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SURF'S UP Dudes for a weekend in South Wales October 2004 The first surfing weekend we have arranged was a great experience, despite the storms doing everything they could to throw it. Thirty of us rode (and jumped into the waves) on the Pembroke and Gower coastline. Weather Storms were forecast for the entire weekend, but we took the call to go ahead anyway and see what we could do. Some frantic last minute rearrangements and planning worked in our favour as we delivered a cracking two day programme as promised. Coasteering We arrived at the Blue Lagoon not far from St. David's for our hastily arranged Coasteering session. Scrambling, swimming, jumping and climbing our way along the coast is what happened. Before arriving at the lagoon itself for some serious cliff jumping. Guess the height There were three jumps at the Blue Lagoon, starting with a 20 footer - and all scouts spent some time jumping one or all of them. Estimates on the height of the final one, with 60ft being settled on as a good enough estimate. It seemed even higher from the top, but our bravest scouts still found the courage to jump. Gower surfing We hit Caswell bay for some serious surfing. All scouts got a safety briefing and some instruction to get them standing up. They then spent the rest of the day practising and perfecting their skills under the watchful eye of the top surf school in Wales. The waves were immense, building throughout the day to a colossal height. They were a steady 3-4 foot all day, which was ace. All scouts were standing up by the end of the day. Particular praise goes to Kane O, Gareth I, Christian D, Daniel S and Jack S for doing a full day in the surf despite being the youngest and smallest surfers in Wales! Kitted up Each scout took command of a surfboard for the day - special ones designed with learning in mind. The super-thick wetsuits were also from the top draw, meaning we really didn't notice the sea's October freshness at all. Fortunately we found an XXL wetsuit for Neal M. Coasteering shoes Big up Tesco Swansea. They stock trainers for £5-6, that's £2.50-3 a shoe. Perfect for coasteering and other water activities. We bought loads. Silver Cross We girled-out and stayed indoors at Silver Cross campsite near Swansea, instead of out hilltop site in St. Davids. This proved a good decision as it avoided us being lashed with wind and rain! PT swim We went to a cool pool in Port Talbot for a swim and slide. It was a perfect way to get salt water out of our hair and unwind from a day on the coast. Happy Birthday James James G celebrated his birthday with us on Saturday evening. We got some cake, played games, gave him a card and present. All in all made a bit of a fuss of him. It was his last camp with us before joining Explorers, so he'll be missed. Dave does it again We were again stars on Radio 1, as Dave Pearce gave us a shout out on Dance Anthems - de rigeur for any Sunday evening minibus journies home. Storming weekend, despite the storms, and we'll certainly be riding some waves in 2005 - perhaps riding one into the Canadian coast?