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Porthleven
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| Porthleven
on the South Coast of Cornwall |
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Porthleven
is not for the faint-hearted but if you know what you're doing it
can be very rewarding.
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Porthleven
is for expert surfers. It鈥檚 been described by many of the surfers
who regularly ride what is renowned to be one of Britain鈥檚 best
right-hand reef breaks as the 'beauty and the beast'.
Beauty
because it breaks with machine-gun like precision over a shallow
flat rock ledge with a very makeable tube on clean offshore days;
the beast because the power of the wave means mistakes can be costly.
Hold-downs
can be long on big overhead days, and the rip is wicked and there
are caves to be wary of at high tide. But the sheer perfection when
鈥楲even is on fades that into insignificance.
For the reef to kick in it needs a big south or south westerly groundswell
with a light north to north-east wind to caress the wave face. Paddle
out by the harbour channel to the reef on the right. Low tide is
a definite no-go as the waves get super hollow and the reef is just
too exposed.
Good from just before mid to just before high. On big tides there
is a backwash off the rocks and harbour wall. The break faces south
west and is popular with surfers and body boarders. Crowds can be
a big problem when the wave breaks under 6ft.
To
the left of the harbour is a smaller version called The Pier, which
breaks both left and right and is less powerful than the main reef.
Paddle out from the harbour.
Park where you can, which can be a headache in summer. All the shops
needed for a decent pit stop are in walking distance.
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on locations to take you to the corresponding beach guides. |
Click
here to take you to the North Coast
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