Porthcawl

Porthcawl on a rare sunny day in Wales
Usually no rain is seen as a good thing; however, this has meant rivers have been very low and many of the waves that would normally be running are too low to be working. Therefore, it has been difficult to get training on waves and many sessions have been cancelled due to this. 



In order to get some time on the water other than flat water sessions, myself and Jake decided to head to the coast for some surf. With waves forecast of 5-7ft, we headed to Porthcawl: Coney Bay looked quite flat, so we headed round to Rest Bay. Low tide meant it was difficult to tell the size of the waves from the car park, and although it didn't look that big, we knew it would be bigger when we were actually out there. 

After a windy walk across the beach, several attempts to get my deck on without my boat being filled with water and then shuffling out to sea, we embarked on a long paddle out. It was not necessarily a long paddle out, but it involved constant paddling and being knocked back by waves every few meters. 



For both Jake and I, this was our first time using the sea as a training venue. We have both been surf kayaking before, but never with the sole purpose of training so we were excited but apprehensive. 

We were finally far enough out to catch the waves as they broke, and with a big set on the horizon we span around to face shore. Soon we were racing back to shore, attempting to throw everything and anything. The waves feel so much faster than river waves and edges are multiplied. 



The paddle out begun again. 

In our two sessions, Jake through some of his biggest blunts ever! Along with some spins, blunts and roundhouses, I also attempted an air screw, which resulted in some face surfing! 


However, with a very strong onshore wind and fairly messy breaks, it became increasing hard and more frustrating to paddle out far enough to catch the better waves. Soon we decided we needed a break so headed up to the cafe for food and warmth, just as the heavens opened. 

We later went to have another session but the wind had picked up even more and we decided to call it a day. Our main struggle of the day was the paddle out, which did act as great stamina training, but with the wind catching the blade not in the water and waves crashing on our heads it was extremely exhausting.



Although we didn't paddle as long as we would normally at HPP or Hurley, it was a great change and well worth the trip as it has given us a different aspect of waves which will hopefully benefit us once Hurley returns.


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