hellwoman
01-16-2007, 11:09 PM
July 03, 2006
UK Tow-surfers Lay Down the Law
Today could go down as a landmark day in British surfing. The swell around the country may be nudging little more than a foot, but it is July, and those who put the word “extreme” into surfing are casting their eyes to the future. They know that come autumn and winter, sizeable surf will swarm across the Atlantic to batter breaks such as Newquay’s The Cribbar and Zorba’s Reef, as well as many other big-wave spots. Today’s mellow beginner’s wave could be December’s 20-foot session at The Cribbar, with the surfers more likely than not being “towed in” to make drops that they otherwise could not paddle into. And so, at 3pm today at the British Surfing Association’s headquarters on Fistral Beach, Newquay, the inaugural meeting of the British Tow-Surf Association (B-TSA) will be held.
The B-TSA’s chairman is South African big-wave rider Chris Bertish, who in December 2004 rode clean Cribbar faces of up to 35ft, with vice-chairman being fellow South African Duncan Scott. The B-TSA’s mission is to promote awareness of tow-surfing, a relatively recent phenomenon in which surfers are towed into large waves by jetski. The waves are usually travelling too fast for the surfer to catch by paddle power alone, but being towed into them gives a slingshot effect. Not only can bigger waves be caught, but also – as, most notoriously, at Jaws in Maui and Teahupoo, Tahiti – surfers can begin their rides at terrifyingly deep, critical sections of a wave. It makes for an extraordinary spectacle – and one that we are going to be seeing a lot more of closer to home.
“There are now between 10 and 20 teams of tow-surfers in the UK,” says Bertish, whose big-wave experience also includes the legendary Northern Californian cold-water wave known as Mavericks as well as Mexico’s Todos Santos. “Tow-surfing is undoubtedly getting more and more popular but people have to realise that it is potentially very dangerous. Our aim is to promote awareness of the need for proper safety precautions and educate surfers about the risks involved. It is important that a responsible voice for the tow-in fraternity emerges at the same time as the sport develops.”
Bertish, with his tow-surf partner Ben Granata, has been exploring many other UK breaks besides The Cribbar. As well as the sheer exhilaration of making the drop on big waves, tow-surfing extends further the surfer’s search: “We’ve found breaks that are completely inaccessible to normal surfers. Feeling that you’re pioneering surfing in new locations is definitely part of tow-surfing’s appeal.”
The purists moaned when tow-surfing first arrived but there is no doubt that it is has radically changed surfing as much as the shortboard revolution of the late 1960s. It also, as Bertish acknowledges, alters the essentially solitary nature of surfing: “Tow-surfing is about two surfers working together. Training, teamwork and solidarity is vital.” But whatever the size of the surf, and however far removed tow-surfing is from the experience of most surfers, Bertish says that the core appeal of surfing is the same. As he puts it: “Surfing puts a smile on your face.”
www.b-tsa.co.uk
UK Tow-surfers Lay Down the Law
Today could go down as a landmark day in British surfing. The swell around the country may be nudging little more than a foot, but it is July, and those who put the word “extreme” into surfing are casting their eyes to the future. They know that come autumn and winter, sizeable surf will swarm across the Atlantic to batter breaks such as Newquay’s The Cribbar and Zorba’s Reef, as well as many other big-wave spots. Today’s mellow beginner’s wave could be December’s 20-foot session at The Cribbar, with the surfers more likely than not being “towed in” to make drops that they otherwise could not paddle into. And so, at 3pm today at the British Surfing Association’s headquarters on Fistral Beach, Newquay, the inaugural meeting of the British Tow-Surf Association (B-TSA) will be held.
The B-TSA’s chairman is South African big-wave rider Chris Bertish, who in December 2004 rode clean Cribbar faces of up to 35ft, with vice-chairman being fellow South African Duncan Scott. The B-TSA’s mission is to promote awareness of tow-surfing, a relatively recent phenomenon in which surfers are towed into large waves by jetski. The waves are usually travelling too fast for the surfer to catch by paddle power alone, but being towed into them gives a slingshot effect. Not only can bigger waves be caught, but also – as, most notoriously, at Jaws in Maui and Teahupoo, Tahiti – surfers can begin their rides at terrifyingly deep, critical sections of a wave. It makes for an extraordinary spectacle – and one that we are going to be seeing a lot more of closer to home.
“There are now between 10 and 20 teams of tow-surfers in the UK,” says Bertish, whose big-wave experience also includes the legendary Northern Californian cold-water wave known as Mavericks as well as Mexico’s Todos Santos. “Tow-surfing is undoubtedly getting more and more popular but people have to realise that it is potentially very dangerous. Our aim is to promote awareness of the need for proper safety precautions and educate surfers about the risks involved. It is important that a responsible voice for the tow-in fraternity emerges at the same time as the sport develops.”
Bertish, with his tow-surf partner Ben Granata, has been exploring many other UK breaks besides The Cribbar. As well as the sheer exhilaration of making the drop on big waves, tow-surfing extends further the surfer’s search: “We’ve found breaks that are completely inaccessible to normal surfers. Feeling that you’re pioneering surfing in new locations is definitely part of tow-surfing’s appeal.”
The purists moaned when tow-surfing first arrived but there is no doubt that it is has radically changed surfing as much as the shortboard revolution of the late 1960s. It also, as Bertish acknowledges, alters the essentially solitary nature of surfing: “Tow-surfing is about two surfers working together. Training, teamwork and solidarity is vital.” But whatever the size of the surf, and however far removed tow-surfing is from the experience of most surfers, Bertish says that the core appeal of surfing is the same. As he puts it: “Surfing puts a smile on your face.”
www.b-tsa.co.uk