
A short movie from Friday afternoon at Compton Bay.
Sep 05, 2010 | Categories: Surf Blogs, Surf Videos, The Noughties | Tags: "jason swain", 360, 360 degrees, aerial, air, blackley, Chris Mannion, compton, Compton Bay, Freshwater, freshwater bay, history, IOW, IOW Surf Club, Isle of Wight, Isle of Wight Surf Club, joe truman, longboard, mal, mini mal, MOVIE, paul blackley, people, Ross Williams, Scot Gardner, stoked, surf, surfboard, Surfer, surfing, swell, The Noughties, video, waves, wetsuit, wightsurfhistory | Leave A Comment »

Friday saw the peak of the swell and Compton became as busy as I’ve seen it in a long time. A lovely glassy early morning with many of the girls getting their fair share of the waves and one guy out with a very old school, looking belly board. Joe Truman grabbed a few nice ones as did Andrew Tyrrell amongst others too.
Sep 05, 2010 | Categories: Surf Blogs, Surf Videos, The Noughties | Tags: Andrew Tyrrell, blackley, blog, compton, Compton Bay, Girl, Girls, history, IOW, IOW Surf Club, Isle of Wight, Isle of Wight Surf Club, joe truman, longboard, paul blackley, people, photo, photographs, stoked, surf, surfboard, Surfer, surfing, swell, The Noughties, waves, wetsuit, wightsurfhistory | Leave A Comment »

South coast surfers spend long flat summer days dreaming of September swells arriving from far-off tropical storms and hurricanes
Sep 03, 2010 | Categories: Surf Blogs, The Noughties | Tags: "jason swain", back-light, back-lit, blog, compton, Compton Bay, history, IOW, IOW Surf Club, Isle of Wight, Isle of Wight Surf Club, joe truman, longboard, Paddle Board, Paddle Boarder, people, photo, Sept, September, silhouette, stoked, SUP, surf, surfboard, Surfer, surfing, swell, Swell lines, The Noughties, waves, wetsuit, wightsurfhistory, wipe, Wipe out, Wipeout | Leave A Comment »

The start of September and we have a lovely little swell to get us all back into water. This morning I got up early and was in the water before 6am, although not first in the water as 5 guys went running past me at speed desperate for waves. Still a little wait between sets but like they say, ‘good things come to those who wait’. Shaun Jones came down with a jet ski to practice some tow in surfing. Keep practicing Shaun, at least it kept us amused, in between sets.
Sep 03, 2010 | Categories: Surf Blogs, Surf Videos, The Noughties | Tags: blackley, blog, compton, Compton Bay, history, IOW, IOW Surf Club, Isle of Wight, Isle of Wight Surf Club, joe truman, longboard, out, Paddle Board, Paddle Boarder, paul blackley, people, photo, Sept, September, stoked, surf, surfboard, Surfer, surfing, swell, Swell lines, The Noughties, Toby, waves, wetsuit, wightsurfhistory, wipe, Wipe out, Wipeout | Leave A Comment »

I have been told a story about Paul Taylor, Dave Grey & Chris Salter once doing a trip to the west country. At the end of the trip and time to think about returning home they realised that they were all skint, totally penniless. The boys soon came to the conclusion that the only way [...]
Sep 01, 2010 | Categories: Surf Trips, The Seventies | Tags: 1970's, 70, 70's, archive, Chris, Chris Salter, Christopher, Christopher Salter, compton, Compton Bay, Cornwall, Dave, Dave Grey, Gray, Grey, Home, IOW, IOW Surf Club, Isle of Wight, Isle of Wight Surf Club, Money, Paul, Paul Taylor, people, photo, photographs, Sale, Salter, Sold, stoked, surf, Surf Trip, Surfer, surfing, Tayler, Taylor, The Seventies, waves, West, West Country, wetsuit, wightsurfhistory | Leave A Comment »

Isle of Wight Surf Club movie made in the very early 1970′s by Annie Macpherson
Footage from Compton, Niton and Freshwater Bay starring Roger Cooper, Dave Salero, Roger Backhouse, Dougie Saunders, Sid Pitman, Keith Williams, Tony Macpherson, Pete Brown, Magic ‘Cosmic’ Surf, Dave Jacobs, Brian Hill and others.
Aug 15, 2010 | Categories: Surf Videos, The Seventies | Tags: 1970, 1970's, 1971, 1972, 70's, Annie Macpherson, archive, Brian Hill, Castle Haven, compton, Compton Bay, Dave Jacobs, Dave Salero, Dougie Saunders, Freshwater, freshwater bay, history, IOW, IOW Surf Club, Island, Isle of Wight, Isle of Wight Surf Club, Keith Williams, longboard, Magic 'Cosmic' Surf, niton, people, Pete Brown, preview, Roger Backhouse, roger cooper, Sid Pitman, stoked, surf, Surf Club, surfboard, Surfer, surfers, surfing, Tony Macpherson, waves, wight, Wight Surf History, wightsurfhistory, wightsurfhistory.co.uk | Leave A Comment »

A great shot of Lennie Parker was used in the Isle of Wight – Island breaks 2000 official guide. Len now lives in Florida but regularly gets back to the Island and catches up with a family and friends.
Jul 15, 2010 | Categories: In Print, The Noughties | Tags: archive, compton, Compton Bay, Freshwater, freshwater bay, history, IOW, Isle of Wight, Len, Len Parker, Lennie, Lennie Parker, longboard, Parker, people, photo, photographs, stoked, surf, surfboard, Surfer, surfing, The Noughties, waves | Leave A Comment »

Isle of Wight County Press IW Men in New Zealand whale rescue TWO NEWPORT men have been part of a desperate struggle to save a pod of pilot whales beached on New Zealand’s South Island. Former County Press employee Paul Blackley, of Caesars Road and Richard Harvey, of Field Place, were driving with friend Richard [...]
May 12, 2010 | Categories: In Print, The Nineties | Tags: antipodean, B&W, Beached, blackley, county press, Farewell Spit, flukes, Golden Bay, history, IOW, Isle of Wight, isle of wightr county press, iwcp, Long-finned Pilot Whales, mammals, nelson evening mail, nelson evening news, New Zealand, newpapers, news, newspaper, Ocean, paul blackley, people, photo, photographs, pilot whale, Pilot Whales, pod, portrait, press, print, radio station, rescued, rescuers, Richard Harvey, Richard Holmes, save, saved, stoked, Stranding, Strandings, surf, Surf Trip, Surfer, surfing, the dominion, The Nineties, the press, wetsuit, wetsuits, whale tail, whale tails, wightsurfhistory | Leave A Comment »

On Wednesday 17th November of 1993 myself (Paul Blackley) and Richard Harvey were on our way to the South Island of New Zealand in search of waves. We had traveled down from New Plymouth and were on the cross Island ferry about to disembark at Picton at 10pm when we heard a call on local radio from the Dept. of Conservation for volunteers to help to try and rescue stranded Long-finned Pilot Whales at Farewell Spit, Golden Bay, South Island, New Zealand.
Mar 30, 2010 | Categories: Surf Trips, The Nineties | Tags: 1993, 90's, archive, beach, Beached, December 1993, Department of Conservation, Department. of Conservation New Zealand, Dept. of Conservation, Dept. of Conservation New Zealand, Dolphin, Dolphins, Farewell Spit, Globicephala, Globicephala melas, Golden Bay, history, IOW, Isle of Wight, Kaikoura, Long-finned Pilot Whales, Mangamanu, melas, New Zealand, New Zealand Army, Newcastle, paul blackley, people, photo, photographs, Pilot Whales, Rich Harvey, Rich Holmes, Richard Harvey, Richard Holmes, Ritchie, Ritchie Harvey, South Island, stoked, Stranded, Stranding, Strandings, surf, Surf Trip, surfboard, Surfer, surfing, survivor, survivors, The Nineties, waves, Whale, Whales, wightsurfhistory | 3 Comments »

During the early sixties it wasn’t just the boys enjoying the waves, there were some pretty hardcore girls surfing on the Island with no wetsuits or leashes too.
Mar 29, 2010 | Categories: The Sixties | Tags: 1960, 1965, 1967, 1968, 60, 60's, Aston Martin, Atlantic, Atlantic Coast, Bournmouth, Bude, Champion, compton, Constantine, Cornish, Cornwall, Crantock, Fistral, freshwater bay, Galway, Girl, Girlfriends, Girls, Ireland, Isle of Wight Surf Club Secretary, Judy Bull, Kimmeridge, La Hinch, leashes, Lynmouth, Marazion, Merry Hughes, Mini, niton, Ocean, Oil Spill, Oil Tanker, Oiltanker, Prah Sands, RAF ST Mawgan, Renuyle, Rita Long, Rolls Royce, Ryde, Sandown, Shanklin, Shigo, Split Screen, Split Screen VW Van, Steephill Cove, Sue Backhouse, Sue Ellis, Sue Ellis (Backhouse), Supertanker, Susan Backhouse, Susan Ellis, Sweeney's Hotel, Sweeney's Oughterard House, The Sixties, Torrey Canyon, Ventnor, Victoria Freer, Victoria Pickering, Watergate, Wendy, wetsuits, White City, Whitecliff Bay, Women, Woolacome | Leave A Comment »

I think by now everyone will have heard the news, or maybe even had a look themselves, at the recent landslip along the military road
Mar 25, 2010 | Categories: The Noughties | Tags: "jason swain", closure, compton, council, IOW, Isle of Wight, Military Road, photo, photographs, road, The Noughties | Leave A Comment »

During the early 1960’s a group of friends had started to hang out on the cliff tops between Ventnor beach and Steephill Cove. These bored teenagers soon began to focus their attention on the ocean. The Island at that time still had many unexplored pockets of coastline or so it felt to this group of friends. The ocean soon became their playground.
Mar 25, 2010 | Categories: The Sixties | Tags: 12ft wooden surfboards, 1960, 1960's, 29 Spring Hill, Archie Trickett, archive, B&W, belly board, belly boards, bellyboard, bellyboards, Biarritz, Bilbo, Bilbo surf shop, Bob Head, Cascades, Colin Burgess, Colin Hicks, compton, Compton Bay, European Championships, France, Freshwater, freshwater bay, Geoff Gardner, Geoff ‘Ned’ Garner, half inch thick wetsuits, history, homemade 12ft wooden surfboards, homemade skateboards, Hutch, IOW, IOW Surf Club, Isle of Wight County Press, Isle of Wight County Press Newspaper, Isle of Wight Surf Club, Joel de Rosnay, John Ainsworth, Kevin Digweed, Lillywhites, Little Stairs, Little Stairs beach, longboard, Mike Hutchinson, Mike ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson, Ned, Newquay, niton, Paint Spot, Pat Morrell, Paul Coleman, people, photo, photographs, portrait, Rod Sumpter, Roger Backhouse, Russell Long, San Diego Surf Championships, Sandown, Skateboard, Skateboarding, skimboard, skimboarding, Steephill, Steephill Cove, stoked, Sue Ellis, surf, Surf Trip, surfboard, Surfer, surfing, Ventnor, waves, wetsuit, wetsuits, Wight Water, wightsurfhistory, wooden belly boards, wooden surfboards, woodwork teacher, ‘Old Joe’ | Leave A Comment »

I managed to contact Tad recently and thought many of you would be interested in what he is up to. Tad has also promised to dig out some good shots of the first surf trip to Biarritz in ’71. If you went to Biarritz in ’71 too, please let us know? Tad is still in [...]
Feb 26, 2010 | Categories: Surf Blogs, Surf Trips, The Noughties | Tags: 1971, 71, Bali, Biarritz, Carribean, Ciastula, Dave Mercer, history, Indonesia, IOW, Isle of Wight, Kite Board, Kite Boards, Kiteboard, Spain, stoked, surf, Surf Trip, surfboard, Surfboards, Surfer, surfing, Tad, Tad Ciastula, Thailand, The Noughties, Tobago, Tony Macpherson, Wake Board, Wake Boards, Wakeboard, waves, wightsurfhistory | Leave A Comment »

Johnny Fryer made cover for The British Surfing Magazine Wavelength, issue Sept 168 in 2007. The article to go with the cover shot was entitled ‘The Magnificent 7 ride’. It was a piece about a boat trip to Indonesia with a selection of Britain’s best surfers Oli Adams, Gary & Danny Wells, Isaac Kibblewhite, Matty [...]
Feb 23, 2010 | Categories: In Print, The Noughties | Tags: 2007, British Nationals, British Surfing Magazine Wavelength, Compton Bay, contest, Cornish, Craig Sharp, Danny Wells, Douglas Richards, Fryer, Gary Wells, Headworx Pro Junior, history, Ian Pacey, Indonesia, IOW, Isaac Kibblewhite, Isle of Wight, Johnny, Johnny Fryer, Matty Capel, Mentawai, Mentawai Islands, Newquay, Nick Dennington, Oli Adams, Sept 168, Spencer Hargreaves, surf, Surf Trip, Surfer, surfing, Surfing Magazine, The Magnificent 7 ride, Tiago Pires, Timmy Dyer, Wavelength, waves, wightsurfhistory, WQS | Leave A Comment »

February 2010 – Freshwater Bay Some great footage here of Freshwater Bay on 6th February 2010, filmed and edited by Chris Court Many thanks Chris
Feb 19, 2010 | Categories: Surf Videos, The Noughties | Tags: 6 February 2010, 6th February 2010, Andrew Court, big, blackley, Chris Court, Epic, Epic Swell, February 2010, Freshwater, freshwater bay, history, IOW, Isle of Wight, joe truman, longboard, paul blackley, people, Saturday, saturday 6th, stoked, surf, Surfer, surfing, swell, The Noughties, waves, wightsurfhistory, Wil Rome, Will Rome, William Rome | 3 Comments »

Isle of Wight Surf Club Trip to Morthoe 1987 In 1987 The Isle of Wight Surf Club organized a Surf Trip to North Devon about a week or so before the infamous storm of ’87. This was my first ever time to the West Country and my first ever surf trip with friends. We loaded [...]
Feb 18, 2010 | Categories: Surf Trips, The Eighties | Tags: Alex Farr, Annie, blackley, Bryn Saunders, Chris Salter, Dave Jacobs, Devon, Doug Saunders, Dougie, Dougie Saunders, Gail Sheath, Graham Skelley, history, IOW, IOW Surf Club, Isle of Wight, Isle of Wight Surf Club, Johnny Hayward, Jon Hayward, Jonathan Hayward, Keith Williams, longboard, Malc Dredge, Mick Thompson, Mike Smith, Morthoe, North Devon, paul blackley, people, photo, photographs, Richard Harvey, Riverside Motors, Sid Pitman, stoked, surf, Surf Trip, Surf Trips, Surfer, surfing, waves, wightsurfhistory | 1 Comment »

In the water… Steve New, Matt Harwood, Scott Gardener and Manni.
Feb 18, 2010 | Categories: Surf Videos, The Noughties | Tags: Hayley Best, Manni, Matt Harwood, niton, Scott Gardener, Steve New, surf, Surfer, surfing, The Noughties, video, waves | Leave A Comment »

“one of those days that will be etched in everyone memory as being one of the best swells anyone has seen for a long time”
Feb 13, 2010 | Categories: The Noughties | Tags: 6 February 2010, 6/2/2010, 6th February 2010, Al Reed, alan reed, big, blackley, compton, Compton Farm, Epic, Freshwater, freshwater bay, joe truman, Mick Thomson, Military Road, paul blackley, perfect, Rex Haines, Roger Backhouse, Saturday, saturday 6th, Ventnor | Leave A Comment »

heavy waves, nice long walls of water and some fine surfing
Feb 10, 2010 | Categories: Surf Blogs, The Noughties | Tags: "jason swain", blog, freshwater bay, Isle of Wight Surf Club, longboard, people, photo, photographs, soul-surfing, surf, Surfer, surfing, The Noughties, waves | Leave A Comment »

There were little pockets of surfers scattered around the Island all experimenting with surfing in their own ways
Feb 09, 2010 | Categories: The Sixties | Tags: 1960's, 60's, beach, Belly Boarding, Ben Kelly, boat, canoe, Canoes, Captain Cook, Captain James Cook, Colin Burgess, Cook, Cornwall, Culture, Duke, Duke Kahanmoku, fibreglass, Fishermen, Geoff Gardner, Geoff ‘Ned’ Gardner, Glyn Kernick, Great Western, Hawaii, Hawaiian, Hutch, Insurance, Jimmy Dix, John Ainsworth, Kauai, keel, Keith Williams, Kevin Digweed, Lord Louis Mountbatten, Matavai Point, Mike Hutchinson, Mike ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson, Ned Gardner, Paddled, Pat Morrell, Pip Staffieri, Polynesia, Prince Edward, Roger Backhouse, Russell Long, Sid Pitman, Sue Backhouse, Susan Ellis (Backhouse), The Sixties, Towan, Waikiki, Wave riding, waves, wooden board, wooden boards, Wooden Surfboard, wooden surfboards | Leave A Comment »

Guestbook for ‘The Exhibtion of Surf Photography’ at Dimbola Lodge, Freshwater Bay from the 15th – 31st January 2010
Feb 08, 2010 | Categories: In Print, The Noughties | Tags: Aaron, Al Reed, Andrew Swinton, Annie, BH Rusty, Big Jame, Cameo Craig, Dave Downer, Derek 'Bloody Hell Rusty', Derek BH Rusty, Derek Rust, Dimbola, Dougie Saunders, exhibition, Gail Broomfield, Gail Sheath, Gallery, Jamie Isaac, Jamie Whittle, Jay Isaac, Keith Williams, Nigel Howell, Penny Downer, Rog Backhouse, Roger Backhouse, Steve Holland, Sue Backhouse, Wendy 'Bloody Hell Rusty', Wendy BH Rusty, Wendy Rust | Leave A Comment »

Congratulations on your exhibition – from Andrew Turner MP I read with interest the recent article published in the Isle of Wight County Press regarding your photographic exhibition at Dimbola Lodge in Freshwater and I would like to take this opportunity in congratulating you on the exhibition. I am pleased that the exhibition, showing some [...]
Feb 08, 2010 | Categories: In Print, The Noughties | Leave A Comment »