The North East of England will always hold a special place in my heart. Not just for the hardened but still friendly Geordie culture but also for the world class waves that i went up there for.
Since leaving university over 5 years ago, I haven't been able to get back up to the North East of England as much as i would have liked. The long journey from down South, the biting cold and the lack enthusiasm for those that aren't in the know always seem to be the negative factors that put the final nails in the coffin for the North-East mission.
Last weekend, there was no stopping me. It was on!! Very on!! Too on?? Either way, definitely exciting!!
Having told Lottie (extremely patient wife) that the journey could be done in a little over 4 hours, "its just a quick hop up the M1." 7 (nearly 8) hours later we arrived at the little cottage we had rented for the weekend. Asking Lottie to snuggle up in the back of the car would have been unreasonable? Probably.
Friends of ours had arrived earlier that day, and by all accounts the swell was definitely on, and more likely verging on the 'too on.' How big is it? Too big? Surfable? Fun? Not Fun? The darkness outside meant that the answers to all these questions could only be answered at first light.
Saturday morning came after a night of half sleep. And there it was, very big, just surfable, maybe fun, probably not fun. However once you are in a wetsuit and standing on the rocks waiting to jump in at any sign of a lull, it is too late, you are going in.
It was wild out there, big and bumpy, wild, woolly, powerful, unforgiving, intense and epic. The atmosphere was electric. Going surfing is sometimes as much about the experience as it is about catching waves. This session will be one that I hope to remember for a long time. When the waves get to this level, every sense in your body comes alive, you are alert, and fully aware of everything going on around you. Your mind is taking in and analysing everything quicker than at any other moment, sending signals all over your body with the kind of intensity that awakens every part of your body and mind.
As a surfer charges through a wide open barrel, you can be forgiven for forgetting (just a few seconds) the environment you are in. That wave was just one of a set of three and the next too are even bigger, meaning they break wider and harder and you are in its collision path. Time to scramble for the outside. On my way to the outside I realise that I am the surfer in the slot. Time to turn and go or risk being branded as a 'bottler' by surrounding surfers, and only being left with the scraps for the rest of the session.
The heart finds the same rhythm experienced when jumping off the ledge and into the point of no return. Experience overtakes fear and you know that unless you paddle in with absolute confidence and power, you will quickly find yourself on the wrong side of the lip.
Being the first wave of the session, the drop feels drastically different to the summer fun that i had accustomed myself to out in Costa Rica as well as down in Perranporth.
Making the drop on wave like this, is only the start, however now is where the fun starts, the power under your feet is incredible. This is what surfing should feel like. The wall is steep and full of intensity, for me this is a wave where turning is the last thing on my mind, I am flying, the only thing on my mind is whether to kickout or keep going. I ride for as long as it will let me. I am out of my comfort zone buzzing on adrenalin and loving it.
The next day, the swell let off a bit giving the wave more shape. Saturday had given me the confidence to start pushing myself a little further. More waves, loads of wipe outs mixed in with the kind of waves that will keep me surfing for the rest of my days.
Waves like this are worth making the mission for. They keep the fire that pushes us to go for bigger waves burning brightly.
My week of swell chasing on the west coast of Ireland in the first week of October with a bunch of good mates can't come soon enough.
Will
Check out Roger Sharp's Video of the weekend HERE.
Yorkshire Pud from Roger Sharp on Vimeo.