Surfing & Kite Surfing Lounge

I can honestly say that I was there, in the Summer of ’69.  I was there surfing on Watergate Bay in Cornwall in the UK.  The beach in those days was virtually unknown, with a typical Greasy Spoon Cafe serving poor quality food for high prices.  The surfers on the beach in high summer could be counted on one hand.  Wow, were those the days.  I surfed in the UK, France, Portugal, Morocco & Spanish Sahara over a ten year period.  Then diving took over.  I never forgot surfing and started again in my late 40′s, lost half my right leg and continued to surf through the lens of a camera.  Then came Kite Surfing, a usurper sport, but a very exciting sport.   Today, living very close to the beaches of Brazils North Coast, I get to photograph both sports and see many of the worlds and Brazils top pros.

Surfing Taiba

The wind was as usual blowing onshore.  The Atlantic was lumpy, but still offering waves of 1.2 – 2 meters.  The Brazilian surfer shown above was more than able to get the most out of these reatively small waves.  The surfers are light, the boards are even lighter and the local guys know exactly how to use the waters here to their best advantage, grabbinfg any and every opportunity to catch a wave.

Thomas Teixeira Gomes. Brazilian Champion.

Thomas Teixeira Gomes, the reigning Brazilian Kite Surfing Champion, shows how easy it can be.  Right on the shore line on Taiba Beach he rolls as he competes in a National Event.  He did win the event but it was a very closely fought contest.  When doing shoots like this, I have to cover my lens and camera with gaffer taped plastic bags to prevent the massive amount of sea spray and splashes from hitting the kit.  Once sea water mist has enetered a lens they tend to die rather quickly.  All my kit is wiped down with a damp cloth once I get home again as more often than not there are visible salt crystals on the kit somewhere.