Credit: Jan Dopheide (jan_dopheide@hotmail.com)

Location: Thurso, Scotland

Equipment: Quiver carbon parabolic surfboard (Seaflex system)

Seabase team trip to Scotland

Having see the forecast for both Scotland & Newquay, there was a big decision to be made? either to stay at home for the last B.L.U contest of the year, which was going to be held in knee high onshore waves. Or head to Scotland for 5 days of dam near perfect waves on a Quiver board testing photo shoot!

I knew where i wanted to go, The troops were rounded up Tom Butler, Josh Huges, Mitch Corbett were the other test pilots for Harts new Quiver shortboard shapes. I was testing Neville's new longboard carbon rail parabolic shapes for quiver & couldn't wait to see how the boards would hold up in some heavy waves?
We all had a day to pack for an early start in the morning. Lucky my 3 brand new O'NEILL wetsuits had arrived the day before so i was going to be getting cold up there. After the dreaded 13 hour drive, pretty much lands end to john o groats. We arrived in the early hours of the morning to the sound of thumping waves on the rocks!

Bag pipes was on! we were treated to 3 days of bagpipes. Its a really intimidating place 3-4 foot waves unloading on to pretty much dry rock? No other longboarders had surfed baggies yet, so I had to step up to the challenge and see how strong these carbon railed mals really were?
I had a hand full of session on the board had some really good barrels & it came out in one piece!
which i think says a lot for the boards as its the heaviest wave i have ever surfed.

On the last day we scored Thurso (Neville's local break) the best waves I have ever seen in the U.K. It was 4 feet with solid 8 footers coming through occasionally. I had some of the best barrels of my life so far on the quiver carbon railed board and the best thing about that trip was that i came back with that board in one piece which makes a change.

Start of European Longboard Tour (ETL)

The summer season was coming to an end & the contest season is just getting started up.

I was off to France to compete in the first leg of the European tour. I had just bought a new van a few day's before I was due to set sail with the great crew from Brittany Ferries. So on the last day it was last minute as usual with only a few hours till the ferry was sailing, I was still making the bed in the back of the van, Gareth was sign writing the van with quiver & seabase.

We got it finished piled all my boards in the van, grabbed my girlfriend & made a mad dash for the ferry port, We got there in the nick of time.

When we arrived in France the surf was massive & pretty much unsurfable along the hole stretch of coast. Two days later the wind had stoped and the contest was about to start in fun looking waves. My first few heats went to plan clocking up a bit of tube time and really enjoying surfing my boards in decent waves. I made it through to the quarter finals where my luck soon changed the wind had picked up & I ended up finishing 9th. I was disappointed with that result & can only hope that i take out the next three contests in November. For a finish within the top 4 on the tour at the end of the season.

I would like to say a big thanks to Brittany ferries for being so helpful & to all my other sponsors as well, Seabase, Quiver, O'neill & Rocky Point