It literally saved me
Welcome to another packed issue of Carve. In here you will find tales from all corners of Britain and Ireland. One story that particularly stands out for me personally is that of my long-time friend Kwab. It’s a story I have kept with me for many years. I used to stay with Kwab when he was running a hostel in Bundoran, but we kind of lost touch. I wasn’t sure what had happened, but one day I got a message. It turned out a few things in his life had got on top of him and he needed help. He ended up in a secure psychiatric ward, very depressed. Then one day a friend of his took him a Carve mag. He read it from cover to cover and right then decided to change his life. “It literally saved me,” he told me. “It was like a full-on jolt back to reality! I kept it with me and it was like my anchor. It reminded me of who I was and why I needed to get out of there!” Kwab now runs surf charters on his boat ‘Jiwa’, and teaches meditation and free diving in Indonesia. He is literally living the dream. I can’t tell you how happy this makes me, or how stoked I am that he has shared his story in this issue. “If it helps even one person take a different road, then it’s worth it,” he says. We are living through a historic period right now, and the pandemic has affected a lot of people very differently. Hopefully we have filled this issue with enough inspiring stories and people to fire up your stoke and get you out there. Maybe on a new twinny handpicked from our guide!

Enjoy!

Steve Editor

Secrets
Welcome to issue 207, we hope you have been getting a few waves. It’s been quite a spring! When is a secret spot really secret? And what do you do when keeping the spot secret might put the existence of that wave under threat? These questions are coming up more and more, as rampant developers, the global elite and even some second home owners, eye up the coastal idylls. In two recent cases, traffic and parking issues at sensitive (not secret) spots have caused access problems on the Cornish and Yorkshire coastlines. Hopefully both have been addressed with local campaigns and not too much damage has been done. One spot much further away in the Caribbean however, is a different story. The right on Barbuda was so well protected that even Save the Waves didn’t know where it was. That was until the whole island was threatened by huge developments that would change the lives of inhabitants – both human and natural wildlife – forever. The decision was made by a small band of surfers and photographers, to launch a global campaign to protect the rights of locals, the indigenous wildlife, the coast and the wave itself, from what looks like illegal luxury developments. It’s a tough call to out a spot you hold dear, but one that had to be made. You can read all about it and the campaign on page 70. It’s hard to get to, and rarely breaks, but it’s one of those spots that you can dream of, so please support the campaign. Also in this issue we chat to the British team about Olympic dreams, some pretty cool shapers about this years surfboards, Patch Wilson about adventure and tree planting, and James Garvey – who was pulled unconscious from one of Ireland’s heaviest waves and revived by a bunch of legends. And much more! And remember if you fancy sending in your shots and stories email us at [email protected] We’d love to see them!

Steve
Editor

HELLO!
Sorry it has been some time. Lockdown, Brexit and a landslide of photos from all corners of Britain and Ireland have caused some disruption of late. But here we are, kicking off 2021 with a new issue, new features, but the same stoke. I think this was an exceptional winter. Heaven or hell depending on how close to the beach you live or how stringently you kept lockdown travel rules. Personally, I took to the spirit and didn’t travel to some of my favourite waves that I deemed outside of my community. So, hell for me for a while. Although I do take pleasure when the inbox starts pinging with shots of you lot out enjoying yourselves. And ping it did. To the point where it nearly took out our hard drives. So, this issue is filled with all the action and reaction from what could have been one of the best ever. Or worst. See what you think… Also, we catch up with Tom Lowe, who has had an amazing run at Jaws, Mavs and Pipe. So good to see him repping our big wave crew. Alys Barton has been ripping lately, so Mark Vaughan caught up with her to find out what lays ahead. The Isle of Wight has good waves and a solid crew, but this issue we finally get proof. Plus George Watt gives us the rundown on Fraserburgh. And there’s lots more. So dig in. Glad you are here… glad we are all here to be honest! Hope you enjoy.

Steve
Editor

COMMUNITY
In many ways this issue is all about our surfing communities. I just love the way we are all interconnected by various degrees and bound by the challenges, shared disappointments of hoax swells and joys when we all score, no matter which coast you surf in Britain and Ireland. This month’s tales from the surf community include a few stories we have been waiting for, for quite a while. There’s the dedication of the Norfolk crew, which has much better surf than you probably imagined. Gary Knights profiles south coast legend Cliff Cox, who has helped inspire and mentor many surfers in Brighton and beyond. The ever stoked Greg Owen takes us behind the scenes in Porthcawl, a town that has produced many Welsh and British surfing champions. Another Welsh legend, Mark Vaughan, chats to Lukas Skinner who just won the boys under 12 division of Barton Lynchs global video challenge. North Cornwall’s Kit Hartop shows us his beautiful recycled wooden surfboards. The legend that is Alex Williams tells us why Bantham and its surfing community is so special. And we have the amazing story of Chris Burkard, who started photography at 19, took his first foreign surf trip at 21 and is now the worlds best surf/lifestyle photographer (and super nice guy). We also have an inspirational insight into how some of our top surfers have pivoted their lifestyles and sought to improve their lives in COVID times and amazing shots from our talented home-grown photographers in what has been a very active autumn, and much more. Hopefully all the above will fire you up as we surf into the sunset of an extraordinary year, into what could be a bright dawn in 2021.

Steve
Editor