Around this time of year it looks like the surf has been picking up lately. Most days being quite powerfull but choppy! Just take a look at these pictures....i wish i was there! Anyone going during may, i'm going to Croyde on the 31st Monday of spring/bank holiday in May. Anyone else going around that time? Has anyone been to the Little Pink Surf Shop? I want to go NOW! I can't wait much longer. (Watch the surf be s*** when i'm there...typical )

another picky:

Hi Airborne,

Croyde is a great place!
I've surfed there on a load of occasions... infact i'm having a week there in june!
Be careful of the rocks on the left side of the bay, the waves can get pretty nasty there, and the rips will pull you out and around the rocks. I saw a girl last summer who got caught in this, its potentially dangerous!

If you want to perfect your skills, i'd go to Saunton Sands which is about a 5min drive from Croyde (You cannt miss it, its Huge!) You get VERY VERY long mellow waves there and you can be riding the wave for a good 30-40secs easy! Perfect for nailing little tricks!

happy riding!

I can't get over those pictures!
Anyway, Hi Todd. I've been to Saunton sands before when Croyde Bay was a little busy. (I've been down to North Devon before). I agree that Croyde is a great place. I'm aware of the rocks on the left. There are also some rocks on the right if you face out to sea. I think this is called "Downend Point". The place your talking about Thodd is Croyde reef...the waves seem to break further out to sea there. I think Downend Point has less currents, etc. But, you've got to be carefull and be aware. If a big wave hits you, and your not looking then you might turn around and sea those ROCKS! Beware!
(It's still good to bodyboard/surf in)
Like i said i've been to Saunton before, i found that the waves were a bit longer, but a bit to shallow and slow (not as powerfull). Plus there was a load of seaweed on the beach! I'm always a good boy and stay in the lifeguard flag zone at Croyde...lookilly spongers are allowed in that area...hehe. (We have to respect the bathers though!)
Thodd, if your going in June, what dates you going? Because i go on May 31st (The last day of the month). I go for 4 days which takes me into June. If you go at the start of June i might see you there.
Cheers, Airborne.

I'm not there until about the 11th of June. A load of us go down and meet up there, its turning into a yearly event when I get to meet some mates I havent seen for 12 months. Lots of surfing, Kiting and booze!

....perfect!

I think the rocks on the right of the bay are called baggy point... heres a scary story;

Apparently last june a "sighting" was made of a great white shark there! Theres no official proof to say it was, but in my eyes I'm not to keen on a bloody great big fish swimming around regardless of what it is!
I'll end up ruining my wetsuit!.......eergh

Your right about the big wave scenario.. I've ended up being pile drived onto the sea bed a few times at Croyde, with that washing machine effect as you roll along the sandy bottom..... wouldn't fancy that on rocks !

That's what i meant..."Baggy Point". But, i think that the waves that breack there is called "Downend Point" or is that something else? I've forgoten, if you go to the bottom of the webpage at www-croyde-surf-cam.com you can see a downloadable video of downend point, it might be the waves that breake on the edge of Baggy point?
It's a shame that your going on the 11th...never mind, your party thingy sounds great! I'd be a little young for the booze though!
My friend was at Croyde when they annonced the sighting of that great white shark, he was scared to go in the water, but the waves were to good to worry about that!
Another scary story: (more like a sad story)
While my freind was in Croyde, he went to woolacombe (i think)...anyway he saw a small girl climbing near some rocks and quite close to the cliffs, she was german, my friend knew because his family sat next to them on the beach. The next day, he was watching the tele when he saw on the news that a "young, small, german girl had fallen off some cliffs on so and so beach yeterday..."
My friend was pretty sure it was the same girl he saw. That's pretty sad.
I know what you mean about the tuble dryer motion because i took off on a wave to late, took a hefty drop flip my board, went under water and started spinning in the whitewater. I reached the surface and say yet another wave just about to crash onto me!

Nevermind, you live and learn!

Just take a look at this!

Hey Thodd, have you ever been in the Little Pink Shop, on the road to the beach just before Ruda Camping Park? Here's a little picture below. If you haven't visited the shop yet i suggest you take a look when you go to Croyde in June. It's a little small and mostly specialise in bodyboarding boards and fins, but they do surfing stuff as well. The staff are really informative and dedicated. So much so that the shop is now open every day! Including Bank holidays and weekends. I reckon it's the best surfing shop in Croyde.

I go on;

http://www.croyde-surf-cam.com

virtually everyday! its been in my favorites for ages )
I've never been in the shop tho (terrible aint it)
Another good shop for you to look out for when you go down is in Braunton... or near it anyway.. its the Tikki Factory outlet shop. Its claims to have to the largest selection of surfboards in a shop in Britain(take that statement with a pinch of salt), anyway its got loads and loads of great stuff at really cheap prices, stock up on your neoprene socks they're well cheap here!

Saying that I think its something I do to my neoprene socks I seem to get through them like theres no tomorrow! Always seem to get a hole in the heel every 3 months!

LOL! My friend told me about that outlet, i'm going to visit it because it sounds really good! Take a look at the little pink shop if you get the chance...small, cosy, fun, nice atmosphere (especially when there are a thousand people trying to cram in there on a weekend, in the summer, on a good surfing day! )
Does the tiki outlet do bodyboarding accesories and boards etc.? And do you know exactly where it is (a website or map would be nice if poss.)

Cheers.
Airborne.

As you go into Braunton from Barnstaple, take the sharp left hand turning just after the pedestrian crossing, go past the Chapter Surf Shop (if thats where it still is) and follow that road past the back entrance to the car park, then take the right hand turning towards Velator quay and the tiki factory is there on your right hand side before the hump-backed bridge.

Al.

well there you go!

If anyone can give decent directions it would be Al

The last time I was in there they did have bodyboards. I nearly bought a Hot Buttered one for an absolute Bargain, but ended up buying my Ion Bodyboard instead in Woolacomb.

Think ahead for next winter aswell, and get yourself some gloves... they'll be next to nothing in there at that time of year!

Thanks for the directions Al, i'll print them out when i'm nearer to the time i'm going!

Hey Thodd, don't worry about the gloves, i've already been suplied with all the winter stuff last year, most of it still fits me, apart from the winter wetsuit which is now small, i'll buy one when i get there. Hopefully they should be still in stock...maybe about 2/3 thickness.

Are ION boards good Thodd? I've heard they're supposed to be, what type have you got?

As far as i'm aware ion only make 1 board!
They "upgrade"it every year and add improvments, i've got the 2003 one;

Heres a website explaining the ion water technology theory.

http://shop.store.yahoo.com/ebodyboarding/ionfeatures.html


It really is the fastest board i've ever been on! As soon as you start falling down the face of the wave you've got to be putting a turn in other wise your skimming across the water in front of the wave waiting for it to break on your head. Its a good thing that it can turn on a sixpence! I've likened it to a really light fast sports car.. very responsive with amazing acceleration.
I love it!

The ion team website is being redone at the moment.. it was supposed to be ready in march.. anyway keep checking it out every so often I'm sure it'll be done soon.

www.ionbodyboards.com

Thanks Thodd, i will definately go to the tiki outlet and i'll go have a look at the ION board, it sounds really good!

I'm not sure the tikki outlet stock the ion boards (they didn't last november anyway!)
But theres a shop in Woolacomb called "Hunters", thats where I got it from.
Its certainly not the cheapest shop in the world, but it had some great stock when I was there!

Hey! I've heard of "Hunters" as well (yup you guessed it, i heard of it through my friends).
I might as well stick with my Manta Elite for now, because i don't get out much it hasn't worn out itself. Thanks again for the info Thodd, have you ever heard of fins called "Rheos". If your not sure what i'm talking about look on the litlle pink shop website under the fins section.
If you do find them, do you think they're good for prone and dropknee?

Cheers.

The Pink shop website is like a bleedin maze! I couldn't find the fins your talkin about.

Anyway, i'm probably not the best person to ask about this. I would have thought it would'nt really matter which fins you got, each type has its pros and cons and its down to personal taste.
As a prone rider I;m not sure which is best for DK but again I would have thought it doesn't matter that much. Although you don't want long flappy fins as you have to swing your leg around to get it on the board, and the last thing you want is a load of fin getting caught on something... but then the shorter the fin, the less poer you'll get when kicking..... oooohh choices, choices!

Hi Thodd, your right about the shop, it is pretty cramped and it's hard to get lost in it...one time i went in the "changing cubicle" and stepped out again and i was in Hawaii! Oh wait, that was a dream.

Thanks for the advice on the fins. I think Rheos are supposed to be for prone and DK. They were stored in a white basket holder thing and they've probably ran out...hopefully because people wanted them because they're good, and not because the little pink shop threw them away because they weren't selling!

Are there any styles of bodyboarding apart from prone, DK and stand up? What about double knee where you kneel on both legs and ride?...I've heard of that in ThreeSixty magazine.

Does anyone know how to get a crease out of a new wetsuit on the rubber part...the crease runs down from the groin (which is the neoprene bit) and up to the shoulder (which from the hip upwards is rubber). Any help?

Cheers.