Category Archives: Surfing
The Journey
CJ
Great to chat and interview Chris Jones in his shaping bay and see that his passion for shaping and surfing is burning bright…legend! It was a real insight into the roots and development of board designs in newquay where I grew up, from one of board shaping’s pioneers. Cant wait to order a new board off Chris after seeing some amazing looking twin fin designs.
http://www.chrisjonessurfboards.co.uk/
Egor
St Agnes – The Badlands of British Surfing
It was an honour to hook up and surf with the ‘Mayors’ of St Agnes; Minnow Green and Steve ‘Bunty’ Bunt. Their insight into the rumours, myths and legends of the Badlands of British surfing was great and it was really inspiring to see how much they were still buzzing to get in the water and charge a couple, just had to stay out of their way!
Happy to get back to the car and find the windscreen un-waxed!
Egor
The hunt for the perfect pasty!
Being Cornish I love pasties! I learnt to cook them at school and I know that there’s a lot that goes into a great pasty….years of dedicated practice and old recipes handed down from generation to generation! Every surfer down our way knows the best local spot for a pasty and they’re great for an after surf sesh munch.
Veals, the butchers in our home town of Newquay, produces a pretty damn fine Pasty! Perfect pastry, filling and crimp, goes down especially well after a good long surf. Veals sets the bar very high for our beloved pasty, and we’re looking forward to seeing what we find on our trip!
Egor
Day Pass To The Badlands
Mitch and Egor were happy to find themselves welcomed into St Agnes, in the heart of the Cornish ‘Badlands’, by two of surfings most colourful characters Steve ‘Bunty’ Bunt and Robert ‘Minnow’ Green. Visiting surfers (particularly those from Newquay) haven’t always found themselves quite so warmly welcomed into the ‘Locals Only’ breaks, in and around the village.
The area became christened the Badlands in the early ’80s, at a time when the tight-knit surf community had had enough of visiting surfers coming into the village and showing little or no respect to the locals, and to surfing etiquette in general.
‘St Agnes is a small beach, and we live here all year round, so when the swell’s come and the waves are pumping we don’t want to have people dropping in on us and crowding us out.’ - Steve Bunt
The area’s reputation grew as rumours spread of surfers getting hounded out of the water, only to get back to their cars and find them with flat tyres and windscreens ‘decorated’ with surf wax.
St. Agness Surfers; Steve Bunt, Minnow Green, Kai Thomas
Music: A Problem Shared by The 9s
We learn something new everyday, that’s for sure!
We have started our journey roaming around close to home here in Cornwall. There are many characters here that we have already been lucky enough to meet and get to know through surfing but actually having a chance to sit down and hear about their youth has been such a privilege and I’m so excited to hit the road and meet some more classic characters. I can only imagine that the surfers further North are hardcore, dedicated surfers and will have some stories that will make me and Egor feel like we should stop whinging when we are cold, as we have wetsuits and accessories that those guys could of only dreamed about….
Next stop on the journey… Brighton! What an experience for Egor and me as Brighton’s the complete polar opposite to what we are looking for when it comes to a surf destination. We spend most of our time searching in the quietest places we can find. Not because we don’t like socialising, haha, it’s just that quiet places usually mean less crowds in the water. This is not a problem in a place like Brighton though as it may be very crowded on land, but not in the water that’s for sure!
The Mods, the Rockers and the Surfers
One of the main reasons that we really wanted to feature Brighton in The Endless Winter was the cities rich social history. Brighton Rock is one of my favourite books and Quadrophenia is one of my favourite films so I was pretty excited when I read that surfing started in Brighton at the same time that the mods and rockers were running riot, what an amazing contrast!
What a privilege it was meeting with early Brighton surfer Jock Paterson and hearing first hand how he and a small group of friends found escapism in wave riding.
“Brighton’s always had a bit of a reputation, gang culture what ever you want to call it, you know mods, rockers, punks, it just went on and on. Generally we kept ourselves to ourselves we didn’t want to get involved with that, we knew the mods and rockers were around, we knew people that got involved in that stuff but we were just doing our own thing and we were happy doing that. Everytime you go out there [points to the sea] you’re in a different world.” - Jock Paterson talking to Mitch and Egor.
A Brighton Sunset Surf
I’d never been to Brighton before, and to be quite honest I was just expecting a rundown seaside town with too many stag and hen do’s. Well that image was instantly shattered on arrival, the town is vibrant, the beach is buzzing, and the piers and scenery are spectacular.
The highlight of the trip for me was heading out to the burnt out West Pier with Egor and Mitch. With an epic sunset backdrop, we paddled out to the ‘rib cage like’ burnt out structure. It was creepily quiet and eerie. Seeing the new pier a mile or so down the promenade was a constant reminder of all the British holidays that took place around this burnt out pier, the thousands of happy hours spent on 2p slot machines and other tacky British holiday quirks.
Topped off with a couple of ankle high waves on long boards and followed by a beer or two, Brighton turned out to be one of the unexpected highlights and confirmed that it’s not just the waves that create a vibrant, special surf scene.
Music: ‘End Of The Line’ by Mojo White
So the Severn Bore next, Yeeeehhhaaa!
What a trip to Brighton! We managed to meet up with two very upbeat characters, Sean Mahoney and Jock Paterson to get some great inside info on what it’s like to be a surfer in such a built up area and how the local non-surfers looked upon the so called surf bums in the early days. As the surfs so inconsistent down there, you can see how other board sports such as skateboarding and Stand Up Paddle Boarding have been a great distraction when the flat spells hit hard. (Find out more about Jock Paterson and Stand Up Paddle Boarding at www.tribalwave.org).
So the Severn Bore next, Yeeeehhhaaa! Me and Egor are so excited for this as we have never done anything like it. It looks so different to surfing in the sea, but you can still see that it gets the adrenalin flowing as it roars up river towards you! It’s so cool that so many people can surf the same wave and have so much fun. As there is only one wave it’s got us a little nervous about falling. One of us is bound to have a shocker. Haha.
The Severn Bore, A Birds Eye View…
As Mark and Mitch are surfing the Bore during a high autumn tide they will have 3 attempts at catching it, two early morning Bores and a night Bore (in the pitch black).
The setting for attempt 1 was pretty epic. After a 5.30 wake-up call we enjoyed a beautiful sunrise revealing a low mist that had covered the river bed. As we watched (and attempted to film) from the river bank all we could really see were shadows in the mist. Luckily we had Mr. B in the water with the boys so we weren’t going to miss a thing.
While the boys paddled out and waited we were lucky enough to meet Phil, a paramotor pilot who had come to fly over the Bore. Phil has very kindly donated the following footage to the film shot during his flight (look out for Mitch and Egor centre of shot at then end).
Scrambling Out of The Severn Bore
So as I sit on the river bank, with a camera in hand it looks simple; You ride the river as far as you possibly can, and then you’ve just gotta get out wherever you possibly can!
The Endless Winter: A Very British Surf Movie; The Teaser
This is the teaser for the forth coming feature length documentary and web-series ‘The Endless Winter – A Very British Surf Movie’.
Mitch and Egor travel the length of the UK in their Ford S-MAX on a road trip tracing the wild and unusual roots of British surf culture. This video features;
Interviewees: Roger Mansfield – Pete ‘PJ’ Jones – Malcolm Findlay – Charles Williams
Surfers: Alan Stokes – Gabe Davies – Russ Winters – Nate Phillips – Nigel Semmens – Steve Daniels – Carwyn Williams
Archive courtesy of: SWFTA – Three S Films – ITN Source.
Music: The Dakotas “The Cruel Sea”.
Next stop Cymru…
I was excited about heading towards Wales. Early surf trips as a grom for contests there were always fun and everyone in the Welsh surf scene seemed so welcoming and cool. Whether out at Freshwater in Pembroke, Llangennith on the Gower or Porthcawl, we scored great waves for contests on such varied coastlines.
They just all bloody loves it, see!
The Prince and the P… J
What a pleasure it was spending a day with Pete ‘PJ’ Jones in Llangeneth, Wales (despite the rain). Such an incredible life PJ’s had, he’s rubbed shoulders with everyone. Here’s a little snippet from the interview…
Life on the road with Welsh Pro Nate Phillips
In my late teens/early twenties I spent a lot of time traveling and competing with Nathan ‘Nate’ Phillips, one of the most talented surfers to come from Wales and I can say these were some of the best times of my life. Firstly competing on the European Pro Junior series which Nate came runner up on one year, then around the world on the World Qualifying Series. Wherever we went for a contest Nate was frothing for everything with a positive attitude which was ace to be around. Charging the heaviest barrels, partying all night at the contest parties which were everywhere, never missing a dawnie surf session and trying to make heats to pay for the trip to the next event was the routine. Such good times. So it was ace to catch up with Nate and the llantwitt boyos for a loose sesh.
Episode One “The Cribbar ’66-The Birth Of British Big Wave Riding”
In September 1966 four visiting Australian and American lifeguards paddled into the biggest waves that had ever been surfed on British shores; changing the way that British surfers looked at their waves.
A young grom called Roger Mansfield was amongst the crowd of Newquay locals that were watching from the headland, along with surf photographer Doug Wilson.
Images; Courtesy of Doug Wilson
Music; Cream, Eric Clapton – White Room, Wheels of Fire
Ford S-MAX presents The Endless Winter – A Very British Surf Movie
http://www.theendlesswinter.co.uk
In just half a century the British surf scene has evolved from a cult to a thriving industry that boasts world-class waves, champion surfers and a 300,000 strong surfing community.
Mark ‘Egor’ Harris and Mitch Corbett will travel the length of the country discovering how this iconic surf scene was born, as well as stopping and surfing at significant breaks along the way. On their journey they’ll meet key characters from the history of British surfing as well as current crews that epitomise each region’s unique surfing culture.
The Daily Mail online reports on big wave riding in the UK
The Cribbar has been working again this week, as dramatically reported by the Daily Mail online, including a very nice link to The Endless Winter; Episode One! Cheers
A night on the Toon
The most unusual stop on the trip had to be Tynemouth in Newcastle. The non-surfers amongst the crew were pretty surprised to learn that one of the biggest cities in the UK (better known for it’s industry and ‘The Toon’) has a thriving surf scene and boasts some of the most successful surfers in the UK.
Sadly we saw no sign of waves on our trip to Tynemouth but we did get to meet up with local legend Gabe Davies, hear about his amazing big wave riding career and, while in our first city in quite a while we thought it would rude not to see what the Geordies get up to at night – please ask Mitch Corbett for more details!
Scotty, bothy, deep fried dobby
Hills, valleys, rivers, forests and lots of winding roads, that’s the road to Thurso East! I was buzzing to be heading across the Scottish border, and heading north on the final stretch of The Endless Winter road trip.
On the way up it was ace to meet Scottish pioneer Andy Bennett and see his archive of shots from early surf-trips. His pictures from the 1981 European champs held at Thurso were classic.
Heading on through the highlands it was a familiar route, my mind always wanders to the movie Braveheart and how hardcore it must have been to survive in those times up here!
I always feel a little excited when arriving at Thurso, so many good times have been had there, in and out of the sea. The weather charts looked pretty wild, with little windows of potential to get some waves. That first window came on our first morning, so Mitch and myself were up in the dark to catch the right wind and tide and had a real fun session with hollow ones. It’s been a long summer in Cornwall so I was buzzing to get barreled!
Over the next couple of days I competed in the UK Pro Surf Tour event. Its the comp all the boys want to perform in as it’s almost always held in good, powerful waves and this year was no exception. The comp was won by Micah Lester (see vid below).
Straight after the contest it was a traditional night out with the surf tour boys in Thurso. Sadly the legendary Skinandi’s (the most northerly nightclub on mainland UK) was closed, but a cracking night none the less.
The next day it was as if winter had announced its arrival. A series of stacked swells marching across the North Atlantic giving us our opportunity to score some epic waves, the search was on! Always an exciting time…
We made it!
It was an epic journey to say the least and as well as growing impressive beards we’ve all grown a little bit as surfers and filmmakers. Over the past five weeks we’ve slept in caravan parks, Scottish Bothy’s, city youth hostels and one luxury pad (some of us even got to have our own beds!) We’ve met over 50 surfers and the boys have been for a surf/paddle in one Ocean, two Seas one Loch and one dirty River.
A massive thanks to everyone that helped us along the way and to all of the surfing crews that made us so welcome – still can’t believe they let us in the Badlands! Big up to the Ford S-MAX massive who made the trip possible, sorry about the missing wing mirror and the smell, that was Mr. B’s wetsuit.
Keep up to date with the edit on the blog. The next episode will be released online this Friday.
Episode Two – Night Surfing On The Severn Bore
The River Severn Bore is one of Britain’s most spectacular natural phenomenas, as well as a truly unique wave. Not content with surfing this tidal surge in the day, Mitch and Egor have teamed up with Matt Hammersley and the ‘muddy brothers clan’ to tackle the Bore in the pitch black.
Best enjoyed in the dark, with the volume turned Up!
BIG Wave Riding
The trip may be over but all’s good in Kernow if not a bit stormy and nippy out! I’m frothing for some good waves when the storms calm down, whether it’s Porthleven, Fistral, the East coast or Orkney… well keen!
I’ve seen some footage and pics from Ireland over the last few days and it looks absolutely pumping! By the sounds of it a lot has come from just a coupla hours in between two big storm fronts, which just shows how on it guys are now; predicting and being ready for the small window of swell and wind when it comes. It’s definitely the nature of the beast when we’re looking to score big, perfect waves, weathering the storm for those little windows of gold!
The wave Garrett Mcnamara got towed into in Portugal was a mountain, and only possible by way of jet ski assist. It didn’t look like a smooth ride to me, but wow was it huge! Jet skis have moved the boundaries of what waves are rideable, and the limits are being pushed with every big swell around the globe. Every swell someone’s going bigger and bigger, pushed by sponsors, fame, their personal desire, or ego, its happening all the time. And now Laird Hamilton thinks he’s going to ride a 150 ft wave…!
From what I’ve seen of the top big wave hunters in the World, they’re very calm, intelligent and slightly un-hinged chargers, fuelled by the buzz, ego, fame and glory. People like Laird, Garrett and Mark Visser really go deep into all of the science that has become available. They track huge storms, looking for the windows of correct tides and winds, even looking at the topography of the ocean floor to search the potential for a giant wave. Pretty amazing and very nuts!
As for me, I love getting tubed. I do love the feeling of paddling into big waves and the personal achievement that goes with it, but getting deep in the barrel is the best feeling ever, be that by using my arms or jet ski assist.
Exploring and finding a new spot which allows you to get really tubed with no one around but a few mates…that’s epic and adds a whole new dimension to it!! We’re very lucky to live somewhere that offers that experience.
One last shoot for 2011
What better way to finish the year than to catch up with Mitch and Egor in Newquay for an end of year surf. We wanted to get a few shots of the boys surfing in some pretty undesirable conditions and the good old British weather kindly delivered torrential rain and howling winds all day, perfect!
A massive thanks to everyone for their support this year, the edit is coming together nicely and we’re all frothing about 2012 and the release of the film. Watch this space.
Meet the Filmmaker: Mr B
Great interview with our boy Anthony Butler aka Mr B about his amazing career as a Sea Otter. Some very kind words about Endless too…
http://www.londonsurffilmfestival.com/meet-the-filmmaker-anthony-butler
Episode 3 “London-By-The-Sea; Riots on the Beaches, Surfers in the Soup”
Brighton is more famed for jellied eels and rebellious youth cultures than it is for it’s inconsistent surf. Nevertheless, a thriving community of passionate and committed surfers has emerged from it’s embryonic stages in the mid 60s, when a small group of Brighton locals first paddled out against a backdrop of warring mods and rockers.
Just as surf culture had made its way across the Altantic in the early 60s so too did ‘sidewalk surfing’ in the mid to late 70s. Naturally the local surf crews quickly developed a synergy with skateboarding as it helped to get them through the flat spells. At the heart of this scene was, and still is, Brighton legend Jock Paterson a top-surfer, champion skateboarder and now a leading figure in British Stand Up Paddle Boarding (www.tribalwave.org).
Images courtesy of; Robert Vente (http://www.ventephoto.com) & Jock Paterson
Archive courtesy of; Three S Films (www.threesfilms.com) & Richard Gayer, James Street Productions – Hot Wheels n Big Deals
Music; The Lurkers – Ain’t Got A Clue
Could Bristol be the UK’s next surf spot?
A man-made wave park is being built in Shirehampton, Bristol. Have a look at the promo above and check out Cornwall’s Reubyn Ash, a gaggle of Pro surfers and some pretty awesome local kids putting the Basque Country facility through it’s paces below…
Exciting times for Mark and Egor’s boardshaper Luke Hart.
Luke is one of the most dynamic board shapers in the country and he’s just started his own company ‘Fourth Surfboards’ in Newquay. Check out his site here, inspiring stuff! http://fourthsurfboards.com/
Luke will be making a customised surfboard for one of our followers, to find out more and to enter, follow this link… http://mpora.com/endlesswinter/competition/
Episode 4; The Only Girl In The Polluted Curl
Mitch and Egor travel to industrial Port Talbot in South Wales, where Britain’s best ever female surfer, Linda Sharp learnt her trade in one of the most polluted breaks in the UK.
Despite the pollution, Port Talbot has been home to a thriving community of resilient surfers since the late 60s and is known to produce some of the best waves in Wales.
Archive courtesy of; Christos Stylianou & John Baxendale
Images Courtesy of; Linda Sharp & Pete Bounds
Music; Rory Gallagher – Crest Of A Wave www.rorygallagher.co.uk
A call for archive…
As Mitch and Egor travel the UK meeting iconic surfers, we want to show footage from every region and era – this is where we need your help!
Do you have footage from the 60s to present day shot in the UK? If so we’d love to hear from you with a view to using your footage in the film. We’ve managed to source some awesome archive so far from the likes of John Adams, Doug Wilson and Pete Bounds and it’s really brought the online episodes to life.
This isn’t exclusively a hunt for pro footage; we are keen to hear from hobby surfers, weekend warriors and holiday makers who have ever been on a surfing holiday (perhaps to the infamous Skewjack surf village in the 70s and 80s)?
Please contact info@levelfilms.co.uk if you can help.
Thanks, the EW team
Episode 5; The North East – Britain’s Coldest Waves
The British surfer’s greatest obstacle has long been the cold. But with waves like these, it’s worth enduring an ice-cream headache or two!
Mitch and Egor head to the North East of England to surf Britain’s coldest waves. While there they meet with local surfer Nick Noble and gain an insight into how surfers of all eras have tackled the elements – from home made wet-suits to woolly jumpers and rubber gloves.
Featuring: Nick Noble, Paul ‘The Gill’ Gill, Chris ‘Guts’ Griffiths, Robyn Davies, Malcolm Findlay, Jock Patterson, John Adams, Gordon Burgis and Andy Bennetts.
Surfers: Mark Harris, Mitch Corbett, Reubyn Ash, Nick Noble, Sam Lamiroy, Oli Adams, Eugene Tollemarche, Ben Howard, Richie Mullins, Jesse Davies, Garry Rogers, Nico Von Rupp and Gabe Davies.
Music: ‘Matty Groves’ by Fairpoint Convention.
Archive courtesy of: Pete Bounds, Andy Bennetts, Malcolm Findlay and Grant Coghill.
An XXL week for British surfing
For anyone who’s finding out about British and Irish surfing for the first time through Mitch and Egor’s journey, you’ve started following at a pretty amazing time!
Last week a monster swell hit the West Coast of Ireland and a host of top British and Irish big wave surfers were ready and waiting for it. The infamous Mullaghmore Head was soon producing waves of up to 50 feet… certainly not for the inexperienced or faint hearted!
As a result of the session British surfers Gabe Davies, Andrew Cotton and Tom Butler have all been nominated for the Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards. This is the ultimate accolade for a big wave surfer and a pretty outstanding achievement for the British and Irish surf scenes. Check out the videos and vote!
http://www.youtube.com/user/BillabongXXL
Our boy Mitch has also been out in Ireland all winter, he’ll be letting us know what he’s been up to next week.
Wales Needs You!!
We’re in the final stages of the edit now and we’re a bit light on great surf footage for the Wales section of the film – had a few quiet days when we were in the country!
It’d be a massive shame not to show off the Welsh coast’s full potential so if you have any recent footage (ideally HD) we would love to hear from you. It can be shot anywhere from Llantwit to Hell’s Mouth and everywhere in between. Don’t worry we’re not naming secret spots and won’t show any landmarks!
If you think you can help please post below.
Thanks
Episode 6; A World Class Wave On Scotland’s North Shore
Mitch and Egor travel to the North Scottish Coast, the unlikely location of what is widely considered to be Britain’s best wave – Thurso East.
While sampling a few perfect barrels, Mitch, Egor and a host of British pros from all eras pay homage to this world-class cold water surf spot. In the words of local surfer Andy Bain – ‘There’s no place like home!’
Interviewees; Malcolm Findlay, Chris ‘Guts’ Griffiths, Andy Bain, Nigel Semmens, Paul ‘The Gill’ Gill, Ben Skinner
Surfers; Chris Noble, Ozzy Rick, Dane Reynolds, Jayce Robinson, Rich Sills, Mitch Corbett, Sam Lamiroy, Nathan Phillips, Jesse Davies, Alan Stokes, Johnny Fryer, Micah Lester, Gabe Davies, Russell Winter
Archive courtesy of; Mr B Productions, Darren Manson, Andy Bennetts
Music; ‘Wave Theme‘ scored for The Endless Winter by Hotel Flamingo
$100,000 for the best surf film…
For those of you that know about the Innersection Film Project, here’s this years winning section – The surfer is Albee Layer, the film-maker is Elliot Leboe – Nice…
For those of you that don’t know what Innersection is; it’s a surf-film contest, and it’s a pretty big deal in the surfing world. Renowned film-maker Taylor Steele invites Surfer/Filmmaker teams from all over the world to upload a short film to the Innersection website. The surfing world then votes and the top 20 vids get the honour of being on an annual DVD, released globally. The best section then wins $100,000 – not bad!
Congratulations also to Britain’s Reuben Ash and Tim Boydell who won through the rounds and were among the teams that made the final 20 – an amazing achievement and the only European’s to do so!
You Should Have Been Here Yesterday – From the Cutting Room Floor, no.1
Now we’re in the final stages of the edit we’re having to make some really tough decisions and inevitably we’re finding that some sections are having to end up on the cutting room floor… One tough call that we’ve had to make has come from Wales, where we’ve found that there’s just too many characters and stories to fit in!
Unfortunately the Welsh Dragon didn’t roar when we met up with Nate Phillips, Beth Mason and Dean Pageo in South Wales, so the waves were far from their best. None the less everyone caught some nice fun waves in a beautiful little spot somewhere near Cardiff(ish)!
An awesome day and a great night at Nate’s local boozer. It’s that old classic line “you should have been here yesterday!”
Enjoy
Surfers - Nathan Phillips, Beth Mason, Dean Pageo, Mark Harris, Mitch Corbett
Music – Hotel Flamingo; Travelling Theme
Hat’s off to surf-videographer Mickey Smith
A massive congratulations to Surf Videographer Mickey Smith and DOP Allan Wilson who won the award for ‘Best Action Sports Film’ at the prestigious Vimeo Awards last night.
Mickey and Allan’s film ‘Dark Side of the Lens’ blew us away with the beautiful visuals and story telling. What stands out most about this amazing short though is Mickey’s passion. The guy’s a lunatic on so many levels and he’s doing what he loves and making a living doing it. He’s managed to express that beautifully in the film and inspired others to follow their passion rather than a regular pay cheque.
Mitch has been in Ireland filming with Mickey this winter, and is due to spend a few more months with him later in the year, so we’re really excited to see the outcome.
Well done gents!
Mitch goes wave hunting, way up North…
Nothing get’s Mitch and Egor ‘frothing’ more than hunting for undiscovered waves here in the UK. With over 5000 miles of coast out there, who knows what could be round the next corner. Up in the Orkney Islands the curious site of Mitch Corbett skipping around the headlands hunting for waves has caught the attention of the local rag.
Wet Wales – trip highlights
All this ‘tropical’ weather is bringing back fond memories of our trip to Wales back in September. The waves were pretty small, the sky was grey, but the Welsh hospitality was warm as ever. Thanks again to PJ, Linda, Nate, Beth and the Llantwit Major crew…
Strange times in Kernow….
Ahoy there! Its nearly the end of July, just incase you forgot! A lot of folk down here in Kernow have; its definitely an odd summer, and hasn’t really gotten started. Everyone’s talking of a kink in the jet stream which is bringing this never ending grey drizzle. Other people are talking of Mother Nature’s weather patterns totally changing as she is not happy with the way us humans are treating her, and she’s preparing for an ice age to shake us off for good!!
It is odd tho, even a poor mink whale, apparently lost off course, got washed up at Mawgan Porth last week, which is strange! The last time we had a consecutive run of sun and proper waves was March! But when the sun is beaming, and there’s solid swell with light offshore winds and not a cloud in the sky, there’s really no where else i’d rather be. If you were in the south west in March you know where I’m coming from.
Mitch has had the right idea, he’s hit Indo for a coupla months. Haven’t heard from him for a while so maybe he’s deep in a jungle somewhere or out on an island……that or he’s fallen in love with a benchong! All I do recall in my last chat with the man was that he was keen to surf three times a day, get barralled off his nut and get super fit, with the start of the winter swells back home not too far away. Good lad. Simple plan. Like his style.
It got me fired up to do the same, trim up for when the winter swells start happening, and they’re not too far away. That’s why I’m loving being a part of the RNLI lifeguard crew at my local, North Fistral beach this season. I pretty much grew up on the beach and now get to go to work there, keeping an eye on the beach with the boys and training in the sea every day. Training for lifeguarding is perfect as its great training for surfing, and I feel lucky to be able to get out in the sea everyday. Bodysurfing, sea swims, long distance board paddles, short-boarding, long-boarding, all getting a sea hit and with the winter swells in the back of our minds. Then at the end of the day i come home and relax with the family.
So she’s been a strange old summer so far, but hopefully those swells will be stacked up on the chart in a couple of months time and thats a reassuring thought! I’ll hopefully be stepping into the unknown with Mitch again, and just the thought of finding some worldclass waves hidden away somewhere in the UK gets me buzzing…cant wait.
Let the good times rollllll!
Episode 7; Britain’s Greatest Ever Surf Explorer
Long before surfing became ‘the epitome of cool’ one man subconsciously set out to discover and expose the best surf breaks in the world – and didn’t he do well…
Don’t miss The Endless Winter, Sunday and Tuesday’s on Channel 4. A three part series exploring and celebrating the wonderfully eccentric British surf culture and it’s many characters.
Director of Animation; Simon Ball
Character Animation; Michael Rokes
Voice Over Artist; Alex Richardson
Sound design; Brian Moseley
Your Thoughts – The Endless Winter Ep1 on Channel 4?
A mind-blowing 164 thousand viewers tuned in for The Endless Winter; Episode 1 on C4 last night, hopefully you enjoyed it?!
So, let us know what you thought. Feel free to post comments and questions below and we’ll (film-makers and surfers) get back to you.
If you don’t know what we’re talking about, watch this and get involved…http://www.channel4.com/programmes/surfing-special-the-endless-winter
The Endless Winter – A Very British Surf Movie (2012 Teaser)
Here’s a little taste of what to expect at the open-air Premiere of The Endless Winter, Fistral Beach, Newquay, Cornwall, Thursday 30th August.
Get your FREE tickets here…
More Screening Dates announced – We’re heading North(ish)…
Two more chances to see The Endless Winter in the Cinema if you live in the Midlands or the North East…
Nottingham (The Savoy Cinema) 20th September.
Scarborough (The Spa) 23rd September.
Book your FREE tickets here http://www.theendlesswinter.co.uk/tickets/
The Screening tour begins…
A massive thanks to everyone that joined us in Croyde, Newquay and Brighton to watch The Endless Winter on the big screen. Croyde was the most mellow cinema ever with double deck chairs and a very warm welcome from the locals, Brighton was in a stunning old cinema with an HD screen, unquestionably the best we’ve ever seen the Endless waves.
Newquay was a bit of a risk – a screening on a pretty windy, chilly Fistral beach but it couldn’t have gone any better. Around 500 people joined us to watch the film and everyone seemed to enjoy it, laughing and whooping at all the key points. By the last half hour we were fully expecting most people to have run for the warmth of the bar but the crowd remained glued all the way to the end. In retrospect it may have been hypothermia that kept everyone frozen on the beach but either way it was a wonderful sight!
Next stop is Newcastle, some tickets still available so please join us this Sunday (9th) at the Tyneside Cinema. http://www.eventzilla.net/web/event?eventid=2138966991
The Endless Winter is on Channel 4 tonight at Midnight!
Set your alarms and/or recorders, The Endless Winter – A Very British Surf Movie is on Channel 4 tonight at midnight.
As proud as we are of the recent C4 episodes, this is the full 90 minute feature length version – as it was intended to be seen! There’s nearly 30 minutes of additional footage and for us it has a more natural flow and a real sense of journey.
We hope you enjoy it, keen to hear feedback.
Thanks, The Endless Winter Crew.
Find out more about Mitch Corbett…
‘Fans’ of The Endless Winter may want to keep up to date with the pretty envious life of Mitch Corbett via his facebook page. He posts from all over the world, and he’s got a pretty epic winter planned. Get inspired, get jealous…
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mitch-Corbett/235510259831090
The Endless Winter selected for The London Surf Film Festival!
Text courtesy of LSFF…
We are thrilled to announce that we’re hosting the London Premiere of “The Endless Winter: A Very British Surf Story” at this year’s London Surf / Film Festival!
When we established the festival, one of our aims was to support and promote home grown surf filmmaking talents and when we heard about independent filmmakers Matt Crocker and James Dean’s hugely exciting very British project, we knew ‘The Endless Winter’ was a film we wanted to get behind.
Following British pro surfers Mitch Corbett and Mark Harris as they journey around our island’s coastline, the film takes in some of our best waves, meeting characters along the way who have helped shape our unique British surf scene. Combining archive footage, surf action, interviews and animation this really is a must watch for surf and culture aficionados alike.
What’s more we’re offering the tickets to the film for free, yes, FREE! The special matinee screening which takes place on Sunday 14th October 14.00 will be followed by a talk with Director James Dean and accompanied by a shortlisted Shortie, ‘The Dimming Tide’ which explores a very unique surf scene on the east coast of Ireland. Tickets are limited, so don’t miss out. To reserve your FREE TICKETS, click HERE.
Mitch heads to Iceland with B.A.S.E jumper Matthias Giraud
With an ambitious winter of exploration planned here in the UK, Mitch has been up in Iceland lowering his core body temperature and getting his adrenalin up. How? By paddling around icebergs and jumping out of Aeroplanes, as you do.
Travelling with big mountain skiier and B.A.S.E jumper Matthias Giraud, Mitch has been up in Iceland for a short trip and the boys have made the most of their time as you can see in the action packed news report on Icelandic TV.
The ‘Award Winning’ Endless Winter!!!
After many years of hard work we can finally call ourselves award winning film-makers after The Endless Winter picked up ‘Best British Film’ at the London Surf Film Festival last weekend.
As a pair of ‘kooks’ we [Matt and James the Directors] always wanted to make a film that the UK surf scene would be proud of, so this award means the world to us.
Huge thanks to Chris & Demi for their amazing job with the festival, and also to absolutely everyone who’s been involved in the project! It’s been a long ol’ journey but so so worth it!
Time to get the sequel off the ground… watch this space…
Click here to see all the winners
Images by Simon Plunket
The Endless Winter – Home-coming Screening. Bristol.
Since our preview screening in Croyde back in mid August, the Endless Winter has been seen by thousands of people in 15 different venues around the UK, and after nearly 3 months on the road the Endless tour has (nearly) come to an end.
A massive thanks to everyone that’s joined us around the UK, from Newquay to Nottingham, Scaborough to Swansea, it’s been an incredible journey and apart from the guy that fell asleep and snored in Newcastle, everyone seems to have enjoyed it!
Join us (the crew), the surfers and our friends from Wavegarden UK for our final screening in Bristol tomorrow night (Tuesday 30th October) at the Cube Cinema. Tickets available on the door only - MORE INFO
DVD ORDERS…
The Endless Winter will be available to buy on DVD w/c 12th November – ready for Christmas! It’ll be available on amazon and in all good shops. If you are a surf shop owner and would like to stock the film, please drop us a line at info@levelfilms.co.uk.
Thanks again everyone.