Numb

Left or Right?

2011-02-14T22:08:00.001-08:00

New Site

2010-12-12T08:46:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lack of activity, I have a brand spanking new website coming along which includes spreads of the book and a new blog, it will be up and running shortly.

Behind the scenes - Cold Thoughts

2010-11-14T09:31:00.000-08:00

Been on a whole heap of trips with Timmy Turner now whilst he has been filming his new movie Cold Thoughts. The movie will be out next year, gonna post some behind the scenes stuff as we go through the next few months. Starting here with a few classic shots of Tim filming on the last trip in Canada.

The Anabatic

2010-11-13T04:59:00.001-08:00

I've been an ambassador for Finisterre for about a year now, prior to that a product tester. The crew in St Agnes have sorted me out for gear for a few years now, so when I was doing an interview with a newspaper last week and we were talking gear for wilderness expeditions they naturally came into the conversation, so I thought I'd share my thoughts on the gear on here.
This is The Anabatic, a super lightweight waterproof jacket. I used it for the first time on my last trip to Canada, a trip that saw us living in the wilderness for three weeks, fellow ambassador Ian living in the wilderness for almost 2 months. It rained every day pretty much, we are were the elements all day, every day and on top of this I am doing my job so have to keep comfortable. I always wear it over all the other finisterre layers (more on those later), bottom line is though it is totally waterproof, lightweight and comfortable. The hood allows you to have a beanie or another hood up underneath it, I even use it to slip my camera into when it's pissing down with rain. It's gear liek this that makes it possible to do a proper job.

Cold Water Souls

2010-11-07T12:38:00.000-08:00

Amped, just seen Chris Nelson's new book Cold Water Souls, found out I got the cover of Batty surfing in front of a glacial outflow stream in Iceland. Loads of other good gear inside, fascinating book about the guys who have grown up in the coldest areas of the planet surfing from Japan to Canada to Yorkshire to Nova Scotia. Also just done a mental interview for a national paper about NUMB, will post it up, didn't realise exactly how feral I was, apparently sleeping on the streets in the middle of winter in Iceland isn't normal? Classic....

The making of part 1

2010-10-09T14:20:00.000-07:00

The final photo pick is done and dusted, so whilst the book is finished off and printed I'll post up a few behind the scenes style shots which didn't make the cut. This one is Ian Battrick by the fire and US photog Chris Burkard with the head torch getting excited as the Aurora Borealis kicks off in Iceland.

Road to Somewhere

2010-10-09T13:14:00.001-07:00

Trees

2010-10-08T08:46:00.001-07:00

One Moment

2010-10-01T21:47:00.000-07:00

Shot a bunch of heavy waves in Canada, but it was one little three foot day which turned out to throw up a couple of golden moments.

Life Changer

2010-09-30T20:48:00.000-07:00

Two weeks with no contact, hurricane force winds, swell from 2 to 15 feet, bear problems, rain, salmon, hell pits and a total disregard for personal safety and hygiene make you realise exactly why life is so good. I'll post some more as I travel home, here's a teaser.

New Assignment

2010-09-12T23:52:00.001-07:00

Pretty amped, got a couple of days before I fly out on what is pretty much a dream assignment. Been packing up all my gear for the trip and had an e-mail from a couple of people wanting to know what exactly I use. This shoot involves shooting for four different companies in pretty hostile conditions, so due to the remoteness I have to take everything I may need photographically, so here it is -

Nikon D3s (I am borrowing this, alas I do not own one)
Nikon D300 for water stuff
Nikon D90 as a little backup should the shit hit the fan.
Nikon FE for film stuff
Nikon 801 for film stuff
Bronica medium format and 85mm lens for film stuff
All lenses are Nikon (I do not use zooms) -
300mm f4
10.5mm f2.8
50mm f.1.8
85mm f1.8
20mm f2.8
105mm f2.8
1.4x converter
20 rolls of black and white film
10 rolls colour film
1 SPL water housing
Pair of fins
Wetsuit
Beaten up Apple Laptop
A shit load of batteries, memory cards and chargers.
That pretty much uses up all of my luggage allowance.

Random shot for the weekend

2010-09-12T08:58:00.000-07:00

Egor

Surf

2010-09-06T14:08:00.001-07:00

Finally some waves in the county of Cornwall, sure it wasn't epic world class pits but it was fun all the same.

So Flat

2010-08-28T07:31:00.000-07:00

It's been one of the worst summers ever here in Cornwall, nothing more than wind slop to ride for weeks. Fortunately escaping to Indo was the only relief, it has meant I can get on to nail the book project and the final stages of tweaking design is closing. I'll post some fresh spreads soon, meanwhile here's a bunch of shots from Indo to feast on.

Saving Iceland Part 2

2010-08-12T23:27:00.000-07:00

It may only be a surf spot, but this wave continues to be under threat from a new Aluminium plant. Few of us may ever surf this wave, other than the local crew due to the cold, but it is still a classy break and the loss of any natural resource like this should be fought against wherever it is. Iceland as a whole is one of the last areas of wilderness in Europe, parts of this wilderness are being industrialised mostly by the Aluminium industry feeding off the cheap natural power available there. But the planet is loosing an incredible landscape and environment as a result. If you're interested in any way check out www.savingiceland.org to find out more.

Update

2010-08-02T22:31:00.000-07:00

So it's the middle of the summer here, a strange time to be editing a book about the cold wastelands of surfing. The book is coming along nicely though and will be releases early in the autumn, stay tuned for tour dates and exhibitions.

Indo Film

2010-07-24T13:20:00.000-07:00

Shot a few rolls of film on a camera that friend and photographer Greg Martin picked up at a car boot sale for £1, it has no manual controls and over exposes but a couple kind of came out.

Thunderhead

2010-07-04T06:53:00.000-07:00

Sorry been off the radar scoring some epic warm waves in Indo, holy crap that country is insane, I forgot how good it is. Anyway, more shots of wave to come soon, meanwhile here's a large thunderstorm.

Angles

2010-06-03T12:54:00.001-07:00

Couple of different angles from Scotland.

Spreads on the kitchen floor

2010-06-02T14:26:00.000-07:00

Here is a first glimpse at some spreads from the book, no words or captions yet and they are about 1/5 the final size, oh and excuse the horrific carpet. Will post some more up as and when, just to tease.

How good are noodles?

2010-05-27T06:39:00.000-07:00

Portable, cheap, quick to cook, warming, great dry, not that nutritious and full of MSG sure, but everything has a small downside.

Sleeping Rough

2010-05-26T03:13:00.000-07:00

Timmy Turner and Ian, sleeping under a truck, 3 miles from an erupting volcano.

Inner Visions

2010-05-24T23:24:00.001-07:00

Flat Plan

2010-05-23T09:48:00.000-07:00

So after four years it comes down to two sheets of paper, the final flat plan, after this everything is set in stone, no changes, maybe a little tweak here or there, but essentially by the end of this evening 160 odd pages will be nailed. I'll post some spreads up soon and a few anecdotes to wet the appetite, but we're in the final straight.

North Cornish Roots

2010-05-23T03:42:00.000-07:00

So we're almost done, been shooting some final shots for the homeland section of the book. Been spending some time with Joss Ash, he hasn't been on any cold water missions but he's been a friend since the beginning. He's probably the first guy I started shooting with in the wilds of North Cornwall, he's a bit more sensible though preferring Indo over Iceland, but he just loves the Bude area. Here's some shots of his idyllic little chalet and we had a little session on his local point too.

Ash Keeps Falling

2010-05-09T09:29:00.000-07:00

With the Icelandic volcano stepping it up a notch again I've had a tonne of e-mails wanting pictures. Turns out we were first on the scene as the new crater opened up and have a bunch of shots of interest. Thanks to everyone who has e-mailed me wanting to see more more here too, here's some extra shots. From the top; this is filling up with petrol in a town called Vik, also location of some good surf, the town is currently under about 15cm to one foot of ash, it was just starting to fall when we took this. The second two are of the ash falls around the farmsteads in front of the Volcano, this is fields of grazing land and crops ruined, the ash doesn't wash away too easily tending to turn to sludge. Of course it is highly fertile in some cases but initially a nightmare for farmers. The final one is what happens in the ash cloud, this wasn't as dense as it could be, if you enter a really dense one you're advised to stop before and put a sock over your cars air filter!

The Heaviest Wave

2010-05-06T12:54:00.000-07:00

Iceland was pretty serious with a volcano going off and the harsh weather, but we had a few lighter moments. This 'berg was just a perfect eight foot wave, so naturally Timmy had to pull in.

Last Blast

2010-05-03T13:41:00.000-07:00

Just got back from Iceland, an epic trip with friends Timmy Turner and Ian Battrick, was a blast, literally, as we got to get up close with the volcanic activity up there. Wave wise, average, adventure wise, off the scale, as we burnt the map and got to see some amazing sights in the quest for surf. The book has been a labor of love, it's almost finished, I'll post up a few sample spreads and then it will be available to buy shortly. In the men time I'll put some extracts of the classic stories from along the way.

Cold Nights

2010-04-30T02:58:00.000-07:00

Been a couple of pretty tough days. Hiking into wind ravaged beach breaks, sleeping under trucks because it was raining too heavy to pitch our tests, to actually scoring a couple of waves. Timmy Turner finally got here, via Glasgow, thanks to the volcano. Been living as basic as we can, melting water straight from icebergs for our coffee and oats. Been pretty mind blowing camping in front of the biggest ice sheet in Europe though, under clear skies, with not another soul around for miles.

Volcanicity

2010-04-28T14:01:00.001-07:00

Took about 66 hours of flight diversions, coach rides and washed away roads to get to this spot. We wanted to do one last trip to Iceland to complete the book, score some new waves and then all hell broke loose. I've always wanted to see a live Volcano and this was too good an opportunity to miss. The balaclava was essential, one it was cold and two we kept getting showered in ash and debris. Timmy Turner joins us tonight and we are off on one last mission to score some virgin surf.

24 Hours

2010-04-23T15:46:00.000-07:00

So it's now been 24 hours, 24 long hours in Gatwick airport. The island I am flying to is ash bound, it seems there may be some hope on the horizon though.My destination actually has three international airports for an area roughly the size of Britain. One of the in the north looks as though it will be open tomorrow and we have been reliably informed that we will be going. Here's hoping as there is a lot of swell on the way and it would be a shame to see it all go to waste.

Long Time

2010-04-21T14:22:00.000-07:00

Been off the radar for reasons beyond my control. Now it's back to reality, the book is close to completion and tomorrow I'm off for a week for the very last mission before it's a wrap. So ash permitting, I have a date with an active volcano and hopefully a pretty solid swell, will update as regularly as I can.

Doldrums

2010-04-01T08:29:00.001-07:00

Been working hard, setting up the final trip for Numb as the book is almost finished. In the meantime here's a random lomo of Fistral.

Random Pit

2010-03-11T12:45:00.000-08:00

Just sifting through some shots, finishing off the Canada chapter, found this little undercover gem of Tofino next generation ripper Noah Cohen. It's at a river mouth that is remote, so wild and very bear ridden, not to mention heavy, oh and miles from medical help, nice one Noah.

Stacking It

2010-03-11T12:19:00.001-08:00

Just put the latest issue of Wavelength to print and I am outta here asap, somewhere cold and hopefully not too dark. Plan is to keep this rolling from the road, in the meantime here is a shot of Mark 'Egor' Harris stacking it.

Finisterre

2010-03-09T08:09:00.000-08:00

Almost from the beginning of cold water exploration I've been fortunate enough to have Finisterre gear on my back to keep me warm. Standing on the beach on a shoot in Iceland four years ago, a biting offshore blowing straight off Europe's biggest Ice sheet, I was was pretty grateful for the Merino base layers. Since then the boys have put up with me coming into their office with crazy ideas, they've shared a few of their own and have made sure I've kept warm as I've gone to progressively more testing environments. So a couple of weeks ago I was understandably stoked when they decided to ad me to their list of Ambassadors, joining big wave madman Carlos Burle, fellow lens man Al Mackinnon and friend and surfer Ian Battrick. It's an awesome group of creative people to be involved with and it's even more awesome to have their gear on my back to keep me warm. Cheers guys. And the shot, that's Battrick, looking in instead of out of the barrel

A Random Mole

2010-03-09T06:34:00.000-08:00

So flat this morning and so cold, so here is a little random fisheye of Mole Joel, one of Porthleven's finest surfers.

Van Life

2010-03-08T12:18:00.000-08:00

What is it about surfers and vans? There is nothing better than living out of a cramped home from home, rammed full of wetsuits, boards and some stinking clothes, whilst being on the road for a few weeks, or months. Here's a couple from the road, two legendary Transits and a Land Rover, VDubs are all well and good but the mighty Ford Transit is where it's really at.

Dawn Patrol

2010-03-07T01:40:00.000-08:00

So cold this morning, got up before first light with the hope of shooting or surfing some little waves. Ended up surfing, a fun little left, groomed by a freezing offshore, the beach crunchy with frost, not for the first time this year. Looks like another week of waves ahead, will this never end? Viva El Nino I say and a low slung jet stream.

Analog excitement

2010-03-06T05:53:00.000-08:00

I'd forgotten how good it was to get film back, the frenzied ripping apart of a do not bend package to reveal some rich images fixed with nasty chemicals. Sure there is no instant gratification, no "check this shot out" down the beach, but it is more than made up for. Here's a couple of samples from Porthleven village during the recent bombardment of swell.

Eastern Promise

2010-03-05T02:26:00.000-08:00

It's been a blast being a surfer in the south west of England lately, but it hasn't just been a left coast winter, the right has had its moments. Take this little wedgie number, yeah sure it isn't as classy as some of the waves up there but it is fun, hard to get to, reassuringly frigid and rarely ridden.

A Good Winter

2010-03-04T13:12:00.000-08:00

It's official, it's been the coldest winter here for four decades, swell patterns have been whack, or is that back to normal? Whatever there has been no shortage of waves or exploration. Into the final straight on the book front, will blog daily from here 'till print day. Got a couple of little excursions planned, got a bunch of film coming back, will post as it all happens.

Our Digital World

2010-03-03T00:34:00.000-08:00

So I spent two weeks shooting three swells with four different cameras and four different sorts of film, then I find out my trusty photo lab back up on the east coast don't process film anymore. The end of analog draws a little closer by the day. So where I was hoping to post up some rich images from the latest leg of Numb, I'm afraid I have nothing yet. In the meantime here is a shot from 'Levie the last time it was any good in 2006, when all you could do was shoot film.

Film

2010-02-23T11:43:00.000-08:00

Been a bit slow on here of late for a couple of reasons; One reason is we've been on full tilt photo editing and stuff, but more importantly the surf has been pumping down here in Cornwall. For the first time in years the jet stream has slipped way south and combined with some sweet northerly offshores places like Porthleven have been off the dial. So why no shots? Well to mix things up a bit I've pulled out a few old medium format cameras and a panoramic to get some fresh views. Thus all the film is at the developers, as soon as it comes back I'll whack some up on line. In the meantime here's one from the archive, Toby Atkins in North Cornwall.

Thomas 'Jonkette' Joncour

2010-02-15T13:15:00.000-08:00

It's rare to find a totally classic Frenchman, but Jonkette is a contender. The guy is from the Gallic kingdom of Brittany, has a pretty mental sense of humour and surfs better than most folk I know. I've run into him a lot down in France, the guy works for brand Kana Beach, but it was his classic moves up in Soctland which lands him on the Numb radar. Few people had taken apart Thurso East like he did prior to the 'QS rolling into town.

Cold Swell

2010-02-10T04:57:00.000-08:00

So the south west of the UK and Ireland have been pumping. My neck of the woods in Cornwall rarely gets amazing, but there have been a few pits knocking around for the keen. What's been most special is the run of frigid north east winds, that means one thing, Porthleven, not a world class wave by any means, but worth a paddle.

Folk from the road - Raph Bruhwiler

2010-02-04T08:20:00.000-08:00

Raph is born and bred on Vancouver Island, he was one of Canada’s first surfing pros, in fact it’s fair to say he is one of the pioneers of the west coast surf scene. He’s been especially involved with searching out new spots, without him taking us under his wing the Canadian leg of the whole mission would have been fruitless. He’s a full on all rounder; lumberjack, boatman, survival specialist and surfer, essential for what was without doubt the sketchiest missions we’ve been on. An absolute classic he would always bring a chainsaw on a trip and fresh salmon for post surf sushi as well as a trusty back woods quiver.

Dark Room

2010-01-25T12:44:00.000-08:00

Just emerged from a very dark room and a real dark room, photo editing for the final design of the book. It's pretty mad seeing four years of trips and adventures all hanging on a huge wall or sitting on a light box. What it means is the book is being laid out right now, pretty mental seeing it come together, will post a couple of spreads as it rolls. Also had so many mental tales arrive on e-mail from everyone I've bumped into over the last few years. Interviews with environmentalists, anecdotes from surfers and just general tales from the road. All will be glued together and spat out in the next month or so. I'll come back with the news of the gallery tour too, sorting it out right now. Will keep you posted along with more shots from the road.

Lips

2010-01-22T12:37:00.000-08:00

Snowy Pits

2010-01-17T12:09:00.001-08:00

Folk from the road - Micah Lester

2010-01-06T12:01:00.000-08:00

Micah hails from the Goldcoast in Oz, somehow, due to being born in the UK, the talented natural footer has ended up spending more and more time on this side of the world. He was almost on the first trip we did for this project to Iceland, he missed out due to major sponsorship woes, he made it onto the last one and his enthusiasm for travel and ability to destroy any sort of waves made him an excellant addition to the whole scheme.

It's Cold Here

2010-01-06T11:51:00.001-08:00

Mid winter Iceland

2009-12-21T23:39:00.001-08:00

What can I say? I love Iceland, the wildness coupled with surf, with a splash of culture in Reykjavik makes it a classic place. This trip was short, shooting receding glaciers, a little four foot swell and surviving wind chill of -20, the boys were still surfing though. Here's a single shot of sunset on the Reykjanes Peninsula, 2.30 pm, -6.

On The Road

2009-12-13T10:20:00.001-08:00

Been driving for what seems like forever over the last four weeks. From the very northern most reaches of the British Isles to the slightly warmer climate of the continent, here are a few glimpses from the journey. Off to Iceland on Wednesday for a cold mid winters exploration, temps not getting over -6, will I keep up the record of only camping?

A few waves from recently

2009-11-15T22:08:00.000-08:00

North Cornwall

2009-10-29T01:02:00.000-07:00

When this project started some five or six years ago Bude was the center of operations. I started shooting with Ash boys and the rest of the crew up there from the word go. Been back up there a bit recently in between missions overseas, not alot changes, it's not the best waves in the world but the scenery and general vibe males it a special place. Reubyn Ash, one of the local standouts getting some air under his fins.

Folk from the road - Chris Clarke

2009-10-22T14:32:00.000-07:00

Best thing about roaming around the cold bits of Europe is who you bump into. Chris Clarke lives in Castletown, about six miles east of Thurso, he loves getting pitted, the solitude of the empty slabs of northern Scotland and getting pitted, did I mention that already? Chris is a sparkie by trade and a bit of a handy man, this board was shaped on his kitchen table with fins slung back from better tube riding, classic.

Waiting

2009-10-22T12:58:00.000-07:00

Waiting for a couple of waves at the moment, you wait all summer for some storms and they just don't turn up where you want them too! Meanwhile had to move office for the day job at Wavelength mag so been restricted on travel. We had a little swell in Cornwall which failed as always to live up to the hype. Here's a couple of a little reef, that's Micah Lester about to snap his board and a windy little line up. Here's hoping for a shift in the pattern,and the final chapter will be finished.

Losing the fridge

2009-09-19T12:51:00.000-07:00

First trip to Iceland was three years ago, since then the glacier from which this giant ice cube fell off has retreated by over half a kilometer. Even the most retarded of anti climate changer can see this is a problem. Time to wake up and think about this sort of thing, it's happening and it's going to bite us in the arse sooner or later. Having said that the ice bergs make for pretty pictures, here's Micah, slightly scarred of how fast this one was melting and the creaking noises.

lost in ice

2009-09-13T02:50:00.000-07:00

Just got back from an epic adventure in Iceland scoping out a new stretch of coastline. I had intended to update every day but a combination of computer packing up and i-phone not working led to a communication black hole. It was all good though, we endured some truly terrible weather, found some new waves and generally felt alive again in what has to be one of the most radical places on the planet. Here's a couple of random shots to be going on with, more tales to follow.

Cold Water

2009-08-25T15:21:00.000-07:00

About to leave on a cold water trip, get this autumn revved up, but in the meantime here is traveling companion Micah Lester in a little barrel in quaint little Cornwall.

Welcome Winter

2009-08-21T07:23:00.000-07:00

Summer is finally done, hardly taken a shot for two months, but the chart is stiring and it's time to do one. In the meantime here's a shot of John John Florence form Fistral, crappy, crappy Fistral.

Gutted

2009-08-20T13:15:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the total lack of blogs, my computer has packed up, it's terminal too, no lost shots or anything but still very not good. Normal service will be resumed very soon especially as hurricane Bill is due to pay us a visit, tickets are booked, water is cold, I'm out.

Folk from the road - Chris Noble

2009-07-29T00:07:00.000-07:00

Few people have been so important in this whole project as Chris. He made us welcome eight years ago in Thurso and has been a friend and surfing companion ever since. Without much doubt he has the wave at Thurso more dialed than anyone else on the planet, he'll get barreled more, he'll find barrels when there are none and he'll take on the big days. When we first met him he had moved up from his home town of Fraserburgh, The Brock, having spent a number of years working on fishing boats, with crazy stories to go with it. He now works offshore, a rough-neck, two weeks on two weeks off, don't look at the chart when you're offshore eh Chris!

Dry

2009-07-22T12:17:00.001-07:00

Couple of waves today, getting pretty bored with summer but at least will be back on the road soon. Check out the finisterre blog at www.finisterreuk.com, some funny shots from the road. Anyway surf average here, got some plans brewing though, in the meantime here's a couple of fun sucking dry waves.

Mini Perfection

2009-07-19T12:06:00.001-07:00

If only Cornwall had full size river mouths like this.

Coming out of the doldrums

2009-07-18T03:39:00.000-07:00

Early summer, a time of nothingness, a downtime, that is thankfully over. Trips have been sorted warm and cold from now until next Easter and all is rolling forward once more. Even had an extra bonus of a little swell down in the south west of England, the sets pulsed enough, Micah Lester above hooked into a couple of little gems in between thunderstorms.

Saving Iceland

2009-07-05T03:04:00.000-07:00

Been out of it for a week, trade shows, yawn. Normal service is back though, and the book project rolls on. Have had the pleasure of being in dialogue with some of the people behind Saving Iceland.org, a group dedicated to raising awareness of the Island wilderness and the fact that is is under serious threat from heavy industry. The trouble is that Iceland has an abundance of cheap, clean energy in the form of geothermal and Hydro, this has made it an attractive location for the power hungry Aluminum industry. The result is areas of pristine wilderness being flooded by dams and areas developed for geothermal power. As is always the case big business has meant the over expansion of the projects and whilst Iceland may have been able to support some of these facilities with little in the way of environmental destruction, it now faces the serious threat of millions of acres of wilderness being destroyed forever. Iceland is the last great expanse of truly un-spoilt and magical wilderness left in Europe. It should really be a cause for celebration and wonder how pristine this strangely vibrant island still remains. The world cannot afford to allow beautiful Iceland to be devastated by corporate greed.If you want to fin out more cruise on over to savingiceland.org, if we don't act on things like this now there will be no wild spaces left in the world.

Folk from the road - Andrew Cotton

2009-06-22T13:55:00.000-07:00

Cotty joined me on one of the best three days of surf we scored in four years of travel in the UK and probably the coldest. The chart for Thurso was simply off the scale, offshore for three days, sunny but so cold. No one else was up for answering the call for the long haul from the south west except Andrew, who managed to persuade his girlfriend to drop him off by the side of the M5 at stupid o'clock in the morning. It was worth it and these two Thurso pits are B grade barrels from a weekend of barrel overload.

The point at the end of the world

2009-06-22T12:18:00.000-07:00

This place was the definition of cold, freezing fog clung to extinct volcanoes all day, the ocean, barely above three degrees with a brisk northerly blowing straight from the ice cap. There was nothing redeeming about this place at the top of the world, except for right point breaks, long frigid right points. This one has to be one of the remotest places to surf on the entire planet. We wanted to come back and surf it again the next day but the combination of a flat tyre and about a foot of snow in twelve hours meant we only saw it on this gray day.

Design

2009-06-21T14:47:00.000-07:00

Pretty amped, the design process has begun on the book, the first stage of the photo editing is complete and just putting the final touches on the many tales from along the way. More to come, we'll start putting up some samples soon, in the meantime here is a glowing Thurso barrel. Looks pretty and warm, but rest assured it was baltic!

Never had a roof over our heads

2009-06-17T10:06:00.000-07:00

In total we've spent around two months in Iceland during this project. From late march to the middle of summer, warm days to blizzards, through all of this we made one decision, and that was never to sleep in anything but a tent. Iceland is an amazing place, you have to totally immerse yourself in the environment, weather you're above a beach and it doesn't get dark until 2 in the morning or you're cocooned in a tent at 5.30 in snow drifts, its all part of the deal.

Out of his mind

2009-06-10T10:33:00.001-07:00

The surf goes flat for a day or two and surfers get a bit twitchy, so what does a surfer do, in this case Ian and some of his Norwegian mates? You jump off a frigin huge bridge with just an old rope and a harness between you and a watery death. The full tale is out of control, but basically the Norwegian boys, led by a mate of Ian's called Lars, tie a rope to a bridge, in this case a ten year old rope which is way past its use by date. Then you attach it to a harness, walk until its nearly tight and jump, you free fall and swing, and prey stuff doesn't break. Lars, the ring leader was somersaulting off, legend. The second shot, if you look real careful is Lars upside down.

Folk from the road - Timmy Turner

2009-06-09T12:42:00.000-07:00

What can I say? Timmy is a bit of legend and an absolutely mental character. He made the awesome movie Second Thoughts out in Indo which won the movie of the year at the surfer awards. He then suffered a catastrophic staph infection which put him in a coma, he lost three quarters of his skull and almost died. He wasn't able to return to the tropics for a while so he started a cold water film project, Cold Thoughts, and that's how we bumped into him. First off in Ireland, then in Iceland and finally in Canada, crazy adventures took pace and he has become an absolutely classic character for the whole project. His full story is out of control.

Cornwall aint all bad

2009-06-08T22:07:00.000-07:00

Cornwall, home and staging post for every other Numb expedition, a fickle chilly peninsula, but not as bad as its made out. Sure you have to put in your time, winters are wet and dark and on-shores plague good swells, not to mention the continental shelf.But despite all this the waves do occasionally pump and there is still a few hidden gems to be dug out. Here's a couple of to wet the appetite.

Strange Waves Part 1

2009-06-08T15:20:00.000-07:00

On every trip we have looked round every corner for new waves, not just crazy waves but any sort of ride able lump of water. We've found a few too, this one for example was breaking on a massive swell half way up a fjord somewhere in Norway. The swell had to do a full 180 to get in, squeezing through a harbour mouth and past boats before it unloaded on this slab.

Folk from the road

2009-06-07T08:33:00.001-07:00

One of the soundest guys we met on all the trips was Alex Sutherland, he resides on the east coast of Scotland in a little town called Golspie but spends months at a time in Thurso. A good tube rider and always up for charging some mental slabs, as well as making insane Scottish breakfasts at two in the morning. This is his quiver, the biggest is a 9'2 or something, and he's used it in anger.

Cod Point

2009-06-07T05:56:00.001-07:00

We'd been traveling for two days, had camped on a beach which was frozen, snow drifts banked up against the dunes. The sea was freezing, around four degrees and only four hundred miles away was Greenland. Getting about was a nightmare, dirt roads linked the remotest of communities, towns/villages which are literally at the end of earth. We found this though, we called it Cod Point because of the fish that was drying on racks in front of it. It was fun with freezing lulls between the sets.

Can you speak norwegian?

2009-05-31T12:57:00.000-07:00

Well if you can, check out http://www.friflyt.no/index.php?pagenr=12&articlenr=57050, the local boardsports mag for an interview with Batty about the book, sweet as. Ian is still cruising in the south somewhere getting ready to jump of some bridges or something. Crazy bastard!!

Ian

2009-05-27T22:13:00.000-07:00

So, I'm building up a picture of this project here over the next couple of months prior to the book coming out, give you folks a taster, introduce a few characters from along the way.
This is Ian, Batty, Battrick, Steamy call him what you will but he is the one constant on this whole project. He has been the catalyst for some of the trips and a willing accomplice on others. He's from Jersey, which makes him automatically up for travel, he hates crowds and isn't that bothered by the cold.

The Book

2009-05-26T13:21:00.000-07:00

Its been four or so years, from living in a crappy caravan in North Cornwall to a transit van in the Arctic. I've scored a lot of waves, made a lot of friends, got cold, got lost, been skint, been happy, been sad, lost my mind a bit, found total solitude, been in a genuine wilderness and seen parts of the planet, which few people will ever see. Now its time to put it all together,NUMB is the product, this is the blog.