11.30 a.m.: TIMO
“I’ve sailed Fraisthorpe quite a few times before. If there’s a good N/NW blowing, particularly in the summer, this spot normally produces some worthwhile conditions where everywhere else in the country is flat. Today was looking pretty good, if anything a bit too windy. I was going for my 4.2 Severne Blade to cope with the big gusts. A lot of the other crew had headed to Barmston, which would be bigger, but not such a good direction, we were looking at perfect cross-offshore, down-the-line, logo-high on the East coast – I think we made the right call!! The sailing was as good as any beach break in Cornwall. Peaky throwing lips the whole length of the beach, you could literally ride a wave for half a mile if you wanted to! The wave here is perfect for boosting aerials. The inside section’s super hollow – a play park for busting out the moves, I had a couple of sweet goiters and 360s, so I was already happy and we hadn’t even made it to Filey!”
2 p.m.: It’s actually quite tough work just walking back up the beach. Flying sand is burning my eyes as I stagger into this full-force gale. With the swell jacking up fast, we head back to the van to de-rig, fuel up on snacks and head to our next port of call. A quick stop at Barmston reveals slightly more side-shore conditions and bigger waves, but it looks like the guys have already scored the best of it and are packing up ready to head up to Filey. In hindsight maybe we should have checked this one last spot before sailing Fraisthorpe, but Timo and Hunty were gagging to get out on the water and the clock was ticking?