Cornwall – The British Riviera
Surfing - Waterskiing & Wakeboarding - Coaching - Qualifications - Town - Accommodation
Cornwall – Don’t leave without…
• Sampling Rick Stein’s fish and chips on the waterfront in Padstow.
• Spending at least one evening at the Oystercatcher or Mariners.
• Taking the ferry across the estuary and on to Polzeath for lunch at the Underground Pasty Shop.
• Racing a tandem with a friend round the Camel Trail via Wadebridge.
• Munching on some Nachos at the Blue Tomato Café in Rock.
• Playing a round of golf on the St. Enedoc Golf Course.
• Cliff jumping off the huge stack on the left side of Polzeath beach… and surviving.
CORNWALL
North Cornwall, and more specifically the towns of Rock, Polzeath, Padstow and Trevone - has long been a favourite British holiday destination.
And with good reason – the pace of life is relaxed, the towns quiet but friendly and the sea warm and clear. Not to mention the rugged shoreline, dotted with golden beaches, washed by some of the best surf that the UK has to offer. For surfing and waterskiing, you can’t do much better than this awesome watersports destination.
Surfing
Thanks to an exposed Atlantic coastline and North Cornwall’s perfect orientation, the swell on the beaches of Harlyn, Polzeath and Constantine is consistently large and clean. Here is where the best of the British surfers descend in the summer, where they can guarantee a consistently good wave. And with the huge amount of surfable beaches in Trevose Head, and more generally, North Cornwall, if the surf is mushy or flat at your local spot, a surfable break will be just round the corner.
Only 20 minutes away from Newquay, the bays surrounding Trevose Head span nearly 250 degrees and each offers an entirely different experience. From the South West facing swell magnet Constantine, to the North East facing Harlyn Bay, the only truly onshore wind is a North Westerly and then the South Coast is only an hour away!
Harlyn Bay, where our surfing courses are based, is one of Cornwall’s best-respected spots. People have been surfing here since the sports introduction in the 70’s although it has been claimed that the first surfers to 'stand up surf' in the UK actually did so much earlier, in the late 1950’s, just round the corner from Harlyn at Treyarnon Bay. You might say that Cornwall was the birthplace of British surfing, and that strong tradition continues to this day.
Surf Report & Webcam
Waterskiing & Wakeboarding
If you drive for 5 minutes along the coast road from Harlyn Bay, you come to the little fishing village of Padstow, tucked into the mouth of the Camel river estuary. A short ferry ride and you are in Rock and the Camel Ski School, where our Waterskiing and Wakeboarding courses take place.
The Camel Estuary offers year round flat water and pleasantly warm conditions from May through October. Flanked by the rolling hills of North Cornwall farmland, and edged with sandy beaches, it is a picturesque place to Waterski.
Waterskiing takes place in two well marked ski lanes in the back of the estuary, which stay open in all tidal and wind conditions, behind one of the school’s two top of the range ski-boats. The reliable conditions of the Camel Estuary, along with the pleasant summer temperatures and warm water, make it one of the UK’s best places to waterski or wakeboard.
COACHING
Saltwater Training
Saltwater Training specialise in providing NARS Beach Lifeguard and Surf Instructor qualifications from their base in Harlyn Bay. Harlyn Bay Surf School was one of the first companies to start offering surfing courses, and in their 15 years of experience have become one of Europe’s most qualified and dynamic surf schools.
Harlyn Surf School are one of the largest and most experienced surf schools in the country, but remain family run, and dedicated to passing on their wealth of knowledge – the owner, Chris Rea, is a local legend in his own right, and with other local rippers spearheaded the 80’s surfing movement in Cornwall. The school employs many of the country’s best surf instructors, and is widely known for its exemplary level of service – group sizes are limited to ensure that instruction is always personal.
The Camel Ski School
The Camel Ski School is one of the UK’s most popular and well respected waterskiing and wakeboarding schools. The School itself has been running for the last 30 years, with brothers Charlie and Simon Toogood in charge for the last seven of those. Today it is a British Water Ski affiliated school, and uses only BWS qualified instructors, so know that you are in safe hands.
The CSS give personal instruction on not only your personal waterskiing and wakeboarding, but also your teaching techniques – you will spend time shadowing the other CSS instructors, and do some teaching and boat driving yourself as part of the course.
You will spend so much time in and around the ski school, and in and out of the water, that by the time the exam comes around in the third week you will have had a lot of first hand experience of how instructing at a leading waterski school works. You will also have had a chance to try a variety of different sports – give wake skating, wake surfing or even barefoot waterskiing a go…
QUALIFICATIONS
BWS
• Qualifications included: BWS Instructor (Wakeboard and Waterski), SBDA (Ski Boat Driver Award), ICC.
The BWS (British Water Ski) is the national governing body for water skiing and wakeboarding in Great Britain. British Water Ski is responsible for the development of the sports and training and registration of instructors. The BWS is affiliated to the International Water Ski Federation (IWSF), making their qualifications internationally respected.
On the BWS instructor course you will develop an understanding of the BWS teaching method, the structure of waterskiing and wakeboarding in the UK, the principles of teaching and the technical elements of waterskiing and wakeboarding.
BSA
• Qualifications included: BSA Surf Instructor, NARS Beach Lifeguard.
The British Surfing Association (BSA) was founded in 1966 to promote the sport of surfing and is the National Governing Body for Surfing in the UK. It is an important member of the International Surfing Association, and its qualifications are well respected and accepted worldwide.
On our 6 week Surf Instructor course you will not only become well versed on the teaching method of the BSA, but you will also complete an internationally acceppted NARS Beach Lifeguard course, extensive fitness training as well as the technical elements of surfing and surf instructing.
ACCOMMODATION
Our self-catered accommodation in Rock is located just up the hill from the Mariners Rock pub.
The newly converted flats all boast outside eating areas with beautiful views of the estuary, open plan kitchens and living rooms, a fridge, freezer, oven and dishwasher, a utility room with a washing machine and a tumble dryer (no wet boardies in the morning!) and TVs in all sitting rooms.
From the flats it is less than a five minute walk to the ferry to Padstow, the local co-op, the waterski school and the pub, making life very easy – catering for yourself is a doddle.
In Harlyn Bay, accommodation on our 6 week Surf Instructor course comes in the form of several large, warm static homes just up the hill from the beach. Each static home has a living room with TV, kitchen, a couple of bed rooms and beautiful views over the bay.
The Mariners Rock
TOWN
The busy tourist towns of Rock, Padstow and Polzeath all share a very Cornish charm – life runs at a relaxed place, people are friendly, and everyone knows how to enjoy themselves.
Award winning eating places include The Blue Tomato Café in Rock, and Rick Stein’s various enterprises in Padstow – eat at his traditional fish and chip shop, or book well in advance for a table in his famous seafood restaurant. All sorts are attracted to the area – families with kids, thrill seekers, couples and teenagers – and this diverse crowd makes for a fun and bustling atmosphere.
Considering its size, there is a famous nightlife in this little area of North Cornwall - The Mariners in Rock and The Oystercatcher in Polzeath being the obvious suspects. Going out tends to be a more relaxed affair than you might find in close neighbour Newquay, with the emphasis on pints with friends rather than raves - but if you can get yourself invited to a local house party however, you might find a different story...
ACTIVITIES
Cornwall is a true haven for watersports enthusiasts, with powerboating, windsurfing, kitesurfing, sailing and even rock jumping on offer, as well as surfing and waterskiing. The Camel Ski School offer the opportunity to try wake surfing and wake skating if your feeling particularly keen.
Back on dry land, hire a bike and explore – Cornwall’s North Coast has steep and imposing cliffs interspersed with pretty sandy bays and hidden surf spots. If you tire of adrenaline hunting, there is nothing more relaxing than packing a picnic in your rucksack and heading off with some friends along the South West Coastal Path to a deserted beach for a lazy afternoon.
As well as less mainstream sports such as surfing and waterskiing, there are two world class golf courses in Rock, the St. Enodoc links and a new inland course at Roserrow, as well as a tennis academy and busy sailing club. Alternatively hire a boat for a days fishing trip, or a bike and cycle the Camel Trail. The Eden project and the bright lights of Newquay are only a short drive away if the weather takes a turn for the worse.
