Local SUP pioneer and C4 mainland operator, Ted Rutherford, joined his fellow SUP enthusiasts, Dave and Claudia Parmenter on a trip to the UK. The purpose: to share the stoke of this thriving resurgent sport. Dave Parmenter is the senior shaper of the C4 Waterman Surfboards and a senior writer for Surfer Magazine. On this three part series, Rutherford recounts the different steps of their trip as embassadors of the sport.

 

 

Field Report: C4 United Kingdom Road Trip

Caehray Castle Gate: l-r Ted, Adam Zervas, Claudia and Dave, Tim Mellors

 

On the first of October C4 Team representatives, Dave and Claudia Parmenter and I manned up an American Airlines 777 bound for London Heathrow, intent on sussing out the SUP situation in England, and to visit C4 team rider Adam Zervas and his family in Newquay, Cornwall, the “Surf City” of the United Kingdom. Also during this trip we wanted to see our friends Tim Mellors, owner of the Longboard House and BSUPA’s Matt Argyle. We have always had the highest respect for the great seafaring nature of the British people from Captain Cook to Lord Admiral Horatio Nelson on to the modern British watermen and women of today. As a former US Naval Officer, I was made well aware that our service in which I served was modeled after the Royal Navy. So, it was with these motivations that we embarked on this quest to the Old Country. Below on the map of Cornwall, England, yellow pins mark some of the points of interest.

The flight crew of the American Boeing 777 Luxury Liner were keen on showing Dave (an aviation expert and afficionado) the “business end” of this great aircraft:
Back in the friendlier environs of the first class cabin Claudia finds the accommodations adequate:

Meanwhile Dave and Ted were “mission planning” 7 miles above northern Canada, going over C4 spreadsheets pretending like we are big C4 Executives; working on a nice little piece for ourselves:

In the nearly 11-hour flight there was not enough time to eat the great meals, watch the movies, read, get in to all the lotions and potions and still sleep. After about a 7-hour nap the flight attendants woke us up for breakfast, after that there was less than an hour of flight remaining. Upon clearing customs the flight crew came ‘round and picked us up in front of the terminal, and we rode in to London town with them.

 

London

After tea at the Forum Hotel in London the C4 crew hit the ground running, keen on seeing as much of the great city as possible in one short afternoon. Here are Claudia and Dave at Big Ben and the Imperial War Museum:
In the above right photo at the Imperial War Museum, Dave admires a Supermarine MK IA Spitfire, if you look at the elliptical wing it is nearly identical to the Parmenter designed “Spitfire SUP fin” used on both the Holoholo, and the Vortice. (The above Spit in this picture actually flew and survived 67 missions in the Battle of Britain and WWII).
After a nice Italian dinner with the two First Officers from our flight, we called it a night. The next day it was on to Harrods and the British Museum. Below on the left are Dave and Claudia in the foyer of the British Museum; right and below: The Rosetta Stone.

That afternoon we proceeded south out of London on the M4 Motorway with Dave at the helm (he was the most qualified to navigate the “other side of the road” driving of the UK). Dave had visited the Cornwall in southwestern England as a touring pro surfer, so it was nice having an experienced guide. One thing about the United Kingdom is that even though people have been living in these Islands for almost 13,000 years, they are not overbuilt and “strip-malled” but with Mission Viejo-style housing tracts. The coastline has been preserved thanks to The National Heritage Foundation and in no small part through the efforts of Prince Charles. The country is wide open and rural, not unlike our own areas of central and northern California. The other nice aspect, being on the road is that in general the drivers are fast and expert. In the week I was there I never saw any reckless or out of control driving. In England piloting a motorcar serious business, approached in a professional manner.

Bude

After an overnight on the beautiful town of Barnstaple, Mission Commander “Uncle Dave” aimed the VW south to the town of Bude, where we witnessed some closed-course kayak racing in a waterway creating by holding back the tide with wooden locks, a full 25 feet above the low tide level! Below, Dave and Claudia watch the racing and below, right are the handmade oak locks holding in the high-tide water!

Bude’s beaches and coves have a plethora of potential surf and paddle set-ups; while we were there, we observed a hearty bunch of folks learning to surf in the shorebreak:

Back on the road we stopped at the alleged birthplace of King Arthur: Tintagel Castle. Our arrival coincided with a rain squall and gale-force wind that ended up closing the castle, though we were still able to make the approach to the ruins. There is a nice little cove between the castle hill and the opposing hill, which Uther Pendragon rode across on the dragon’s breath while disguised as Duke Gorles of Tintagel (Igraines husband) on his way to his fateful meeting with her that resulted in the conception of King Arthur (according to Geoffrey of Monmouth 1139). This cove is a perfect place from which to launch on SUPs! Below are some of the shots of this headland and cove: