Raves & Rants . . from Penzance

Just found this online - check out the size of this wave pouring over the wall. Loving the little cover-up section immediately behind the wall. How steady is the camera man in the face of that monster bearing down on him ! Return to Ocean-Image.com

In this county of Cornwall, it seems recently that the lunatics have taken over the asylum. In a battle over plans to build a new ferry terminal in Penzance by in-filling a local beach and destroying a medieval pier in the process, many locals are outraged. The Town Council have voted against it twice, 1100 local letters of objection have been sent to planners (versus 800 of support), English Heritage have voted against it (also twice), and yet the County Council has given it the go-ahead. Madness. This is the murky world of politics and politicians in pursuit of power being steered by big business, who are the only ones who stand to gain by ruining the promenade, views and coastline. Sickening. Anyway, enough of the seedy workings of the underlife, a fresh crisp evening visit to one of many beauty spots served to clear the air..... And there I met another politician, of sorts. Out to sea, plainly visible from land, was Charles de Gaulle. Having a bath! C'est la vie! Return to Ocea...

Well, hello again ! Things have been afoot in the Ocean-Image house in the way of trips abroad, commssioned work and, as usual, surfing. The winter has been pretty kind to us, with plenty of swell hitting the Cornish shores. What's great about winter is that the swell gets big enough to light up some of the more secluded spots. This winter I've surfed several of the rarer breaks (which obviously I can't name) and, even after 25 years of surfing in the Penwith area, I managed to surf two amazing, peeling, barreling right hand reef breaks for the first time. It's not that I didn't know about them, it's just that they need a very particular swell direction, a certain (massive) size of swell, and a certain state of tide - not all always possible in the short dalyight hours. I was reminded of all this classic swell whilst surfing some lamentably small peelers this morning at a break called **** spot *** name***deleted***for***your***safety**** by artist and sculptor ...