GAS Hurley No Pro

 The 18^th annual No Pro surfing event began in perfect overhead surf and under clear blue skies this Saturday 15^th of September at Gwithian Beach. While the weather slowly deteriorated as the day went on the surfing standard stayed incredibly high throughout.

This event is unique in that only non-sponsored surfers are allowed to compete for the top prize making this a great day for the grassroots competitors in the sport.

No Pro 2012

The No Pro is back. This competition which is now in it's 18th year is unique in that only non-sponsored surfers are allowed to compete for an awesome array of swag provided by Hurley International and Down the Line Surf Co. This year we have wetsuits and all manner of goodies for the finalists in the 16 & Under, Master's (Over 35's), Open and Womens categories.

That's More Like It

 At last! A week of sunshine and surf arrived to perfectly coincide with the end of term. We haven't had a week like it for a good couple of months but it was welcomed by loads of happy surfers and beach-goers. It's certainly given everyone a lift after some fairly ropey weather in June and it looks like it's set to continue for a little while yet.

If you are thinking of coming down for some surfing lessons then it's definitely worth giving us a days notice at this time of year. Give us a bell on 01736 757579 and we'll get you booked in!

Surf Experience

It's 'activities week' at the local schools which means that the beaches are packed with hundreds of frothing teenagers and the lucky 'work experience' kids who realised that a week with a surf school means at least 4 hours in the water a day talking about surfing.

Cornwall School Games

Once again we have been tasked with running the surfing event of the Cornwall School Games. Over 3000 pupils will be competing in this years games with over 150 in the surfing alone. If you know anything about surfing comps then you'll instantly realise that getting 150 kids into their heats on time, keeping them hydrated and stopping the whole day becoming a free-for-all is a harrowing experience.
Having to get it completed in under 5 hours even more so!

Volunteerism

Every now and then we take a booking that we know is going to be interesting and even more rewarding than usual. Over the next few weeks we will be working with some autistic youngsters and helping them into their first few waves as part of the Wave Project. This group was set up in 2010 to help disadvantaged young adults and children experience the joy of surfing and is going from strength to strength.

We Came, We Saw etc....

The first of this summers inter-club surf-offs began with the oldest surf club in Britain hosting our Junior Surf Club at Sennen for a cracking day of surfing. Saturday 26th of May was probably the hottest day so far in Cornwall and while the surf itself was a little on the small side the surfing was blistering.

Surf Club on Tour

Our Junior Surf Club has had an excellent year. This is the first year that we have gone right through the winter with it and this commitment is really beginning to pay dividends. The hardest thing for the British surfer is the long cold winter but if you have a few keen mates to surf with then it makes it all a little easier.
We are now regularly getting 30+ kids every Saturday morning which is really pleasing to see. This coming Saturday we will be spreading our wings and heading over to Sennen Surf Club (the oldest surf club in Britain) for a day of waves, competition and bbq's.

It's been a great week for the Stand Up Paddle surfers! We've been doing loads of SUP lessons lately but a new swell is on the horizon and it looks like it's going to be fairly consistent for the rest of the month. Which is good as the surf has been a little on the small side for May so far.
This is pretty much how I remember May as a kid. There was always a 2 week flat spell so hopefully we are just coming to the end of that now.

Post Easter Blues

Easter has been and gone so we now get a chance to clear the decks and get ready for the season to hit. The May Day bank holiday is only two weeks away and that usually marks the beginning of what will hopefully be a season rich with good waves and barmy weather.
Fingers crossed.
Junior Surf Club has been a big hit this year so we have added a mid week session for those who can't make the Saturday surf. The new session is at 4pm on Wednesday afternoons.

....and so it begins.

The summer starts here! The surf school is awake after its winter hibernation and we are open seven days a week from 10am to 6pm.  The beginning of the season is always a bit of a shock to the system but its great to be out of 'admin mode' and back in the surf coach mindset.
Meanwhile all of our summer stock has arrived in the shop in the last week so we are getting to grips with all the new clobber. Being a new dad I have brainwashed myself into thinking that we should stock children's clothes so we tasked the creative geniuses at ASP screenprinters with coming up with a few designs.

World Junior Surfing Games

We're suckers for bleeding heart sob stories here at GAS so when local ripper and surf coach Paddy Daniel rocked up ashen with worry and lacking his usual exuberance we knew that we were about to get guilt-tripped into doing something.
Paddy (far right), and his partners in crime Tassy Swallow, 17, (left) and Harry De Roth, 13, (the other one) are all from the area and have been chosen to surf for Britain against the worlds best surfers in the World Junior Surfing Games in Panama.
'Hang on a minute, thats not a sob story', I hear you cry.

Well, if your 17 years old, the current and the previous governments have damned you to a future of serfdom and you have to cough up the £2500 to get there then you realise he may have a point. It's pretty expensive this 'surfing for your country' business isn't it?
Paddy does have a certain entrepreneurial streak however so he suggested that he might be able to drum up some cash if he offered his alma mater, Penpol Junior School, a surfing lesson.
All he needed was 25 surfboards, a load of wetsuits and a gullible surf school owner.
I'm pleased to say that the lesson was a roaring success and judging by the smiles on the Penpol pupils faces today could be the genesis of the next wave of British Surf Team members.
Well done Pads, Tas and Hazza and good luck in Panama. We're all rooting for you.

Spring

Spring is here. For definite. It must be spring - the surf has gone flat!
Well, not quite flat but it's been pretty small as the Atlantic begins to calm down after a very busy winter. Meanwhile the Easter break is just two weeks away now so its time to put the finishing touches on the surf school.

Low Visibility

What is supposedly the coldest time of the year is passing by nicely thank you very much. Sure, we're not in shorts and t-shirts but its been dry and relatively warm though the mist has been a bit of a pain. I haven't even had to light the fire in the evenings so thats a pretty good sign.
And the surf? Well, that ain't been too shabby either. There has been plenty on swell in the last week or so and the settled weather has brought light winds making two surfs a day possible without having to spend hours thawing out in between.

Half Term

Half term is upon us so its time to get things up and running for a week or so. Cornwall is still a little on the quiet side despite the kids having broken up for a week. This is not unusual for this time of year -  there may be a few more people around but its barely noticeable. I guess if you are thinking of a holiday at this time of year most people would prefer to hit the slopes in Europe rather than a Cornish beach holiday.

The Next Generation

To mark the beginning of what must surely be the best week of weather for the entire winter I did something extraordinary on Tuesday. I witnessed the birth of my son Finn Luke Bear Greenaway who weighed in at a healthy 7 lbs 10. Clearly I haven't been getting in the waves at all this week and from the screaming I heard earlier its doubtful if I'll get back in the water for a week or two but for the first time in my life I think I have found something that rivals surfing. I just hope the boy will love surfing as much as I do and we can spend a whole lot of time at the beach.

Storm Force Ten

There was I prattling on about how good the weather had been when all of a sudden the heavens opened. Its been a bit damp and stormy for the last couple of weeks to say the least and we have been stuck in a Westerly wind cycle. Westerlies are the 'pointless' winds in this part of the world. They just bring rain in the winter and there are no coves where you can shelter unless the swell is so large that you can surf on the English Channel side of the Lizard peninsula. And that don't never 'appen!

New Year

We are well and truly into 2012 and it looks like at long last there is going to be a break in the cycle of westerly winds that blight Cornish surfing.
And hurrah for that.