Silver Surfers

22 Cornwall Today

Whisper it quietly, but surfi ng isn’t just for kids. As the sport has matured so have its British pioneers, those who blazed a trail in Newquay in the

1960s. And they’re still surfi ng: nowadays, especially here in Cornwall – the epicentre of British surfi ng - you’re as likely to fi nd silver surfers in the sea as up and coming hotshots. Their longevity is every bit as inspiring as the slick new moves

practised by the ‘groms’, the array of junior surfers eager to make the big time.Yes, the ‘big time’: it exists in contemporary surfi ng, right here on the Celtic

fringe of Europe. The best British surfers may have some way to go before they emulate the likes of nine times world champion Kelly Slater, or big wave supremo Laird Hamilton – millionaires thanks to surfi ng – but a good living is to be made

from surfi ng, a sport of huge importance to the Cornish economy and one that, in Britain, has come of age.

Here are six people who are testimony to the rewards to be had from surfi ng. Their common denominator? Well, it’s less to do with money and more about

something almost indefi nable – the joie de vivre that comes of one of the most simple, elegant and pointless acts imaginable, one that only man and dolphins

practise: riding waves.

hisper it quietly, but surfi ng isn’t just for kids. As the sport has matured so have its British pioneers, those who blazed a trail in Newquay in the

1960s. And they’re still surfi ng: nowadays, especially here in Cornwall – Whisper it quietly, but surfi ng isn’t just for kids. As the sport has matured so have its British pioneers, those who blazed a trail in Newquay in the

1960s. And they’re still surfi ng: nowadays, especially here in Cornwall – the epicentre of British surfi ng - you’re as likely to fi nd silver surfers in the sea as up

and rising starssilver surfers

HAVING MORE FUN THAN IT’S POSSIBLE TO HAVE.

Words by Alex Wade, photographs by John Isaacs

silversurfers aw k.indd 2 08/07/2010 15:37:30

Cornwall Today 23

DOROTHY ‘DOT’ LONGIf ever there was an inspirational fi gure in British surfi ng, it’s Dorothy ‘Dot’ Long, 83. “I’m one of the more mature wave riders, yes,” says Dot, who fi rst started riding wooden bellyboards on a trip to Newquay in 1948. “I love the feeling and the fact that bellyboarding was something that all the family could do. Sometimes there’d be fi ve

of us riding the same wave. We’d go all the way into the beach.” Dot kept on coming

to Cornwall, swimming and riding bellyboards, and is still riding waves on the north Cornwall beaches near her home at Mawgan Porth. She may have given up one of her other

loves – tap-dancing – at 81, but the sea’s allure remains irresistible. “I wear a shortie in April and May, and then a swimsuit all the way through to September,” she says, a broad smile lighting up her face. “I love the sensation and try to go in the sea every day. I’ll keep going until I can’t do it anymore.”➔


surfers

24 Cornwall Today

Harry de rotH“I want to be a pro surfer. It’s my dream.” at only 11 years old, St Ives surfer Harry de roth is already well on the way to achieving his ambition. He’s sponsored by Quiksilver, and rewards his backers with complete dedication.

“I’m in the water every day, for hours, even if the surf is rubbish,” says Harry, who started surfing when he was just three years old. He rides a Beachbeat 5”1’ shortboard with such skill that his ability is the envy of many seasoned surfers, but despite being exceptionally talented, he’s humble, too.

“the St Ives community have been brilliant to me. they’ve really helped me develop my surfing.” He credits well-known professional surfers tom Lowe and Jayce robinson as being especially influential, as well as long-time lifeguard Stef Harkon. Under their tutelage and if he keeps going as he is, Harry might well Britain’s brightest surfing hope for years.


Cornwall Today 25

JOHN OWENJohn Owen started surfi ng in 1961 and today, aged 70, is the epitome of health. Indeed, the term ‘silver surfer’ is a misnomer: the man who still travels annually to Biarritz to go surfi ng for a few weeks, with lifelong friends in a convoy of vans, doesn’t even have a grey hair, let alone a silver one. “I was born in Worcestershire but moved to Cornwall for the surfi ng,” says John, who, with Newquay’s Dave Reed, runs the much respected UK Pro Surf Tour. The pair set up the Tour, which sees Britain’s best surfers compete for glory and cash over a series of 10 events, in 1997. Since then it’s gone from strength to strength, and even more impressively, John is still surfi ng as much as ever.“I was talking with a friend about what surfi ng’s given us,” he explains, “and we agreed that we’ve had more fun than a human being is supposed to have. Surfi ng keeps you fi t, it rejuvenates you. It’s given me the most wonderful lifestyle imaginable.”

TASSY SWALLOWYou might expect the only British surfer to be awarded a prestigious, sought-after scholarship by the International Surfi ng Association to be a little full of herself. But, in the athletic form of St Ives’ Tassy Swallow, there’s not a bit of it. Instead, the 16-year-old is down-to-earth and focussed in equal measure.

“I want to be one of Top Six female surfers in Europe,” says Tassy, who was this year’s Lady of the Flowers in the Cornish Gorsedd. A sponsored rider on the O’Neill team, Tassy is an articulate, intelligent girl who may well go on to become one of British surfi ng’s most notable ambassadors. Take, for example, her words on the Gorsedd:

“The Gorsedd’s about celebrating Cornish culture and surfi ng is such an important part of the Cornish identity. It is not just an honour for me but also for surfi ng. It shows the Gorsedd’s not just about old traditions, but is also recognising what makes Cornwall distinctive today.”

➔


SURFERS

GWYNEDD HASLOCK“I always wear a bathing cap when I’m surfi ng. It’s my signature.” So says Gwynedd Haslock, Britain’s fi rst ladies’ surfi ng champion and, at 65, still going strong.

“I started surfi ng as a girl in the late 1950s,” says Gwynned. “I wanted to give it a try but was told by Trevor Roberts, one of the fi rst surfers in Cornwall, that he’d only teach me if I carried my own board to the water. So I did.”

Gwynedd’s determination later saw her enter the British Championships in 1966 as the only female competitor. She went on to amass a string of titles and continues to surf through even the winter months at her favourite breaks of Fistral and Newquay’s town beaches. Now retired after 46 years working for Cornwall Council, she spends her time surfi ng, gardening and writing a book of her surfi ng reminiscences. As for surfi ng itself, Gwynned says it brings people together. “I remember surfi ng in Donegal during the Troubles,” she says, “but you know what? All everyone could talk about, from both sides of the Irish border, was the surf.”

26 Cornwall Today


Cornwall Today 108

Seb SmartSome surfers look so fluid in the water that they seem at one with the waves they’re surfing. Sennen Cove’s Seb Smart, 17, is one of them.

“Surfing defines my life,” says Seb, a rip Curl surfer who came fifth in the 2008 european ‘grom search’ final. that year he also won the U16 category of the annual boardmasters event in Newquay, and this year he plans to enter the boardmasters in the open category. that means Seb will come up against some of the world’s elite surfers, but if anyone can do well, it’s the young man from the far west.

“Surfing is a massive challenge and the best way of being close to nature,” says Seb, who is this summer working as an rNLI lifeguard at his home beach. but beyond the feel good vibes, there is a fierce drive, too. “When I’m ready, I’ll enter as many World Qualifying Series events as I can,” says Seb. He’s gunning for the top, and has the talent to get there.

For more information on British surfing, visit www.bpsauktour.com and www.britsurf.co.ukFor bellyboarding, see www.originalsurfboards..co.uk

CT


Silver Surfers

Documents

Transcript of Silver Surfers