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Nice film from Wasted Talent on local Cornish surfer Seb Smart.

We are massive fans of Seb’s and Wasted Talents magazine, review on their new issue coming soon.

http://www.wastedtalentmag.com/

[tonklife]

The Great British Surf Trip

 Who doesn’t love Autumn! We had managed to negotiate a window with our respective wives/partners for a surf trip end of September. Which, as you’ll agree is hard enough, let alone timing it with swell. However, the swell gods were on our side and it was looking good all week, but for a bit too much wind. Either way we were coast bound for some well-earned Vanlife.

We decided to meet in North Devon, spend a couple nights at The Orchard campsite in Croyde and hit up the classic Thatch pub in the evenings. The beginning of the week had the biggest swell forecast and Putsborough was pumping with a howling offshore wind. This made them a little tricky to get into but when fully committed there were some great rides to be had. The Thatch didn’t disappoint and one night we even manged to stumble across what appeared to be late 40’s swinger’s night (well that’s how we embellished it).

We got up early and hit the road to catch a 2ft clean Harlyn on mid tide. Was small but fewer crowds being a Monday morning. Most of the session was spent practising taking off on top of the rock to see who could get more projection from the inside, with mixed results!

The night before the heavens opened up and one of our crew who was brave enough to role in a tent paid his dues and got drenched (cue sense of humour failure). This dictated the next day’s mission which was to find a cheap hostel where he could dry out ALL of his belongings and we could park our van convoy. Watergate Bay Surf Lodge. We had stayed there before and being around the corner at Harlyn seemed a logical solution. We also decided to go treat ourselves to a hot tub and sauna at the lovely Watergate bay hotel only to be denied due to being non-members (and looking like we hadn’t showered in days). So when faced with such adversity what do you do…. go to Wax and sink a few pints of local ale.

With the weather clearing up and our mate’s spirits, we headed down towards St Agnes. We had checked the nearby Portreath and Porthowan but both were blowing a gale. Sure enough we got the shelter at Aggies but sadly not the swell. Seeing as we didn’t have much else to do, we grabbed our biggest groveler boards and got wet. The evening session was looking bigger further down south, so we headed in that direction. Managed to score an unexpected classic sunset session at Gwithian. Handful of people out with multiple peaks to choose from.

Funny on surf trips, you spend most of the day searching for waves but its important you don’t forget to allow enough time to find somewhere to camp. This happened on a few occasions but with that you can unearth a gem, which we did near Gwithian bay. Warm showers, walking distance to a pub and an off season rate of £7 a night, bargain! It was so good we stayed for longer than expected, surfing the surrounding breaks and exploring nearby St Ives.

Latter part of the week was spent moving our way back up the coast. Whilst refuelling in between surfs at our old favourite, Strong Adolfo’s, we struck gold when we remembered our mate had a place down Constantine lane free where we could pitch up and use as a base. After an evening session at the local break, and fresh from the hot showers we headed for the Cornish Arms. We managed to catch a lift with a local who rammed us all in the back of his van and proceeded to drive like a mad man around the lanes. We made it in one piece and had a good old fashioned piss up to book end the trip. A fitting end to a week where it seemed the world was conspiring in our favour.

[tonklife]

[tonklife]

Song of the Week

Song of the week has to go to the London based band Dracula Legs for ‘Sand to the Beach’, this band reminds very much of Nick Cave crossed with early Interpol.. they rock.

[tonklife]

Kernow Christmas GoPro session

This Christmas and New year I spent 10 days in North Cornwall hanging out with family, friends and surfing most days, when the wind was not 50mph and offshore.

We did have a break in the weather where I was able to test out my new GoPro4 surfboard mount on a cleanish 3ft day at Harlyn Bay, which I thought I would write a review for.

I mounted the camera on my Luke Young 5′8 Robot which is a wave catching machine on small days. 

The first thing I noticed is that the camera is in directly in your face paddling out, and as a producer I much prefer to be behind the camera instead of in front of it. But I soon got used to it.

One of the main challenges with having the camera mounted on your board was looking for a good wave, hitting record on your GoPro and paddling for the wave. This did result in a few ultimate paddle faces and missed waves clips that will stay firmly in the edit bank.

But I think the nice thing about having a GoPro mounted on your board is the shots you get back which takes you right into the action especially on this glorious Cornish day, unfortunately for me on that day the Green Room did not let me in...

My advice if you are thinking about mounting a GoPro on your surfboard:

Buy the official or well reviewed GoPro mount and don’t scrimp on it. I did and on a not particular heavy close out the mount came off completely.

Research all the different settings, framing and resolution your GoPro can shoot, as the standard setting you will receive your GoPro in is not a good setting for filming surfing.

Try to film on sunny days as it will make all the difference to your shots.

And my last bit of advice, although not essential, try to film on a non crowded day if you can, as you feel like a bit of kook filming yourself and fiddling around with your camera out back, or even in white water.

Overall I loved using the GoPro in the water, but won’t be using it every single session, I have just purchased a mouth mount which I will be taking to Indonesia this year so watch this space!

[tonklife]

Soerensen Watches

I was lucky enough to be sent four watches to review by Soerensen who are based in Copenhagen, these watches are designed to look good in and out of the water.

If you, are like me and are not a pro surfer and work a nine to five desk job these watches work really well and just fit with my daily life.

I have had quite a few watches from all the main surf brands over the years ranging from the indestructible watches, to tide watches and also just a basic digital watch.

I have always struggled with finding a watch that works in the sea and you can also wear to work or out in the evening. They always just seem to stick out from your clothes and are too bulky with their big rubber shapes and design. This is where Soerensen’s watches have really excelled.

I have worn the red and black Mons Klint watch over the past week, testing it out in the surf and also day to day.

My first surf session wearing a Soerensen watch was last Sunday at Watergate Bay, North Cornwall, where my brother and I scored a 3-4ft clean Watergate with only two other people out. (This almost un-heard of as surfing at Watergate is nearly always crowded).

Wearing the watch under my 5/4 wetsuit was super easy as the watch is slim and easily fits under the wrist cuff of my wetsuit, where unlike previous surf watches they feel a bit awkward under your wetsuit.

The strap is tough but does not irritate your wrist. The strap is also water repellent so it does not stay wet once you are out of the water.

The nice thing about this watch is its simple danish design, and it looks good. If you are not worried about timing your surf contest heat or knowing if the tide is rising or falling (which you can just Google nowadays), this is a great watch to wear.

You can find Soerensen here or one of their social media link below where you can order online. No doubt they will be selling here in one of the UK surf outlets soon.

www.soerensencph.com

Instagram: soerensen_cph

FB: soerensencph

Twitter: Soerensen_cph

[tonklife]

Winter Sessions Winner

If you are like me and surf in a colder climate, you have probably been following Magicseaweeds Winter Sessions of which they have just announced a winner.

The winner was Freddie Madows from Sweden who submitted a mind blowing film of him getting pitted in the freezing North Sea off Sweden.

Check out the action below

[tonklife]

#openspaces

Mackie Studio are putting together a coffee table book of all their awesome pictures they have taken over last year. 

But they need some help to make this great project come alive and have set up a kickstarter. As you can see the book looks like it is going to be great so help a brother out!

You can find the kick start page here along with more details on the project: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1361062795/openspaces

[tonklife]

WAIT Surf Shop, Paris.

I have just got back from a trip to Paris, were I visited WAIT surf shop in the heart of the city.

It was such a great store and super friendly staff, not only do they supply your every day brands like Rip Curl and Sex Wax. But they do go out of their way to supply more off the beaten track independent brands, such as Oh Dawn from Denmark and even have their own range of WAIT clothing line.

While I was in the store, I got chatting to one of guys who works there and asked where is the closest surf spot to Paris? Which he replied is 2.5 hours NW of Paris, which must be a channel spot, like Bournemouth or Brighton. 

WAIT is a great store and if you are in Paris for a few days, it is definitely worth swinging by to have a look and chat with the dudes in there.

You can find them here:

WAIT, 9 rue Notre‐Dame de Nazareth 3E Paris

http://www.waitingforthesun.fr/wait.php

[tonklife]

Friends in High Places by Cyrus Sutton

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Pasties and welcome to the city of Wompton, North Devon.

Last weekend saw some big old walls of water coming through on the North Devon and Kernow coastline.

And the Tonk crew where there to get some waves and take some beatings. But also try and solve the never ending argument of which west country county makes the best Pasties (the jury is still out on this one).

These two picture don't do it justice but if you can see the little black dot paddling out that is a surfer...

Our California Tonk crew member Mike took these below two pictures of a almost perfect Woolacombe and it finally proved to Mike we get good waves in the UK.

After last weekends waves, we are all now looking forward to this winter weirdly.... 

[tonklife]

Tonk in Carve Magazine

We are really stoked that we got a picture in this months Carve Magazine. Even though the picture features in there favourite Instagram’s. It is awesome to be in a magazine that we have been reading as long as we have been surfing. 

The picture was taken on a recent trip to Hossegor of our friend and Tonk member Ross.

Our next goal is to feature some South Coast surfing in there ‘Sessions’ section at the back of there magazine and to rep us urban surfers.

It is a awesome magazine so grab a copy if you have a chance.

[tonklife]

Nasi G by Off The Boat Films.

'Off The Boat Films' have just brought out their new short 'Nasi G'. We were able to ask a few questions about it and find out what they have been up to.

How did you latest film come about?

We'd been looking to do a trip back to Indonesia for quite a while as it's been about 5 years since either of us have been.  When the opportunity to shoot a promotional video for Surf Coaching Holidays coincided with the chance to catch up with a friend from Australia we jumped at the chanced and booked the next available flight.  Filming our experiences while we were there was just a natural process and Nasi G was the product of that.  

What was your inspiration for it and what where the challenges when producing it?

The inspiration was to illustrate the beauty and culture of Indonesia as well as the world class surf.  Bali has certainly become more commercialised since we were last there which prompted us to explore other areas such as Lombok and Java, where we found beautiful remote areas and empty barrels. 

We were presented with various challenges along the way, such as filming from small sinking boats made of bamboo - which had us worried about the thought of our kit being destroyed. We also experienced thieving monkeys and being robbed by locals hours before our flight home.

What are your thoughts on the UK surf scene today?

We think the UK surf scene is in a really good place right now. People are starting to embrace the idea of cold water surfing and realising there's perfect surf right on our doorstep, it just takes a thick wetsuit, a map and some time to explore the coastline.

What's your favourite UK spot?

Somewhere in Scotland. 

Have you got any local tips you don't mind sharing?

Don’t write off Porthcothan - rumour has it on it’s day it looks like Kirra. 

Have you got any more projects in the pipeline?

We have a few up and coming projects including a cold water surf film, a piece for Cornish based graphic designer Alistair Marshall and a film for the launch of a new London based bicycle company Fixation.  

Where can we check out more of your work?

offtheboatfilms.com

https://vimeo.com/offtheboat

http://instagram.com/otbfilms

[tonklife]

Somewhere Else

Nice short directed by Tom german, featuring John Eldridge who owns and runs one of our favourite cafe's in the West Country 'Strong Adolfos' check it out next time you are in the North Cornwall area.

http://www.strongadolfos.com

Check out more of Tom's work here too:

http://vimeo.com/tomgerman

[tonklife]

Putsborough – North Devon

I have been surfing Puts for good part of ten years. Every time the wind gets going on the North Devon coastline, we always seek shelter at Puts, hiding underneath the headland from the onshore wind.

One thing though Puts always looks so inviting from the car park, but fuck me they are hard to paddle into on a 5’11 shortboard, especially when you have been on three day stag do in Woolacombe, but I do love this place. 

[tonklife]

Visualtraveling - The Persian Version

Skateboarding has once again taken us to a bizarre part of the world. Never thought we would be filming tricks in downtown Tehran, Iran if you asked me a couple years ago.

Very pleased to present 'The Persian Version'. Enjoy a journey from Iran to Turkey via the usual land transportation in our continuous trek zigzagging around the Eurasian peninsula.

Featuring Laurence Keefe, Michael Mackrodt, Kenny Reed, Tobias Ulbrich, MJ Rahimi, Gosha Konyshev, Walker Ryan, Phil Zwijsen and Denny Pham.

Directed, Filmed and Edited by Patrik Wallner
Music Coordination by Benoit Florencon
Production Assistance by Kirill Korobkov
Illustrations by Jesper Lindgren
Director's Assistance by Derek Flood

 visualtraveling.com


thrashermagazine.com

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LET US ROAM - Ray Barbee