After about an hour two other guys paddled out. One of them was a huge middle aged guy on a longboard and the other a kid on a shortboard. I could see the guy on the longboard was getting some good waves and after I’d had a long one I paddled back past him and introduced myself. It turned out he was an ex marine and now taught surfing on the north coast but this was his local break and to his mind it was better than what the north coast had to offer anyway. I asked him if it was always as empty as this and he told me that most people go to Praa Sands 20 minutes down the coast, they like to be seen. Ahh the herd mentality. I kept asking him about this little cove we had all to ourselves and he told me everything I needed to know about it. Best state of tide, rocks and where to go if it got too big to get out. We let each other have waves all afternoon. No hustling required! After the session we exchanged e.mails and I thanked him for his help. The next day it was maxing and try as I might I couldn’t get out. The guy had told me where at Praa I should go to avoid the crowds and a long walk. The private road he’d given me directions for brought me out at the other end of Praa sands. There was about half a dozen people out on perfect A frame peaks and when I looked right to the main beach about a mile away there was about 200 people out. The road he sent me down is no big secret but without him telling me I’d have probably ended up in Praa sands car park and been just another sheep in the herd. The art of communication at work!
Jan 09, 2012 | Categories: The Noughties | Tags: 2009, archive, beach, blog, Cornwall, Devon, El Salvador, English, Groundswell, history, IOW, Isle of Wight, James Willis, Jim Willis, Lands End, Lizard Peninsula, Locals, longboard, Lost Art of Comunication, Marine, marine animal, people, photo, photographs, Porthleven, portrait, Pra Sands, Praa, Praa Sands, Sands, session, South America, Spanish, stoked, surf, Surf Trip, surfboard, Surfer, surfing, swell, The Noughties, waves, wetsuit, wightsurfhistory | Comments Off on The Lost Art of Communication
Soon after this Al was surfing Porthleven with Dean Winter when he went too deep and got smashed into the reef. Al ended up quite battered and bruised and with broken ribs. A Pregnant Julie and Al had already decided to move back to the Island and at that point Al was desperate to get as much surfing in before they left. So even with broken ribs and feeling quite sore Al continued to surf, paddling into waves with one arm until they left for the Island.
Aug 18, 2010 | Categories: Surfer Profiles | Tags: 1950's, 2cv, 4 fin drive, 60's Stylemasters, Al Reed, alan reed, aMY rEED, archive, Ataxia, Ataxia type 6, Bare Knuckle Boxer, Bare Knuckle Boxing, Barney, Barnstormers, Barrels, Beau Young, Bert, Bert Spencer, Blackthorn, Blackthorn Cider, Brighstone, broken ribs, Captain, Catweasle, Cerri Williams, Chapter, Chris Jones, chronic pancreatitis, Cider, Clean, Commodore, compton, Compton Bay, Cornwall, Corset, Custard Point, Dave Gray, Dave Grey, Dean Winter, Duane Desoto, DVD, East Cowes, East Wittering, Fistral, Freshwater, freshwater bay, Glassy, Grange Chine, Guy Leverton, history, Hotdoggers, hypothermia, In The Sun, interclub championships, IOW, IOW Surf Club, Island Myland, Island surf movies, Isle of Wight, Isle of Wight Ferries, Isle of Wight Surf Club, Israel Paskowitz, Jeremy Robinson, Jill Fryer, Joel Tudor, Johnny Fryer, Julie Reed, Ladies Hotdoggers Team, largest ever surfboard, Les Reed, Lifeguard, lifeguards, Lifestyle, Lightning Bolt, Log, longboard, M.M.Y., Mark Neville, Marsh Mellow Yellow, Martin Spencer, MMY, Mohawk, Mount Wise, MOVIE, movies, Naby, Nat Young, Navy, Newquay, Newquay Surf Board Company, Nicholas Lyndhurst, Nodes Hill Holiday Park, North East, North Fistral, Nose Rider, Ocean Magic, Offshore Sports, Olive Saunders, Only fools and horses, Oxbow, Oxbow Longboard European Tour, pancreatitis, people, Perranporth, photo, photographs, Popout, Porthleven, portrait, Prince of Wales, Prince of Wales Pub, punk, punk rock, punk rocker, Quad Fin, Ray Hutchings, Record Breakers, reef, Robert Weaver, Robert ‘Wingnut’ Weaver, Roger Butler, Roger Mansfield, Russell Winter, Sailing Regattas, Sam Lamiroy, Sandown Bay, Saunton, session, sessions, Shanklin Pier, Shore Surf Club, Sid Vicious, South Coast Championships, South Fistral, Spencer Morgan, Spiked, Spikes, Sponsored, Steve Winter, stoked, surf, surf movies, Surf Trip, surfboard, Surfer, surfing, Susan Reed, swell, swells, Takuji Masuda, thruster, Tristan May, TV12, UK Nose Riding Championships, UK2K, Vit Sea, Vitamin Sea, Wales, waves, wetsuit, wightlink, Wightlink Ferries, Wightlink Ferry, wightsurfhistory, Wingnut, Winter | Comments Off on Alan Reed
From the Virgin Islands they traveled onto America, working their way across to the west coast. They stopped in North Carolina to stay with Barney’s sister Rosie who was at university there. Word had got around about Barney and Chris’s travels through Europe and across to the Caribbean and onto the U.S.A. and the university president had questioned Barney’s sister Rosie where they would be staying. When he found out that they were staying at her small flat he made arrangements for them to stay at his mansion. The staff were never to remember Barney and Chris’s name properly and they soon became known as Bonnie and Clyde by the them.
Jun 17, 2010 | Categories: Surfer Profiles | Tags: Airwave, America, Australia, Bali, Balsa, Bantham, Barnes, Barney, Barney Barnes, Barnstormer, Barnstormer Sails, Barnstormers, Bilbo, Board Rack, Bonnie & Clyde, Bonnie and Clyde, Boobies, Boscombe, Breaks, British Champion, British paragliding Champion, British Paragliding Team, British Surfing Magazine Wavelength, Byron, Byron Bay, Caribbean, Cerri, Chambre d'amour, Champion, Chapter, Chapter popout, chapter popouts, Chris, Coast, Colwell, Colwell Bay, Constantine, Cornwall, Cosmic Children, Dave Gray, Dave Grey, designer, Devon, Dorchester, Dorset, Easkey, Europe, Figuera de foz, Fim show, fly, fly glider, France, Freshwater, freshwater bay, George Greenough, Gibralter, gliders, Godrevy, Gwithian, Helston School, Holiday Camp, Ian Williams, Innermost Limits, International Paragliding, Ireland, Islands, Isles, Jim Taylor, Kimeridge, Lahinch, Little Apple Bay, Magazine, Mansion, Monte Grappa, New Zealand, Newquay, North Carolina, Paragliding, Peniche, Penzance, pilot, Plymouth, Point, Point break, Porthleven, President, Rack, Raglan, Ray Hutchings, Razers, reef, reef break, Rincon, Ringstead, roger cooper, Roger Mansfield, Rosie Barnes, Sail, Sailing, Sails, Sandown, Scene, Shanklin, Sharkies, Shop, South, Spain, Spanish Point, St Ives, steve williams, Stradbrook Island, surf, Surf Club, Surf Insight, Surf Trips, surfboard, Surfboards, test pilot, Tonga, U.S.A., UK, Uluwatu, United States of America, University, USA, Vaughn, Virgin, Virgin Isles, Wavelength, waves, Weymouth, Wight Water, Windsurfer, Windsurfing, Winsurfing School, Yacht | Comments Off on Barney Barnes