Surfing & Extreme Sports

SURFS UP

Believe it or not there’s more to surfing in Cornwall than Newquay and Fistral Beach. Lots more…

Cornwall’s location, pointing out into the Atlantic Ocean, makes it a haven for swell. Combine this with its milder climate and an assortment of excellent beaches and you have the UK’s premier surf destination.

To further strengthen Cornwalls reputation as one of the top surf locations in the UK, the area is the location for one of the biggest pro-surf competitions in Europe.  Boardmasters, held in August at Fistral Beach, has been running for over 10 years, attracting some of the biggest names in the surfing world.

There can be great surfing at Harlyn Bay, Treyarnon Bay, Constantine Bay, Booby?s Bay and sometimes even at Trevone Bay.

If you want to learn to surf, why not try one of our great local surf schools:

  • Waves Surf School, St Merryn: 01841 521230
    £5 off a surf lesson with Waves for all Harbour Holidays guests
  • Harlyn Surf School, Harlyn: 01841 533076
  • Padstow Wetsuit Hire, Padstow: 01841 532699 / 07980 327939
  • King Surf School, Mawgan Porth: 01637 860091
  • Surfs Up Surf School, Polzeath: 01208 862003
  • Trevose Surf School, Constantine: 01841 521718

WATERSKIING



The nearest centre to Padstow for waterskiing is in Rock where lessons are available whatever your ability ? staring at wide skis for the complete novice up to mono skis for the more advanced amongst you.

  • Camel Ski School, The Pontoon, Rock Road, Rock 01208 862 727

DIVING



There are several dive schools in Cornwall, which include

  • Harlyn Dive School, Harlyn 07890 671 225
  • Haven Scuba School, Penryn 01326 378 878
  • Looe Scuba School, Looe 01503 262 727

These offer all kinds of courses, ranging from complete novices, PADI Open Water courses or individual dives for individuals and groups.

EXTREME WATER SPORTS



The two main centres for the more extreme watersports are as follows:

  • Camel Ski School, The Pontoon, Rock Road, Rock 01208 862 727
  • The Extreme Academy, Watergate Bay, Newquay 01637 860 543

Activities at these two centres include:

Wakeboarding

Wakeboarding is one of the most exhilarating board sports. Closely linked to surfing and snowboarding, it has quickly become hugely popular owing to its freedom and fluidity.
Along with carving motions, wakeboarders have developed their own exciting tricks, where the sky is the limit.

Kitesurfing

A kitesurfer uses a board with or without foot-straps or bindings, combined with the power of a large controllable kite to propel themselves across the water.  There are a number of different styles of kiteboarding, including freestyle (which uses a standard kite and board) or wake-style (flatter water using board with bindings) and wave-riding which is focused on big waves using a board specially designed for this.

Traction Kite

The power and the possibilities of traction kiting on the beach are incredible.  Traction kites have developed into extremely effective tools with which to harness the power of the wind to race across the sand, sliding through shallow water, cornering and riding upwind.

Waveski

A waveski is between a surfboard and a white-water kayak. If you want all the thrills of surfing but would prefer to be sitting down while you ride the waves, then a waveski lesson is for you.  A waveski is like a kayak, but you sit on it, not in it. It is a quicker sport to pick up. Students are usually surfing waves on their waveski within their first hour, yet it creates just as much exhilaration as regular surfing.

Paddle Boarding

This is one of the oldest forms of surfing, the boards used look like an oversized longboard, with a 12 1/2ft board ideal for learning.  The paddles have a single blade and are used to propel the board on flat water, as well as to turn and control the board when riding waves. Because the boards are so big, you can catch just about the smallest of waves, so it?s a great reason to get in the sea when you wouldn?t usually go surfing.

Coasteering

Coasteering is one of the newest adventure sports in Cornwall. This is high-octane exploration of the rugged coastline with something for everyone: climb along the cliffs, swim through white water and into caves, and leap off progressively higher jumps.