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Watergate
Bay
and Constantine Bay, on the far north coast are popular.
Courtesy of their sometimes hollow powerful waves which on their
day produce beachbreak waves as good as anywhere in the world.
Travel further north through King Arthur's country and you are faced
by the sweeping sands of Widemouth
Bay, at Bude. It's the home of British champion Ruben Ash
and his talented brother Joss and former European champion Mike
Raven. Despite not having the same power as Constantine, the waves
can pack a punch when they pass the mid-tide sandbanks.
Crooklets Beach, about three miles north, offers more quality
beachbreak waves, which in the past have been ridden by the sports
elite. The venue was recently used for a national floodlit competition
and is home of the Bude Surf Lifesaving Club. Many of the town's
best surfers have come up through its ranks over the years and it
is still a big focal point for "town" surfers.
Newquay, has a three-quarter-mile stretch of sandy beach
and is the venue for some of Britain鈥檚 top surfing competitions
and it will soon boast a state-of-the-art surfing centre. The standard
of surfing in the water is high, especially at North and Little
Fistral which can hold waves up to 10ft.
When the south westerly's blow, the focus turns to Towan, Tolcarne,
Great Western and Lusty Glaze beaches in Newquay
town itself. It picks up less swell than Fistral, so is
good for beginners and intermediate surfers. The Tolcarne Wedge
is a big draw for bodyboarders halfway along the beach, and can
get very crowded.
South of Newquay, are wavefields aplenty. The two-mile long sands
at Perranporth to Penhale
regularly offer up some of the county's most-pleasing waves and
are rarely crowded because of the length of the beach. It too has
a buoyant Surf Lifesaving Club which regularly takes part in national
and international competition.
Between here and St Ives you pass through an area dubbed Badlands
by local surfers. Porthtowan is home to the annual SAS Cornish
and Open, one of Britain's longest running surfing competitions,
while St Agnes and Portreath epitomise the Cornish
spirit of surfing which continues to stand the test of time. The
Environmental pressure group SAS also have their home here and have
been successfully campaigning for cleaner seas for over a decade.
One of its main players is James Hendy, who still competes to the
highest level.
Famous for it's artists, St Ives
also has quality waves on its doorstep - Porthmeor
is very popular with longboarders, shortboarders and bodyboarders
because of its close location to the town. The long sandy beach
faces north so is a good place to head in strong south to south
westerly winds. When giant storm swells batter the Cornish coast,
a rideable wave can also be found just offshore from the harbour.
Ask England international Sam Bleakley and current English champion
John Buchorski why they love Sennen
Cove so much and they'll no doubt tell you about it being
the most westerly beach in the British Isles. But it's also one
of the most consistent. If it's flat here, then the chances are
there aren鈥檛 going be waves anywhere else around the South West
coastline.
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