UKPST Awards!

Last weekend saw the surfers on the Uk Pro Surf Tour get all glammed up and suited and booted ready for the biggest event on the UK surfing calander!

Bright and early last Sunday morning was the start of what was going to be a day full of fun, as it was time for the final contest of the season, a contest where the champions were going to be decided ready to be crowned at the awards later that evening.

But before we got our short dresses and high heels on a spot of girly relaxation time in the Esplanade Hotel pool and jacuzzi was in need, as it was a chance to chat, chill and laugh with some of the girls. Below is a few pictures taken by an amazing up and coming surf and lifestyle photographer Ornella Hawthorn Gardez.

When the big hand hit the 12 and the little hand hit the 7,we all had are dresses on and make up done it was time to head down stairs for what we had been waiting for all year, the Uk Pro Surf Tour Awards Evening! Everyone looked stunning and it was nice to see the boys out of their jeans and into the smart black trousers. The evening went down a storm and so much fun was had by everyone, a massive well done goes to all the champions and award winners and I can't wait to see what is in store for us all next year!

A few of us girls all dressed up (c) Ornella Hawthorn Gardez

A Whole lot of Nudists With Some Nalu Bead Fun!

Chuck in a load of French nudists and 17 Janners and you have got yourself a lot of giggles and many strange faces....

Soulac sur Mer, a small french village in the south west of France, a place which seems to have many sights that you may not wish to see, and also some that are very artistic, such as the bunkers on Le Gurp, brightly graffitied with different images all shapes and sizes, as seen below on our mini photoshoot.

A group of 17 friends all from my home town Plymouth, got together for a much needed group holiday filled with sun, fun, surf and also as a surprise for the girls on the trip a Nalu Bead work shop which I was going to be running on day during our 2 weeks. 

The weather could not have been better there was sun everyday which meant it was perfect for hitting up the beaches, although these beaches did come to a bit of a shock when we turned up fully clothed as you do, although thats what we thought, sat in left, right and centre to us were naked bodies, we looked completely out of place! The sights we got to see were not to pleasurable especially the older men that casually wondered pass hanging loose, anyway this didn't stop us as there was some surf, only small but a really fun size, the picture below are of me and my friend Harry surfing Monitlivet.

Once the holiday was really getting going it was time for our Nalu Bead work shop, each of the girls got a kit consisting of the 3 beads, Coxos, Bali and Putsborough. I was there to teach them how to braid their own bracelet. Everyone constantly had a smile spread from cheek to cheek the whole time and where soo happy with what they had created, a quote from Tania who was taking part said " I have now got the bug for Nalu Beads I must go and buy some more to add to this they are amazing!". 

Hearing that makes doing workshops like this one so worth while, I have put together a short video of some pictures taken of the day.

Over all this holiday was so much fun and the company was amazing, it is definitely going to be the talk of our conversations for a long time.

Cooler Magazine Trip to Sri Lanka

A few more shots have now been released of our trip to Sri Lanka with Lucia Griggi and Cooler Magazine.

And yes a tea party under water pretty cool huh?!

(c) Lucia Griggi

(c) Lucia Griggi

(c) Lucia Griggi

(c) Lucia Griggi

Relentless Energy Drink Boardmasters Festival Janner Style!

Relentless Boardmasters...THE biggest event that comes to Cornwall's North Coast all year, with a 6* WQS surfing competition at Newquay's Fistral Beach and a huge music festival set on the cliff top overlooking the beautiful Watergate Bay what more can I say...

As I have been living in Cornwall for the summer months I thought it would be time for my two best friends to come and see what exactly it is that I do when not going school and give them a taste of the surfing lifestyle and festival fun.

This week was all about giving Emma and Jess an experience that we were never going to forget and with what I had planned for them I think this was definielty going to be a week that will last forever.

Day 1

A private surf lesson at constantine from me and then some serious hair braiding...

So the girls first day was giving them the taste of surfing my local break Constantine, this was such a good way to start the week, we had so many laughs and both Emma and Jess by the end of the session were riding along the waves. In the evening we visited Hannah Harding at her caravan and she gave us a bit of festival flavour to our hair by putting in a braid which Jess was very excited about as it was her first one in many years!

Day 2

Another day of surfing and biting lips...

On wednesday I took the girls down to O'neill Surf Academy where I work for another surf lesson, this is where they met Luke and Dan, who they fell head over heals for. Jess was even biting her lip whilst being taught with out even realising it. The evening it was bike ride time and not forgetting of course the most important thing an ice cream!

Days 3 + 4

Surfers Village and Nalu Beads...

The first taste of the surf competiton atmosphere was had today, both the girls were so intrigued by everything that was going on around them, the first stop in the surfers village was the Nalu Beads stall where I was able to introduce Emma and Jess to the team riders and also the co owner, they were also treated to a free work shop to learn how to braid their new beads into a bracelet. Smiles were once again spread from one side of faces to the other.

Day 5

Wellies at the ready...

So Friday the first day of the music festival and it was going to be a wet one with thick drizzle coming down from all directions, but being girls we came very prepared with our wellies and bin bag ponchos. It has to be said the atmosphere from start to end never failed to be more than amazing especially when the Klaxons played. We danced, we sang and had many laughs along the way what a night!

Day 6

THE best of the best...

Saturday had to be the best day out of the whole week, back to the music festival the weather was dry and warm, the UV paint was on and tonight was the night Zane Lowe blew us all away! What a performance, I have never seen so many people do the running man when Party Rock Anthem came on, he got the crowd going in so many different ways it was amazing! One part of the night which was also great was when Jess won 3 dance offs with just one move...The worm! 

This day will be remembered forever and we are already BUZZING for next years.

Jess Sums up her week...

" Surfing in the "knarley waves", chinese takeaways, rocking out in bin bags and flowery head bands at festivals, bicycle rides, hair braids, Nalu Bead work shops, shuffling, trying to be as cool as Jess Henry, meeting beautiful pro surfers! But most of all lots and lots of snuggles with my very best friends...it was THE best and funniest week ever and cant wait for next year!"

Emma also sums up her week...
" Amazing week in Cornwall with the most amazing people. Learning how to surf was a definite highlight...helps having a pro surfer as a friend sometimes! Constantine is beautiful and I can't wait to go down again soon missing it already!"

These pictures also sum up how much fun we had!

At Long Last and A lot of Wipeouts!

Yesterday was a day filled with joy, happiness and a lot of laughter. It was a day where everything that I have been waiting for happened and boy how it was a good one.

It all started when I checked the daily updates on Facebook and saw that finally some pictures from our trip to Sri Lanka had been released, looking through them it brought back the memories of the warm weather, fun waves and the amazing company that I was in. The pictures show our yoga photo shoot, walking across the sharp reef, the surf break which was our favourite through out the trip and the whole group together at the resort.

Also there is a short video filmed by Corrine Evans of our underwater tea party.

As the day went on my excitment grew and grew, this was because after finishing work at O'Neill Surf Academy all the staff were heading to the Flow Rider at Retallack for a team evening (Ashliegh, Dan, Jesse, Loric, Luke and myself). I wasn't to sure what to expect when getting onto the flow as I had never been on one in my life so it was a completly new experience for me. 

To start with Luke (an instructor both at the surf school and at the flow rider) set us off on the body boards. From the moment I jumped on to the moment that I wiped out the smile on my face never left, it was brilliant! Although this was the easy part, the hard bit was yet to come when I attempted to stand up, it was the weirdest sensastion ever, to ride the flow it requires you to move your body in ways which does not feel natural. This is the part where I won the best facial expressions and the best wipeouts! Even though I found it very hard I managed to stand on my own for roughly two seconds so I was pleased with that.

Over all it was such a great experience which will never be forgotten, the laughs we all shared and the skills we learnt makes me want to get up there again and give it another go. 

Latest Coverage

Following my trip to France working with O'Neill Surf Affinity, Amy Carter from Flowatersports Magazine contacted me to ask a few questions and find out a little bit more about my background of how I got into surfing and surf coaching and where I am aiming to take it.

Check out the article through the link below:
http://www.flowindsurfing.com/node/1148 

Also earlier on this week a lifestyle picture of me was posted onto Magic Seaweed on the Constatine report page and reached the World Photo page within 75hrs of it being on there, it goes to show how many people visit the website with now over 10500 views.

The photo below is the one which was posted onto the website.

Back to the Cornish Coast

After an amazing trip to France I am now back on the Cornish coast working at the O'Neill Surf Academy, training and also a spot of wild swimming.
Dan one of the coach's at the surf academy invited Ashleigh (Head Coach) and myself to go along with him for a wild swim after work, the sun was shining and there was no wind so we couldn't refuse the offer, besides I had never done it before so wanted to give something new a try.
We drove to Porthcothan and walked about 5 minutes along the cliff path until we reached a little path which would take us half way down the cliff into a little cave, we got suited and booted and were ready to go.
It was so much fun jumping of the cliffs into clear blue water and swimming through all the different gully's, definitely will be doing this again!

There is a short video attached to the link below of our adventure below and also a picture of the group from Latymer Upper School who had a ball at the surf academy this week.

http://vimeo.com/25841253

Nalu Beads hit up the French Coast...

Nalu Beads are branching out there product into Europe!
To kick start this launch Nalu Beads kindly supplied the Surf Affinity Camp with a workshop where I was lucky enough to give the girls a helping hand and get involved by showing how to braid their bracelets and thread the beads to create beautiful uniquely styled pieces of jewellery with different beads representing different surf breaks from all around the World and also beads which are named after old school surfers.

Having been lucky enough to have received some Nalu Beads before, I was able to share my knowledge of how to make the bracelets with the girls. I was able to work my way round the group demonstrating all the possible knots that can be used, from the smiles across the group showed the huge success of the work shop. Some of them have even gone home and bought some more beads to add to their collection!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words and I think the ones below prove this statement.

Check out the Nalu Beads website to see all the different collections and see what you can create! www.nalubeads.co.uk 

Bonjour From Sunny France

So it's been a while since a last posted anything, this is because I am currently in the south west of France in Vieux-Boucau training for the summers contests and also helping at the O'Neill Surf Affinity Lifestyle Camp as an up and coming coach.
The camp consists of 8 eager girls all wanting to give the surfing life a go, with surf lessons, trips into Hossegor, Biarrtiz and a great Nalu Bead work shop what more isn't there to love.
Each and everyday has had perfect conditions for the girls to learn in and also for me to get in a train as well, by the end of the day everyone is so tired, it is great to relax with everyone finding out more about one another whilst eating our delicious well deserved dinners.

If you would like to try out the surfing lifestyle the check out the Surf Affinity girls in France on their facebook page http://www.facebook.com/surfaffinity or if you fancy giving it ago in North Cornwall then check out the deals with O'Neill Surf Academy at Watergate Bay on their website www.oneillsurfacademy.co.uk.

Below are  few pictures from the trip of the different activities we have been getting up to.

Stay tuned for a great video of some impressive skills coming soon....

Kick Start to the Contests

This weekend saw the first contest of the season, held at Godrevy, the Gordrevy Pro Junior hosted by the National Trust was a great way to start off the year. The surf conditions were not great with a strong offshore wind blowing them out making it a challenge for all competitors, however each and everyone of us fought to catch the right waves to gain us good scores.

It was a great weekend to catch up with everyone, we had great laughs, live music and a yummy hog roast lets hope the next contest was just as good as this one if not better.

Back Home to Face Reality

After coming back from Sri Lanka and having a month off of school and not having to think about exams, the last few days have become a slight shock to the system as reality has set back in. I'm not used to having to do revision instead of surfing perfect 4ft glassy waves everyday and being in such warm tropics, although over the easter holidays down in Cornwall we scored some super fun waves, also I have been working at O'Neill Surf Academy at Watergate Bay as a rookie surf coach gaining loads of experience and knowledge about teaching people to learn the sport I love.