Read Me on Drift

Drift Surfing has published my articles on surfing in New York and Cornwall:

A Californian in Cornwall

A few years ago, I stumbled across a photo of a lovely beach on Twitter. I was surprised to learn that the turquoise water, golden sand, and immense cliff were in Cornwall – I had no idea England was so beautiful. Now I stood beside the woman who took that picture, seeing the view with my own eyes. Read more.

In the Footsteps of a City Surfer

It all went wrong on the first wave I caught at Rockaway Beach 90th. The thick rounded rail of my rented fish failed to grip the steep face of the chest-high wave. The surfboard was pulled up and over the falls just after I got to my feet. Read more.

Traditional British Bellyboarding

The portion of the Global Wave Conference I was invited to attend was scheduled to end at 5:15pm, leaving enough time for one last surf in Cornwall before my early-morning drive back to London. With swell conditions suboptimal, I planned to take Rebecca up on her offer to surf on a traditional British bellyboard.

I ducked out early from lunch to walk to the beach at Magwan Porth. The tide was low, exposing a vast area of sand beneath the bluffs. A woman carrying a bellyboard stopped at the top of the beach steps to check the surf.

When the conference ended, many of the participants dashed to put on wetsuits and grab boards so they could surf before darkness fell. As I got into my diesel Renault Captur, big wave surfer Greg Long ran across the parking lot like a stoked grom, incongruously carrying a foam longboard. I had my still-wet wetsuit in the car along with the borrowed 5'8" so I could've surfed with Greg and other boldface names in the surfing world, but I had other plans.

After a slight panic when Google Maps lost signal and briefly stopped giving me directions, I made it back to the farm. We all piled into the van again and reached Penhale just before a glorious sunset.

Chris and Rebecca checking the surf 

The waves were decidedly meh so a bellyboard was a more fun choice than a surfboard, and I was keen to try it anyway. 

A bellyboard is a wood plank, narrower and longer than a modern bodyboard, with a nose that curves gently upward. Chris had made one of theirs from leftover plywood. In Hawaii, it's called a paipo. The bellyboard somewhat reminded me of a sled, and I had a brief thought of using it to ride down the dune to the beach.

Chris watched the dogs, who were off chasing rabbits, while Rebecca and I walked into the cool surf.

My first bellyboard! (Photo by Rebecca)

Rebecca gave me tips on how to ride: Hold the board toward the back end, (since I was standing and finless) push off the bottom and jump into the wave as it arrives, then pull your body forward onto it. After a couple of tries, I caught whitewater and rode to the shallows. A bit later, I made it onto the face of a wave. Woo hoo!

Cornwall

A few years ago, I stumbled across the tweets of @kfornia. Her photos of a lovely beach in Cornwall prompted me to reply that I'd had no idea England was so beautiful. Now I stood beside her taking in that view with my own eyes.

I'd driven five taxing hours on the wrong side of the road from London, past modern windmills, rolling green hills dotted with sheep, and signs for castles. As soon as I pulled up in front of their faux old stone farmhouse, Rebecca and Chris hurried me into their van with two large well-mannered dogs. Trying to beat the sunset, we rushed down narrow and windy lanes to park on a coastal clifftop.

The air was cool as I pulled on my 4/3 wetsuit, hood and booties. With a borrowed 5'8" surfboard under my arm, I followed my friends down a steep trail that finished with a skidding walk down the side of a dune to Penhale (Perran Sands) beach.

There were about a dozen surfers in the water along a beach that stretched for a few miles beneath high cliffs and dunes. English surfers make do mostly with windswell, and have to deal with extreme tide swings of 8 meters or more. (Rebecca told me she's surfed a tidal bore not far north.) This evening, the waves were up to shoulder high and a bit of fun. My first ride was the best, surprisingly on a new board.

The light faded and most of the other surfers left. It was hard to see the waves by the time I caught one in, last out of the water. Going back up the cliff was a real thigh burner but got me a little warmed up from the cool water and colder air. That didn't last long as we changed in near darkness beside the van. The stars came out and were bright and beautiful in the sky over Cornwall.