Surfing and Weather

Surfers rely on the wind bringing good waves to their 'home break', so most of them have become adept weather watchers. What they'll be looking out for are areas of low pressure over the Atlantic. These bring stormy conditions to our shores, and also create good swell. West facing areas of the British Isles usually get the brunt of these, which make places like south Wales, north Devon and Cornwall good for surfing. The Irish coast is also a favourite spot in the British Isles.

Three factors affect the movement of the water; the size of the area of water, or the 'fetch', the strength of the wind and the duration of the storm. The stronger the wind, the bigger the ocean's swell will be, but if the storm is short-lived and quick moving, it will only last a day.

The wind moves from west to east across the Atlantic, pushing the swell into the coast. That's where it ends up as breaking waves, ready for surf action. In the UK, the storms usually follow close behind, which means surfers will only get one or two good days of clean, regular waves. If they want any longer than that, they'll have to pray for offshore winds to keep the storms at bay, or blow them north.

Devon and Cornwall's surfing industry enjoyed a bumper season during the summer of 2001. One of the reasons for this was that all the usual weather rules were broken: "We had consistent surf in Devon and Cornwall," says Barrie Hall, Head Coach of the British Surfing Association. "In six months, we only had three 'flat' days, which was quite exceptional."

A Year Round Sport
Summer is probably the best time for someone's first boarding experience. The water is warm and the surf smaller, with waves reaching a two to three foot maximum.

But serious surfers in the UK prefer spring and autumn, with September and October being their favourite months. The water is still warm from summer, but there's also a build up of low pressure from the Atlantic.

The waves are probably at their best in the winter, but you'd have to be a real die-hard to get into UK waters at this time. Not only would you need a thick wetsuit and a strong constitution, you'd also have to negotiate two metre high waves. Fine for someone with years of surfing under the belt, but downright scary for anyone else!

Most British surf fans take off to warmer climes in the winter if they can. The Canary Islands is a popular European destination. It gets the same low pressure off the Atlantic as the British Isles, but its localised high pressure creates uniform, clean swell.

Further afield, there's Australia, Indonesia and Hawaii, and for anyone who's addicted to surf, it's a case of 'have board will travel'!