So, we are in Australia. We checked out Shark Island, but sadly there was no swell at all when we were in Sydney. Here is a shot of the setup at Shark Island though:

We also made our way to Margaret River for a few days (I've always wanted to surf The Box), but it was onshore most of the time we were there. I did get a surf in, but nothing amazing, and nothing at The Box:

It has been good seeing the places that I've only ever seen on video and in magazines though and seeing what the setups are like. It's making me super amped to go missioning near my hometown to find some new breaks.

I got some really small, but fun and clean waves in Perth a few days ago. It was a fun little shorey and I was out on my own, which was both nice and surprising. We didn't get any video that day, but there are a few pics. There is one below, but you can see a few more on our Facebook page. We will try to get a new video done as soon as we can.

So just over 20 days ago I posted our first real travel video about our trip to Thurso, on the Scottish North Coast, and and the response has been great so far.

The video has been embedded on a bunch of different bodyboarding sites from around the world. Some of the best responses have come from Spanish and Portugeuse blogs and the video has even been embedded on a French bodyboarding forum. With the help of Google Translate. I managed to decipher what the various comments and posts said. One of the guys who commmented here on Video Surf Guide, and on a few of the other blogs, is a Spanish bodyboarder (Cercata) who is doing a trip to Chile in August and has offered to be our interpreter there if we can make it. What an awesome dude! So we are trying our best to make that trip part of our plans bacause that would be sick. We’ll see how that goes!

The good guys at sixty40 in South Africa also put the vid up on there site and, from what I hear via the tweet-vine, they have also mentioned it in the latest issue of the mag. Very stoked about that!! Go get the mag if you’re in SA – the guys are doing a sick job and in buying a copy you not only supprt what they’re doing, you also get a sick mag to read!

I was also contacted by one of the guys at the Riptide Mag forum (Doc – if you’re you’re on the forum and wonder who it was) a couple of weeks back and asked if I’d be interested in doing an interview to put on the forum. It was good fun to do and gives some insight into what we’re doing here at Video Surf  Guide so go check it out if you feel like a little read. – http://www.riptidemag.com.au/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3695

We have some great plans for the near(ish) future and a possible massive trip on the cards so I’ll keep you posted about all the developments on that front!

Our next post is a good one too so be sure to check that out soon!

You’re all awesome! Thanks for reading!!

A huge thanks to all the guys who made posts about our vid!!! Here are some links to them – go check them out!

• http://www.sixty40.co.za/video-114-thurso—videosurfguide-episode-2
• http://bodyboard.pt/videos-f5/scotland-t1056.html
• http://spongewars.com/v3e/?p=2204
• http://s224806679.mialojamiento.es/wordpress/?p=1110
• http://stayinverted.blogspot.com/2009/12/scotland.html
• http://ivanbodyboardcny.blogspot.com/2009/12/escocia-episode-2.html
• http://trueboarders.blogspot.com/2009/12/escocia.html
• http://orzanbay.blogspot.com/2009/12/scotland.html
• http://eneseubodyboard.blogspot.com/2009/12/thurso.html

Finally! I hope you enjoy it. Yes, that is me doing the voice-over and yes, I do know that I have an extremely monotonous voice.
Leave a comment an vote in the poll!

Thurso (Episode 2) from Video Surf Guide on Vimeo.

Thanks everyone! You’re Awesome!

I still need to put in a few more late nights to get a decent video done so I bring you another tasty little image from Thurso in the meantime – one of my new favourite places on earth and definitely my favourite place in the UK so far. Most of what you’ll see is right hand breaks, but there are lefts too. If you don’t believe me take a look at this left hand slab I had the pleasure (and fear) of surfing:

It goes by the name of Bagpipes and has a beautifully messed up end section. It’s the kind of place that, if you got to surf it a lot, you could really wax, but the first time you paddle out and you aren’t used to the setup it’s pretty unnerving. I have some awesome local breaks back home that I miss a lot, but I would definitely love to have a local break like this one.

Footage coming soon…(ish)

So our Thurso trip was nothing short of awesome!! I’m back at work though and have a lot catch up on so it might be a little while until I can get around to creating a really decent post and video of the trip. So I thought that in the meantime I would add some pics every day or so until I have the next major post done. We’ll start off today with this little Scottish beauty…

I’ll try to put in some late nights soon and get a post of the trip done asap…

There is a back-log of videos waiting to be edited and loaded onto the site, but for now we are enjoying the Scottish Highlands in Thurso.

So far Thurso has been very rainy and very cold – and I absolutely love it! The amount of spots and potential spots within a very small stretch of coast is freakin astonishing! The water is pretty cold, but a good wetsuit is all you need to be comfortable in the water.

The first day we were here we had some small waves in the 2 foot range, but they were some of the best 2 foot waves I’ve seen. Just reeling perfectly along a little reef. The next day the swell picked up a foot or two and we had some really good waves at the same reef. The next day was onshore and extremely windy and wet. But, the wind created some wind swell and today saw some bigger swell hitting the same reef again. The swell so far has been very westerly and doesn’t get into Thurso and the other spots that we have been waiting to score so we have been surfing a reef that picks up westerly swell in bounds. Check it out below…

Our first video is finally up and ready to watch in all it’s glory!
It was a bit of a rush job to get it done before we leave for Thurso tomorrow, but I’m pretty happy with it. Watch it, tell your friends. If you hate it, tell your enemies! Vote in the poll. Leave a comment. You rule!!

I have a friend who has been to Thurso, in Scotland, a few times and absolutely loves the place. It’s cold, pretty boring when there are no waves and about as far North as you can go on mainland UK, but the way he talks about it and the pictures he’s shown me – it’s somewhere I just have to go.

My wife and I came to London just short of 8 months ago and I haven’t surfed at all since we got here. To say I’ve been getting desperate for waves is definitely a huge understatement! The UK isn’t known as a surf destination by any means, but surfers and bodyboarders who live here have sought out top quality spots and when you really want to find out what waves can be had here you find yourself pretty surprised and amazed at what’s on offer. The swell only really hits in winter, and while that sucks a bit because of the temperatures, the upside is that only those who are dedicated and really love to get in the sea will be in the sea. I just bought a whole bunch of new gear – I gave away all my stuff before we came over – and I can’t wait to get to Thurso and try it all out.

I love to find out about the places I’m going to and find out about the spots there and the type of coastline. To give you a small taste of what we hope to find up in the North sea I thought I’d let you in on a little bit of the prepping that I’ve been doing over the last little while. A while back my friend sent me this shot of a spot he saw near Thurso, which he says is probably unrideable.

I decided to go searching for the spot on Google Earth and, with guidance from my friend, I found it. (I do the Google Earth thing pretty often and just cruise along coastlines to see what I can see – I love it and sometimes I waste a lot of time doing it.)

You can see how it’s running along that ledge – it looks awesome and heavy, and sadly I sort of have to concede that it does look kind of unmakeable when you see it from above like this. There is no friendly channel at the end of it like you want at a shallow reef/ledge break, but I will definitely go and have a look for myself! Just to see a wave that looks like that will make me stoked – even if I can’t ride it. If it’s looking anything like that first picture though I might just have to paddle out just to see… :) – if I’m feeling brave!

We leave for Thurso next week Thursday and we’ll be there hoping and searching for waves for about 8 days. I’ll have a full update when we get back and should have a video to post a few days after that.

Thanks for reading guys!

Later…