Could not melt this puddle today.

I just wanted to use a hot word because I’m really cold!

I’ve seen plenty of people trip up in the street but Ive never ever seen a seagull caught out by an outside set, have you? Just a thought that’s all.

And it was a beautiful little wave saying ride me please. Today is sunny, windier and the wave is smaller.

Peter’s Victorian beach swings have received a new lick of paint for this season. There was a study group on the beach and a beautiful small clean wave that someone should really be riding!

The camera on my iphone is great but not clever enough to deal with this exposure dichotomy

I almost used the pic of the JCB moving sand from Peters Victorian swings site but this one was so much better!

I drove right across Exmoor today and it was dramatic! down to 20 miles an hour for a stretch of persistent hail. Very beautiful it was though.

The brightest colour on the beach was in fact the woman’s coat.

Its been the in the wrong direction or to strong for weeks for the flyers up on the Down.

The amount of sand that has shifted up the beach this winter is quite phenomenal. New rocks exposed, fence posts buried. I didn’t stay out long for this one the wind chill drove me back to the office.

I felt the warmth of the sun today, just on the side of my face, only for a few seconds as I walked through a sheltered area of the village. It was the highlight of my day!

A stunning morning, the sun wasn’t up over the hill yet, only one surfer in and one on his way.

What a fantastic day with shelter from the winds, a great swell, enough wind to fly a kite and enough sun to remind us about summer. The days are getting longer!

I did have a photo lined up from this morning when it was cloudy,  then the sun came out and I decided to wait for the sun set, it was worth the wait.

What a pleasant morning on the beach, hardly any wind, clear skies and a small clean wave. Ive already rearranged my day!

No really it is! How much do we need blue sky and green sea. Its been Grey and brown respectively for so long.

Sometimes the sky seems more disconnected the earth than other days. And fighting dogs seem to have taken over the world of pets, well the beach anyway.

I had a wonderful chat this morning about composting all the seaweed that comes off the beach, how good would that be!

I took this just before Richard (from Parkin estates who own and manage the beach) arrived on the miniature tractor to take it away. Join the campaign against marine litter in case you haven’t already.

The big yellow thing was in fact a wave buoy, it looked like the plate that had been welded to its lover half had just sheered off. With so few opportunities to surf in the last two months Ive started to dream about surfing nearly every night, but its still goes on shore!

I think, is one of the shipping Light buoys that appeared a few years ago off the end of Morte and Baggy. I’m glad I saw this its made up slightly for missing the 6 foot Turtle that washed up last week!

This shot was taken beyond middle beach (which always makes me think of middle earth) the sloping cliff is so steep you cant even see the dunes below. Did you spot the little people?

Forgetting to take my coat is my excuse for not getting out of the van today!

In amongst the huge swells and strong winds there was a moment when it was possible for most of us who surf to catch a wave on the local beaches.

Heavy Christmas colds mean the B list pic for the 25th is now the A list for the 26th! I took this on Christmas eve at the Woody Bay Station’s Santa express event…whooooo whooooo.

I found these brave souls taking a dip on Combsgate. What a very British thing to do. Before I saw this, todays pic was going to be of Santa out of his Grotto! have a lovely day.

It’s dark, wet and grey. I just had to look back at some of pics from a few years ago. This is one of my favorites.

The Torrage the Taw, the Seven, Port Talbot, all relatively local sources of debris found on the beach. Big tides pulling stuff off the banks that the smaller tides left alone. We all live down stream heh.

The beach felt out of bounds today, a white out with lashing rain. This pic is from the other day when this rainbow lasted for at least 15 mins and the muck on my sensor for much longer!

Taken from Marine Drive today, over looking middle beach. The SLR got forgotten again, so another iphone pic.

I took this with the iphone as you can probably tell. It was a mad dash to the cliff top over Combsegate and back to the warmth of the van!

My commando style bobbless bobble hat actually blew off while I took this, the hail stones did more to my face than any exfoliating scrub that I have never used.

I expect the wind turbines over the hill are turned off today. There are so many things flying around that should be fixed down its abit dodgy, must watch out for bits of trees down the lane.

And spectacular rainbows, I watched this one grow from small beginnings to a full arch over 15 min or more.

Almost at the top, just behind Woolacombe down. Reckon I have a whole series to do from these elivated positions.

After more than two years on the daily wave I still haven’t explored all the angles, this was shot from some height up a road parallel to the sea front. Someone thought I looked like a mermaid in the swimming pool today, he has been here for less that 36 months though.

A tough call to find something arty on the beach today, my only offering being the light house light on Hartland point.

Seen from the Royal Hotel the weather is mean and blowy. Apologies for the lack of daily waves over the weekend. Back on the mission this week!

There is some proper weather on the way and this was the start. A huge swell for most of next week all with wind from the west!

The nicest toilet block Ive ever seen I think. That was as far as I got with that train of thought it was superseded by face book cache issues and the need to get an advent calender that doesn’t make a two year old run round in circles for an hour. Oh yer the surf is bigger than it looks.

Oh no another mad day no time to reflect on deadlines past!

I took this with the iphone on the way to the coppicing wood to look for small bears. Then I’m off to the SAS / MBS / AONB beach clean at Lynnmouth. It starts at 2.pm see you there!

It feels cold for a west wind, must be picking up some north in it from somewhere> Since the weekend Ive got deeper and deeper into Sea Shanty world. it was the Exmouth Shanty Men that inspired me.

Down at sea level today and cant think of anything meaningful to say, Ive dried up which does at least link in with yesterdays blog about the stream!

I wonder if this stream has ever stopped flowing. I was reading about mammoths this morning and started to get my head round time scales of thousands and millions of years. A friend found a neolithic spear head on Morte point. Must fly I’m 5 minutes late.

The swell is back and so is the wind! We started to process the video from the Clovelly Herring festival and its looking good!

What does that term really refer too? It is a cut of lamb and mutton, common in the UK and the Commonwealth. It is a primal cut, thus is separated from the carcass during butchering.^[1][2] It is one of the cheaper cuts of meat, and can be used in soups and stews.

I was hard to decide which Photo to use today, there were so many possibilities. In the end it was the arty shot that got the spot. Taken between sets the only thing it doesn’t show is the spectacular size of some of the waves.

A spectacular day, a busy day, just enough time to take a photo. Rush rush zoom zoom I’m going to the moon, 54321 blast off. Another world.

A beautiful morning on the beach, the unwary getting caught out by those surging sets close to high, only wet feet and shocked dogs no drownings. It did leave me wondering if I would venture into the sea without a wet suit to save a dog, would I? If its master was a child maybe.

A huge dark mass of cloud with its face illuminated by the sunrise. It was hard to see the swell in these conditions only when a wave started to feather did it reveal itself.

Most of the swell that was coming this way was in serious competition with another swell going the other way. I watched in astonishment this morning when two blokes walked past me with a sit on kayak and a small toddler in a shorty wet suit!

Another glorious morning, Its the SAS beach clean today in Woolacombe it starts at 11am by the stream you can check out when its happening on the other beaches here. Since 1994, plastic items washing up on our shores have increased by 135%.

Andrew Cotton  knows all about big lumps of water, his achievement is still resounding around my head, you can also read about it here.

Not a soul out just a one, one to one surfing lesson on the way back to the comfort of their van. It was the layers of mermaid tears that caught my eyes yesterday. They were revealed by the small cliff cut into the dunes by the stream.

There was going to be a beach theme to this blog, until that is, I got an email from my mate Doug his band Central Casting bring their alt-folk-country acoustic sound and insightful lyrics to the Landmark Pavilion on the 12th November.  buy tickets here in advance because they are going fast!

A steely gray day with biting winds from the North East. The stream has taken a huge turn to the north and carved out a small cliff four feet tall in parts, the sound of large chunks of wet sand falling into the water can easily startle if your not prepared for the sound.

A few of Andrew Cotton’s waves from last season. A warm up to what you can expect from him this winter. Watch this space! Huge thanks to Richard Asquith and Henry Price for the amazing sound track. You can see what they are up to at friend-of-mine.co.uk/

Last day without boots I think, after an hour my toes were suffering from a slight stinging sensation. The air was so clear today the horizon in the see was so so sharp it was hard to see the sets coming.

Same swell predicted for today and tomorrow head for those south facing points for a glassy wave. Every time I look over to the north I cant help have the arguments for and against the Atlantic Array running through my mind, off to do some more research.

In case you haven’t noticed we are in the middle of a wonderful set of rather spectacular swells. Getting in to make the most of them is proving to be a challenge now the clocks have gone back, hanging on for the weekend!

This was the view out of my van window at 7.30 am, it was raining. I was on the way to a swimming pool, just to swim I thought. But such is the feelings about the Atlantic Array that at one point there were 4 of us in the shallow end talking politics and money.

Challenging waves and challenging times for all of us wrestling with the Atlantic Array proposal, only 8 days left to get your feedback form in find it here.

Another big swell. My head is full of wind farms and tidal turbines this morning, as there is a consultation meeting at Woolacombe village hall 7pm. Another splendid binary date.

One man out, if you look hard you can see him. I missed yesterday, I was introducing a new person to an old technology. Why do steam trains feel so romantic? Watching volunteers in their seventies shoveling coke into a boiler was inspiring.

A rare sight in Woolacombe, a group of seven competent Wind surfers enjoying the wind and swell. Hats off to anyone who is prepared to take so much hardware into a critical position on any wave worth speaking of.

Suddenly its summer again, I was way to hot in my 4/3 could have got away with the summer suit. Didn’t take a leash, regretted that, little people in the shore break, no one hurt though.

All of a sudden my photos have some way of reminding me of my work situations. This one isn’t profound in any way just very accurate. is all Ive got to do is make sure I catch the ones that are worth keeping and drop the rest. There is a lovely clean little wave today.

Flying, unaided is a common cultural pattern dream that is shared by all of humanity, Mine have ranged from floating a few inches off the ground (these were responsible for me learning to skate board at 40 years old) to intercontinental excursions that have found me waking with a start and palpitations. Its very cold this morning and the waves are rideable but small.

What a splendid morning chilly and clear, a lovely little wave. It was all going to plan this morning then bamm a big change of situation requiring a rethink and a rejig of working hours, I am not jogging along I’m sprinting short distances.

Of course I’ve added a lighting effect. I haven’t sucked any colour out though, it is this gray. I had another one of those work or surf first dilemmas this morning, waiting is always the riskier strategy and that’s the one I have taken.

I tried to get seven of the different activities I could see on the beach all in one frame. Time though, was not on my side, harvesting root crops up the allotment for dinner was the urgent task.

It really feels like winter today not just Autumn. The Surf was pretty clean this morning as I took my little man to the pool with our mates. I pulled out another two floats from his buoyancy jacket. The consequences of which I could  relate too a feeling you often experience in adult life, sometimes nothing seams to have changed, you have to work a bit harder just to stay afloat.

Quite how I managed to deplete all three of my Nikon batteries without leaving one on charge overnight I don’t know, so this is one of those pics I talked about yesterday. The sea state is a bit smaller, there is less wind and there is a tad more cloud around other than that its today quite like yesterday.

What a surprising morning this one was. First my attention was drawn to the clouds, then the changing course of the stream on its way to the sea, its suddenly taken of to the north. Then my attention was drawn by the base of the Woolacombe Surf Life Saving club‘s shed and the post right in front of it. Which all means I had six contenders for today’s pic.

People are still enjoying the beach even though its the coldest windiest day this side of summer. Dogs do have jobs, dogs should have jobs, not just with sheep, policemen or people who cant see but to bring people together. To give and receive affection for those who find themselves without human company, today I’m not in the dog house, what does that mean?

One mile from the village and 19 miles from Lundy, a very different day to the one before. I must seek out the history books about Lundy, just the fact the Pirates were still in charge until the Crown got them removed in the 17th century, then there were thousands of people living or held captive there.

Summer that is! the sea was the same temperature as the air today which made the swell and the sun even more pleasurable. Took one board down the beach worth £300 came back with another worth £2000, got to swap back tomorrow though!

A smaller swell and a darker morning. I spent the time on the beach talking to Rich who has lived here all his life. Its fascinating finding out that there are 15 foot sea walls built by the Victorians now hidden by sand dunes and the level of the sand is allot higher all over the beach even since the 7o’s.

Its a beautiful morning with a clean swell. Ive been doing these daily pics in Woolacombe for nearly three years, It amazes me that I can still find new angles and perspectives. I’m going to milk this one whenever I can, just need people looking through the telescope.

Another wild and wet day when I didn’t make it down to the beach, this shot is from 12 days ago. Mike must ave been the driver. It made me think of doing some creative rake work, one morning on a big tide, mmm maybe in the spring.

This little chap (about the size of a Labrador dog) is a lesser known Harbour Porpoise, its hard to see why or how it died. Alive or not the Marine Conservation Society are always interested in your sightings of marine wild life.

And the other reality is… I keep leaving the camera in the wrong place and not taking a photo at the right time, still searching for the new rhythm that’s needed now I’m not living on the beach, it will come I’m sure. So will another stable high pressure system over the uk.

Peter is waiting for the JCB to dig his train and swings out of the sand, for winter storage away from the elements. I’m trying to work out how to escape up to London next week as wavedreamer won the NT trailer competition for the London surf / film festival !

My Focus this week has been the Atlantic array proposal, It is a tough one to get your head around and I would encourage anyone to visit the online proposal read the documents and fill in the feedback forms which can be found in the drop down menu on the right.

Just a few days ago I took this as I walked through the grounds of Woolacombe Bay Hotel. Only the life ring gives away the lush location of the outdoor pool. Its so close to the beach the scrub in the background has grown over, stabilised and hidden the sand dune system.

We shot this National Trust trailer for a competition entry.
It was shot on and around National trust properties in North Devon, and the surfers are Neil Randall and Simon Skelton.
The original sound track was created for this trailer by Gordon Dryburgh thanks Gordon!

Its dark its raining and I would much rather share the other view from yesterdays photo’s than struggle trying to make something meaningful out of a grey morning. The first week of free parking on the esplanade and the end of restrictions in the village is just one of the signs that the season is over.

I did risk getting a wet bum for this. I had already took a photo of tiny waves and a blue sky, turned round to see the sun rising in the bottom of the valley and decided this was the one for today. now seven hours later there is such heavy low cloud it feels like its raining.

This was not the shot of the day, I missed that one while I was introducing my toddler to the delights of jumping in to swimming pools. What I missed was two young women enjoying the feeling of freedom by surfing without wet suits, well without any clothes at all actually. They were called in by the Life Guards.

I’m still finding the new rhythm to my daily wave pics living a mile up the road instead of on the beach makes a difference. And this weather and waves have made a huge difference to the village this weekend, its absolutely rammed! Oh yer have you noticed its another binary date.

Wow what a stunning swell and what a day for seven men to go looking for waves on Mat’s amazingly beautiful catamaran, I caught their departure and Mikey is there to catch the action. This is going to be good!

Yes, over the showers is a tiny high tide wave that works so well for body surfing without fins, just a hand plane. My mate Steve PP would be screaming along one of these on his home made plywood belly board, that’s if he hasn’t cut it up into golden sections to paint on!

Oh how sunlight and small waves lift my spirits. There were mushrooms on the Hotel lawn this morning. The seagulls spent the night in a south facing horse field next to the football Pitch and I’m looking out for basking adders and lizards this afternoon.

Its all relative of course, a good size, could be the size of surf you have the most fun in. For me that would be chest high I reckon. Its something I must ask of Andrew Cotton I would place good money on it not being chest high, unless he brought King Kong into the equation. Andrew is also a very very funny blogger.

Small and sweet, I do hope that’s sugar and not perspiration. I’m not sure what was more unforgivable yesterday, the spelling or the photo. Dyslexia has its rewards but not on a public blog. Now being a mile away from the sea means you will get slightly later photos, more likely to see reflected sun more often I reckon.

As I walked back into the office the sun came out! The waves are cleaner and bigger than they look in this photo and my head is still full of stuff about sheep dogs, sheep and wolves after I inadvertently read a news letter that I inadvertently signed up for. I think I should go for a surf before I start work.

Where has the shop gone? Well we never wanted to be shop keepers and cant remember why we thought it was such a good idea. But hey you learn things along the way. Now you will have the chance of getting stuff for free from a GoproHD and T shirts to surf movie DVD’s. Watch this space. Well the space on the right actually.

And dark and spiky, a busy day ahead filming a promo and moving house! You should have seen the beach grooming marks on the beach this morning they were amazing, not as amazing as the pink clouds though.

Same deal as yesterday, early start, dark and wet, so this pic is a wide shot from the other night when I chose a detail of the sky above me. Windmills of my mind, yes Fullabrook and the proposed Atlantic Array have made it into my dream time and FB groups that change their name have something to do with it!

I got into work before it was light this morning, just before the heavens opened! So this mornings offering is a wide shot from the other day when I used a much closer version. It was called Sharing the edge.

After a really wild day we were treated to a sunset sky that reminded me of the first time I saw renaissance masterpieces in the National Gallery. The warm rays were reaching the higher clouds making a dramatic sky full of depth and unexpected layers of which this pic is just a detail.

Small and clean and set for a change to on shores again. The beach huts have left the beach and are now in storage, the beach groomer is still out and so are the life guards, so it could still feel like summer again.

The last hour of a splendid days surf. Allot of shifting of working hours must have gone on. There were definitely more smiles in the village. One of them belonged to a friend who started surfing in 67 and borrowed an old Guts board of mine, he was so excited by it I had to sell it to him!

These intrepid surfers are my neighbors and they Belly Board from April to October. Check out the Museum of British surfing and the World Bellyboard Championships for more on Belly Boarding

Wow a big sea and spectacular sunset. Shame I missed Kite surfers at high tide, I was busy reading the Whale and the Snail for the 53rd time. When the sea gets this big I get excited about the next low tide when you can see how much sand has been moved or dumped on the banks and bays.

A pretty confused sea state today, lumps and bumps crashing. There are only half a dozen beach huts waiting for winter storage. Wind blown sand is making the Marram grass look very pretty. This lighter wind blown sand was considered the best for pointing brick work in the days when builders took their materials off the beach.

Warm winds are blowing hard already, the two eyed monster must have appeared a bit early. Its going to be big tomorrow, head for shelter from the south westerlies and hope they swing round!

I didn’t make it down to the beach, I followed a very smart lad around the grounds of Woolacombe Bay Hotel. Whatever the weather the flags get put out. I wrote our web address on the back of his hand. I hope he remembered to wash it off before serving breakfast.

We were really pleased to be able to record this Community Arts mural at the Braunton Youth Club for the museumofbritishsurfing.org.uk who funded it through the ‘Count Me In‘ scheme. The Mural was designed and project led by artist Conor Wilson conorwilson.co.uk The ideas for the design were generated in meetings with the young people who use the youth club. It was a fantastic achievement and the first of many collaborations between Braunton youth club and the Museum of British Surfing.

Fast forward winter or what, goodness me, its hard to stomach, so few clean waves but this will be my last whinge. I will find a positive spin. Kite surfing that’s it! I saw three kite surfers on the river Taw yesterday. It looks spectacular looking at them through the new bridge.

I really had such high expectations for September. Those expectations have now been transferred to October, by the law of averages that surely cant be an over optimistic position to take. Hoping that the 4 kilo I put on in Aug will come off in that month I know is over optimistic.

Yet another iphone pic, I will, I will remember to take my slr home with me tonight. The rest of the day has been about resolve and confidence. We are moving into a new office and I have spent a disproportionate amount of time looking at the quality of  Celotex.

Another iphone shot, this one taken as soon as there was enough light around 6.30. I have a little poorly helper on my lap as I type this he who got up at 4.30.

From the southerly winds and you could find a clean wave. And when your out of the water this afternoon you will need to take shelter from the rain thats making its way over the atlantic.

Well about fifty of their names actually, are used to identify each beach hut. It would have been so easy to give them numbers but someone who cared had a hand in the process and holiday makers have the pleasure in relating to their beach huts in a way that wouldn’t be possible with a digit.

It was only this morning that I realised how few calm days there have been this summer. The crops on my allotment and the maiden apple trees in our new orchard tell the storry well.

On the beach this morning and thinking how glad I am to be of the disposition not to have one of these heavy clouds over my head. Give me sun shine every day, give me …… da da da da da da la la la la la la la….. I miss Morcambe and Wise!

The north in the wind made this morning feel like the end of the summer. By lunch time it had warmed up. This dramatic pic came straight out of the can called iphone.

What dramatic weather! I spent the time on the cliff thinking about Turner and how he used tied himself to the mast of a ship to experience the full force of a storm at sea.

I forgot to take the Nikon home last night, so this mornings pic was taken with my i phone, not so sophisticated but it often has a painterly quality that I really like.  During the 10 minutes I spent on the cliff top I was treated to a fly past by a flock of Oyster Catchers.

A splendid morning on the beach. Nick Thorn and his training buddy was out on the paddle boards preparing for his next challenge. On the 20th of September 2011 Nick will attempt to become the first ever person to paddle between England and Wales, across the Bristol Channel. Follow him here.

The air is clear this morning and on the beach it felt like you could touch the end of Baggy Point. The sun first illuminated those fields on the end at 6.30. The wind was SSE, I know that for sure as a large fluffy white downy feather tumbled past me from that direction.

I cant remember exactly what time it was, early enough for Hartland lighthouse to show up though. If you cant see it, click on the image to enlarge it. You might also see the surfer on the left now.

The first thing I noticed this morning at 6.15 as I closed the front door, was the noise, it had become almost unfamiliar, the crack of a low tide barrel followed by the roar of whitewater. As I turned the corner excited young men sprinted past with short boards and I began to plan my day around the best state of the tide for me. PS for scale spot the surfer behind the right shoulder on the left.

Its been a while since I’ve posted such a picture. Looks like we have a few days fun ahead with the cleanest and biggest being Monday. I wonder how many work plans and meetings are going to be changed on Monday to accommodate a surf session?

Domestic changes mean I’m in toddler world this morning. This pic was taken at 6.30am. By the time we had our porridge the sun was over the hill and these clouds had moved on or evaporated. Visibility must be more than 20 miles as you can spot so much detail on Lundy.

Eventually I do have find a way of making the grey skies into a image that has some intrigue. Last nights retreating tide left some large pools and some wispy marks which I have never noticed before. They must have something to do with the short period swell that was groomed by the offshore winds.

I just had to share this one, taken just an hour after the firemen training shot. This morning is grey again and the sea looks strange. There is a short period wave with light off shore winds which doesn’t happen very often. Wax up the log.

We are lucky enough to have a fire station in the village. Its not all luck of course, its all thanks to the team of retained firemen that live locally and give up their time to be on call on top of their other jobs. Tonight they were doing decontamination training!

The sea looked particularly inviting this morning, a pushing tide, the occasional shaft of sunlight making its way down the valley, seagulls on the move, a swim suited body boarder already in the water and this was at 7am.

The Title reminded me of the ozone issue. Thanks to the Montreal Protocol of 1989 which banned the use of ozone-depleting chemicals worldwide, the ozone hole has recovered and stabilized. The same UN report which brought us the good news says that now there’s perceptible thinning of the ozone layer over the North Pole.

Three types of clouds in the sky. I was hoping for a dry day for my friend Jane who is passing by today with three wonderful men. They have been walking the coastal path around the UK for 13 years doing a leg every summer. The kettles on!

We recently accompanied one of our media management athletes on  a challenge to cross the English Channel, in a bid to raise funds and awareness for Surf Relief U.K.

It was great to witness the days events first hand, hope you enjoy the piece we put together.

A Huge thanks to Steve Chivers and Steve Doon who surfed the Kaafu’s. We made this promo for oceanmouldings.co.uk Their new design FatYak KAAFU offers the versatility that Sit-on-Top kayakers want. Its unique stable lines ensures that children, fishermen, sport and recreational kayakers will all have an enjoyable time, check out how well it surfs! And yes that’s Mikey fishing for the first time in 25 years!

Another photo from the wavedreamer archive. Really its raining cats and dogs so I needed a reminder of what summers evening can be like. On the left you can see a coastal barge. Not that long ago, before the motor ways these waters were full of similar craft plying there trade around the UK they will be back one day.

Same old story with on shores and grey skies, so I found my attention drawn to the stunning pattens left in the sand. There were also loads of deep holes that seem to have had no relation to sand castle activity.

As I stood on the beach this morning at 7am I watched the last of the low rain clouds skitter over the horizon revealing this blue sky, what looks like muck on my sensor is in fact the last of those clouds as they evaporated in front of my eyes.

In the sky, on the beach and on the cliff top, which is where I watched a common lizard looking for his lunch. I often see a kestrel working the same area probably looking for lizards for lunch.

Nothing to write home about on the wave front today and it looks like another 7 days before any long distance swell kicks in. I’m off to Cornwall this weekend to see my mate Russ who runs Surf Action and is organizing the Surf Fayre pop along if you can.

I couldn’t bare to post up a grey wet pic today, this one was taken the day before yesterday. It is straight out of the can as Mr Nikon saw it. As I write this though there are still brave determined families making the most of their time on the beach, its just a matter of changes your clothes and your mind set I reckon.

We were to busy this morning to do the wave pic. The supper bit is just a bonus, we were filming for a Kayak fishing promo and this is a screen grab. I got to know a bit more about Mikey, despite what he looks like he doesn’t like killing things, he will eat them though, once they are dead.

As I walked onto the beach I saw these lads from a distance, doing circuits of press ups, crunches, sprints and leaps. They are on holiday and were doing it for fun, impressive! (this was 7am). I wondered what careers they will have and what they will achieve, they told me they weren’t in the forces.

Hands up, I did up the values on this pic to make it a bearable offering. People that care always make a difference, Mike is one of them, he drives the tractor that tows the beach groomer and rather than flatten the sand castles in an arbitrary manor he tries to make wave shapes up and down the beach.

It is tempting to try and ride these little peelers but falling off in 10 inches of water when you weigh 14 stone can be hazardous. Ive might have a go later on a knee board, not so far to fall. Or even more appropriately pull out the belly board from under the stairs.

I love seeing the yachts out from Ilfracombe harbour, it just makes those sunny days feel even more summer like. Before I took this shot I spent an hour or more exploring rock pools with a 2 year old. Getting down there in wet suits at 7 am on a dropping tide meant there was plenty of life to see, loads of small fry, one of which was called Nemo apparently.

I am still out of sync for the early morning shots, so expect a run of sunsets if the cloud shifts to allow them. I am missing those long distance swells and stable highs. Its been ages since I haven’t taken any decent close ups of waves of any size. Fingers crossed for September if this pattern sets in for August.

Wow what a day, I missed the early morning shot, to busy with a product promo we are working on. The sea tasted of crab soup last night, there were allot of dead spider crabs washed up but I think it had more to do with the amount of dissolving seaweed there is in the shore break.

That’s because its not, maybe it will build on the push. I was in amongst the rocks this morning looking at rock pools that had been stranded from a fresh fill by the small tides. But I was really distracted by deadlines, battery chargers and wondering how the day will go for Mikey who is filming Nick Thorn paddling across the English Channel

What felt like an unusual sight this morning, the start of a long distance swell. Drill down into the swell breakdown on MS and you can see whats going on. Its been so long I’m getting very excited organizing the week around the tides thinking about what boards and checking out the banks to work out whats working best, hold me down I’m floating off.

A taste of summer yesterday but heavy cloud this morning. Even still with no sun there were families on the beach before 9 and surfers in the water with no waves to speak of. Our very British relationship with the beach always intrigues and amazes me.

A ha, forgot to bring the SLR home last night, so had to use the iphone. I took this at ten past six, we are on a shoot at seven, up at gold coast creating a promo for the waverider which has been installed for the summer, it looks amazing, watch out for the promo on our show real.

Not feeding but grooming and that was also being done to the beach. Sometimes, depending on what the tide has been doing, the beach looks like its been subject to extended mortar fire. Such is the extent of large sandcastle building. Then along comes the tractor, beach groomer in tow and flattens them all out with its front bucket!

I love the light you get with this broken cloud cover. Details otherwise hidden suddenly become visible. The surf is more ride-able than it looks. I spent some of the time on the cliff working out when to retrieve the 20+ lager cans left on a ledge last night by some rather irresponsible people.

Because its raining really hard, its dark, grim and July, so I cant bare to put up another grey photo. This is from a day in the spring when I had more than one usable shot. It shows the mist over flowing from the Torridge and Taw estuary basin and making its way out to sea.

Taken at 7am and not a sunny spell in sight. I hope you enjoyed Mats porridge poetry as much as I did he steps up while I’m away. Mat is the web designer behind wavedreamer and he always goes way beyond 11, you can see what else he does here.

…….it is not.

Here is a little pic to remind us what the world can look like when that yellow ball in the sky can reign supreme.
It was taken from my bedroom window in Mexico, and is probably one of the funnest waves in the world.

The sea was a maelstrom of  onshore mush this morning and wasn’t offering much in the way of an inspiring wave shot. Far more intriguing was the foam blowing up over the esplanade. When I headed over to investigate, looking over the cliff edges North of Shellsbough, the gullies and coves were brimming with this primordial ooze, pulsating & convulsing like some kind of possessed porridge.

Today started with some truly nasty weather. When I finally ventured out, I was drawn to this glassy reflection at Combesgate. At the time, I grumbled about the lack of any nice light whatsoever, but now as I write this looking out at the glorious sky & sea, I’m hoping this pic was taken at the exact point the weather started to break for the day.

As the developer of the wavedreamer site, I’m always thrilled to step up and take the daily wave in Richards absence. Unfortunately, those same responsibilities kept me tied to the office all day friday. So here’s a pic of another busy fella, taken looking over Combesgate on Saturday! The title of the pic is a line from The Dish, a favourite of mine.

In more ways than one, the commitment to end the practice of discarding bi catch is a step in the right direction. Keep up the pressure by supporting campaigns like Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall’s fish fight.

A high Stratocumulus cloud layer can be hard to distinguish from a low Altocumulus one. It is Stratocumulus when the base of the cloud layer is lower than 6,500ft. So this cloud is either Stratocumulus or Altocumulus. This cloud spotting is less precise than I had imagined. When I have found the ultimate reference site I will let you know.

No swell to speak off, but allot of texture on the beach. Its this that held my attention this morning. How does the tiniest swell, and we are talking inches, create this type of deep pattern, when a huge swell will groom the beach super smooth? It must be to do with the length of the impact the wave has.  A big wave pulls sand over a longer period in space and time. I’ll let you know when I find out more.

A wide shot this morning of the whole bay, taken at 7.50 am. Its very rare to see a flock of gulls (click on the image to enlarge) settled on the beach away from the stream. I wonder if the pickings from the weekends chip leftovers mean they are full enough not to bother looking for scraps that have floated down stream, or have they had their fresh water wash and are just drying in the sun? I wonder.

A glassy sea, with two levels of cloud today. Ive painted or photographed clouds since my teens but never got round to leaning all the names of the different formations. With a quick cross reference to a cloud spotter site I could share this process with daily wave cloud studies.

When its cloudy I try and be ready for those sunny periods, missed them all today, ah ha I’ll wait for sunset, risky, though worked today. Think I might just stick to early mornings regardless, what do you think?

A late one today, with weather and schedules interfering with the visit to the beach. Looking at the charts its another 10 days of sunny periods, showers and south westerlies. My only personal consolation is that having learnt to surf in Brighton I have a special relationship with short period swell.

Core blimey there has been some heavy down pours this morning. Those dry months of April and May seem an age ago. The water quality tells the story, so much coming down the estuary from the river Torrage and Taw. My time in Brighton educated me on the dangers of Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) check out Surfers Against Sewage amazing  phone alert service.

I didn’t make it down to the beach this morning, had to take this shot out of the window. Several times a week I have to drive through the biggest on shore wind farm in the UK its all static at the moment waiting for the last turbines to be built. Part of me is thrilled that there is such a thing in North Devon, but I still find myself wondering why development money wasn’t ploughed into harnessing the constant and huge huge tidal race just over the hill.

With another sunny pic from yesterday still on the camera I couldn’t bring myself to put up a grey raining shot, who wants to see them, said my mate Steve pp. The beach groomer this morning was doing its thing behind the tractor. I wondered if it can pick up the mermaid tears that are so prevalent on UK beaches, perhaps SAS know?

Ben Howarth is on a roll.

He has just won the 3rd B.L.U event of the year making securing him the title of 2011 British champ.

As stated in his profile, he is the bright young thing of the U.K longboard scene right now, and his results are testimant to his ability.

Amazing result Ben, well done mate.

Nick was in brighton this last weekend competing at the paddle around the pier events, and pretty much cleaned up.

I think they were so scared they even started the one race without him as he was just completing a 7.5k board race, probably to warm up on.

Read here for the full story from the horses mouth

Three stunners in a row with waves has left me wonderfully knackered on a Monday morning, enjoy it while you can folks its gonna change. I spent the time on the beach this morning admiring the picket fence and thinking how ancient an activity cleaving or splitting the wood is. I wonder if its still all done by hand in those sweet chestnut copsing  woods, or has someone invented a machine to do the job?

Its 6.00 am and only one person in the water. The wind is stronger and colder than predicted. Its the sand castle contest at woolacombe today and I’m filming the world record attempt at the most sandcastles made in an hour! The Guinness book of records team will be here to check it out. Watch out for the video journal!

It only take a few elements to come together to launch me back into art school mode. And for that matter old school mode, a building swell perfect for logging, no leash and lots of sunblock yeehaa!

Whenever I see these type of clouds I think of the universe and mathematics. This my first daily wave post in its new form, not just a poetic title now. I can spout on for a couple of sentences at least! As you can see its part of the splendid rebuild that Mat from goto11 has done for us. Now you can see who we are and everything that we do.

Yes you know by now its true, I do have poetic leanings. However its going to be tough going to continue any poetic enthusiasm for short period swells. Where have all the long ones gone? looks like another short lived 10 second swell over the weekend just to tease us. Ive started looking at the charts again just in case magic seaweed missed something, alas I don’t think they have

This was the first test daily wave for the wavedreamer rebuild. I must say I’m rather excited about having the space to write more, that title just never seamed enough. I am rarely lost for words and always have an opinion about most things, so in theory a daily blog related to my early morning visit to the beach cant be that hard can it? oh dear I feel a touch nervous as well.

A short film we recently produced with the team at Gulfstream Surfboards

I thought he was meant to be on a boat the whole trip but apparently not, otherwise we wouldn’t have the footage of the goat! Enjoy Cotty’s latest from Indo.

Thanks to the guys busking in the park for the amazing soundtrack!

Here we take you into the mind of the man behind Gulfstream, and give you a look at what makes them such a special boardbuilding company.  Enjoy.

……..he would own this board.

5’10 x 19 x 2 3/4

Just picked up my new shralp stick from the Diplock Phoenix boys and am so stoked. Check it out.

It has a carbon/Kevlar cloth deck, the stuff they produce bullet proof vests out of. Might take it to South Africa come to think of it.

Second Skin are going to be stocking the full range, so go check one out in the foam [flesh]

These super strength models are custom made, so have your favourite board scanned and duplicated if you want to save yourself heartbreak, or get Bro to whip you up something new to get excited about.

Really excited, we are busy producing a promotional video for the boys across the road at Gulfstream.

Next step is to get some water footage of the boys at the next “board meeting”

The charts look good and we have a 5AM call time on the beach.

The early bird catches the shot!

Their new website will be going live soon, so be sure to have a look.

Wavedreamer Media is opening up a division which involves assisting with media management for anyone who’s skills or looks have a marketable value.

We are creating a hub from which we connect people to opportunities.

We will be working with our team to create bespoke individual digital profiles that can be used as a selling tool to assist promotion.

Our first person on-board [excuse the pun] so far is big wave hellman Andrew Cotton.

We are going to be working closely with Cotty to assist in developing his already respectable media profile.

We are looking for a diverse range of skill sets, and if you believe you got the skills to pay the bills, we wanna hear from you.

Eye eye captain, thar she blows.

Recently arrived on the wavedreamer shores, a fine vessel if we ever saw one.

Her maiden voyage was a success, and we deem her seaworthy!

Now lets see some action you skurvy riddled sea dogs.

We have just taken delivery of a batch of new T shirts printed over the hill by our friends at A4 Apparel.

If surfing has an “unhealthy” effect on your life you will understand.

All the rage in London, New York and Paris, If you would like to be seen sporting one this summer, visit our online shop to buy direct from us

How many times have you been caught out, a quick glance at the forecast and the web cam, looks do-able but low and behold you find yourself paddling out in a swell well out of your comfort zone. Do you turn around paddle in and go home or grin and bare it, the pounding, the fear ?

I had planned to start painting landscapes again when I retired. Until that is, I got an invitation from Mr PP to join a group of like minded surfers who go away for weekends and paint out of doors. How could I resist! My first task for the group was to record the weekend for posterity by way of this video journal. Visit our blog and follow the group: thedevon11.blogspot.com The Devon 11 are:
• Steven Pleydell-Pearce • Paul Kenton • Conor Wilson • Richard Gregory • Shaun Latham • Thos Sharpe • Robert J.Braunton • Jeff Lawton • David Meads • Simon Skelton • Mat Stillo

After his second operation for ACL ligament reconstruction in 5 years, the surgeon told Cotty not to surf for 9 months. When hurricane Igor hit Ireland six months later, he couldn’t resist. The waves were well within paddle range but Cotty decided to take it easy and tow a couple to see how it felt. These are his first few waves with his new knee. We are really excited to be working with Cotty. Watch this space for more waves as Cotty’s Knee gets back to full strength!

Congratulations Nick! Woolcombe’s own waterman is the first person to swim solo from Lundy to Woolacombe and in just six and a half hours! Supported all the way by Steve Newton on a paddle board and Geoff Huelin of Mortehoe Shellfish in his fishing boat.
Thanks to Richard Asquith and Henry Price for the music: www.friend-of-mine.co.uk  Thanks to Dave Jenkins, and the Landmark Trust: www.landmarktrust.org.uk for the stills and to Mat Stillo: www.goto11.co.uk

The local National Trust team put together this lovely afternoon with a speech from Steve Mulberry and Ray Easterbrook, an amazing story teller who immersed us in the history of the point and live music from Jim Jones, oh and not forgetting the sound track from David Kenards sheep.

First impression…. is the size! its tiny!  (H x W x D): 1.6” x 2.4” x 1.2” (42mm x 60mm x 30mm) and only weighs 6.3oz/179g incl. housing. And in this tiny unit is a camera that records three different formats of HD video, including full 1080p and at 720p it records true slow motion at 60 frames per second!

Its so good we are using this camera for our video projects. We will throw everything we can at it and create a technical advice sheet like no other! So you will be able to buy the GoPro HD Surf HERO and accessories from our emporium very soon, with all the support and advice you would expect from people that use and understand it. As a special offer to celebrate the launch of this great product, you can pre-order your camera from us now for delivery later this month along with a FREE SanDisc SD card designed for HD video. As if that wasn’t enough, as part of this limited period launch offer, we are shipping the GoPro HD Surf HERO and SanDisc card to you for FREE!* (*UK deliveries only)

And until we get the opportunity to upload our own footage from our demo cameras, take a look at this mind-blowing GoPro HD HERO preview footage from GoPro themselves. You’ll be back here pre-ordering your unit in no time!

We worked from 5 in the morning to 10 at night, it was an intense day! thanks so much to all the surfers who took time out and days off of work to be there and to Mat, Jack, Rob, Stu, Gordon, Joel and Steve our camera men and production team who worked so hard on the day. Thanks also to Parkins estates and Woolacombe Parish Council for their support.”

Best described as a ‘scenic surf movie’ the film is a portrait of Woolacombe bay on that day, the surfing, beach life and surrounding scenery.

This promo soundtrack and the final score is the work of Peter Bruntnell who lives up the road. “One of England’s best kept musical secrets”. says Rolling Stone! How excited are we to be working with him and his friends! The music will be recorded in one day and we will be there to film it.

Post production is under way and the DVD will be available spring 2010

For a full credits and production stills visit: the ONEDAY micro site

Tiki in association with GSI brought over three of the worlds best surf board designers to North Devon UK. Where they met the locals and had a surf at Putsborough! Watch out for the full evening Q & A session filmed at Croyde Village Hall. It will be on youtube and itunes as a video pod cast. Thanks again to Richard Asquith and Henry Price for the track called Covert Beat. You can see what they are up to at www.friend-of-mine.co.uk

Its that time allready, another splendid weekend for the girls and what fun they had. Pro surfer Keala Kennely was there to pass on her wisdom and play a set. Sound track thanks to local band Zamba who know how to party!

And talking of the joy of flowing movement, just had to share this footage from the north end of Lundy. Thanks to Steve for organizing his own boys own best ever Stag weekend adventure and to Rudi the inspired skipper of Frolica. Some of the boys were quick enough to don wet suits and jump over the side, to be greeted by more dolphins than we could count! This memory will stay with all of us for ever. You can see more pics on Steves blog and James’s video. Thanks to Richard Asquith and Henry Price for the track Called ‘Horizon Possible’.

Just one evening from a week of stunning sunsets!

December 2010

November 2010

October 2010

August 2010

September 2010

July 2010

June 2010

May 2010

April 2010

March 2010

February 2010

January 2010

Skateboarding has to be one of the most undervalued activities in the world and I can feel the hairs going up on the back of my neck just remembering the speed those guys were whipping round that beautiful beautiful bowl. Crikey almighty, what an amazing event the formal opening opening of Barnstaple’s Rock skate park was. Hats off to all involved in its conception design and build. I was well out of my comfort zone with the camera but you will see a more crafted video of Barnstaple bowl some time soon!

A small collection of memorable moments from March and April

Andrew Cotton is working with us to capture the inner world of low tide Croyde. And what a start we have made! This isn’t a progo-thingy this is an Sony HDVA1E with a century optics 180deg super fish eye in an ewa marine dive bag adapted with Velcro, aluminum, closed cell foam and an Ikelite domed port, its set on SDV as the HD compression cant handle the detailed movement of white water. Andrew has the leash end in his mouth as the impact pulled the end off his board. Watch this space as we are going to have some fun and games in the next few months. Thanks to Clive Reeves for yet another track from the Bowl Rider.

This video journal heralds the final phase of development for wavedreamer. We are ready to shout about it now! Hope you enjoy the changes. Thanks so much to Mat from goto11 who has gone to 12 and put his OCD to such good use! The children of the sun are out in force (thanks Rachel and Nathan) so are the adders (early this year) and the fields are full of Mr Kenard’s Lambs. Neil Clifton is competing in local club comps and the waves keep coming. Watch out for the next journal entry which could see on-board barrels at Croyde courtesy of Andrew Cotton who has been working with me to fit our HD 180o fish eye gear to one of his short boards…this could be good!

The track is another we recorded for the journal, you can hear more of Doug’s music on his website and buy his albums!.

Text for the Billabong Girls Days 2008 to go here

To keep the journal going while we are busy with the next development stage of wavedreamer, I’m adding some of the older promos we worked on. Lunch at Porthleven Dinner in Devon is a concept promo for an eccentric idea yet to go into production, we are still looking for a suitable caravan, thermos flask and china tea set. Thanks to the Porthleven surfers (get in touch!) and to Captain Skelton, the first Test Pilot on the camera board. This clip is also one of the many bonus movies on our NOTCALIFORNIA DVD. Thanks to Clive for another track from the Bowl Rider’s jam sessions at Decoy

Another visit into the wavedreamer archives before we re-launch the site next week. Thanks to Dig and the Bay Surf Shop Woolacombe for the flight. Dig keeps his Pilots licence fresh with jaunts over North Devon. This was my first Helicopter ride and the shaky nature of the footage has more to do with my excitement than engine vibration! Thanks to Clive Reeves for yet another track from the Bowl Rider sessions at Decoy

I’ve always wanted to learn more about the life you can find in the tidal areas around our coast, so documenting what I find in the rock pools will be my excuse. Come back soon to see what I’ve found.

The sun did shine sometimes on some days this August & the unsettled weather provided a spectacular show of cloud formations.

I’m going to use these cloud studies as an excuse to learn more about cloud formations, their names and what they mean in terms of weather prediction.

Some of my photos on a crisp winter afternoon. There was frost on the dunes that morning and some of the north facing slopes remained white and sparkly until the following day.

Talking of big wave riders I must mention Devon’s own Andrew Cotton (seen in this clip from my promo work of three years ago) who, as I write this, is riding big waves in Hawaii. I was inspired to mention Cotty by Steve England’s ‘Take off’ article in the current Carve magazine.

Cotty’s journey into the world of big wave riding was documented by Mr B in his film DRIVEN. You can purchase this from our emporium. According to someone who knows, the reason why Cotty can ride big waves is because he never ever panics. I can’t wait to talk to him about Hawaii!

The music on this clip is from the ONEDAY sound track and was written specialy for Cotty by Clive Reeve

It only takes a bit of sun, no wind, clear water and a chest high wave to transport me to summers past. This weeks offering is from the wavedreamer archives, all the things I ache for at this time of year. Thanks to Skelly, Sandra, Steve Altram and of course Steve PP who is a master of beach and Landscape painting parties!

Thanks again to Doug for the lovely summery ‘yet to be titled’ track.

Nearly two years ago Woolacombe was treated to a visit from the waterman himself. Courtesy of Oxbow He came to Dave’s kayak shop and stayed at the Town Farm House Mortehoe. Laird made good use of a messy day at Woolcambe and allowed us to film. This was a cold dark day in May, everyone had wet suits on, Laird had a rolled down shortie! A big wave super hero, Laird’s gritty self belief and determination has inspired many people. How he met his Dad is my favorite Laird story, Bill Hamilton tells this on the ‘Laird’ DVD, prepared to be moved. Thanks for the visit Laird!

Thanks once again thanks to Richard Asquith and Henry Price for the track

A simple offering of light, color and waves this week. This clip is part of a project we are releasing this year called: SURFING WAVES an inspirational DVD for visualization and meditation. Thanks to Ellie, www.elliegregory.co.uk for the track called ‘momentary’

If you’re a regular visitor you will have noticed we’ve been busy with the next stage of wavedreamer’s development. Let us know what you think by contributing to the journal. If you haven’t already registered you can do that here.

The new colour ways were inspired by an evenings filming in Cornwall with spear fisherman Rich Emerson we were working off a rib and as the sun went down this was the colour of deep water.

Huge thanks to Mat for all his hard work on this stage of wavedreamers development.

Last Friday wasn’t what was predicted but a dramatic morning all the same. Nick Thorn is the surfer and Paul O’Grady the scarecrow. Catching up with old mates in the coffee shop was good. Today I had a fantastic recording session with my wonderful friend Doug and this track is one of many we recorded for use on the Journal. You can hear more of Doug’s music on his website and buy his albums!.

With leaden sky’s the light is flat today, thankfully the sea isn’t! Thanks to Andrew From Pickwell Barton who kindly allowed me to film his family and friends bringing in and processing the last of the brussel sprouts for Christmas. The farm has been in the Cook family for nearly 100 years and overlooks Putsborough and Woolacombe Sands, you can find out about staying on the farm here.

The featured style master was local lad Neil Clifton (the surf doctor). If you need to improve your surfing check out his website.

Thanks to Kevin MacLeod for his beautiful arrangement of Silent Night.

Have a wonderful holiday everyone

Having indulged my work ethic I’m going surfing tomorrow, Yeehaa!!!

A1Surf is holding its first surf movie and party night on Wednesday 3 December at Walkabout in Brighton in association with WAVEDREAMER to launch the NOTCALIFORNIA DVD which you will be able to buy on the night!

It’s fair to say its been some time coming, so thanks to everyone who has kept the faith and encouraged me along the way. Surfing in Brighton is unique and well worth celebrating. I’m looking forward to meeting all the new surfers and the old crew! You can find more details here.

It was 3 years ago that Jon Finch opened Loose-Fit surf shop with help from a group of surfers, they also went to Ireland as guests of Lahinch surf club and I was invited to film them. It has been a tease waiting for time to work on the project, but we now have a title and a schedule! We will continue to share clips with you as we work over the winter. This first short promo is from the signature section of POLLINATION and features Alex Knost in Devon, a huge thanks to Ellie Gregory for the music. Future clips will feature Tyler Hatzikian, Devon Howard, Dane Peterson, Belinda Baggs, Angela King and friends.

I just had to find some footage that had something to do with light and clarity, which are the only words I can find to express the impact of Barack Obama’s victory speech. Enough said, watch it here if you haven’t already. The clip, is from Morte Point on a very clear day in August last year, the sound track is from the ONEDAY project.

What a weekend that was! I have to hold my hands up and admit to losing my focus. Broken van, cloudy sunrise, too much wind, missed phone calls, I could blame many things but the truth is I was distracted by my need to surf and surf I did! Which means this weeks video is of a similar swell from the wavedreamer archives. The footage is of Nick Thorn at home. Apologies to Ben and Neil, next time heh! Thanks to Clive for letting me use this track that I recorded during one of Bowl Rider’s Studio sessions at Decoy, it sums up my weekend.

Once the sun came out in September the bees seamed to be making up for lost time. This post is a slide show of stills from my wild flower filming in Braunton Burrows, a Biosphere Reserve, designated by UNESCO. It’s a magical place, the two people who have helped me explore and understand it, are Mary and John Breeds. Mary has written a book about the wild flowers that you can pick up in Braunton Countryside Centre. You will be able to see the footage of the flowers and dunes in one of my surf movie projects, I will let you know when its released. The music is from the ONEDAY project sound track and was written by Clive Reeve.

I popped down the coast to catch up with my friends Russ and Jill. We spent a couple of glorious mornings on the beach, you can see Russ’s great still photos at www.russpierrephotography.blogspot.com/.Thanks to James Parry, Sam Bleakly, Elliot Dudley, his partner and the men in the harbour for letting me film them.

I was also there to see Andy Cummins from SAS surfing a very special board (the quad half way through the clip). The blank comes from Home Blown and is made from about 34% plant based materials and the resin is from 98% plant based materials – producing a board that has more than 50% sustainable materials. They are priced about the same as their petrochemical cousins and under strength tests are proving to be stronger and lighter than polyurethane blanks. Andy was also testing out the camera board for a project we are working on for a bigger darker day.

Thanks so much to Richard Asquith and Henry Price for the beautiful track called Haven. You can see what they are up to at www.friend-of-mine.co.uk

It was a long time coming but at last, sunshine and a clean swell! Missed the moon setting but up early enough for the sunrise. Spent the time working through ideas for the ONEDAY schedule. The rough cut is from that morning, with an evening section from a previous day (it clouded over by lunch) Thanks to Sandra, Steve, Graham, Mark’s son and Chris and the other lads out. The music is the beginning of dawn section of the ONEDAY soundtrack.

The clouds parted last Sunday! And I was at Chapel Porth, Cornwall, for the 6^th World Belly Board Championships. It was even more splendid than the last time I came in 2005. Its amazing how much difference the sun makes. This clip is just a taster of things to come, I will edit a much longer piece in the next couple of months that will include interviews and some history of the bellyboard and the event. The music is an old Cornish tune called the Boscastle breakdown and was kindly played by Mr skelton on his English Concertina. He won the World Championship in 2004.