Saunton Surf Weekend - June 2016
Paddlers (and non-paddlers): Keith, Chucky, Bill, Ali, Norman, Sue, Gemma, Mark, Richard, Dave, Trevor, Yvonne, Steph +1 (sorry, nobody got your name!!!), Mandy, Robert, Will, Tom, Dean, Kira, Kerry, Sam, Gregg, Jason, Jordan, Jonathan, Duncan. Plus Misty, Milly, Molly + Elton!
This was a rolling start to a weekend with people arriving on Thursday, Friday and Saturday! Obviously the Thursday folks got the camp site set up for the rest of us, so after a rather wet and miserable drive down on Friday night it would be nice to relax under the group shelter with a beverage or two - OR so we thought!!!!
4 cars were arriving on Saturday morning, a quick conversation with Bill to establish an ETA indicated that they would be with us shortly after 11am. Bill was somewhat dismayed to find that the Group shelter was not erected, after some people had been in camp for 2 days!!! lol
Everyone arrived, quickly threw tents up and headed to the Beach, looking rather grey and overcast but the surf was a very reasonable 2-3ft. With the colourful spectacle of cags, BA's and helmets standing out over the mass of plain black wetsuits the paddlers hit the water. For many this was their first time in the surf, in fact first time in any such conditions and there was plenty of OBE's (Out of Boat Experiences) to attest to it, the first swim of the day though went to a seasoned pro (is that Mr N Dyer OBE!) Within about half an hour, the clouds parted and we were treated with a very sunny and warm afternoon of surfing fun, topped off with cold drinks on the sun deck of the bar.
That evening we all separated to cook on respective BBQ's enjoying the early evening sun, we then congregated as the sun went down to enjoy the warming glow radiating from Sam's face!!! Drinks and laughter were a plenty, despite a warning from the 'fun police'. Out came a rather tasty bottle of Laphroaig, which was duly passed around and sipped by everyone except Ali, who rather relished glugging it instead. There was also the ceremonial passing of the Scissors, but were they crossed or uncrossed???
Sunday was another dreary and damp start, with clearly a mass of enthusiasm to break camp we drifted away from the site at 10:29am just ahead of our 10:30 cut off time!! Arriving at the Beach with a another flurry of rain we sat and debated the prospect of putting on wet kit, in the rain and wind, not a pleasant thought. But we were greeted with rather larger surf than the previous day, waves of 3-5ft were plentiful, if a little choppier than Saturdays fayre. However, the gods smiled on us again and within half an hour the clouds broke to reveal a brief but welcome spell of blue sky and sunshine for the remainder of the session.
We finished off the weekend with chips, pasties and cakes in the café whilst we said our goodbyes, another very successful Saunton Surf Weekend done, we will be back next year no doubt! A huge well done to everyone, especially the newer members who threw themselves at it and enjoyed getting thrown around in the waves and got a little taste of what it really means to be part of WFCC - drinking and laughing!
Until next year, keep paddling, see you on the water real soon - and remember...
... [inaccurate Yorkshire accent mode on] Granny likes Beer, but she doesn't like Wine!
This was a rolling start to a weekend with people arriving on Thursday, Friday and Saturday! Obviously the Thursday folks got the camp site set up for the rest of us, so after a rather wet and miserable drive down on Friday night it would be nice to relax under the group shelter with a beverage or two - OR so we thought!!!!
4 cars were arriving on Saturday morning, a quick conversation with Bill to establish an ETA indicated that they would be with us shortly after 11am. Bill was somewhat dismayed to find that the Group shelter was not erected, after some people had been in camp for 2 days!!! lol
Everyone arrived, quickly threw tents up and headed to the Beach, looking rather grey and overcast but the surf was a very reasonable 2-3ft. With the colourful spectacle of cags, BA's and helmets standing out over the mass of plain black wetsuits the paddlers hit the water. For many this was their first time in the surf, in fact first time in any such conditions and there was plenty of OBE's (Out of Boat Experiences) to attest to it, the first swim of the day though went to a seasoned pro (is that Mr N Dyer OBE!) Within about half an hour, the clouds parted and we were treated with a very sunny and warm afternoon of surfing fun, topped off with cold drinks on the sun deck of the bar.
That evening we all separated to cook on respective BBQ's enjoying the early evening sun, we then congregated as the sun went down to enjoy the warming glow radiating from Sam's face!!! Drinks and laughter were a plenty, despite a warning from the 'fun police'. Out came a rather tasty bottle of Laphroaig, which was duly passed around and sipped by everyone except Ali, who rather relished glugging it instead. There was also the ceremonial passing of the Scissors, but were they crossed or uncrossed???
Sunday was another dreary and damp start, with clearly a mass of enthusiasm to break camp we drifted away from the site at 10:29am just ahead of our 10:30 cut off time!! Arriving at the Beach with a another flurry of rain we sat and debated the prospect of putting on wet kit, in the rain and wind, not a pleasant thought. But we were greeted with rather larger surf than the previous day, waves of 3-5ft were plentiful, if a little choppier than Saturdays fayre. However, the gods smiled on us again and within half an hour the clouds broke to reveal a brief but welcome spell of blue sky and sunshine for the remainder of the session.
We finished off the weekend with chips, pasties and cakes in the café whilst we said our goodbyes, another very successful Saunton Surf Weekend done, we will be back next year no doubt! A huge well done to everyone, especially the newer members who threw themselves at it and enjoyed getting thrown around in the waves and got a little taste of what it really means to be part of WFCC - drinking and laughing!
Until next year, keep paddling, see you on the water real soon - and remember...
... [inaccurate Yorkshire accent mode on] Granny likes Beer, but she doesn't like Wine!
