Early 90’s Cornwall Surf Trip
I rememver an early 90’s surf trip to Cornwall when it seeemd that half the Isle of Wight surf community made the trip down to Newquay. There was a Competition on and Ray Hutchings, Al Reed and others were all competing. In my VW Camper was Chris Blackley, Shaun Baxter and Scott Holley all on one of their first surf trips to Cornwall. I was working at the Isle of Wight County Press at the time and good friend and County Press photographer Pete Boam was looking for a lift to the West Country, so he joined us for the trip down. Pete brought some great refreshments for the trip and as soon as we departed the ferry the partying had begun. By the time we dropped Pete off somewhere the Cornwall and Devon border it was already getting messy. It was freally good to get to Crantock and be able to properly join them.
In the morning we drove straight to Fistral to see what was happening and try and find everyone. Aaron Rogers was already there with a Red Transit Van with what seeemed like half the Island surf community on board. Jamie Isaac was there with Mark White and Jamie was stood in the middle of the car park trying to do some juggling. Jamie’s skills at juggling were not the best and he soon got lots of stick. Eventually a desicion was made to head elsewhere to get some waves, as with the contest on Fistral was rammed with people. I think most of us surfed at Crantock, where we caught up with Stu Jones, Tristan May and Steve Padley. I don’t remember the surf being particularly memorable but that night at the Bowgie Inn in Crantock was one to remember (Or Not). I do remember we had some food in the pub and then went into the Nightclub. It was packed and they finished the evening with Rage Against the Machine, Pearl Jam and Nirvana and I can’t believe there wasn’t a fight. I think a few people squared up but I don’t remember anyone getting hit. We carried on back at the vans and it turned inot a really hazy night.
In the morning you could tell who were the seasoned pros at surf trips and camping in vans and cars at beach car parks. Being up early and first to the public toilets after a heavy night of Cornish Ale and Pub Grub was a must, and to remember to bring your own toilet roll. When I saw Mark White walking back with his bog roll and a big smile I knew there was going to be alot of groans later.
There was a bit of disagreement over where to surf that morning and we all got split up. A few of us went to Perranporth in search of some clean waves but it was a lot smaller. Mark was sure he would find better waves further south but Jamie decided to stay and surf with us. After a fun surf we decided to follow Mark down to St Ives but it was just big and messy. We decided to head back to the Island and maybe get a few waves at Bournmouth on the way back.
When we got back to the IOW ferry Jamie suddenly realised that he had left his ferry ticket in Marks’ car. We had all the boards inside the van and so got Jamie to climb in amongst all the board bags and sneaked him on board the ferry.
My memory of this trip is a bit hazy and I’m not sure what year it was but the night up at the Bowgie in Crantock was one to remember, hopefully these pics may jog a few more memories.
France 1991
In 1991 I managed to persuade Stuart Jones and Richard Harvey to do a surf trip to the South of France. At that time Stuart and Ritchie in my opinion were among the best surfers on the Island…..
As is often the way the very next day the swell came up and it was cranking. We were all bleary eyed, very hung over and the waves coming through on the left were some of the best I had ever seen. When two guys started to paddle out we could see it was a good size too. We soon got ourselves together. This was what had come for, so we got into our wetsuits and paddled out…..
The swell lasted nearly all week and it was soon obvious that we were staying at one of the best set ups along the coast as one day a load of pros including Tom Curren, Lisa Anderson, Michael ‘Munga’ Barry, Paul Russell and others turned up with Maurice Cole and a few Surf Photographers to surf our left hander.
Whale Stranding in print
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 […]
Save the Whales
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.
Iow Surf Scene through Nineties
Were you surfing on the Island during the 1990’s? Tell us your stories and send us your images.