Here in Barbados I hooked up with the man who might just be crowned Britain's first world surfing champion by mid-October. I'm talking about Ben Skinner, the Jersey-born Perranporth resident who was here with Russell Winter, Ben Baird and Kirstin Prisk for last week's serious north swell.
At 23, Skindog has already achieved a huge amount in national and international surfing. He is the reigning British Longboard Union champion and won a silver medal at the 2006 World Surfing Games. He bagged another longboard triumph when he won the European Professional Longboard title, but is also an excellent shortboarder as he proved at last year's Gold Rush contest at Fistral. He surfs big waves, too - having both tow-surfed and paddled (on a longboard) into Aileens. A large degree of additional cool comes from the fact that he shreds on a skateboard as well.
For the second time, this year will see a WCT for longboarding - and Skindog might be the man to take the title. "If I get in the right frame of mind, I think I can do it," he says, with poise and equanimity beyond his years. A hint at the competitive streak necessary for success at this level comes when he adds that "I'm not travelling to the events to come second. I'm after first place each time I paddle out." Further confirmation of Skinner's drive comes when he confesses that last year, when he was eliminated from the longboard WCT at Les Cavaliers, he punched a sign in frustration. "I'd had an interference called against me and was gutted to go out."
This burst of anger resulted in a broken hand, but I met a much more chilled Skindog in Barbados. It was his first time here, and he loves the place. "It's been a brilliant trip," he says. "I was so lucky to come over with Russ. He knows the island like the back of his hand and we surfed some sick breaks. Ben is so powerful to watch and seeing Russ surf is an inspiration. He's easily the best surfer Britain has ever produced."
Skinner's chances of eclipsing Winter come down, initially at least, to his father, who took him surfing at the age of three. "I can't really remember when I started surfing but I think it was then," he says. "My dream was always to be a pro surfer and I've been in the water all my life." A key moment in his surfing development then followed when he was eight: "I met Joel Tudor, who was my hero as a kid. He took me surfing and I saw what you could do as a longboarder." As soon as he left school, Skinner threw himself into as many surfing contests as he could. "It's taken a while to start achieving my potential but I proved to the world what I can do at the Surfing Games," he says.
In Barbados, Winter's local knowledge meant that the trio surfed a break called Ignorance. "It's a right-hander over a slab that just reels," he says, eyes lighting up at the memory. "We had it to ourselves at a solid 4ft. It's one of the best waves I've ever surfed. We also caught the Soup Bowl reasonably clean as well as Duppies and some smaller waves on the south coast. This island has got some awesome surf."
Skinner, whose main sponsors are Oxbow and Reef, mentions Adam Griffiths and James Parry as two of the best longboarders in the UK, and pours yet more of his considerable energy into Newquay-based Adams Surfboards (more on which when I'm back in Cornwall). With partner Michelle England he's a new father, to nine week-old Lukas, whom he couldn't wait to see upon his return to the UK.
In Ben Skinner, the UK could have a future surfing world champion, while surfing generally has one of its most accomplished all-round performers. Look out for his progress, and, hopefully, no broken bones, at the first WCT longboard event on 5 May at Les Cavalliers in France.
Images courtesy of Kirstin Prisk and Surf Station.
A key but thus far unheralded component in what makes a stay at Zed's Place so rewarding is Bajan Bob. Here is pictured with Denzil, a young lad who often stays here.
