True descendants from Arthur's Round Table!
Kai Lenny eat your heart out. Yesterday, as the cold mists hovered around Albion, some brave English surfers, direct descendants of Arthur’s Round Table, strapped on their helmets, readied their steeds and headed out to do battle. Their foe, a monster that had risen from the deep. A mutant that hadn’t been seen in those parts for years. Its name was Cribbar but it was called”The Widow Maker” and greatly feared by all.
By all except some brave English surfers. True knights like Sir DrunkenAngel of Tintagel and Sir Jeff of East Sussex and let’s turn to the broadsheet Corwall Live for more.
A big wave surfer has spoken of the ultimate thrill in tackling monster waves at the world-famous Cribbar break off the coast of Newquay .
On Friday hundreds of spectators gathered on the headland to watch fearless surfers tackle the huge break .
Also known as the Widow Maker, the Cribbar is created by a reef off Towan Head and has gained a worldwide reputation as one of the few major big wave spots in UK waters.
The rare phenomenon happens just a few times a year when the weather and tides come together to create massive and spectacular waves in excess of twenty feet high.
The Cribbar appeared thanks to a combination of light, offshore winds, and a westerly swell.
Due to the size and speed of the wave surfers are either towed into it by a jet-ski or use motorised ‘jet surf’ boards.
The boards weigh a mere 15 kg and are extremely nimble and responsive with the straps and footpads made of specialised memory foam to connect the riders to the boards.
One of those in the water on Friday was big wave surfer Jeff Scott who travelled all the way down from East Sussex to try his luck.
Jeff had only recently returned from surfing Nazaré in Portugal, the home of the largest waves ever surfed, when he heard the news that the Cribbar was set to go off.
Speaking to Cornwall Live, Jeff said: “I’m aching from head to toe and feel like I’ve been hit by a train or three.
“I’ve been wanting to ride the Cribbar for a long time. I’ve been wind surfing in Cornwall for 10 years and always wondered how I’d tackle it.
“It’s the ultimate in big wave surfing in the UK and I woke up to a text on Thursday morning saying that it’s a go. For 18 months I’ve been keeping an eye on both Nazaré and the Cribbar and now I’ve surfed them both within a few weeks. It’s been epic.”
Jeff, 40, described how he arrived in Cornwall at around 5pm on Thursday and even managed a 45 minute ‘warm-up’ session on the jet surf at Godrevy before nightfall.
He added: “The jet surf uses the speed of the board and the power of the wave and gives what are usually unwanted waves a home. It’s quiet but capable of getting up to speeds of 35 miles-per-hour and can get you out of trouble if a wave is closing out around you.
“I’m not getting any younger so my big wave clock is ticking and the jet surf was a way of helping me get those waves. They’re expensive and not to everyone’s tastes.”
Motorized steeds that weigh a mere 15 kg, are extremely nimble and responsive with straps and footpads made of specialised memory foam.
Eat your whole damn heart right out Kai Lenny.
