Wales

Surfing in Wales began in the early ‘60s, but it wasn’t until 1967 that it took off when Australian surf champion Keith Paul came to the Gower during a summer swell at Langland, ripping up the shorebreak in his silver baggies, while the locals gawked on in amazement. During the ‘60s, surfing was mainly confined to the beaches at Langland, Caswell and Llangennith. Heavy boards and the risk of damage to board and body (leashes only came into use in late 1972) meant the more inaccessible reefs and points were only surfed by the most hardcore. Keith Paul, Howard Davies and John Goss were the first to surf Crab Island and other pioneers include Viv Ganz, Dave Friar, Robin Hansen, Paul Connibear and Pete Jones. The Welsh Surf Federation formed in ’73. By the mid-‘70s most of the Gower reefs had been surfed and during the early ‘80s, Carwyn Williams, and Rob and Phil Poutney added a few ‘secret’ spots to the map. The South Pembrokeshire Surf Club has been running since then. Early board shaping outfits included Dave Smith’s backyard boards, which quickly grew into an old wool warehouse in Gwent. Employing both international staff and production methods that were crude yet creative, Dave and partner Tim Heyland went on to launch Tiki Surf and moved to North Devon. Real change came about when shortboards arrived in 1969, allowing pioneering board factories to get established, like Crab Island surfboards, spearheaded by technical-guru Pete Phillips. By the late ‘70s Crab Island boards were used by most of Wales’ top surfers. During this time Kiwi airbrusher and shaper Craig Hughes worked there. Hughes, who later founded Wave Graffiti surfboards, provided the catalyst needed to enhance the talents of young Langland surfer Carwyn Williams, who became Britain’s most successful competitive surfer of the ‘80s, becoming the first Welsh European Champion in ’83. By then locally made boards were able to match the imports from Newquay and abroad and surfing in Wales had come of age. The ‘90s weren’t so kind: Wave Graffiti went from boom to bust and Craig Hughes left to set up shop in Raglan, in his native New Zealand. Carwyn was making a name for himself on the international stage, taking out then current tour leader Damian Hardman in a historic contest in France, when his career was cut short by a horrific car accident, in Spain, that mangled his knee. Doctors told him it was unlikely he would walk again, let alone surf again. Pure Welsh pride and perspiration put him back in the water in a few years. A move to Seignosse in France saw Carwyn reborn, surfing big beachbreak tubes with Pagey, Elko and Maurice Cole for the cameras, further cementing his reputation as one of Europe’s greats.

Today From its humble beginnings on the Gower, surfing has rapidly spread around most of the Welsh coastline. While many spots don’t break that often, particularly in North and Mid-Wales, the stoke is high and many landlocked English surfers from Manchester, Shrewsbury, Birmingham, Bristol and London regularly make the trek to join their Welsh brethren and sample a few waves. Surf shops abound in many small coastal towns and surf schools are becoming more common. The Welsh university surf clubs are also strong, with Aberystwyth’s women’s team regularly winning the student nationals and Swansea’s men perennially duking it out with Plymouth. No star has shone as brightly as Carwyn in his day but Welsh surfers like Nathan Philips, Mark Vaughn, Lloyd Cole, Jem Evans, Dean Gough and Isaac Kibblewhite are making their presence felt and are regulars in the surf magazines. Nathan in particular, being one of the few UK pro’s to put in much time in Hawaii is now trying his luck on the professional WQS circuit. Carwyn still resides in France, is known worldwide as the ‘party manager’, being a seasonal landlord to the top WCT pro’s and he remains Wales’ most famous surfing export.