It is generally accepted that Polynesians from Tahiti and Hawaii were the first to enjoy the sensation of a holiday surfing across the face of an unbroken sea wave, standing proud on wooden surfboards crafted from the timber of sacred trees. Fifteenth century 'Meles'surfers (Hawaiian chants sung by elders and passed down generation to generation) record there surfing holiday activities of the great Royal families and other dignitaries of even earlier times. As most schoolchildren will be aware, Captain James Cook was the first 'civilised' western observer of this pastime of surfing in the early 1770s, closely followed by western missionaries, resulting in a suppression of the sport of surfing holidays . It is commonly accepted that surfing at the time was outlawed as being an 'unchristian' activity. Some historians now believe however, that it was gambling that was actually outlawed not surfing causing the demise of surfing by removing the 'sport' from the activities of the noblemen who used to bet on the size of waves and length of there surfing ride. Either way, surfing disappeared to most of the world for many hundreds of years.
In 1915 the legendary Hawaiian Olympic champion, Duke Kahanamoku, while touring the world, introduced the sport of surfing to Australia and America, where previously only glimpses of the sport had been seen. Surfing holidays were eventually introduced to Europe in the early sixties by Australian Lifeguards working at Newquay, although it has been claimed that the first surfers to 'stand up surf' in the UK actually did so at Treyarnon bay in the late 1950s.
The holiday 'surfing culture' of the sixties quickly became established often being seen, mistakenly, as a part of the 'hippy' culture of the era. While others were 'turning on' or 'dropping out', holiday surfers were busy ''tuning up' in preparation to 'drop in' on new waves, waves never before ridden. That's not to say that the surfing didn't wholeheartedly embrace the more relaxed lifestyle, they just took a different line.
North Cornwall holiday surfing area has long been recognised as home to many excellent surfing spots and surfers since the 1950's. Newling dominated the embryonic European surfing scene of the late 1960's and '70's while younger brother Mike (who still carries legendary status in Australia) soon became one of the pioneer professional surfing experts after the family emigrated to Australia in the mid '70s. As a result of his membership of the infamous Newport Plus crew of the late 70's, he and his fellow surfing hot rats (Tom Carroll, Rich Cram, Derek Hynd and a whole bunch of other hot Sydney rippers) became regular visitors, basing themselves in the area when competing in the newly established pro surfing comps in Newquay and France. This continued a pattern of visiting international surfing experts, originally established by the likes of Keith Paul, Corky Carrol and Bob Cooper in the early '70s and carried on by Johnny Gomes, Taylor Knox and Mike Stewart in recent years. All arriving on 'hearsay' and raising the standards of the local surfing community just by being there.
Being within an easy drive (an hour or so) from the City of Plymouth, there
has always been a regular trickle of city folk to these surfing beaches. John
Copley and Steve Daniel (who both still rip, Steve on a long or shortboard)
spent their school holidays surfing the local breaks to become, along with
Paul Russell and Ian Thompson, the stand out surfing experts in the early
'80s. The '80s also saw the rise of Chris Rea (now owner of the Harlyn Surfing
School), Dave Pearce (acknowledged artist), James Hodson and Plymouth transplants
Rob Erskine (owner of Rebound Surf (surfboard makers and coaching)) and Steve
Nicholls, all of whom still stand out when the surf is pumping (Rob placing
2nd in the 2000 British Masters surfing competition). A young Mark Bennett
led the charge through the '90s along with Tom Mitchell and Nick Lloyd, any
of whom draw attention wherever they surf. The standard has been raised again
by the likes of Eugene Tollemache (who, bizzarrely, picked up the Chilean
Pro-Am surfing title while on a surfing expedition there last Winter), Sam
Lamiroy, Martin Connolly and the younger ones like Matz Trout and Cheyne.
So what's the big attraction to holiday surfing,you may ask. To the uninitiated
holidy surfing it can appear that all there is to surfing is the burgeoning
fashion and accessory business, the 'cool' image, the surfing slang and general
youth culture. And to many coastal visitors that's fine. The very idea of
wrestling their way into a cold, damp, wetsuit in order to battle their way
through chilling seas just to be dragged back to the beach is shocking. But....when
the breeze is coming off the Cornish moors caressing the swells generated
by storms a thousand miles out in the Atlantic, when the sun is creating rainbows
in the spray of breaking waves, when the Ocean is a translucent turquoise
that exists on no painter's palette, that is when only the truly town-hardened
could not wish to join in the surfing