Global Surf Adventures » Dan

The secret to happiness….

Dan — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 08:01:05 +0000

With the romance of Valentines day only a week away, we thought you might like an idea of what makes people happy!

David Cameron commissioned the Young Foundation* to look at what makes people happy, (and how public policy can shape happiness) – and the results were blindingly obvious – life experiences! Rather than getting happy by buying more and more things, or having loads of money,…..people actually feel happier if they have happy experiences, and happy family around them. Shared, fun experiences like surfing holidays expand the mind, and give you happy memories that can be returned to time and time again.

So we suggest this Valentines, buy your loved one a week or more of happiness….. with a deposit for a surfing holiday! You can share the fun of surfing n beautiful locations in France and South Africa. You can book a place on either our Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa surf holiday or our South West France surfing holiday for as little as £100!

You can buy a gift voucher for any amount, say £20, for the full deposit of £100, or the total holiday cost, whatever your budget. So make someone very happy this Valentines and book on a happy surfing holiday.

*You can read the full report by the Young Foundation here.

TV to watch on Fri

Dan — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:10:34 +0000

Watch out for some interesting TV this Friday night….
Safari Vet School on ITV1 at 8pm is filmed in the Amakhala Game Reserve, South Africa, which is near our South African surf holiday destination of Jeffrey’s Bay. And on our amazing holiday we offer a free trip to the wonderful Addo National Park to see the big 5- they are considered Africa’s greatest wild animals – lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo, and rhino. So come join us in Jeffrey’s Bay on the surfing holiday of a lifetime, and see all this for yourself first-hand!

New Year’s Resolution – to surf more!

Dan — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 16:07:21 +0000

If you want to surf more in 2012, read our 5-step guide to getting in the surf more often, and having better waves and more fun too!

1 – Become a weather geek! UK surf is notoriously unpredictable, and a day of the best swell can be ruined by a strong on-shore wind, so check the charts daily to make sure you know when your local beaches are going to be going off! Use www.magicseaweed.com and www.windguru.cz and local weather charts from the www.metoffice.gov.uk to see what’s happening.

2 – Know what a good day looks like for surfing! Each break you surf will have optimum conditions for surfing, and you should get to know what they are, and look out for them on your charts. You should be looking for optimum swell direction and strength, winds, and tides for each beach. Read up about this on any number of websites, and for international spots; in the Stormrider guides or on line at www.lowpressure.co.uk and make sure you know what is best for your local break.

3 – Get your paddle-fitness ready. You don’t want to miss out on an epic session if you get in but then burn out after 10 mins! Make sure you stay fit all year by doing a combination of exercises regularly. Aim for 3 sessions or more a week of any of these – swimming, sea-swimming, weight training, cycling, running, yoga or pilates.

4 – Have the right kit, and spares! Don’t get caught out without a spare leash or only having one bootie when it’s winter! Have all your wetsuit kit ready to go in the car and some spare fins, fin keys, leashes and wax, as well as a dry towel, some water and some post-surf munchies – just in case!

5 – Book a surfing holiday. You’ll get more waves, learn more about surfing, and meet more friends than you will here at home – guaranteed! There is nothing quite like going to a world-class surfing spot for showing us just how much good surf we are missing out on here in the UK! Come with us to sunny South West France, or amazing Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa to surf the best waves on the planet, every day! Call Dan on 07967 379939 for more information.

New Baby :)

Dan — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 09:27:45 +0000

We’ve been rather quiet on the blog front as we have been very busy looking after our new baby boy! Little Samuel is doing well,…. and we are really happy, if a little shell shocked and tired!

Here is Joshua checking that his baby brother is ok! Awww

Next Up..the Triple Crown

Dan — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 17:34:17 +0000

The ASP World Longboard Tour was in Italy recently,…. and as you can imagine there was a serious lack of waves in the Mediterranean! They finally moved the event to Andora, 180kms NW of the main event site in Levanto, where they got some small 1-2ft waves. The event was won by Kai Sallas (Hawaii) and the overall Longboard Tour was won by Taylor Jensen of the USA. Ben Skinner, our UK champion, was joint 11th overall. The Triple Crown is the next event starting on the 25th November in Sunset Beach, Hawaii. Watch it here live.

Ke11y Slater IS World Champ

Dan — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 19:04:24 +0000

It’s been an amusing week for surfing….. Ke11y Slater as he is now known, has won the 2011 ASP World Tour. The ASP at first calculated that Kelly Slater had won the contest, and then changed their minds as they admitted they had added up the scores incorrectly! This was after everyone had celebrated, printed t-shirts and Kelly had paraded round with his cup! Kelly very magnanimously said “There are no hard feelings towards ASP and mistakes happen”. He then entered the next heat and won, and so could finally claim his crown,… again! This is the 11th time he has won the contest and he finished his surf with an amazing barrel that looked impossible to complete yet he popped out the other end, seemingly where others would have fallen! It was superb and worth watching here. And the event is still ON – watch it live here.

He has won all these ASP events:
2011: Rip Curl Pro Search San Francisco – USA
2010: Rip Curl Pro Search Puerto Rico – USA Territory
2008: Billabong Pro Mundaka – Basque/Spain
2006: Billabong Pro Mundaka – Basque/Spain
2005: Nova Schin Festival – Brazil
1998: Mountain Dew Pipeline Masters – Hawaii
1997: Expo 98 Figueira 97 – Portugal
1996: Coca Cola Figueira 96 – Portugal
1995: Chiemsee Pipe Masters – Hawaii
1994: Chiemsee Gerry Lopez Pipe Masters – Hawaii
1992: Alternativa Surf Rio – Brazil

Is there no way of beating him? Well done Kelly Slater!!

Kelly Slater goes for 11th in 2011

Dan — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 08:59:43 +0000

The 11th and penultimate part of the ASP World Tour, the Rip Curl Pro Search event, the only ASP World Title competition with have roving license, has confirmed Ocean Beach, San Francisco 1-11 November 2011, as the official destination. This is where Kelly Slater may well get his 11th World Title. He is well out ahead in the world rankings. The top 5 are:

1 – Kelly Slater – USA
2 – Owen Wright – AUS
3 – Adriano De Souza – BRA
4 – Joel Parkinson – AUS
5 – Taj Burrow – AUS

Watch it live here and follow tweets at #ripcurlpro. It should be a great event!!!

Kelly Slater and surfing mice

Dan — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 07:30:10 +0000

Kelly Slater was interviewed by CBS News recently and revealed that he is working on an artificial wave machine under the name Kelly Slater Wave Co. There is to be a circular pool that provides an endless wave, but it is still in the prototype stage, and so far they have only been able to make the concept work in a scale model providing 2 inch perfection. Kelly is quoted as saying “The wave is perfect and it just keeps going round and round. I just wish I was the size of a mouse or something”. Watch it here.

Problems associated with cost and the inevitable whirlpool effect have kept similar designs from becoming a reality. So far the most successful and potentially viable wave technology belongs to Wave Garden in Spain. They have successfully proved their concept in a half-scale model (we blogged about it here), and are currently renovating the first pool to a version that promises to provide head-high tubes, and there are plans to install similar pools around the world.

Next surf holiday – Jeffrey’s Bay!!

Dan — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 12:06:47 +0000

Our next new and exciting surfing holiday is to the legendary waves of Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa. From the 28th April to the 20th May 2012 we will be surfing these perfect peeling points.

Our surf camp is based in a beautiful guest house located in Jeffrey’s Bay, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Also known as J-Bay, it is situated at the end of the famous Garden Route; the scenic stretch of coast from Heidelberg to the Storms River.

J-Bay is around an hour’s drive from Port Elizabeth airport, and the surf here really is world-famous….. These South African waves became legendary amongst the surfing community as the home of the ‘perfect wave’ by the film Endless Summer. The film follows 2 surfers travelling the world in search of the perfect wave. After a long search they find it in South Africa at Cape St Francis, near to Jeffrey’s Bay. In the second film they return to South Africa and find Jeffrey’s Bay, which surpasses the waves of the first film!

So come with us and see/surf(!) for yourself the perfect waves of J-Bay. A week’s holiday half-board is from as little as £575 per week. See our South Africa page for all the details.

Ericeira is a new ‘world surfing reserve’

Dan — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 06:57:26 +0000

Ericeira is officially a World Surfing Reserve (WSR). The Portuguese village becomes the second WSR overall and the first in Europe. The special designation establishes and celebrates the unique value of the Ericeira surf zone, and aims to enhance efforts to maintain the pristine nature of the area for future generations. The dedicated surf zone consists of 2.5 miles of coastline, containing seven quality surf breaks, including Pedra Branca, Reef, Ribeira d’Ilhas, Cave, Crazy Left, Coxos and São Lourenço.

World Surfing Reserves is a program co-founded by Save The Waves Coalition, a not for profit organisation dedicated to preserving and protecting surfing areas throughout the world. It works in conjunction with National Surfing Reserves Australia.

Ericeira is the second of what will become a global network of World Surfing Reserves. Malibu, CA was dedicated in 2010, and approved future reserves include Manly Beach, Australia in February 2012 and Santa Cruz, CA in April 2012.