Been a long day at the Quik Pro with round one and eight heats of round two done in big, long walling Graviere waves. Bullet points: Joan Duru smashed it, John John and Jordy sailed through keeping the title dream alive, Julian Wilson is out kind of turning his into a nightmare and Filipe Toledo was surfing with a bung rib so obvs couldn’t smash it totally. Rd two will be on tomorrow for sure. Here’s the press release from the WSL…
HOSSEGOR, France (Thursday, October 12, 2017) – Following an opening weekend dedicated to women’s action and three consecutive lay days, the Quiksilver Pro France launched in epic conditions at La Graviere. A new swell pushed clean offshore waves in the six-to-eight foot range (1.8 – 2.4 metre) for the men’s first round and eight heats of the second.
The opening two heats of Stop No. 9 of the men’s World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT) got off to a slow start as the lineup was still settling from a windy afternoon yesterday. Top seeds Adriano de Souza (BRA) and Owen Wright (AUS) suffered Round Two relegations at the hands of Stuart Kennedy (AUS) and Nat Young (USA), respectively.
“I was feeling a bit tired this morning but I’m so happy to finally win a Round One heat,” Kennedy said. “I haven’t won a three-man heat in a CT since Trestles last year, so it feels good to finally put it together.”
“It definitely feels good to skip Round Two, that thing is always deadly,” Young said. “It’s always good to have a heat when the waves are fun. It’s tough to come up against the higher seeds in Round Three, too, whether it’s John (Florence) or Jordy (Smith) or whoever that is at every event, but right now I have no pressure so I’ll just go out there and do my thing.”
Wilko Photo: Sharpy
World No. 4 Matt Wilkinson (AUS) was the first top seed to click into gear, taking his backhand vertical attack to the clean Graviere rights to post two good scores and advance straight into Round Three. Aussie compatriot Josh Kerr (AUS) narrowly missed the landing of a couple of aerial maneuvers that could have turned the heat but in the end, the slightly safer approach of Wilkinson won the heat.
“It was so fun out there, the tide came in quickly and I knew it was going to move in and become a bit chunkier,” Wilkinson said. “That first 7 was kind of exactly what I was looking for. It’s good to surf waves that have a bit of power, you just pick a line and push as hard as you can. I’m excited coming into this leg. I love surfing here and in Portugal when the forecast is good. If I just keep winning heats and find myself at the two end of these two events I’m definitely going to be back up there for Pipe.”
Caio Ibelli (BRA) and Ethan Ewing (AUS) teamed up in Heat 4 to relegate one more top seed to Round Two in Julian Wilson (AUS). Ibelli was the first surfer to find a good hollow section on the lefts to score a deep barrel for a near-excellent score. But, it was rookie Ewing and an inspired performance on the rights that won him his first Round One win this season. Ewing let loose on a beautiful set wave and put together a combination of three major carves for an 8.40, the biggest score of the day at that point.
“It’s been hard on the CT with waves that I thought were good and scores that weren’t,” Ewing explained. “So I’ll take it when it comes my way. I’m putting less pressure on myself coming into the back half of the year, just trying to have fun and show what I can do.”
Italo Ferreira (BRA) started his Round One heat the best possible way, launching into a massive backhand rotation in the Graviere shorebreak to post a near-perfect 9.50 in the opening minutes. But when facing the reigning WSL Champion John John Florence (HAW), one big score is never going to be enough, and the Hawaiian went to the air as well to post a couple of big numbers and take the win over Ferreira and defending event champion Keanu Asing (HAW).
“I didn’t see his wave, but I heard everyone freaking out and I knew it was a big score, he’s always going to do something massive especially in those conditions,” Florence said. “I was starting to get my composure back towards the end of that heat and got a couple waves.”
Jordy Photo: Sharpy
World No. 1 Jordy Smith (ZAF) put on a power-surfing clinic on his forehand in the following heat, dominating a Round One battle with talented Frenchman and event wildcard Marc Lacomare (FRA) as well as CT sophomore Kanoa Igarashi (USA). Smith’s flawless approach on the overhead sets won him a 16.10 heat total for a spot into Round Three.
“It’s got a lot of power out there I’m kind of psyched on the conditions, it’s so buttery it’s really nice when you get that open face you can really lay down some tracks,” Smith said. “I never take a three-man heat lightly — I always try my best to skip those. My boards are feeling really good. It’s kind of the usual that I normally ride and when there’s a bit more power in the waves, my boards seem to love it so I’m stoked!”
Joan Duru Photo: Sharpy
Local hero Joan Duru (FRA) galvanized the massive crowds enjoying a picture-perfect day in Southwest France in Heat 7. Duru found two absolute bombs in the opening four minutes of his match-up with Filipe Toledo (BRA) and Miguel Pupo (BRA) and built an incredible 18-point total to combo his two opponents. Duru’s backhand barrel skills came at the perfect time when La Graviere started pulsing deep sections and his punctuation marks under the lip finished the job. A last barrel from Duru in the dying seconds of the heat continued to keep the fans on their toes even if the score was not a substantial one.
Joan Duru Photo: Sharpy
“I got a little hometown luck, paddling back from the other side of the peak and getting a wave straight to me,” Duru admitted. “And then paddling back out getting that barrel again. I’m really stoked. I’m lucky Maud (Le Car) was here to run and bring mea board when I broke mine. My main focus is to re-qualify. The rookie of the year race is interesting, but I want to solidify my spot on tour first then see what happens.”
Medina… Photo Sharpy
Gabriel Medina (BRA) took on two Hossegor locals as well with Jeremy Flores (FRA) and Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) in Heat 8. The Brazilian, a two-time winner at the Quiksilver Pro France, engaged in a back-and-forth battle for the lead with Flores while the Italian rookie struggled a little bit more to find waves. Ultimately, it was a backhand combination of radical turns from Medina that won him the heat.
“I love this kind of beach break,” Medina said. “You have so many options to surf. Today was a bit tricky, but I’m happy with the two waves I surfed. Both Leo (Fioravanti) and Jeremy (Flores) spend more time here than anyone on tour, so it was a tough heat but I have spent a bit of time here too and it’s one of the best places for me to get a result.”
Joel Parkinson (AUS) managed to walk through a firework-less heat against Jack Freestone (AUS) and Michel Bourez (PYF) and logically claimed a ticket for Round Three, linking together a couple of nice waves with his signature stylish approach on the clean rights.
Sebastian Zietz (HAW) put a hurdle on Connor O’Leary’s (AUS) Rookie of the Year race, pushing the talented Australian and Jadson Andre (BRA) into the elimination Round Two. Zietz’ marine sense was put to the test and the Hawaiian threaded the long rights perfectly, even finding a deep barrel section close to shore for his highest score of 8.17.
“That’s probably the easiest way to get scores, go straight through the barrel,” Zietz said. “I was kind of lost out there, with a couple giant sets and some white water all the way across. It was kind of a low-scoring heat but I found a lucky little tube and I’m glad I stayed with that one.”
Ian Gouveia (BRA) upset three-time WSL Champion and multiple event winner in France, Mick Fanning (AUS), as well as Frederico Morais (PRT) in their Round One match-up. Adrian Buchan (AUS) took out the final ticket for Round Three, sending Kolohe Andino (USA) and Ezekiel Lau (HAW) to the second round.
Round Two of the Quiksilver Pro France launched with a massive upset when talented wildcard Marc Lacomare (FRA) defeated current World No. 3 Julian Wilson (AUS). A rather slow heat saw both surfers exchange scores in the six points range. A final set came right before the buzzer to give Lacomare and Wilson a final opportunity. The Frenchman started on a big left and performed three turns to post a 7.27 and eliminate Wilson.
“World No. 1 or 2 or 3 it doesn’t really matter, all those surfers surf sogood,” Lacomare said. “I just tried to take advantage of this amazing opportunity to surf at home, and tried to have fun and be smart. Every heat I make against those guys is definitely a confidence boost, it will probably help with the last few events of the QS.”
Wilson, who won the Billabong Pro Tahiti and in August, struggled to back up the result with a deceiving 9th in Trestles and his worst finish all year with a 25th in France. With only two events left after France, the Australian’s World Title hopes could be seriously jeopardized if his direct competition,Florence and Smith, go a long way at La Graviere.
“It was a tough heat, it’s shifty out there and a long way out to sea,” Wilson explained. “I didn’t finish two waves that would have probably changed the result of that heat. I’m disappointed that I didn’t get the win, this is my poorest result this year but it’s the way it goes. The World Title is my biggest motivation and that was a bit of a dagger in my hopes for that this year. But, I’ve won those next two events before and I’ll look forward to them.”
Toledo… Photo Sharpy
The next upset came from Miguel Pupo (BRA), who eliminated fellow Brazilian athlete and recent winner in Trestles Filipe Toledo (BRA). Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) continued the trend of upsets in Round Two by eliminating current Rookie of the Year leader Connor O’Leary (AUS).
Frederico Morais (PRT), Kolohe Andino (USA) and Mick Fanning (AUS) took the final three heats out to move into Round Three and avoid an equal 25th finish in Hossegor.
Kikas. Photo: Sharpy
Event officials and surfers will reconvene tomorrow at 8 a.m for a probable start of the remaining heats of the Quiksilver Pro France Round Two. The Roxy Pro France Semifinals will also be on standby.
Surfline, official forecasters for the Quiksilver and Roxy Pro France, are calling for:
Medium size NW swell will ease through Friday and fade further during the first half of Saturday as favorable wind continues. An even larger swell will fill in for Sunday, building Saturday afternoon/evening and dropping on Monday. Another strong WNW swell looks increasingly likely for Tuesday before fading Wednesday, although wind conditions may be tricky.
Quiksilver Pro France Round 1 Results:
Heat 1: Stuart Kennedy (AUS) 12.00, Adriano de Souza (BRA) 10.77, Conner Coffin (USA) 6.33
Heat 2: Nat Young (USA) 11.00, Bede Durbidge (AUS) 9.17, Owen Wright (AUS) 7.20
Heat 3: Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 13.77, Wiggolly Dantas (BRA) 12.50, Josh Kerr (AUS) 10.76
Heat 4: Ethan Ewing (AUS) 15.57, Caio Ibelli (BRA) 15.33, Julian Wilson (AUS) 9.13
Heat 5: John John Florence (HAW) 15.67, Italo Ferreira (BRA) 15.60, Keanu Asing (HAW) 5.10
Heat 6: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 16.10, Marc Lacomare (FRA) 12.70, Kanoa Igarashi (USA) 10.47
Heat 7: Joan Duru (FRA) 18.00, Filipe Toledo (BRA) 11.43, Miguel Pupo (BRA) 9.14
Heat 8: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 15.86, Jeremy Flores (FRA) 15.27, Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) 13.26
Heat 9: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 13.20, Jack Freestone (AUS) 11.96, Michel Bourez (PYF) 11.40
Heat 10: Sebastian Zietz (HAW) 12.74, Jadson Andre (BRA) 10.74, Connor O’Leary (AUS) 10.57
Heat 11: Ian Gouveia (BRA) 15.57, Mick Fanning (AUS) 15.27, Frederico Morais (PRT) 12.16
Heat 12: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 15.60, Kolohe Andino (USA) 10.63, Ezekiel Lau (HAW) 10.60
Leo. Photo: Sharpy
Quiksilver Pro France Round 2 Results:
Heat 1: Marc Lacomare (FRA) 13.27 def. Julian Wilson (AUS) 12.23
Heat 2: Owen Wright (AUS) 13.60 def. Keanu Asing (HAW) 11.17
Heat 3: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 15.97 def. Josh Kerr (AUS) 13.00
Heat 4: Miguel Pupo (BRA) 12.27 def. Filipe Toledo (BRA) 8.50
Heat 5: Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) 14.60 def. Connor O’Leary (AUS) 11.87
Heat 6: Frederico Morais (PRT) 15.26 def. Jack Freestone (AUS) 11.37
Heat 7: Kolohe Andino (USA) 13.50 def. Jadson Andre (BRA) 12.60
Heat 8: Mick Fanning (AUS) 13.20 def. Ezekiel Lau (HAW) 12.84
Boardmasters is done for another year, everyone’s exhausted, needing a detox and in need of a decent night’s sleep but as always a blast was had by all. Here’s a selection of images from across the week and the official WSL releases on the comps.
Congrats to Emily Currie finishing third in the WSL Euro Longboarding season and Jack Unsworth fourth in the mens. BM wise Jobe made the semis, Gearoid the quarters in the shortboard and Bleakers, Skindog, Emily and Jack Unsworth all made the quarters in the logs.
All the highlights from the final day of surfing at Fistral beach! We crowned Jeep Longboard champions Antoine Delpero and Justine Dupont! Head here for full results http://www.boardmasters.co.uk/results
Pubblicato da Boardmasters su Lunedì 14 agosto 2017
Ella Williams (NZL), 22, and Lliam Mortensen (AUS), 20, have claimed the Boardmasters Quiksilver & Roxy Open titles today in wind-affected three-to-four foot surf at Fistral. Competition resumed early this morning and culminated with the QS finals this afternoon in front of a packed beach.
Mikaela Greene (AUS), 23, upset the defending event champion and her compatriot Claire Bevilacqua in their semifinal matchup as she belted her ticket for the final. Former World Junior Champion Ella Williams took out the second semi against Josefina Ane (ARG) to join Greene.
In a wave-starved final, both surfers built their scoreboard on mediocre waves at first, before finding better opportunities through the second half of the matchup. Eventually it was Williams who found the best scoring rides in a really difficult lineup at low tide and walked away with the win.
Williams claimed her first event win of the season and a much deserved break from a string of average results. The Kiwi surfer has been consistently placing in the Top 30 on the Qualifying Series and will need to build momentum from her Newquay win and transpose her good form on the bigger events coming right up.
“It’s such a great feeling to win an event again, I’m so excited!” Williams said. “This has been my toughest season ever so far so it’s nice to finally get back in rhythm. Winning an event makes the place all the more special and I’m excited to go back to Lacanau just like I’ll be excited to come back here next year. My mom and dad take turns travelling with me and I really like having their support, it’s really tough doing it on your own.”
Mikaela Greene placed runner-up for the second time in 2017 and adds yet another great result to her season tally. Unfortunately the young Aussie’s best finishes have only been in smaller-scale events so far and she’ll need to step her game up in the QS6,000 where the big points are.
“Ella is a really tough competitor and if it was going to be anybody to lose to I’m glad I lost to her today,” Greene admitted. “Every heat is a learning curve and I definitely took away a lot from that heat. I’m pretty happy with my performance and I definitely hope I can get that first place before the end of the season. It gives you a lot of confidence when you have a good result behind you and I hope I can follow through in the next few events. This place has that real English vibe and it’s been a great experience for my first time in Newquay.”
One of the form surfers all-event, Lliam Mortensen eliminated the last British surfer in the opening semifinal, Jobe Harriss (GBR). He was joined in the final by Kairi Noro (JPN), 18, who came out on top of a tense matchup with Luis Diaz (CNY).
In the men’s final, Mortensen and Noro got off to a quicker start, with the first exchange going the Australian’s way for an early lead. Mortensen quickly put a second good score on the board to apply pressure on his opponent, eventually claiming his second back-to-back event win after the Murasaki Shonan Open in Japan last month.
Sitting right outside the Top 100 coming into Boardmasters, Mortensen is on his way to the coveted QS10,000 events and will have a chance to shine amongst some of the World’s best surfers if he can keep his momentum throughout the European leg.
“I had a super bad season last year and I couldn’t imagine turning it around with two event wins halfway through this one,” Mortensen stated. “I’ve been to England a couple of times but never here and I loved it. It’s summer time and everyone’s here, and to surf in front of a crowd is really cool. I’m definitely going to have a little celebration at the music festival now!”
Kairi Noro (JPN), 18, was the surprise finalist at Fistral, topping a stacked field to place runner-up for the first time in a Qualifying Series event. The 18-year-old from Japan will take a massive leap on the rankings where he stood in 256th position before this event.
“I’m very happy with my result today,” Noro said. “I’ve had a great time here, we had decent waves and the people were super nice, I loved the food too it was an awesome experience! It’s only my second year on the QS and this is my best result ever so I’m excited and I look forward to my next events in France and Spain.”
BOARDMASTERS, QUIKSILVER OPEN FINAL RESULTS: 1 – Lliam Mortensen (AUS) 13.07
2 – Kairi Noro (JPN) 9.60
BOARDMASTERS, ROXY OPEN FINAL RESULTS: 1 – Ella Williams (NZL) 11.90
2 – Mikaela Greene (AUS) 9.57
LONGBOARDING
Antoine Delpero (FRA), 31, and Justine Dupont (FRA), 25, have claimed the Jeep Men and Women’s Longboard titles today at Boardmasters in one-to-two foot surf at North Fistral. Longboarders took it to the lineup at 9 a.m with their quarterfinals, culminating with the finals early this afternoon in front of large crowds once again.
In the women’s final both surfers kept extremely busy right from the buzzer, and Dupont got off to a slightly better start than Steinriede with two medium scores on the board.
Things got interesting at the halfway mark with both surfers dropping an excellent score to tighten the race for the Boardmasters title. Dupont quickly backed it up with another good wave to distance herself from Steinriede a little bit more.
Eventually her lead was enough and the multi-talented French rider walked away with the Boardmasters, Jeep Women’s Longboard title at Fistral. This result rocketed her up to second on the European rankings, giving her the opportunity to qualify for the World Longboard Championships next season.
“I am so stoked to be able to do the World Longboard Championships next season again,” Dupont said. “My former sponsor kept me from doing them these last few years and I really missed it. It’s a different brand of surfing that I really enjoy, you can play with your board as much as you play with the waves and it makes it really exciting, even in small waves.”
A former World Champion, Steinriede had the best single score of the final but came up just short of finding the necessary backup to overtake Dupont. This second place marks the American’s best result so far this season.
“I was happy to make the final, Alice has been surfing great and I was stoked to get that win in the semis,” Steinriede said. “Congrats to Justine, she came back to the longboard and it’s cool to see. I loved coming here, it’s beautiful when the sun comes out. I’m also a huge dance fan, so we paid a little visit to the music festival and it was great fun!”
Alice Lemoigne (REU), 20, failed to advance through her semifinal matchup with Steinriede, but her consistency was enough to clinch her fourth European Women’s Longboard title. The Reunion Island surfer won the opening event in Caparica and placed equal third in Gaia and today, to secure the coveted regional crown.
“I’m really really happy to keep the European title again this year,” Lemoigne said. “I work really hard to improve my surfing and fitness so that’s a testament that all these efforts pay. Winning the title once is one thing but to defend it is really much harder.”
Lemoigne also placed equal fifth in the opening event of the World Longboard Championship in Papua New Guinea earlier this year and has set her eyes on the final event in Taiwan to try to belt an international win.
“I surf a lot and analyze videos with my coach Vincent Guelfi,” she continued. “That plus some work on balance, stretching and basically everything that can help get better and stronger. I need to improve on heat strategy as well, I lost my priority on a bad call in that heat and I feel like this cost me the win.”
In the men’s final, Antoine Delpero dropped the hammer early on with a solid 8.83 as his opening score, going up against younger brother Edouard in the final once again. But Antoine didn’t stop there and kept building with incredibly stylish and technical surfing for a 9.10 soon after and a perfect 10 point ride — the only one of the whole event, short and longboard included — to seal the deal.
“I was lucky all the waves came to me,” Antoine said. “That was an awesome final and thankfully it went my way, but Edouard is such a great surfer it could have easily been the other way around. We keep pushing each other to get better and better and I think without him I might not be surfing competitively still, so I really appreciate all the experiences and heats we share together.”
This win at Boardmasters also came in the form of a fifth European Longboard title. Antoine gave a heartfelt speech on stage thanking all the public who came to support the longboarders on finals day, as well as the event organizers and sponsors who have a long history of promoting their discipline.
“I’m super happy to get the title again and it’s a great motivation boost for the second and last stage of the World Championships in Taiwan at the end of the year,” he added.
Edouard Delpero had a stellar run through the whole Boardmasters event, but unfortunately failed to elevate his surfing to the level needed in the final to beat his brother.
“I won the last three heats we surfed against each other, but today he was just too good,” he stated. “I’m a little bit gutted because I’ve won relatively low-consequences heats, but when the title is on the line he always gets me! Nevertheless we both cherish all these moments we share, and especially here in Newquay it’s always great to come compete and enjoy the festival.”
With Boardmasters, Jeep Men & Women Longboard completed today, the European LQS rankings are final with Top 5 as follows:
Men:
1 – Antoine Delpero (FRA) *** European Longboard Champion***
2 – Emilien Fleury (FRA)
3 – Edouard Delpero (FRA)
4 – Jack Unsworth (GBR)
5 – Alberto Fernandez (ESP)
Boardmasters are supported by Corona, Monster Energy, Cornish Orchards, VISA, Samsung, Quiksilver, Roxy, Carve Surfing Magazine, Surfgirl, Radio X and DJ Mag among others, with MagicSeaWeed.com as official forecaster.
BOARDMASTERS, JEEP MEN’S LONGBOARD FINAL RESULTS:
1 – Antoine Delpero (FRA) 19.10
2 – Edouard Delpero (FRA) 15.00
The best, or maybe the worst, thing about social media is you get all the action direct from the front line via news feeds almost as the action happens. When Indo gets this good it’s debatable whether this is a good or bad thing. Good if you are there, or on your way over, bad if you are STUCK IN A FUCKING OFFICE!
Anyway, I have rounded up see of the better moments so you can either tease or torture yourself as you see fit. Enjoy!
I won’t lie to you. I really hate getting up. I love my bed, I cherish my sleep and the daily transition from slumber to a state of awakeness pains me dearly. It’s always been the same ever since I was a baby, in the first few years of my life I apparently only woke up to eat and poop, sometimes at the same time, a few decades later nothing much has changed…
The simple fact is I love being horizontal. There is only one thing in the world that makes me wake up and jump out of bed like a CIA torturer has electrified the mattress. One pure reason: just give me a reasonable guarantee of good waves and a breath of offshore wind and I’m up before the sun has even thought about cracking its head over the horizon. Nothing else has this effect on me not even a fire alarm coupled with an overly pungent whiff of acrid smoke.
“It is well to be up before daybreak, for such habits contribute to health, wealth, and wisdom.” Aristotle, Greek philosopher bloke who knew his onions.
Of course that reasonable guarantee of good conditions is a lot easier to come by these days, with web cams, swell buoys and a plethora of surf forecasting systems at our disposal. Not to mention mini-computery iPhone devices that you can hide under your pillow.
The real super dawny days are easy to spot, generally the second day of a long range swell, after a day of big, leading edge, unruly, wobbly swell you know the more lined up, clean, perfect waves are coming on the morrow.
We had one of these days a few weeks ago. I’d been chasing the aforementioned unruly swell without much luck on the first day and after hundreds of miles and what seemed like a whole day in the car punctuated only by a few hours shooting on a lacklustre reef somewhere I collapsed in a delightfully chintzy £35 a night hotel room. The kind of hotel that doesn’t even have a star rating, just a rusty bracket where the star sign use to hang. It did have some snazzy free biscuits that sufficed for dinner, the walls were thick enough to mute the sound of the neighbours dumping and humping (not the same time I hope) and it had a sea view so it wasn’t all bad.
The forecast for the next day was perfect: three to four foot, sunny and offshore- the optimum conditions for Cornwall’s beach breaks.
“Morning glory is the best name, it always refreshes me to see it.” Henry David Thoreau, Early pioneer of environmentalism and log cabin fan.
Of course the night before a dawny is always tricky. You do your best to become a sullen hermit, blowing off invites to barbecues, avoiding drinks with friends and generally switching your phone off. All so you can get some of that magical sleep. Of course it never happens, the excitement of knowing the surf is going to be pumping taps into the elusive feeling you used to get as a kid on Christmas Eve.
The end result is you lie there staring at the ceiling tiles hour after hour as your sleep time ticks inevitably down on the cheap red LED alarm clock.
As animals we are prone to respond to our circadian rhythms: sleep when it’s dark out and hunt when it’s light. In these latitudes at this time of year it doesn’t get dark until gone 10 and starts getting light at silly o’clock. British Summer Time is a right twat for that.
Anyhoose. Exhaustion takes over sometime around three o’clock, and you get a few fitful hours sleep until the orangey-purpleness of first light worries the window. From this point on sleep is out of the question … the dawny is on. Thanks to the cheap hotel being built before anyone cared about land prices in Cornwall the sea view is a killer. Clean three-foot lines are rolling in and the dawny buggering sea mist is nowhere to be seen. It’s at this point you realise you’re exposing your naked self, full frontal, meat and two veg to anyone else daft enough to be up at this hour and go put some clothes on.
“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive- to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor and the cool old dude in Gladiator.
As the fiery rim of the sun starts peaking over the moors I’m in the car and getting an eyeball check on the surf. The waves are for once, as predicted, the dawny has been vindicated. Corduroy lines are stacking to the horizon, there’s not a cloud in the sky and the wind is a light zephyr from the south-east. Of course more often than not a well-planned dawny comes to naught. The swell will have buggered off overnight, the wind made an unplanned switch to hell onshore and to add insult to injury it’ll be blowing in a heavy sea fog. This is normal, this is why I don’t dawny unless I feel in me bones the day is going to be epic or near as damn it.
First things first on the dawn run: a decent hit of caffeine. Getting a decent coffee at silly o’clock has always been a problem for those of us with a coffee addiction and liking for early surfs. Thankfully the arches that are golden now open at daft o’clock. So there is time for a sneaky cup of java and the ultimate in drive thru breakfast cuisine: the double pork pattie, cheese and chicken ovulation sandwich known by its trade name as a Sausage & Egg McMuffin.
From there it’s onto the beach. This is why we dawny: because there’s a) no one in the sea and b) you can park where you like, nailing those elusive free spots, sticking it to the council’s obscene parking charges and bully boy clampers. To borrow an awful cliche it’s a win-win situation.
The world’s a magical place at dawn you owe it to yourself to see the sunrise…
. DAWN FACTS
•Dawn is defined as the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. Recognisable by the presence of weak sunlight while the sun is still below the horizon.
•The duration of which varies wildly depending on latitude, lasting mere minutes on the equator to hours in the polar regions.
There are technical definitions of the different stages of dawn:
•Astronomical dawn: the moment after which the sky is no longer completely dark; formally defined as the time at which the sun is 18˚ degrees below the horizon in the morning.
•Nautical dawn: the time at which there is enough sunlight for the horizon and some objects to be distinguishable; formally, when the sun is 12˚ degrees below the horizon in the morning.
•Civil dawn: that time at which there is enough light for objects to be distinguishable, so that outdoor activities can commence, formally, when the sun is 6˚ degrees below the horizon in the morning.
