with up and coming British groms Sam Beckett, Paul-Luc Ronchetti and Sam Bosworth (seen below mid-grab).
Sean Gough and Andy Scott were also holding it down for the UK. The young ‘uns really impressed, with Ronchetti coming highest in the final scores. I thought the two Sams, Beckett and Bosworth really ripped too. Unsurprisingly, Renton Miller won both the vert final and Best Trick. He was not even at his best but he has such amazing vert style. It’s just a pity about the orange shoes….
I didn’t see any of the music which was going down at Watergate Bay, as this was ticketed entry. I would have liked to see The Milk Teeth, who played on Saturday night. I first came across them on Caught in the Crossfire and I really like their surfy-punk-rocky sound. Check it out on their myspace page.
Stumble it!
Coasteering in Newquay
Posted on August 10, 2007
Filed Under - adventures | Leave a Comment
Yesterday I tried coasteering for the first time. Coasteering is about making your way along a coastline, exploring and having fun. You get from A to B by a combination of swimming and scrambling over the rocks. Every so often you stop to jump off the rocks from as high as you dare or explore the caves. If you’re lucky you’ll also see some marine wildlife such as seals and dolphins.There are a few companies in the Newquay area that run coasteering and there seems to be a bit of rivalry between them. As it’s a new sport, you’ve got various organisations around the country claiming to be the ones who invented it or brought it to a particular area. I did my session with Breathe Adventure, run by a South African guy called Rich. Nice dude, he is super laid-back but don’t be fooled: he knows what he’s doing and takes safety very seriously.
I tagged along with a group of air cadets, which was quite entertaining. There was plenty of shouting and squealing but they were nice kids and nobody arsed about. We had great weather – sunny, warm and calm seas. The water was a beautiful turquoise colour and it was really mellow to be ambling along (or whatever the swimming equivalent is). You don’t have to be a particularly strong swimmer as you are wearing a wetsuit and a buoyancy aid. I’ve been in the sea a lot recently and I’ve started to get used to the saltiness of the water and notice it less. The salt water was something I used to dislike about being in the sea – not just the taste but the way it stings your eyes. But you do get used to it, especially when you are doing an activity like surfing which entails getting dumped in the water on a regular basis.
For me, the cliff jumping was the highlight. We did several different jumps, working up from a few feet to about 20 feet – and if the tide had been higher, we could have gone above 30 feet. Some people really take to the cliff-jumping, others freak out a bit. Most of our group gamely gave it a go and it’s cool to watch someone who is really shitting themselves do the jump and come back up with a smile (albeit a slightly startled and drippy smile). I really enjoyed the jumps but there is always a moment, when you are at the top of the cliff preparing to jump and you look down, that you do get a twinge of fear. But the rush that you get from the actual fall is enough to make you want to go back up and do it again! The thing that surprises everyone is how long the fall seems to last. It seems like several seconds and you have time to feel the fall and see the landscape rushing past you. My favourite jump was the highest. It sounds perverse, but you need to get above a certain height to feel that sensation of just falling through space. With the lower jumps it’s more a case of: one moment you are standing on a rock, the next moment you are hitting the water.
I had an enjoyable morning. Coasteering is pretty easy, although if you are not very fit you might find all the swimming a bit tiring. The weather is probably a major factor as well. We had great weather so there was no battling with the elements and getting cold in an ill-fitting wetsuit. Instead it was a nice combination of mellow-ness interspersed with rush.
Stumble it!
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Find out how to leave the rat race and get the life you want. Read my story and others, learn from our mistakes and be inspired by our successes!