Wee Trip North of the Border

Chatting to Paul about places we've surfed and got reminded of the superb trip we had up in North Scotland in August 1997. So this is tracking waaaaay back. It was an epic drive up from Bath, via some-place-I-don't-remember in the Midlands where we collected Big G from the train station a mere three hours late. He seemed pretty pleased to see us when we arrived. Especially since most of us didn't have mobile phones to let him know so I reckon he though we'd abandoned him.

We had a night in Glasgow which we navigated without getting hurt, then a further 10 hour drive before finally getting into the water on dusk, which was close to 9pm. The surf was consistently fun for the whole trip, the weather unbelievable, waves uncrowded, locals friendly and the beer cheap. Can't say as much in a positive vein for the hair styles of the times. Please remember it was the 90's before you judge.

 

To Succeed You Must First Fail

Seemed to be a bit of success and failure happening in the line up today. Get a good one. Get smacked in the head by the lip. Do a nice off the top. Get eaten by the foam monster. Didn't seem to be any way to avoid it. Well, almost no way. Pictures of those that made at the bottom.

Succeed	Fail
Getting air	Face-plant floater
Sliding under the lip	Crushed
Bottom turn	Ocean limbo
Cover-up	Axed

There were some successes.

Getting the fins right out	Off the top	Sliding
The rights in the corner keep on coming	Another off the top	Waving goodbye to the crowd

Lucky Dip

Lucky enough to sneak a trip to the Maldives on the way back from Europe in July; the place really is amazing. Headed to South Atoll as been hearing increasing reports of over-crowding and increasing problems in the North Atoll way.

It isn't a first visit here (most definitely not the last) and was blessed with good waves at Yin Yang, a right hander that's on the edge of Laamu Atoll in the South. More details on the spots below the photos.

The island also ended up being the final resting place of the much loved, and much used Nev. I bought this board back in 2003 on our initial trip to Australia and it's done well; multiple trips to Bali, Europe, and the US. Left if for the locals to use and enjoy.

Lots of mysto spots on the flight down	Transport on the island	View from the breakfast table
One of the real locals	Island hideaway	Sunset sky
Simply unbelievable out there	Thunderstorm	Nev's final spot (at the top). Next to the windsurfers (sorry about that)
Another thunderstorm. Short lived but impressive.	Filtered sunlight.	Yin Yangs
The inside section. It's a bit shallow.	Tucked low, running the inside bowl.	Off the top

Quick guide on the spot in case you end up coming here.

Yin Yang

• Summary; this is by far the most consistent spot in the local area. It's a right0hander with a football pitch sized take-off zone, a relatively flat reef pointing out into open ocean so the quality of the wave is really dependant on the swell direction. Which, since swells come in from a really wide range, from dead South through to more East, the peak shifts around a lot. This is not one of those spots where you'll be able to line up, sit and wait. You're going to be doing a fair bit of paddling around to find the right one. It also means the size can bounce up and down really quickly. In one session it ranged from 2-3ft up to 4-5ft in short spurts. It's a bit like a better version of Sultans in the North Atoll for those that know it.
• Access; unless your Laird Hamilton the only way you're going to get to it is by boat.
• Peaks; there are three peaks which generally connect when there's a bit more South in the wave. First peak is the outside; it needs to be a bit bigger to work (over 3ft). A lined up wall that's not that steep but is long. It looks like it's going to close out but if you stick with it, it generally holds up. Peak two is the inside bowl. A steeper, shallower bowl section that can throw out a hefty lip. Peak three is right on the inside. It's really shallow but very fast and the section you're most likely going to get a barrel. On bigger swells the first two peaks connect to give you a long wall followed by a very fast and steep inside section.
• Lining Up; it's a bit of a way offshore so lining up is tough though there's a bit of an eddy on the inside peak that you can sit just outside of. You can kind of line up off a radio aerial on an island inside the atoll but it's a bit far away to be useful. Just watch your position relatively to the peak is the best way and watch for that tell-tale sloping downwards along the reef that marks a more Southerly lined wave that will run better along the reef.
• Tides; works on pretty much any tide though low tide will give you less of a shifting peak and better quality wave.

Jetty C

• Summary; this is a left hander straight off Jetty C on the island. It's a very fast walled left with very long rides. The quality of the peak is completely dependant on the wave direction as the reef is quite flat.
• Access; walk / cycle round to Jetty C, walk and then paddle straight out. It's a bit of a slog.
• Peaks; the biggest trick is to avoid the creeping temptation to keep moving up the reef as it always looks like there's a better peak up the reef. It's a myth. Find a spot where the sets break and stick to it.
• Lining Up; although it's kind of hard to tell there are two main peaks. One that's pretty much right in front of the edge of Jetty C (there's a pole that sticks up out of the reef that's a good marker), and a second one that's a little further round the reef. As per Ying Yangs it can be tough lining up.
• Tides; low appears to be better but then it seemed to work fine on high tide too.

House Reef

• Summary; I saw this break a couple of times but the swell wasn't really big so it wasn't perfect. It's right inside the channel so needs a big swell to get going. Great for beginners and longboarders. It's another left.

Looking Back

Surfing in the UK is tough. Early starts, long drives, you have to be a bit of a mini-weather expert to find those windows of rideable surf, and a bit of a mini-explorer to find spots. But it's this that makes surfing in the UK so great - forget the cold, forget the dark winter months; surfing in locations where you feel like you're the one who discovered it against a backdrop of rising cliffs and rugged coastlines make it all worthwhile.

This video is a small collection taken from years of material filmed between 2002 and 2007 by Big G and Ben. The surf might not be classic, the quality might not be pin sharp (this is from the days of Standard Definition cameras by the way - remember them?), but it's not about that, it's about what surfing in the UK is.