So pleased to announce our new shark 🦈 rehabilitation program at The Wave. Specifically for sharks that have been injured or have had historical anger issues.
Interestingly we have noticed that surfers don’t fall off so much since their introduction… so it’s win win.
#surfing #rehab #sharks
Friday night at The Wave.
Longboarders rolled in like we always do - boards under arms, smiles already wide, that easy hum of people who’ve found their tribe.
Glassy lines. Long rides. Laughter echoing across the lake.
There’s something about watching a community come together around a shared love of water. No one performing. No one proving anything. Just people, having fun, in the place they’ve chosen to be.
This is what we built it for.
🔵
#BlueHealth #TheWave #Longboarding #Community #Surf
If you are sitting with a dream right now and doubt is louder than belief, know this: that feeling is not a signal to stop. It is the price of doing something that matters.
Keep going.
We are coming to Cornwall...!
Super excited to announce that we will be running an event in Abby’s home county in May. The wonderful @falmouthbookseller is hosting an evening with us to mark the publication of Do Blue. We will be chatting with fellow Cornish Do Books author - the brilliant Gail Muller (@thegailmuller ) - about all things ‘blue’ and why being in or near water is so profoundly good for us. Limited numbers so do book to avoid disappointment.
Where: Above the Bookshop, Falmouth, TR11 3EG
When: Doors Open at 6:00PM - starts at 6:30PM
Cost:
£5 - includes a drink
£15 - includes a drink and a copy of Do Blue (RRP £11.99)
Event Details in bio…
@thewave has to be one of the biggest stories in surfing, but we don’t always hear about all of the voices behind the scenes that made this pipe dream a reality - Abby @abbycornwall is one of those voices.
Abby is now Head of Impact and Communications, but she worked alongside @wavemakernick from the start to develop the concept, build the story for investment and make it a success.
One of these successes has been the Sister Sessions they run for women, holding space for women to embrace the sport and build community.
Abby is next weeks podcast guest and it’s a good one! Make sure you sign up to the substack or subscribe on your favourite podcast platform so you don’t miss it x
#surfing #surfinglife #surfingwomen #podcast #thewave
Grateful 🙏🏼
For everyone who came,
everyone who wanted to be there.
Our book,
It’s our manifesto.
A thanks to water and everything it brings…
We have taken a vision, and DONE something about it with people who care.
Come find out more at our events and bring a curious mind….
Amazing to have our launch event @thewave which means so much to us both 💙
Amazing photos from @tomgphoto who has captured every moment of The Wave adventure from the start xxx
PROJECT GIVES YOU WINGS
After 15 years of building artificial waves, I have been quietly working on something that could change big wave surfing forever.
Introducing Gull-In Surfing.
The concept is simple.
Instead of a jet ski towing you into waves too big to paddle, we use a team of trained herring gulls.
Six birds.
One harness.
Zero emissions.
We have been running trials off the North Devon coast for the past 18 months with a flock.
Each bird generates roughly 4.2 newtons of lift.
Combined with a tailwind and the right swell direction, that is enough to get a surfer into a 30-foot face.
The benefits are significant.
No fuel.
No engine noise disturbing marine life.
And the gulls actually seem to enjoy it.
Our marine biologist says their cortisol levels drop during tow sessions.
Turns out they like having a purpose.
There are challenges.
Chip shop proximity affects reliability.
And we lost three days of testing in Croyde when the birds got distracted by a fishing boat.
But the data is promising.
We are calling it Project Wingspan and we will be publishing the full white paper next month.
The ocean has always had the answers. Sometimes you just need to look up…
#givesyouwings #BigWaveSurfing
A bit about me…
Started in healthcare for 18 years trying to understand how bodies heal.
Ended up building a slice of ocean in the middle of Bristol called @thewave
In between:
230 investor pitches.
Raised £30million.
Had a big stroke in 2020
Starting again from scratch.
Water changes people.
Not metaphorically.
Biologically.
The research calls it blue health.
I just call it what I’ve watched happen, over and over, when people get near the ocean.
Now I’m building @oneblue.world with amazing people,
to create communities designed around that idea.
And we have just written a book about it with @abbycornwall , called Do Blue.
This account is where I share what I’m learning.
The hard-won bits, mostly.
Welcome 🌊 🤙🏼
I watched Dirty Business last night with the kids. Chilling and compelling.
Rivers turning brown.
Beaches contaminated.
A child dead after a family holiday.
And still the statements say,
“Everything is within limits.”
Since privatisation under Margaret Thatcher, we’ve treated water like a dividend.
But water is not a product.
It is life.
We talk about Blue Health.
About how water heals us.
What happens when the source is poisoned?
If we poison the ocean,
we poison ourselves.
This has to change.
Well done to all involved in this exposing documentary. Especially @surfersagainstsewage@chrishinessurfs@andyhughesphotog@gabedavies and all the crew campaigning for change…
