The 2011 Extreme Academy English National Surfing Championships will run at Watergate Bay from the 30th April to the 2nd May. This one-day event will see surfers from all over England, as well as our local talented bunch battle it out for the National Titles

Surfers will contest in three divisions; Open, Ladies and Longboard, and organisers will choose the best day of the 3 over the weekend to hold the competition. The contest will form the basis on which the selection will be made for the English surfing team to compete in the European Surfing Championships in Ireland in September.

Jayce Robinson (Open), Ben Skinner (Longboard) and Sarah Beardmore (Ladies) will be defending their 2010 titles at Watergate Bay. St Ives surfer Jayce Robinson became one of the youngest ever English champions, aged just 20.

Our surfing holidays

If you want to experience the best waves, in beautiful locations every day you should come on our amazing surf trips! We travel to the best locations at the optimum times of year on our surfing holidays to SW France and South Africa. On our France surf holiday we travel to Seignosse, SW France. Our surf camp rests under tall pines and we spend our days surfing the best beach breaks along this amazing coast. There are miles of white sandy beaches to sunbathe and surf. It really is a surfers paradise!

On our South Africa surf holiday to Jeffrey’s Bay we surf the legendary point breaks of Jeffrey’s Bay. We stay in a stunning guest house with direct access to the beach overlooking the waves. The surf is so good here they made a film about it – twice! See the Endless Summer films for all the amazing footage of surfing in South Africa. It really is the surf trip of a lifetime.

See our holiday pages for more information about our trips – France surf holiday and our South Africa Surf holiday. If you have any questions we are happy to help – please ask.

Photographer:Kirstin Prisk

Later I went off to Watergate and scored a few good head high waves on my retro 6″4 fish. Not to many people out.

There is a lot of sand up the beach this winter because we haven’t had any real big surf over the last few months, which usually rips the sand out from the top of the beach.

If you want surfing conditions better than this,….. it’s usually a good idea to book a surfing holiday to a quality surf break abroad. Our surfing holidays to France and South Africa visit the best places to surf at the most consistent time of year. We know our surfing destinations really well, and very importantly, we know under what conditions each spot works best. This means every day we can assess the surf, and find the best spot for a clean wave, and take you there! Add the element of sunny weather and our adventure holidays are the perfect surfing holiday!

So come along this September (2011) on our France surf holiday, or the following May (2012) on our South Africa surfing holiday to Jeffrey’s Bay.

Lauren surfed the winter swell at Watergate Bay today! It wasn’t quite the usual size of winter waves, but it was clean and rideable, so that suited her fine! Josh enjoyed a walk on the beach too.

Fingers crossed for something more than this happening on Wednesday? Please?!!

If you are feeling cold and not getting any waves, why not book yourself a place for just £100 on our France surf holiday or our South Africa surfing holiday of a lifetime?

This is the Gannel Estuary after high tide. As the waters subsided, the seawater left behind froze into peaks like egg-whites over the grasses, quite a phenomenon! We have never seen anything like this before. It must have been very cold to freeze the seawater! I wonder if other Cornish estuaries had the same effect?

Despite this cold weather we had a great double surfing session first at Little Fistral and then later at Watergate Bay. To stay warm we got suited up at home and wore booties, gloves and hoodies, and we got out of our wetsuits at home in the hot shower! It’s the only way to go!

Matt and Zoe got married yesterday at Fistral Blu. A lovely sunny day with amazing waves rolling past the window. The bride wore a lovely modern suit and amazing killer heels and the groom looked smart as hell all suited and booted! The company was really great, met some friendly and open relatives and friends of the both of them, and 2 pregnant ladies! Good luck with your births girlies! Joshua loved the day and despite his teething he had a good time with everyone. More piccys to follow soon.

The surf as you probably know has been amazing this week with off-shore winds and proper groundswell. Amazing!! I had some lovely long rides today at Watergate Bay. Hope the off-shores stay here for more surfing tomorrow morning!

It’s tourist season in full swing here in Newquay, and the beaches and roads are jam packed with tourists fighting their way from their campsite to Morrisons to the beach and back again! It’s so bad we try not to drive out and about on a weekend (unless the surf is going off!). All this in the cold northerly winds and cloudy skies! If the surf was pumping none of this would matter, but the surf has not been doing anything! Choppy blown out windswell is not our idea of fun! Not a great summer so far!

Never fear, we are going to a better place! We are off to South West France in September to golden sandy beaches and it’s bound to be bettter weather, cleaner waves and warmer water! Come and join us from £342 a week! See our France surf holiday page for more details.

We travel to South West France in September and the area we surf doesn’t have this problem. In France there is plenty of sand on the miles of beach breaks and you can litlerally choose a bank you want to surf. Here in the UK beaches can lose all their sand right down to the rock and that means a pain walking out to the surf in bare feet, as well as changes to how the sand banks work!

If you’d like to come with us on our France Surf Holiday, use the link on the right to visit our website.

Swim in a rock pool

There are some fantastic naturally occurring rockpools to be found along the British coast. In North Cornwall Treyarnon Cove is great for surfing, but also has a number of rock pools. The best being the larger one at the North end of the beach. At low tide this beautiful pool reveals itself. It looks just like a pool; rectangular shaped, and about 30 feet long, with a depth of around 8 feet in its centre.

After your dip in the sea you could warm yourself up with lunch and a hot coffee in one of the cafe’s facing the picturesque harbour in neaby Padstow.  It’s about 10 minutes drive from Treyarnon.

Coasteer

Feed your need for adrenline by trying coasteering with Vertical Descents, a Newquay based adventure company. It’s a combination of rock climbing, canyoning and cliff jumping all rolled into one!  You’ll be jumping from the cliffs, swimming through caves and scrambling along the coastline in a small group lead by one of the instructors. Contact Sam on 07891 264342 and see Vertical Descents for more details.

Eat Well

If the weather has taken a turn for the worse, which is highly likely given we are in the UK, hunker down for some great food at The Beach Hut, Watergate Bay. They prepare fresh, interesting food with good service too.  The views across the Bay are great too. It’s  half the price of Fifteen but just as tasty. I like their fab detox salads, the falafel and their amazing Extreme Hot Chocolate drinks with marshmellows on top! Great for warming you up after a brisk walk on the beach. Remember to go at low tide to get the long walk! Book a table on weekends as it can get quite busy 01637 860543.

Go au-naturel

If the weather suddenly takes a turn for the better and the sunshine is everywhere, take a chance and enjoy the beaches the way nature intended! Vault Beach is located in an area of National Trust-owned land at Dodman Point, Gorran Haven, south of St Austell on Cornwall’s South Coast. Nude use of the South end of this privately owned beach has continued for many years; which can take the unsuspecting surfer by surprise! For more info on where you can strip off in the South West see the Naturist UK wesbite.