Cornwall through Australian Eyes

Here's a nice Antipodean Perspective on Kernow. It's by Mick Jardine, an Australian who spent time in Cornwall a while ago.

I'm stoked to run such an upbeat, positive piece, especially since I'm bidding farewell to regular blogging about surfing. Things will appear here from time to time, but there might be a fair old gap between posts. Vaya con dios - and may you be as stoked as Mick Jardine, wherever you are, and whatever waves you're riding.

Swells move slower but lack nothing in density. It’s colder, obviously. The light is softer, lacking the harshness of home, and the landscape different. Greener and more verdant sure, but it’s the other sights that stand out in my memory, sights foreign to me yet things likely to melt into the everyday drumbeat of local life. The ancient track marks of human habitation, the ceaseless sweep of eight metre tides, muddy paths, a slate coloured ocean under a slate coloured sky.

And the waves? In a word, varied. From the very bad to the, at times, very, very good.

It has now been three and a half years since my Cornish excursion came to an end, and I returned home to Western Australia with a Westcountry lass in tow, yet I think about the place all the time. I check the surf cams, read Cornish news, find little pockets of the coast I’d like to call home; such is the imprimatur it has left on me. This is strange for two reasons. Firstly, not only was it not meant to happen this way first time around until luck and good fortune intervened, but my continued love affair with all things Cornish should probably have died out by now from my perspective as a surfer. After all, WA is a blessed place to call home if you surf; a massive and relatively empty coastline, temperate conditions and abundant (and often huge) swells. People the world over pine to surf the very breaks I have within my grasp as a WA local, yet I do often still wonder what Polzeath and any number of other Cornish breaks might be like on any given day.

So why on earth did I fall so head over heels for Cornwall? Let me count the ways. Firstly, the surf is actually quite good a lot of the time, even more often than locals give it credit for I think. Sure you’re probably not going to get stand up tubes in boardshorts too often, feel warm and flexible any time between November and March or see someone from the WCT out at your local break. But guess what? Nor do most surfers other than committed travellers and lucky locals in a few parts of the world, and wave quality is rarely the issue it’s made to be in the UK in terms of developing proper technique and a professional surfing career. If you don’t believe me, Kelly Slater’s home beach in Florida, Cocoa Beach, ain't no Superbank for the uninformed. And Cornish surf, for the very same reasons that means the swell lacks the punch of other coasts - a long Continental shelf, proximity to the North Atlantic storm track (translating to lots of semi junky swells, from small to large, as opposed to groomed groundswells Indo-style) – is highly rippable. You can manhandle sections you’d probably avoid hitting elsewhere; the lack of push forces you to generate your own speed and helps improve technique when channelled properly; outside the summer holidays lineups are reasonably chilled still so you can catch lots of waves; and wetsuits have now improved to the point that the cold is not the performance limiter it used to be. So, even for an Australian, I can honestly say I had a lot of great surfs in Cornwall and that’s coming from a reasonably high base of expectation.

What else? The people, both proper third generation locals and transplants, undoubtedly contributed immensely to making the two years I spent there so enjoyable. There is enormous synergy between Western Australia and Cornwall (and their peoples) in terms of attitudes to life generally, and non locals in particular. We both reside as far away from the rest of our country as is possible to be, spurring independence of thought and action, and meaning we’re both looked upon as ‘outsiders’ within our own borders at times. There is a shared disregard for what is valued elsewhere and life is seen to move a little slower. And in Cornwall, much as in WA, this translates into vibrant local communities (not withstanding the second home debate), entrepreneurial thinkers and grounded people. In my case, I can credit the local community around Polzeath and most notably Pete and Jane Craske, for letting me into their world and I appreciate it immeasurably. To this day, I consider many of the people I met during this time of my life to be true friends.

There are other things I value about Cornwall and Cornish life – the history, the way so much is tucked into such a small place, the little villages - each of which add another layer to the fabric of the place. A place I may yet call home still, and a place that if not quite the lucky country, is definitely the lucky county.

Mick Jardine is a 3 times Western Australian State Surfing Champion based in Perth, WA. His travels have taken him all around his home state and Australia, plus numerous surf trips to Indonesia, South Africa, Hawaii, mainland USA, Mexico, the UK, France, Spain and Portugal. Living in Cornwall for two years in 2004/5, Mick was a surf coach at Polzeath beach but has since re-located home. Now working in Marketing, Mick continues to spend as much time as possible away from his desk, and in the water.

Comments

[Neil Watson]

Alex - Mick's piece definitely proves your point. His well-written, open-minded take on Cornwall was refreshing to read.

[Mark Tyers]

Great read, really insightful and love how stoked he is about Cornish surf!