Surfing in Interesting Climes: Rainy
D evon-Cornwall Surf Trip, Summer '00
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Streets dry quicker under 3 wheeled autos.
Reliant Robin in Brixham, Devon.
In the summer of '00 I went to England to see what I'd been missing all those times I'd flown over it on the way to the continent. I rented a car and drove out to Devon, in the southwestern part of the country. In Brixham I saw charming houses and beautiful waterfronts, and breathed sweet sea air.
Berry Head is a prominent cliff that overlooks the Atlantic. The moors on top and steep drops to the water set it apart from the cliffs I know from California.
Brixham features many landmarks related to its seafairing history. One of my favorites was the Brixham Sea Anglers Club building and parking lot.
Trip to Newquay, Cornwall
Driving down Devon's hedge lined lanes on the way to go surfing is like being in a green tunnel. In fact, it was the closest thing to being in the "green room" that we got on this trip.
Newquay in Corwall features surf shops that seem to outdo their American counterparts in terms of loud colors and spillage of inventory onto the sidewalks.
The wide expanse of wet beach shows how much the tide goes in and out here. There may be two hundred yards difference between low and high tide. There were strange rock formations all over, and I left my pack in a perfect natural locker.
I was guided on this trip by Devon resident Jon Bowen, a member of the Kooks, a surfing group with international membership and many fine and heroic accomplishments. Phil, another area surfer, accompanied us. They are avid bodyboarders. Having brought no surfboard, I became a bodyboarder for this trip.
Cliffs and moors and the strange dwellings constructed on them make Fistral Beach in Newquay a picturesque bodyboarding spot. There is another part of the beach that faces the ocean, but a stiff breeze made that too blown out. We walked around to a more protected cove. Here Jon gets ready to hit the waves, which were a sort of onshore wind swell, but still rideable.
The wind was pretty raw, but since it had been raining the whole drive out, we felt lucky to get some surfing in such a beautiful setting. Here Jon paddles out, perhaps thinking of an after surf snack of a hot pasty, a meat filled calzone-type thing which is a Corwall delicacy.
Phil takes off in a glinting jade face.
