September means different things for everybody. For many it means the start of hard work as children return to school and school leaver’s head to college or embark on the start of a career. Parent’s return back to work and students prepare for another year of university frolics – albeit very hard and terribly academic!
For me it means something very different. September means the end of manic peak season and time to reflect on the season just past. For my team and I, it comes as a shock at how different two days can be. Friday the surf school is fully booked with everyone working two lessons and finishing late, Saturday arrives and the bookings book looks very different. A sense of relief is felt as well as an overwhelming feeling of sadness – where has the summer gone? Why didn’t we do this? The truth is, as we start to reflect on a the summer just gone, we are reminded of the reasons we were unable to do so much and how we whined and moaned about the lack of sunshine.
The last time I remember putting on a dry wetsuit and dusted the dry sand of the wrong side of my suit, rather than smacking a sopping wet pair of neoprene legs against the wall, seems so long ago now. It is soon apparent to us that we probably had our summer in June and early July rather than when we should have had our warmest months. As a direct result, not only have our wetsuits never dried out but the sea temperature seems to have remained around the 13 degrees Celsius mark all summer. Where as last September I recall cruising 1ft logging waves in board shorts or a shorty making the most of the warm water and late summer - we can all but hope!
This isn’t a rant though and to be honest many of us have benefited greatly from the poor weather. Surfers have obviously reaped the rewards of countless low pressures. The abundance of swell has been truly amazing if not too much at times ensuring closed beaches and dangerous conditions. As far as flat days, I have not had to cancel any lessons due to no waves with everyday producing enough to float small adults and children.
So here we are at the start of another chapter, the beaches are steadily becoming quieter, the line up is naturally less busy and if last year is anything to go by we may see a little more of the bright ball of fire that sometimes frequents or sky.
For me September is the best time of year. Having reflected of the summer and drawn both positives and negatives from the year all we can do is sit back and enjoy having our home back. Whether it be meeting some friends after school on the beach for a BBQ or heading straight to your local spot for an after work surf, we should be grateful that we even have that luxury as an option.
September can provide us with the spirit of summer while we all desperately cling to the hope that a late summer is on the cards.
Whatever happens please just enjoy our home and for those of us who are fortunate enough to be heading off to foreign shores, remember how lucky you are to be returning home to somewhere as beautiful as Cornwall.
