Portugal Or Bust

Prologue

In January 2005 I received an e-mail from Peter Griffey who live's in Northam nr bideford N Devon. He was searching for plans to build a hollow wooden surfboard, and came across this site. The plans were originaly published in Boys own Mag, these were used by Paul Knowles to build his hollow wooden board from Marine Ply around 1966-67 before they could get new fibre glass boards from board makers in the West country. Paul's board was burnt at a beach party as a sacrifice for surf at the end of a summer flat spell, the next day was big Sunday but thats another story.

Here are some words from Peter Griffey

A gang of us followed similar paths to your mates. We headed down west coast of France in bedford CF ending up at La Barre Aug 67. Inspired by that article in surfer mag about the Boys from jersey in their rover 10.

We made our wooden boards in1965, I took one of them in the water in july with no wax , it was like a bar of soap!  I got some Parafin wax that day from the Chemist, I found it was a bit soft in the summer sun, so used to melt together with coffin wax my dad used in the undertaking business. Brilliant grip! The original design was 8ft I think. We made them 9ft 6in with a little alteration. I have still got one in the garage. I rember that article about the rover10 because we had (have) a 1938 austin 12 and planed to take it to Biarritz. But bottled out, So took the CF. Another inspiration was the March edition of surfer 1966 Amazing we thought La Barre looked unbelievable in the pictures ( and the girl on the cover).   Never saw it work in 67 did'nt know when to look, that was the problem. I did get to surf there in 1970 before they built the other breakwater.

Its a nice story two groups of mates on opposite sides of the country whose stories are mirrored -  both inspired by the same dreams. Some Pictures attatched  Picture 4 is the boys own board.

Pictures LtoR. Surf Wagon 1966 with Murph the surf stickers on front wings. Press cutting 1967. Chambre d'Amour 67 with yanks. Home made wooden board. Sid Gorrell in window Biarritz surf club

The Story in Surfer mag that inspired the two groups of friends from opposite ends of the country to set of and find the waves of France, Spain and Portugal. Click Thumbnails to see larger copy.

The following is the story of the Kent surfers trip to Spain and Portugal in 1969 by Paul Knowles (first printed in surfs up 1991).

Perhaps the most outstanding and far reaching event that changed our whole outlook was the trips to North Spain and Portugal. 

In August 1968 Ian Stevenson, Tim Keenan and a few friends set out for the Atlantic coast of France and Spain in search of sun and surf.  The rest wanted sun heading for the Med leaving Ian to travel on his own in his mini with just his board, a towel and a few clothes for Northern Spain.  Heading along the coast via Bilbao to Santander, Ian met one of two surfers during his short time along the coast, heading home 3 weeks later to tell the rest of us about marvellous surf and deserted bays. 

A year later 12 members of the newly-formed East Kent Surf Club set off in a hired Commer van with 10 longboards, tents, sleeping bags, food, wet suits and clothes for a momentous 3-week trip via Southern France, Portugal and Northern Spain.  After a day and night driving from Calais we camped at La Barre, surfing 4 foot beach break, then going onto Grand Plage at Biarritz.

Finding the area too expensive and upmarket and also not seeing any other surfers, we headed off for Southern Portugal via the Pyrenees through the western-like terrain of Central Spain.  Can you imagine going through sleepy Spanish villages in a van loaded with surfboards, 12 guys dressed in baggies and T-shirts - the locals had never seen anything like it!  They all gathered round whenever we stopped.  The best stop of all was after 14 hours' driving at 2am in the morning - we found a cantena open with an old guy running it.  He served us black coffee - I can still smell it now - did it taste good!  Getting into Portugal was still a hit or miss affair. It was still a dictatorship.  we had heard of groups from the UK being turned away, body searched and long hair cut on the border.  No problem, through and south for Lisbon.  Sometimes the roads disappeared onto rough tracks with oil drums as guides and then back onto perfect roads again.  We arrived in Lisbon around dawn heading west towards the Atlantic coast.  The sun was coming up.  At last we saw the ocean and there was a cheer as the first signs of a swell could be seen.  We were heading for "Guincho" a sort of mexican bandit name, our first surfing beach.  We had seen photographs in Surfer magazine about 4 UK surfers who "blazed a trial" in 1967 in an old black Rover car.  That photo "the locked in house" on the beach near "Guincho" with huge waves about to engulf the house was our goal. 

The house turned out to be a restaurant where we had a magnificent fish stew served up by the old lady who ran it.  We were her only customers that evening.  With wine and food it set us up after our long journey.  At last from the cold north sea we were paddling out in clear blue sea and perfect 4 to 6 foot swell with a blazing hot sun.  We had had little or no sleep for 24 hours, but the boards were off, waxed and out, no wet suit or leash.  God, the sea felt cold, but the air was warm.  These waves are big - "I mean the power in them".  10 guys paddled out hooting and yelling.  that was 22 years ago - it seems like yesterday. 

We met 3 other English surfers who were travelling down the coast as were were going up.  "Try Penich", they said, "peeling waves and super tubes".  Driving up the coast after a night in the Lisbon bars that some of us would not like to remember, we found Peniche and perfect waves about 3 to 4 foot.  It was easy - paddle out, catch a wave and back - all day long.  No other surfers in sight.  Just the East Kent mob - it was our beach for as long as we wanted.

We reluctantly headed north to Spain in search of those beaches Ian had found the year before (1968).  We headed north to the Atlantic coast of Spain via Oporto, La Corona to Santander, searching out the bays as we went.  We didn't find the surfers Ian had met a year previously in Santander.  Checking the coast further along we found Salinas a perfect spot with point surf.  We camped on a small headland overlooking the beach as the waves wrapped round in perfect lines from 2 to 4 feet.

The next day the one and only local surfer came to meet us with some friends and one board between them.  They spoke no English and we spoke no Spanish.  That evening we had a party round a camp fire singing Beach Boys songs, united in a common language of surf music.  Singing Surfin' USA with Spanish guitar backing is something else!

Over the next few days we enjoyed perfect surf, glassy waves all day and parties in the evenings with the locals.  One evening  we went to a bar in a nearby village where some sort of local festival was going on with dancing and drinking in the streets.  A guy jumped trough the window with a deer's horn full of red wine.  "English Surfers", he toasted us and passed the horn round.  What a night!  The next day we packed up and left.  We never saw our new Spanish surfing friends again.  Of one thing I'm certain, Northern Spain would never be the same again.  Somehow we all knew it was the end of an era.  Longboards, like the sixties were coming to an end, commercialisation was on the way and new horizons for us all.

The 12 guys were to split up after the trip, soon to start new careers, get married and have families.  Many local Thanet surfers moved permanently to North Devon, others to the USA, Australia and New Zealand.

The Trail Blazers had made their first impact - those long, distant, empty waves were all but a memory and a thing of the past.  Some were to give up surfing, others continued, and although we didn't know it then, a destiny for some of us to meet again and surf the ocean together once more- but that's another story.  To continue - "One Last Wave"- next time.

Take a look at the photo archive of the original kent surfers. To see some photo's of that trip.

p.s I received this picture in september 2004 from David Vidal who is in La Coruna north Spain, he has been visiting the site, and was reading about the 1969 trip to Portugal and Spain, where the Kent surfers visited La Coruna and Salinas thought we like to see a picture of how it is nowadays. Things have obviously changed a bit as there didn't appear to be any local people surfing there then.