Not much to report on the surfing front as we've had a 10 day flat spell now. The only mild excitement has come in the form of snow, a few inches here and there which caused widespread panic for no apparent reason.
It doesn't seem to snow very often in Porthcawl but there was a light shower as I left for work today which confused the hell out of my son, who wasn't quite sure what he was seeing - white rain?
The winds are bitterly cold with more of the same for next week. Temperatures should get a little milder for the weekend according to Derek Brockway in his latest blog over on my BBC Wales Nature & Outdoors website.
The surf forecast is poor. If I didn't know better, I'd swear someone had gone out and bought a new surfboard? thus inducing Huey's wrath and subsequent flat spell...Rattz!
I'm planning on doing the Coney Xmas swim this year. I thought it would be on Boxing Day but have been reliably informed that it's not so Xmas dinner might be delayed if I go into shock - not from the water temp but from going to Coney for a swim!
I've just purchased a suitable outfit on flea bay so if anyone fancies joining me this year - get in touch in the comments area below.
So there's no surf but at least it's cold and dry with the odd bit of snow making it feel very seasonal.
Gull
Tuesday, 30 November 2010
Monday, 22 November 2010
Friday feeling
I took Friday afternoon off and scored some nice clean surf at my local spot with the Porthcawl duo known as blods & evil and Jon Stoneman joined us later on.
The surf was around 1.7m on the wave buoy and 9 seconds with a light SE wind.
Fun, clean lines rolled in - a bit smaller than we would have liked but I was having fun and getting plenty of speed out of the quad.
The peaks were nicely groomed offering short rides but the occasional hollow one and I snuck my fringe inside one nice one and blasted a few lips so it was good fun.
The 'locals' burned me on a few, with blods dropping in on my 2nd wave claiming he didn't think I'd make it as I was deep in the lip. I told him I always make 'em ;) and got my own back on his next wave.
And so it continued for 2 more waves with the final score being 2-2. Evil got one up on me but left early before I could repay him! LOL... next time ;0
The dreaded shin cramps struck again! :( so I think I'm going to have to go to the docs and see if they can advise as it's very odd and really starting to get on my nerves now as I have to leave the water and run around on the beach until the pain subsides and then paddle back out.
I'm now wondering if it's caused by build up of lactic acid in my legs from surfing a bit too hard? I'm probably talking utter tripe here but I do tend to go at it hell for leather, catching everything I can and giving 100% on every wave so maybe it's time to slow down a bit and surf more sedately now I'm no longer a grom? ;)
Once back in, I tried to throw everything I had into each wave in case the cramps came back but caught some nice waves. I stuck one nice left with a little tail twist right in the sweet spot and threw a little bit of rooster so I'll have to try and replicate that more often if I remember.
The waves were a lovely shape despite blods saying they were "slow and fat"?! I'm not sure if he WAS talking about himself, his board or the waves but they were not what I'd call slow and fat! ;0
It just needed another 2ft on it and it would have been perfect. Rest Bay on the other hand was apparently "rammed and disappointing" so I definitely made the right call.
A light crowd thinned out even more as the tide pushed in and by the end we were left with 5 guys sharing two peaks and the one more wave syndrome kicked in with me having about 7 more waves before I called it a day.
I donned the winter rubber for the first time and apart from a quick fight with my aqua pack - it doesn't seem to go inside my (Xcel winter suit quite so easily)it was fine. I definitely felt more tired than usual once I was home but my wave count was high and that's the main thing!
Saturday night came and I was happily sitting down, mug of tea in hand ready to sit through another painful X-Factor when the phone rang. It was Will asking me if I wanted to go along and support the 'Elusive Movember' event in Porthcawl....
The competition for 'Mr Movember' hots up as the boys are shamed into taking off their shirts. The girls however kept theirs on....?
A quick check with the wife led to me getting a pass and off we went along with Will's wife Jo.
The guys laid on an good night at the Fairways Hotel- complete with cover band ' Jasper' who played everything from Pearl Jam to Kings of Leon and they also had a smoke machine that seemed to be coming out of Matt Hapgood's drumkit?! LOL
All for a good cause and there were some amazing moustaches on display. Mine wasn't a very good effort but tbh - I'd forgotten it was on so only had a weeks worth of growth to work with!
Good to meet up with everyone and had a nice chat with Matt and Emma etc - see you out back sometime!
My last ditch effort:
Surfing prospects are poor for this week with a NE swell so it will be flat here (The East coast could be good though!) but turning much colder with a few light dusting of snow in places, so it might be time for me to wrap up the palm tree in my garden.
Gull
The surf was around 1.7m on the wave buoy and 9 seconds with a light SE wind.
Fun, clean lines rolled in - a bit smaller than we would have liked but I was having fun and getting plenty of speed out of the quad.
The peaks were nicely groomed offering short rides but the occasional hollow one and I snuck my fringe inside one nice one and blasted a few lips so it was good fun.
The 'locals' burned me on a few, with blods dropping in on my 2nd wave claiming he didn't think I'd make it as I was deep in the lip. I told him I always make 'em ;) and got my own back on his next wave.
And so it continued for 2 more waves with the final score being 2-2. Evil got one up on me but left early before I could repay him! LOL... next time ;0
The dreaded shin cramps struck again! :( so I think I'm going to have to go to the docs and see if they can advise as it's very odd and really starting to get on my nerves now as I have to leave the water and run around on the beach until the pain subsides and then paddle back out.
I'm now wondering if it's caused by build up of lactic acid in my legs from surfing a bit too hard? I'm probably talking utter tripe here but I do tend to go at it hell for leather, catching everything I can and giving 100% on every wave so maybe it's time to slow down a bit and surf more sedately now I'm no longer a grom? ;)
Once back in, I tried to throw everything I had into each wave in case the cramps came back but caught some nice waves. I stuck one nice left with a little tail twist right in the sweet spot and threw a little bit of rooster so I'll have to try and replicate that more often if I remember.
The waves were a lovely shape despite blods saying they were "slow and fat"?! I'm not sure if he WAS talking about himself, his board or the waves but they were not what I'd call slow and fat! ;0
It just needed another 2ft on it and it would have been perfect. Rest Bay on the other hand was apparently "rammed and disappointing" so I definitely made the right call.
A light crowd thinned out even more as the tide pushed in and by the end we were left with 5 guys sharing two peaks and the one more wave syndrome kicked in with me having about 7 more waves before I called it a day.
I donned the winter rubber for the first time and apart from a quick fight with my aqua pack - it doesn't seem to go inside my (Xcel winter suit quite so easily)it was fine. I definitely felt more tired than usual once I was home but my wave count was high and that's the main thing!
Saturday night came and I was happily sitting down, mug of tea in hand ready to sit through another painful X-Factor when the phone rang. It was Will asking me if I wanted to go along and support the 'Elusive Movember' event in Porthcawl....
The competition for 'Mr Movember' hots up as the boys are shamed into taking off their shirts. The girls however kept theirs on....?
A quick check with the wife led to me getting a pass and off we went along with Will's wife Jo.
The guys laid on an good night at the Fairways Hotel- complete with cover band ' Jasper' who played everything from Pearl Jam to Kings of Leon and they also had a smoke machine that seemed to be coming out of Matt Hapgood's drumkit?! LOL
All for a good cause and there were some amazing moustaches on display. Mine wasn't a very good effort but tbh - I'd forgotten it was on so only had a weeks worth of growth to work with!
Good to meet up with everyone and had a nice chat with Matt and Emma etc - see you out back sometime!
My last ditch effort:
Surfing prospects are poor for this week with a NE swell so it will be flat here (The East coast could be good though!) but turning much colder with a few light dusting of snow in places, so it might be time for me to wrap up the palm tree in my garden.
Gull
Tuesday, 16 November 2010
Mammalian diving
It's been a good couple of days here in South Wales. Yesterday saw nice fast punchy clean waves hurtling into Rest Bay at a good 3ft with light offshore winds and apparently there was more of the same today but slightly smaller.
Gull and Fin's surf safari yesterday morning:
And now onto other matters: The mammalian diving reflex present in all of us:
As the reflex kicks in, three changes happen to the body, in this order:
1. Bradycardia is the first response to submersion. Immediately upon facial contact with cold water, the human heart rate slows down ten to twenty-five percent.
Seals experience changes that are even more dramatic, going from about 125 beats per minute to as low as 10 on an extended dive.
Slowing the heart rate lessens the need for bloodstream oxygen, leaving more to be used by other organs.
2. Next, peripheral vasoconstriction sets in. When under high pressure induced by deep diving, capillaries in the extremities start closing off, stopping blood circulation to those areas.
Toes and fingers close off first, then hands and feet, and ultimately arms and legs stop allowing blood circulation, leaving more blood for use by the heart and brain.
Human musculature accounts for only 12% of the body's total oxygen storage, and the body's muscles tend to suffer cramping during this phase.
Aquatic mammals have as much as 25 to 30% of their oxygen storage in muscle, and thus they can keep working long after capillary blood supply is stopped.
3. Finally there's the blood shift that occurs only during very deep dives. When this happens, organ and circulatory walls allow plasma/water to pass freely throughout the thoracic cavity, so its pressure stays constant and the organs aren't crushed.
In this stage, the lungs' alveoli fill up with blood plasma, which is reabsorbed when the animal leaves the pressurized environment.
This stage of the diving reflex has been observed in humans (such as world champion freediver Martin Štěpánek) during extremely deep (over 90 metres or 300 ft) freedives.
Gull and Fin's surf safari yesterday morning:
And now onto other matters: The mammalian diving reflex present in all of us:
As the reflex kicks in, three changes happen to the body, in this order:
1. Bradycardia is the first response to submersion. Immediately upon facial contact with cold water, the human heart rate slows down ten to twenty-five percent.
Seals experience changes that are even more dramatic, going from about 125 beats per minute to as low as 10 on an extended dive.
Slowing the heart rate lessens the need for bloodstream oxygen, leaving more to be used by other organs.
2. Next, peripheral vasoconstriction sets in. When under high pressure induced by deep diving, capillaries in the extremities start closing off, stopping blood circulation to those areas.
Toes and fingers close off first, then hands and feet, and ultimately arms and legs stop allowing blood circulation, leaving more blood for use by the heart and brain.
Human musculature accounts for only 12% of the body's total oxygen storage, and the body's muscles tend to suffer cramping during this phase.
Aquatic mammals have as much as 25 to 30% of their oxygen storage in muscle, and thus they can keep working long after capillary blood supply is stopped.
3. Finally there's the blood shift that occurs only during very deep dives. When this happens, organ and circulatory walls allow plasma/water to pass freely throughout the thoracic cavity, so its pressure stays constant and the organs aren't crushed.
In this stage, the lungs' alveoli fill up with blood plasma, which is reabsorbed when the animal leaves the pressurized environment.
This stage of the diving reflex has been observed in humans (such as world champion freediver Martin Štěpánek) during extremely deep (over 90 metres or 300 ft) freedives.
Monday, 15 November 2010
Cold winds blow
Not bad a weekend all things considered!
The wind was howling on Saturday morning so I took a rare dip at Coney and was pleasantly surprised. I've slagged this spot off over the years (as has just about everyone) but like a faithful old dog - she sometimes delivers!
It was wasn't epic but it was fun and for once, the odd wave held up allowing for a few moves. The waves were in the 3-4ft region with a nice fast, steep drop followed by a wallowing middle section ending in a fast bashable shorey on the inside.
Claire turned up and took a few pics so cheers for that. Check out that backdrop!
The first hour was a lot of fun as Aran and I shared a few rights. One thing I did notice was the water temp but I'd opted to wear winter boots for the first time and it made a big difference.
After that it began to get a little more crowded and the longboarders arrived sitting deep and snagging all the nice ones early.
I was gagging to get one in before my fond memories of Coney faded and finally spotted a cheeky right. I paddled and was suddenly joined by a long haired blonde grom prob in his early teens.
The wave was a right, I was going for it and was not in the mood to be hassled by some young punk! I shouted and he gave me some garbled back chat at which point I lost my rag slightly and told him where to go as I jumped to my feet. Luckily this was my last wave in or I'd probably have paddled back out and throttled him! ;0
I had a quick chat with Claire Beach who was taking snaps on the beach and she confirmed that said grom and his posse were local gobshites who thought they owned all the beaches, so I'll be keeping an eye out for them in future and 'burning them' at every opportunity until they learn some respect! ;0
Funnily enough I mentioned it in passing to Malc and Aggers the following day, at which point they both errupted in laughter and said "yeah, we call them the WQS as they think they're something special!" LOL
A different kind of floater at Coney...
Sunday was lovely. The wind had dropped to practically nothing - just a whisper of a Northerly wind. I got on it early and was in the water by 8am still thinking about wearing my winter suit...I decided not to as I wanted a good surf and it was the right decision.
Every now and again I have a surf where I feel like I'm actually surfing well. Most f the time I'm prob only 70% satisfied but Sunday was a def 90% after my first 3 waves.
There were only a handful of guys in - I saw Malc and Guto a bit further down but the middle peak was practically empty. Glassy faces jacked up delivering steep 4ft set waves.
I stroked into my first wave, just about clung on to a very drop and went screaming along, smacking the lip and sending plenty of spray towards the heavens. I however went in the opposite direction but it felt good!
I paddled out and caught 2 consecutive waves, both a good size and holding up nicely :) As the tide pushed, it went a bit deep so I paddled inside and found a super bank all to myself.
It was at this point that I took a few beatings as the wave turned into a bit of an angry mutant, contorting this way and that. I copped a board in the head and was ragged dolled a few times for my troubles but that's half the fun - right?!
But the drops were steep and fun and I snagged some lovely short, bowling rights curving into the gold course.
Rest then went into overdrive and stepped up a gear delivering 4ft+ and clean sets?!
The crowd grew but there were waves breaking everywhere! I saw Aggers catch a few and crossed paths with Malc again on the inside - he's off to California shortly - lucky bugger!
The cold was setting in after 1.5hrs surfing, so I caught one more nice left, whacked the lip and called it a day - done and dusted by 9.30am :)
The wave cleaned up even more later apparently but I'd had my fill. Looking nice again today with clean 2-3ft fast and hollow walls unloading at mid tide.
The wind is still light offshore and there were only 4 in when I checked with Fin at 8am.
I think short, fast, 100% power surfs are the future, this winter. It's getting colder...
The wind was howling on Saturday morning so I took a rare dip at Coney and was pleasantly surprised. I've slagged this spot off over the years (as has just about everyone) but like a faithful old dog - she sometimes delivers!
It was wasn't epic but it was fun and for once, the odd wave held up allowing for a few moves. The waves were in the 3-4ft region with a nice fast, steep drop followed by a wallowing middle section ending in a fast bashable shorey on the inside.
Claire turned up and took a few pics so cheers for that. Check out that backdrop!
The first hour was a lot of fun as Aran and I shared a few rights. One thing I did notice was the water temp but I'd opted to wear winter boots for the first time and it made a big difference.After that it began to get a little more crowded and the longboarders arrived sitting deep and snagging all the nice ones early.
I was gagging to get one in before my fond memories of Coney faded and finally spotted a cheeky right. I paddled and was suddenly joined by a long haired blonde grom prob in his early teens.
The wave was a right, I was going for it and was not in the mood to be hassled by some young punk! I shouted and he gave me some garbled back chat at which point I lost my rag slightly and told him where to go as I jumped to my feet. Luckily this was my last wave in or I'd probably have paddled back out and throttled him! ;0
I had a quick chat with Claire Beach who was taking snaps on the beach and she confirmed that said grom and his posse were local gobshites who thought they owned all the beaches, so I'll be keeping an eye out for them in future and 'burning them' at every opportunity until they learn some respect! ;0
Funnily enough I mentioned it in passing to Malc and Aggers the following day, at which point they both errupted in laughter and said "yeah, we call them the WQS as they think they're something special!" LOL
A different kind of floater at Coney...
Sunday was lovely. The wind had dropped to practically nothing - just a whisper of a Northerly wind. I got on it early and was in the water by 8am still thinking about wearing my winter suit...I decided not to as I wanted a good surf and it was the right decision.
Every now and again I have a surf where I feel like I'm actually surfing well. Most f the time I'm prob only 70% satisfied but Sunday was a def 90% after my first 3 waves.
There were only a handful of guys in - I saw Malc and Guto a bit further down but the middle peak was practically empty. Glassy faces jacked up delivering steep 4ft set waves.
I stroked into my first wave, just about clung on to a very drop and went screaming along, smacking the lip and sending plenty of spray towards the heavens. I however went in the opposite direction but it felt good!
I paddled out and caught 2 consecutive waves, both a good size and holding up nicely :) As the tide pushed, it went a bit deep so I paddled inside and found a super bank all to myself.
It was at this point that I took a few beatings as the wave turned into a bit of an angry mutant, contorting this way and that. I copped a board in the head and was ragged dolled a few times for my troubles but that's half the fun - right?!
But the drops were steep and fun and I snagged some lovely short, bowling rights curving into the gold course.
Rest then went into overdrive and stepped up a gear delivering 4ft+ and clean sets?!
The crowd grew but there were waves breaking everywhere! I saw Aggers catch a few and crossed paths with Malc again on the inside - he's off to California shortly - lucky bugger!
The cold was setting in after 1.5hrs surfing, so I caught one more nice left, whacked the lip and called it a day - done and dusted by 9.30am :)
The wave cleaned up even more later apparently but I'd had my fill. Looking nice again today with clean 2-3ft fast and hollow walls unloading at mid tide.
The wind is still light offshore and there were only 4 in when I checked with Fin at 8am.
I think short, fast, 100% power surfs are the future, this winter. It's getting colder...
Friday, 12 November 2010
Thursday, 11 November 2010
Storm force
8am....
Not much to report in South Wales today apart from gale force westerly winds and an angry sea - angry at being flattened by the wind!
And the reason for all this? A nice little 951 perched off the coast:
Coney is rideable if you're really desperate but only just as a mushy 3-4ft wave spills in but once that tide drops - forget about it.
It's 2.9m on our wave buoy as I type this with a 7 sec wave period and 40 mph WSW winds which will probably strengthen!
More strong W winds tomorrow so Saturday looks like our best bet for surf at the moment with the winds easing.
Meanwhile the Pembs buoy is registering 4.4m so BHS and Tenby will be off their faces!
Looking forward to seeing some pics from lensman - Adie :)
Not much to report in South Wales today apart from gale force westerly winds and an angry sea - angry at being flattened by the wind!
And the reason for all this? A nice little 951 perched off the coast:
Coney is rideable if you're really desperate but only just as a mushy 3-4ft wave spills in but once that tide drops - forget about it.It's 2.9m on our wave buoy as I type this with a 7 sec wave period and 40 mph WSW winds which will probably strengthen!
More strong W winds tomorrow so Saturday looks like our best bet for surf at the moment with the winds easing.
Meanwhile the Pembs buoy is registering 4.4m so BHS and Tenby will be off their faces!
Looking forward to seeing some pics from lensman - Adie :)
Tuesday, 9 November 2010
Aileen's crazy Asbo brother
Just when you though it couldn't get any bigger those big wave chargers off Ireland's West coast have been at it again!
Ladies and gentlemen...allow me to present - 'Prowlers'
Thanks to longboarding sensation - John Fitz for the heads up on this story.
Ladies and gentlemen...allow me to present - 'Prowlers'
Thanks to longboarding sensation - John Fitz for the heads up on this story.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)