Elusive have kindly donated one of their Mission Zip Up Hoodies to the person who becomes the 750^th person to like our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Errant.Surf.Holidays So share, like and most of all be happy and surf all day. The winner will be notified via e-mail and Facebook so stay lucky.

Check out Elusive Surf Clothing.

What a mix, what a video, just have to go find that credit card!

This genuine offer from the team at Errant Surf School, one of the most qualified and experienced Surf Schools in the UK, is in celebration of the first ever London Surf Festival and aims to tempt the growing ranks of urban surfers in London to taste the quintessential Cornish surf lifestyle in the unlikely surroundings of Westminster Boating Base.

Errant Surf will be providing two high-quality, personalised surf lessons to members of the public, totally free of charge on a first come first served basis. They will also be on hand all day chatting through the many global surf destinations they offer to surfers of all levels, from Bali to Barbados. A far cry from the River Thames.

As well as providing a place for curious city folk to learn more about the sport and it’s health and psychological benefits, there are an estimated 60,000 ‘urban surfers’ living in London, and the guys at Errant and The London Surf Festival aim to bring all these likeminded Londoners under one roof.

Chris Thomson, Errant’s Director, is excited by the prospect of surfing in the world famous river. He says: “Errant stands for wandering, roving off the beaten track; doing something different. So taking our boards to central London is perfect.”

Unlike the rugged coast of Cornwall where surfers regularly share the water with seals and sometimes dolphins, the aesthetic in the docks will be industrial chic, but surfing in the middle of one of the most famous cities in the world has never been done before, so sign up by emailing max@errantsurf.com.

Notes:

London Surf Festival will be held on Saturday 16^th July 2011, Westminster Boating Base, SW1V 3JY. 10am – 6.30pm

The nearest tube stations are Pimlico and Vauxhall

Errant Surf are holding lessons throughout the day on Saturday, please contact max@errantsurf.com for more info or call 01637 851403

www.londonsurffestival.com

www.errantsurf.com

The Saltrock Open is back in Croyde this weekend, and 2011 is set to be bigger and better than ever.

Categories / Prize Money:

Status: 1 Star

This year The Saltrock Open will be an essential tour stop for surfers wanting to compete in the NightSurf in Newquay where a whopping prize pool of £15,000 is up for grabs.

Added to this, a top place in the NightSurf is the doorway to securing a spot in the Relentless Evolution Series, four one day events in Thurso, Lynmouth, Porthleven and Newquay where 28 elite competitors battle it out for a £5,000 prize pool per event, making success in the Saltrock Open essential on the UK Pro Surf Tour 2011.

‘I can’t express strongly enough the importance of The Saltrock Open to the tour this year,’ says UKPST Director Dave Reed. ‘It’s vital to perform well in the Saltrock Open to qualify for the Nightsurf, which will in turn be a huge boost towards qualification for the Relentless Evolutionary Series. Its essential surfers enter ASAP as we’ve already had a huge amount of interest and we don’t want anyone to miss out’

This means that this year The Saltrock Open is a ‘must-win’ event. So be in Croyde on Whitsun weekend in May to see the very best surfers from across the UK beyond pull out all the stops and fight it out for the title of 2011 Saltrock Open Champion and start their season with a bang.

Saltrock’s close ties with the local community mean that this year Croyde Surf Club has been offered 2 wildcards straight through to the round of 32. CSC is one of the biggest surf clubs in the UK with an extremely loyal and talented group of members, and Saltrock is happy to be able to support the local club.

Whitsun weekend is the perfect time to enjoy Croyde at its best. Spectators will enjoy fantastic displays from the cream of surfing across the whole spectrum and categories will include: Open, Women’s, Pro Junior, U16 Girls, U16 Boys & U12 Open. King of Watersports.com will provide a prize of a £200 Skateboard for the highest scoring wave for Men and Women.

Last year's winner Russell Winter – Photo: Jason Feast

‘It’s great to be working with the team at Saltrock again on this event which promises to be the strongest yet, adds Dave Reed. “Croyde is a top venue for this kind of event and with the incentive of a place in the Night Surf on offer we’re expecting an extremely high standard of surfing from the very best surfers in the country.”
Croyde Wave Information

Croyde works best around low tide, when the sand banks, rips and general shape of the beach help create powerful “A Frame peaks”. The waves can be fast, heavy and hollow.

From an aerial view Croyde Bay is triangular in shape, narrowest near the dunes and opening out gradually down to the shore. This is what may help create the shape of the waves, amongst other things.

Mid to high tide offers a fuller more mellow wave.

Best tide time to surf: 1-2 hours before low tide on Spring tides, low tide, or on the pushing tide for neap tides.

Best wind direction: Light Offshore East, but will be offshore from South East to North East.

Swell Directions: a south swell creates long, peaky, lefts which peel along Croyde’s banks, straight west swells generally close out a little more.

Hazards: Strong rips at low tide, crowds

For more information please contact Katie at Saltrock at Katie@saltrock.com / 01271 815306 or Dave Reed at the UKPSA at dave@ukprosurf.com / 01637 854854

Facebook: www.facebook.com/saltrocksurf

Twitter: @saltrocksurf

Also visit our website www.saltrock.com

Professional Surf Photographer Lucia Griggi and Fox Europe will be holding – one, two and three-day Surf and Travel Photography Workshops at award winning Errant Surf Holidays, headquarters in Newquay, Cornwall, which will run over 10th, 11th and 12th June 2011.

Over the past five years half English and half Italian, Cornwall resident, Lucia Griggi has lived the epitome life of adventure, shooting surfing, portraits and commercial work for advertising, editorial and books.  Her energetic and unique style of work appears internationally in magazines and has a large bank of advertising industry clients.  Lucia has also contributed to various surf-related book publications, Her most significant book contribution came in the vivid and beautiful 2010 look-book, Shooting the Curl, which showcases the work of 15 top international photographers and tells the inside story on the surfers and the waves that inspire them.

This workshop is perfect if you are an aspiring photographer with a passion for documenting surf, travel and action sports.  The course will focus on surf photography both in and out of the water, how to edit, image enhance, manage files and present work to your clients.  Lucia will also cover the use of specialized equipment and advice on what products you should buy and how to develop your portfolio, story ideas and interview techniques.

“When you are shooting in the ocean, your open water knowledge is as essential as your photographic skills,” says Lucia. “Running these courses with Fox, at Errant’s idyllic office in Newquay, is my opportunity to pass on this experience and show my students how to be safe in the water, to understand how a wave breaks in different environments both above and below the water, and of course how to be in the right place at the right time for that perfect shot!”

Overall, these courses are designed for students that can expect to learn what they need to really take their photography to the next level. They are for beginner and intermediate levels.

Requirements

Students must bring their own DSLR camera, a laptop with photo software installed (Photoshop or Photoshop Element), storage media and other equipment (cord, thumb drive, card reader, etc.) for transferring images from camera to computer.

For more information about the program and instructions on how to apply, call (+44) 07815572153 or email lucia@luciadaniellagriggi.co.uk. closing date is June 1st. See more of Lucia’s work here: www.luciagriggi.com

Course:

Friday 10th Introduction to land based surf photography and hands-on instruction.

Saturday 11th Intermediate surf photography and in-water instruction*.

Sunday 12th Digital reviews, file management, digital processing, client management, working the industry, portfolio guidance.

Cost: £149 per day

Special 3-day rate: £395 (Includes tuition, transport throughout the day, Fox goody bag and a light lunch.) (Accommodation not included.)

Note: Each day has a varied schedule and itinerary and will cover slightly different angles of the industry. A 3-day course will be the most complete option.

* Students not required to have their own water-housing.

Ben Harper (Waiting for the world to change) is playing in the background, the first Surfgirl mag of 2011 is on my bedside chest & it is now feeling like summer.

In the happy summer mood I’m in and the fact im off to Newquay next Thursday, I decided to pack.

Firstly I had to remind myself of everything I needed for the first surf of the year. Looking around my room the first thing I see (which I can’t really avoid) Its “Betsy” my 7″ 6 surfboard towering tall in the corner of my room. This was then followed by a bar of Sex Wax next to the fish tank. After remembering how good Mr Zoggs smelt I found my new Billabong Robie which I got for Christmas and started to feel a little bit relieved that I will be that tiny bit warmer when getting changed after a session!

I don’t need to try and remind myself of everything I need because all I really need is myself, my board & my wetsuit. After all the rest can be brought in shops & saying “oh dear I forgot to pack it” would be a good excuse to go shopping anyway.

Once all the packing was out the way it was time to daydream about what next week will bring. In my ideal world it will be sunny, the waves will be small, fun & clean and the wind will be offshore. But in reality and how my luck normally turns out it will be rainy, the waves will be choppy and the wind will be onshore.

The one thing I am looking forward to the most (apart from a nice glass of wine after a day of surf) is when you hit the big blue, catch some amazing waves &  having the “one last wave” conversation with yourself  knowing that no matter how exhausted you are, you will always give in, turn round and head back out for more…

The Errant Surf School, based at Trebarwith Hotel, is a Surfing GB Academy, Accredited Training centre for lifeguards. Some of Europe’s top surf coaches and surfers train with us year in, year out.

Membership is £15 per year, and surf coaching sessions are £7 per session. The sessions are split into Beginners, Improvers, Elite and Girls Only.

Number for the grom club are limited, so get your application form in asap. Membership Form

For more information e-mail Chris on chris@errantsurf.com or call 01637 851 403.

Why not take the children (and teenagers) away this Easter to go surfing? A great way for them to explore new countries, languages and local customs. A fantastic way for you to get away drink some fine Spanish/French/South African wine, eat at good restaurants and have the children surf all day long (guaranteed early nights!)

We take a look at our top three family surfing locations over Easter. The good, the bad and the ugly.

Loredo – Spain

Located 20 minutes from the city of Santander and one hour west of Bilbao, Loredo is a well-kept surfers town. With a three mile sweeping bay and backed by the snow-capped mountains of the Pico’s de Europa, Loredo ticks all the boxes of that Easter surfing holiday.

The Good – Easy to get to, fly cheap and within two hours from London and Dublin with Ryan Air. Good food. Good accommodation options.

The Ugly – Sleeping in the afternoon, a good bottle of Rioja and long coastal walks. It’s not that ugly to be honest.

The Bad – Not much in the way of night life, unless you want to head into Santander.

Newquay – Uk

A once tucked away fishing village in the county of Cornwall, Newquay has been the epi-centre of surfing in the United Kingdom since the early 60′s. It has over seven stunning beaches with different surf on any given day and warmer than you would expect water temperatures.

The Good – Some of the best surf coaching in Europe. Drive or Fly into Newquay. Home away from home

The Bad – Hey, it could rain, but you’re going to be wet anyway!

The Ugly – Summer holidays. Newquay gets crazy busy. Come outside these months and see a side to Newquay the locals like to keep hush.

Lanzarote – Canary Islands

Leave the tacky tourist strip of the south to the package holidays. Come surfing with us in the North, at the safe and fun beach of Famara Playa. You’ll feel like you have travelled to another country, this is real Canarian life. Rustic bars, handy shops and private apartments overlooking the Atlantic.

The Good – Year round sunshine, real taste of Canarian life and plenty to see and do.

The Bad – Sun burn, bring some cream!

The Ugly – Bring a phrase a book and learn some Spanish.

So these are our ideas for sensible-priced, fun-packed mini surfing holidays for your Easter break with the family.  If you want to try something a little further afield, we have plenty of options in Bali, Barbados, Sri Lanka and more.  If not, whatever you choose to do, have a choc-filled Easter break.

Now in Errant Surf Holidays 8^th year as Europe’s leading surf holiday company, Chris Thomson managing director reflects on the last few years.

“In 2009 we launched the most comprehensive surf holiday website with online booking and secure payment features, which never existed. This along with our dedicated team of well-travelled surfers and surf coaches, we were able to advise customers on the best surfing holidays to suit them. From family surfing holidays in Spain to romantic surfing weeks in Sri Lanka”

But it’s not all about flashy websites.

Thomson continues “While we understand that online booking, online secure payment, live chat and a good website is key to moving with the times, we also understand that customers like to pop in and meet the people behind the brand and chat about your next surfing adventure”

While many surf travel websites have popped up over the years, Errant Surf Holidays continues to be the only dedicated surf travel company which you can drop in for a cup of coffee and chat about your holiday.

In fact the Errant Surf Holidays office has its own changing rooms and private access to the beach!

A quick glance at other surf holiday companies shows that pretty much all operate from “closed” offices and in locations miles from any surf.

With the recession behind many people, surfing is becoming the holiday choice for many people keen to learn a new sport and dive into a fun, healthy and exciting lifestyle.

Errant Surf Holidays continues to fine-tune its customer service and welcomes customers to drink a coffee or come surfing with us.