Notorious S.U.R.F

The tenuous link to Notorious B.I.G. is because I'm going to be controversial by saying I believe surfing the (North) East coast of the UK is better than surfing (South) West. Obviously we're only talking opinions here, nothing really based on fact but I'd like to present a lighthearted argument for this case anyway!

1. The locals are friendlier. 

First and foremost due to the relatively small surf community locals are incredibly open and friendly. Everywhere will have localism to some extent and I really feel for the Southerns who get inundated with tourists, but I believe the Northern bunch have managed to maintain that family feel.  

2. The North East is less commercialized.

I tend to get a bit uneasy around global brands, not because they are all evil scheming companies but because I think they dominate the local economy and flatten diversity on the high street. As much as I like to have a mooch around a Billabong store I love the dude on the corner who sells T-shirts out of his workshop or the little surf hire shop that sells second hand boards. British surfing is such a grass roots culture and I hope to keep it true to it's heritage. 

3. Coast and city collide.  

As a land locked city girl I love the juxtaposition of the natural beauty thriving alongside the ugliness of industrial, urban sprawl. I love that the coast seems so much wilder because its pioneered against industry in the East. 

4. The History 

The surf heritage of the East coast is a fascinating one, local lads surfed in woolly jumpers in freezing winter conditions and some of them got so good they ended up doing the world tour in exotic locations like Puerto Rico and Bali. Its that community again which makes the East coast rad. 

5. Its great for all abilities 

Whether your trying to catch your first wave in Saltburn beach break or ripping it up in Pease Bay Scotland, the East coast is a diverse and beautiful stretch which provides a whole host of opportunities. 

Take my ramblings with a pinch of salt (no pun intended), I like opening up dialogues about surfing so if you have any favorite places please get in touch, its great to discuss spots!

And lastly I'll leave you with the words of Notorious B.I.G. 

We can't change the world unless we change ourselves. 

Until next time 

Stay strong, surf well
Love

Apparently between the ages of 8 and 12 is the time when you are your most authentic self. So I ask you think back to when you were this age and recall what you liked to do because this is close or as close a version to what you should probably be doing now. 

When I was eight I used to play a game called 'Girls' with my sisters which ironically was a role play about what we were doing when we were women. For me I was stoically single (boys were icky back then), owned dogs and was running a rescue center/veterinary surgery. 

Nothing that eight year old Sophia has imagined has come true. 

Firstly I am in a happy relationship so I'm not overly fussed that the being single thing hasn't stuck (turns out kissing boys is quite good actually)?!! I don't have a dog I have a rabbit and although I worked my ass off to try to be a vet I didn't quite make the grades. Instead I traveled, studied to be a wildlife conservationist, did more stop gap jobs than I care to mention, traveled a bit more, felt lost, got a care job, became a land locked surfer and am now training to be a yoga instructor.
Not exactly what I had predicted for myself all those years ago! 

The yoga teacher training (a.k.a. the hardest journey I've ever embarked upon) has revealed that I adore learning and I'm perhaps not quite finished with exploring the academic side of myself just yet. The various animal spirit guides who visited me during mediation (I realize this makes me sound absolutely bonkers but bear with...), reminded me that I have a deep connection to animals and want to work with them. 

Regular readers will probably be rolling their eyes at this point, not to long ago I wanted to be an occupational therapist and before that probably something random like a manatee herder- I guess you could call me flippant! Well, its not exactly flippancy its more an abundance of creativity that grows into ideas, which then get left to rot when I become interested in the next thing. 

I believe this is called being a hapless twenty something! 

Something that has stuck through all these wandering years is the surfing, its the only thing that continually inspires and motivates me. Its also is one of the biggest conflicts of my life. I live in land locked Birmingham and I also happen to be in love with a land lubber who has to have some proximity to London (he likes surfing and I've even witnessed the stoke, but he isn't obsessed like the rest of us). Trying to pick somewhere to live together was always going to be tough but its made a million times more difficult by the fact that I NEED to be by a surfing beach. Surfing has the capacity to make you incredibly selfish as the call for the waves over rides most things whether that be work, relationships or your location!  

The trick is to be mindful and cultivate patience, beating yourself up about not going to catch that lush set rolling into your favorite break isn't going to help you in your current situation. Its far better to plan trips, compromise where you need to and make the most of your time when you are in the ocean. That and be interesting when your not at the beach, have something that brings you happiness i.e. 

 

Until next time
Stay strong, surf well
Love

Top Tips for Surf Trips!

As much as surfing is about catching that perfect wave its also about exploration. Being the co creator of the Land Locked Surfers club means I've become a bit of a dab hand at organizing and packing having stayed in everything from tents, to caravans, to posh apartments!

Having made pretty much every mistake going when trying to pack for a surf trip (not enough jumpers, no waterproofs, forgetting my WETSUIT...yeah I've been that stupid before) I have a few fail safe tips for your next (or first) surf trip! 

1. FIND RADIATORS.

Go with 'radiator people' the kind who make you feel awesome about yourself, who you'll have a good laugh with and help progress your surfing. You don't have to find pro's to surf with, beginners with heaps of enthusiasm are just as essential to you when your first start. Having surfed both solo and with groups I'll always pick surfing with friends because it brings a totally different energy to your session and in terms of safety its always good to have more eyes in the water to look out for those rip currents. Make sure your with open minded and adaptable people, the kind who don't moan too much because anything from wild camping to flat spells can all be potential problems! 

2. KNOW BEFORE YOU GO.

When I organize a surf trip I do the following I ask myself the following questions:

- Where am I drawn to?
- Does it have consistent waves? 
- Is there stuff to do if it's flat?
- Is it accessible by public transport if needs be? 
- Can all levels get something from the break? 

Asking myself these questions helps me tailor a trip to accommodate everyone's needs. I often use magicseaweed.com as a source of inspiration or simply running a Google search to find reviews about potential surf spots helps. The real beauty of surf exploration is rocking up to breaks which feel far away from the maddening crowd. As several Land Locked members don't drive however I always like to make sure there's public transport near so they can at least get to the main tourist beach (after that we usually car share and ferry people across to new found breaks). 

3. LOCAL KNOWLEDGE PREVAILS 

Locals know best, respect the locals and you'll have an awesome trip. In all the surf trips we've done around the UK we've never encountered 'Localism' and that's having surfed everywhere from Scotland to Cornwall. There are good people everywhere and if you are friendly, polite and don't drop in you can make some friends along the way. Recently in Pease Bay we met local surfers who not only told us where to wild camp but let us use their boards overnight! Yes people are that cool!

4. TOWELS, TOWELS, TOWELS. 

Always pack more towels than you think you need, a wet wet suit is one thing but using a cold damp towel to get dry for three days is downright awful. 

5.  SOYA ALL THE WAY 

I always pack two cartons of soya milk if camping, not only because I'm vegan but because soya milk can be left outside a fridge and still be ok. 

6. PLAN FOR FLAT DAYS.

The burden of being land locked and a full time worker is that you have to plan trips months in advance with no knowledge of whether the waves are going to be good. You can always use historical data about a surf spot and seasons can help to a degree but there is always an element of chance when rocking up to a surf spot. In the past we've had a Halloween themed party in a caravan, hours of fun in a local leisure pool and visited an Aquarium when the surf has been flat. No waves is annoying but it doesn't have to mean a ruined surf trip! 

7. GET YOUR 'OM ON! 

I try my best to do a bit of yoga when I'm away not only because I get a kick out of it but because being flexible and training your core strength can make a massive difference to your surfing. Stretch before you go in and you'll protect your muscles in the long run! 

8. CAR SHARE. 

Surfing has the potential to not be so great for the environment if you travel miles and miles to reach a destination. If you have the ability to do so split petrol costs and travel in shared cars. That and it makes miles of motorway less boring!! 

9. BE OPEN MINDED. 

Heaping expectation onto something is never a good thing, try to be open minded remembering that every trip is an experience and every surf sesh is an opportunity to learn something. Sometimes I wouldn't surf too well and I'd spend the rest of the session getting frustrated. It was only when I stopped worrying about how I looked that I surfed well and more importantly had a good time! 

10. HAVE A PLAYLIST AND TAKE LOTS OF PHOTOS! 

I think the title says it all, (I've made you a playlist which will stay up on the blog for a few days, this is the kind of stuff I make Mr Sunny listen to when we're driving off into the distance)!!

Until next time 
Stay strong, surf well
Love

Surf Scotland.

If I had a time machine I'd travel back to visit 14 year old me to tell her to keep her chin up. I'd say that when she turned 25 not only would she be a surfer but she'd also be friends with the kinds of people she so desperately wants to know. 

The Land Locked Surfers Club took a trip up to Pease Bay, Scotland last weekend deciding to rough it by wild camping wherever we laid our boards. I surfed the best I ever did managing to catch green waves and get some turning in despite only having an 8ft foamie avaliable. This however is a minor detail, what was most spectacular about the trip was all the amazing people who attended and the atmosphere they created. For three days we lived like hippies in our self made surf commune somewhere out in a Scottish woodland. I'm not going to sit here and pretend that the accommodation was comfortable, or that we were toasty all of the time but rather the banter, epic surf, moments of sunshine and campfire jamming sessions made forest floor sleeping and tent life RAD!  

The ever talented Jemima Stubbs (who also happens to be my best friend...I am the luckiest girl in the world), took photos of our stay, whilst my phone managed to die on the first day meaning I actually have very few pictures of the trip. For a blogger not being able to take photos was both frustrating and a blessing in disguise.  It forced me to live in the present and not to spend time thinking about potential blog posts. 

I feel immensely lucky to be a surfer and have the opportunity to go catch waves with people who make my world go round. The LLSC renews my sense of awe and childhood feelings of exploration, it also makes city living bearable when I know I have countless adventures on the horizon. 

To the next Land Locked Surfer Trip! 

I adore this photo as you can see how utterly in love I am with Mr Sunny!

Meet George one of our very talented musicians. He also happened to be an absolute natural surfer taking to it like he'd been in the water for years! 

 The beauty of wild camping is that you can stumble upon scenes as beautiful as this. 

The lovely Rich otherwise known as the body boarder! 

Here are some of the LLSC in all their glory! We're missing a few key members but you get an idea of the kind of fun we have. This photo is supposed to be 'bear coming towards you' poses...

 

 I've managed to rope best friends into coming onto these trips, this is the lovely Rosie who manages to make camping look far too good, I on the other hand look like I've had no sleep! 

 Meet Pippin our surf dog, she came along on the trip and loved it! She even jumped on a board and had a go...annoyingly she was actually pretty dam good! 

Surfing is very serious business as demonstrated by Andy and Phil! 

All photos courtesy of the ever cool Jemima Stubbs click on her name for the link to her business page! 

Until next time, 
Stay strong and surf well
Love