Sunday 16 October 2016

On the second perfect wave of the morning, already been on it for 300 yards or so, the lip is feathering ahead and I am running with the ebb and flow of the wave, top to bottom, cut back and speed up, longboarding like I am out of some Californian road movie. My thighs are burning out with the effort, and I lose self-control and start claiming it, hooting and a-hollering. Then I hear the echo and look round.. Steve is on the one behind, paddle above his head, laughing. A quarter of a mile after we caught our waves we prone out and glide to the sand for the ten minute walk back up the point. What a morning, what a run of waves, including getting swept round a headland. And I thought it had peaked on the glassy quiet perfection we found last night.





Tuesday 14 June 2016

Elise Refurb - Seats

The seats are from an S2 and have been in the car 7 years. 

Before after three years.
Equipment. Cleaned with leather cleaner, wiped with a damp cloth then treated with saddle treatment.
Results. Not perfect but not bad at all.

Yes I did do this in a premier inn!






Monday 30 May 2016

Elise - boot bag

Work in progress

Needs a repaid to a couple of rips.


Elise - Hood refurb

First to do some work on the hood to get 2 years of green vegetation removed. Warm water, pinch of washing liquid, scrubbing brush and some elbow grease
Results after first go
Looking better

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Saturday 28 May 2016

The refurb begins

So the refurb begins. First job to get it off the drive where it has been sat for three years.







Jack the car up, whack the brakes with a mallet, free up the disks and it is rolling and up on the truck - £40 to get it down to Clan Autos.

Monday 11 January 2016

Gullane Goes off


 
What a start to the year, after a terrible Autumn and a land locked Christmas I drove home via a day of great waves in both England and Scotland then this weekend a big swell (13ft@11Sec) trucked up the Firth of Forth and lined up on the most fickle of things, the village’s resident right hand point break. 2 or 3 days of good waves were predicted too. Could it really happen?

This is how it went.

Saturday: Light winds and the very start of the swell gave an excuse to get out on the new SUP. A generally flat water paddle was rounded off with a nice waste high wave to the shore – my first proper SUP wave, something that felt very unnatural.

 Sunday: Get down to the beach early for a sighter and two things had happened:

1) The huge swell had arrived as promised and was wheeling down the point, the waves starting small and increasing in size as they came into the open bay. Huge bomb sets were moving down beyond the bay with clean waves breaking a mile offshore.

2) The Scottish surf circus had arrived. A car park usually occupied by dog walkers was rammed full of vans surrounded by a detritus of boards and bags. No one it seemed had a mind to miss this one. After some negotiation with the Mrs I got in for the drop after lunch. 6.6 fish. What a session, long cruisy rights down the point and finally thirty mins in the middle chasing some bigger set waves. Last wave of the day may hold position for wave of 2016 for some time. Big, chunky and down the line before a clouting from the lip and a dodgy exit through the rocks.

Monday: I have to work so get up early to get that done and make a two hour slot in the day. Decide on late afternoon on the drop. Longboard. The swell had eased back and the wind was still hard offshore but the waves were linking all the way down the point. It never took more than two waves before I had to get out and walk the 500 yards or so back up the beach. Again one of the last waves was the best, all the way down the point, it never sectioned once and stayed chest high till it closed out in the middle of the bay. At speed on the nose for 50-100 yards -  Magic. Got out when the light faded.

Tuesday: Sadly the swell had dropped and the wind had come round but some more waves were had and again the final wave was the best – found a rare set wave which had some shape so rode it through, straightened out and called it day.

And now back to waiting

That Tuesday Before


So that Tuesday before:  Roll up at Saltburn at first light and a clean head high swell is rolling in. Surf good right handers for 3 hours until the wind ruins it then head up the A19 to home. Stop at Pease late afternoon expecting it be blown out and but was greeted by pumping clean overhead waves into a light offshore breeze. Stayed clear of the pack due to the noodled arms but still got into five sizable waves including a couple of standouts before no longer being able to face the paddle out.

Here's a picture of the SUP