Surf Nation

Fancy a job by the beach?

The British Surfing Association (BSA) needs an energetic and enthusiastic Liaison Officer to lead its Surf School Approval programme and to support the Surf Schools within the scheme. The successful candidate will have experience of BSA Surf Coaching at the highest level and an understanding of workplace Health & Safety Risk Assessment Procedures. If you think you fit the bill, you could find yourself working on the beach between April and September this year, for £15,600 p.a (pro rata). Sounds good. If you fancy it, send an email to the BSA's National Director, Karen Walton, who's at karen@britsurf.co.uk.

See www.britsurf.co.uk for more information. 

Tis the season to be amped

The contest season is upon us. Well, us Brits that is. I know that the Formula 1 surfing circus is already well underway and that event No. 2 of the ASP World Tour, the Rip Curl Pro, is set to kick off on 3 April at Bell's Beach. However, closer to home the BPSA Tour starts again in under two weeks with the Saltrock Open in North Devon. The venue is Downend Point, between Saunton and Croyde, and recent events have seen pumping surf. Last year's winner was Toby Atkins and he will be one of many surfers hoping to depose the reigning champion, Micah Lester, come the final BPSA event in early November. However, as I contemplate the forthcoming festivities, I quite fancy the chances of Sam Smart from Sennen Cove - so long, that is, as the hard-hitting amateur boxer doesn't find that 2007 sees him doing more boxing than surfing. I wouldn't mind a bet on Smart's prospects, but, as ever in this country, the bookies will only take bets on the mainstream sports. It's an outrage, but still: for a cracking weekend, you could do a lot worse than head to Croyde for 7, 8 and 9 April (that's Easter weekend for the Philistines).

See The BPSA website for more information.

On pride, stoke and humility

Marcus Aurelius' Meditations has never been out of print since its rediscovery in the archives of Byzantium in 1559. Since finishing Surf Nation, I've been enjoying dipping into the Roman Emperor's musings on how to live the good life, not least because one encounters lines such as this: Pride is a master of deception: when you think you're occupied in the weightiest business, that's when he has you in his spell. The Meditations is full of beautiful vignettes on the human character and insightful, succinct analyses on how to live one's life with dignity and integrity, posing questions of the thinking man or woman which are as relevant today as they were when Aurelius first committed his thoughts to writing some 2000 years ago. And, yes, his reflections on pride couldn't be more timely. For today and yesterday, surfing at Sennen Cove, the weight of too long an absence from the sea was all too pressing. The "weighty business" with which I have been occupied has been the book, and, before that, other work, all of which took me away from the ocean for much, much too long. Now that I've finished the book, a part of me - the vain, egocentric, charmless part - thought that I would hop on a surfboard and, if not rip, at least ride waves with some measure of skill within, oh, maybe two or three sessions in a row. The reality, though, is proving somewhat different.

Huck Issue 4 Now Out

As ever, the latest Huck is well worth checking out. See www.huckmagazine.com for more info and if your newsagent doesn't stock a copy, tell him to get his act together!

Gnarly Puerto Escondido and a killer website

I've just discovered www.yousurftubes.com and this awesome footage of arguably the world's gnarliest beachbreak going off. There's a lot more where this came from - check it out.

Classic surf music

Few would argue with Dick Dale's claim to surf music's Hall of Fame - but how many viewers of Pulp Fiction knew that he was a surfer?

On Being a Dad and taking your sons surfing

It's a beautiful day in west Cornwall. The surf is between six inches and a foot - perfect for taking my sons, ages 11 and 9, surfing. My wife has gone to work so off we go to Sennen Cove. Once there, Sam Smart of www.bluelagoonsurf.com takes a bit of time out from working at The Chapel Idne Surf Shop to find my sons a couple of boards. He gives my younger boy, Elliot, a few tips, but Elliot is adamant that he knows how to surf, despite not having been on a board since last summer. Harry, the elder one, plays it cool for he is old enough to be moving subtly into grom mode. He is aware that respect for one's surfing betters is a good call. We head to the water's edge and I stand there as the boys wade out to waist depth. There Harry catches a succession of waves and is thoroughly stoked. Elliot, however, is not faring so well. His confidence on dry land is proving misplaced; in effect, he has forgotten how to get to his feet. He soon announces, because of cold and frustration, that he never wants to surf again and joins me on the beach. Yet more rapidly he declares that he wants to go back to the car. I can sympathise with his frustration and yet Harry is happy as can be out there in the sea. One boy is tugging me one way (literally), while the other can't hear anything I say. The longer Harry remains in the sea, the more exasperated Elliot gets - and all the while I can't get Elliot warm because I can't leave Harry unattended. Eventually Harry comes in, but by then Elliot is apoplectic with rage. Cue carnage. Sand is thrown in eyes, words that pre-teenage children should not even know let alone utter are thrown into the balmy air, and Dad is ever more embarrassed as the trudge to the car park continues. Once there, Elliot ups the ante by being thoroughly rude, and yet Dad empathises with his discontent, making telling him off less than straightforward. Finally we return home, one boy still stoked, the other swearing that he will not surf until he is 23 (quite why he picked this age is a mystery). Which all goes to show that you pay your dues in surfing - perhaps especially when you're tiny. And, indeed, that it's a lot easier when you've got another parent to help you out.

Photo of Sennen surf in rather better shape than it was today courtesy of Stuart100 on www.flickr.com

Kiss the Crystal Flake

I came across this song by California band The Mother Hips the other day. The band's new album, Kiss the Crystal Flake, is out on 3 April and on this evidence has got to be worth checking out. Not least, too, because these guys all surf...

Frank Zappa meets Bryon's Bay

Concluding the saga of Ridge Montana. Magnificent.

Martinez on that debut - and Slater's prospects for a ninth title

With the ASP WCT 2007 under way, here's Cassandra Murnieks with some thoughts from Bobby Martinez.

BOBBY Martinez’s surfing career was nearly over before it even started. The Californian, now going into his second year on the World Championship Tour, endured such a tough time on the World Qualifying Series that it left him wondering if the WCT was worth the trouble. “We would spend 24 hours on a plane and then turn up to an event where the waves were lousy,” says Martinez of the WQS, the under-series of events by which a chosen few surfers reach their Holy Grail, the WCT. "We surfed second-rate waves, and I wanted to surf the best waves in the world. I was about to quit and go and work with my Dad in construction, but thankfully things turned around." The 24-year-old spent four years on the gruelling WQS tour, and was forced to sit out a year with a broken shoulder. Fortunately for the surfing world, Martinez persevered, and his dreams finally came true when he qualified for the 2006 tour. Martinez couldn’t have asked for a better debut with wins at Teahupoo and Mundaka, and a season's end fifth place in the ratings. He was also rewarded with "Rookie of the Year" honours at the recent ASP dinner.