For the love of long boarding...

Home is where the waves are....

 

  

Morocco chewed us up and spat us out again- thus was our surf trip to Tagazhout. Of the 5 days I planned, three were dedicated to throwing up and not being able to leave my bed. When I wasn't sick other surfers were, so my trip passed like time spent in respite, a kind of blur. Thankfully those sick days were studded with moments of wonder - a dawnie surf and on the last day the sunset surf I experienced with my girls (minus a few fallen), where I began my everlasting love affair with long boarding. Long boarding and I are the real deal, we're for life. Everyone knew before I did that I was a long boarder. I thought I could swerve and slice the wave like a short boarder but turns out I'm more mellow than that. 

So I guess I'll leave the swerving and slicing for my time outside the water and stick to being a long boarder serene and steady in the water. Discovering long boarding feels as natural as I imagine coming out of the closet does after years of denying the real you. Even though I still make wipeouts look like an Olympic sport using a long board made me feel like I was skating on the water, or as close to being a Hawaiian princess as this Brummie girl will ever get! 

The sea can sometimes feel like a bad boyfriend (especially when you stand on scorpion fish) but I always come back to it, its an enduring love I guess. 

Until next time, 

Stay strong, surf well

Love

ALL PHOTOS TAKEN COURTESY OF JEMIMA STUBBS PHOTOGRAPHY.

YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION ABOUT HER WORK HERE. 

Scarborough Surf Festival!

 
 

The land locked surfers club are beginning to wonder if we're a jinx for the Scarborough surf festival. Its the second time we've attended and the contest has been cancelled due to none existent waves. Ok, that's not strictly true this time at least we had some cheeky 1-2ft fun waves to play on. So it wasn't exactly epic surf but as ever it was another wonderful LLSC weekend. On this trip we shared a magical moment with a fox who came up to us like a timid dog, I found a gorgeous vegan restaurant, we surfed on a beautiful secluded beach, played in casinos and we even raced around a caravan site on go carts. 

That's the awesome thing about going on surf trips with friends, you never fully know what to expect but you always have a good time. Speaking of friends, here are some of their beautiful photos documenting the trip. Thank you Jemima Stubbs and Christine Wilson! 

 Just some of the LLSC new and old in Scarborough. 

 Surfing is a real serious business....

 Surfer girls who have to wear jumpers! 

 This stunning shot was captured by my ever talented friend Jemima. The fox was so inquisitive, we all had the pleasure of watching him for a good half an hour, he even ate cheese offered! 

These girls are some of the most important people in my life, they are what make surfing so epically wonderful! 

Until next time 
Stay strong, surf well
Love

Vaguely related to surfing.

Let's be honest this blog is a diary that occasionally talks about surfing. I like that balance I like presenting all sides of myself, for you dear blog reader, to regard and do with as you will. So with that in mind here are some tenuous links to surfing that I thought you might be entertained by (or at the very least you can use to procrastinate from whatever it is you should be doing)! 

Vaguely related surf topic number one. 

BRUH BUNNY  

Today my mind has been firmly fixed on Bruh the rabbit, he was booked in to get castrated and I've pretty much been an anxious wreck from 9am when I admitted him to now. So how does this relate to surfing? Well Bruh is named after my favorite phrase I heard South African surfers say when I was staying in Cape Town. 'Hectic Bruh' means the waves were really awesome and Bruh means brother which I just loved. 

Vaguely related surf topic number 2. 

STOKED. 

I should be embarrassed admitting this but I'm not- I love the kids cartoon Stoked! My surfing buddy found this animated series on Netflix so put it on for her daughter, it was so good she not only had one happy kid she also really enjoyed it too! She enjoyed it so much she recommended it to me and seven episodes in I can confirm it is AWESOME!! It covers everything from localism, tongue in cheek references to Point Break, dropping in, cross stepping and with characters such as 'Broseph' and 'Reef' what's not to love?!!  

Vaguely related surf topic number three. 

FELICITY PALMATEER ART 

Ok so Felicity Palmateer is actually a pro surfer which is incredibly relevant to surfing! What I'm particularly interested in is not her wave technique but her art because as well as being a surfer, conservationist and model she also happens to be a kick ass artist. I love her whale mandala and reckon this would look awesome for the tattoo I dream about and hopefully will eventually have if I can save/muster up enough courage!! 

Vaguely related surf topic number four. 

ALL THINGS BOHEMIAN. 

I know its terribly hipster of me to admit this but I just LOVE anything that has a bohemian flavor and every time I think of surfing I feel there's a connection to being a bohemian free spirit. Back in the day (50's & 60's) surf culture was on the fringes of society, it was deemed unsavory amongst the conservative middle classes so those who made it their lives were often branded as outcasts. Nowadays surfing still represents that alternative free spirited vibe and I LOVE it! 

Vaguely related surf topic number five 

SURFING DOGS 

 No words necessary. 

Until next time 
Stay strong, surf well
Love