Latest Board

Building a custom 10'6" single fin low rocker glider at the moment. The customer wants to use it on the bore but I think it will be great for somewhere like Saunton on a small crowded days or at mid tide when the waves are sometimes hard to get onto on a smaller board. I will post a photo as soon as I can find my camera battery charger.

Escape - A Short Film By Jo Clement

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SURFING THE SEVERN BORE

After forty five years of surfing in the sea and six years of surfing the Severn Bore I still find the act of riding a wave through the countryside many miles from the coast a unique and fascinating experience. One moment I am waiting knee deep in water gazing towards the Severn Bridge. The next moment I am flying along on roaring white water past sand banks, green fields and grazing cows. Then as the tree-lined river banks narrow towards Gloucester, the city cathedral looms in the distance. It is a unique experience whether I am surfing alone or sharing the wave with fellow surfers. To be a bore rider is to be part of not only a special community but a heritage that stretches back to 1955 when Colonel Jack Churchill first surfed the bore at Stonebench; and further back to when primitive river dwellers paid homage to Sabrina, the goddess of the Bore; and even further back to when the moon first tugged upon the waters to create this unique wave. And so it will continue long after I am gone. And to be part of that cycle I feel uniquely privileged.
(Photo courtesy of Andy Sharpe)

Fins

9' 2" Single Fin

Latest board - 9' 2" x 18.5" x 23" x 15.5" x 3 1/8". I am amazed how well it goes with a  small 7.5" fin so far forward. Stable even in the white water yet turns beautifully.

Paipo

Work in Progress - a paipo/alaia/bellyboard shaped from a piece of XPS insulation foam from local hardware store. £5. Lovely stuff to shape. 48" long, 19" wide and 2" thick. Inspired by Tom Wegener and the ancient Hawaaians. Basically a rectangular piece of foam with a concave and chines on the bottom. No fins. Plan to try it out on the bore this week. I'll wait to see how it goes before I glass it. The foam is completely waterproof and has great compression strength. Designed to sneak at speed through the super shallow sections. These type of boards open many possiblities on the river and in the sea.

Goodbye Quad

Workshop & Boards

Work in Progress - 9' 2" Shaped & Ready for Glassing

Bristol Outdoor Show 9 June 2012

6' 8" Simmons Quad

Wave Goddess Surfboards

Wave Goddess Surfboards are the creation of Mike Clement who is based in Gloucester. He designs, builds and repairs surfboards for the sea as well as specifically for surfing the Severn Bore.

PROFILE

Mike Clement has been surfing for 45 years and riding the Severn Bore for 7 years. He grew up in South Africa during the sixties and seventies longboard-to-shortboard revolution. He learnt to surf in the city of Durban alongside the likes of Endless Summer legend Max Wetteland and world champion Shaun Tomson. He spent nearly 10 years living in Jeffreys Bay, within walking distance of his local break, Supertubes, considered to be the best right hand breaking wave in the world.  He also had the privilege of meeting and befriending some of the world’s best shapers and surfers. The most significant of these was Miki Dora who lived with the Clement family for nearly 2 years. They then moved to Ireland where they spent several years in the surf town of Easky. In 2005 circumstances brought them to Gloucester in the UK where Mike discovered the unique wave and surfing community of the Severn Bore. It was also the Bore that inspired him to begin building surfboards. He regularly surfs the Bore as well as breaks in South Wales and Devon.

BOARD DESIGN

Like many of his surfing contemporaries, Mike became increasingly frustrated with the modern short board and its irrelevance to most average surfers in the predominantly average surf of the UK . He returned to the longboarding of his childhood. He discovered noseriding and was taught the basics of cross stepping by respected Californian shaper and surfer Tyler Hatzikian. However Mike still missed the speed and maneuverability of the shortboard. Then 2 years ago he began to study the design principles of Bob Simmons, considered to be the father of the modern surfboard. Simmons boards are relatively wide, have parallel rails, wide tails and very low tail rocker. These design features combined with twin or quad keel fins provide a board that has incredible down the line speed, highly efficient glide, stability in the white water and highly maneuverable turning. He began to design and build short and long boards that not only functioned well in the sea but were ideally suited for surfing the Bore. The long wave of the Bore has also provided him with an ideal testing ground for his prototypes. He and his boards have been featured in the June 2012 edition of Wavelength Surf Magazine. He has also recently developed a working relationship with Tim Mason, one of the UK’s top shapers and the UK’s only qualified shaper of displacement hull boards. Tim is an authority on some of the world’s best surfboard designers and their boards including Bob Simmons and George Greenough and he has been helping Mike with the design of his boards.

CUSTOM & STOCK BOARDS

Mike has been making stock as well as custom boards tailored to suit an individual’s surfer’s need and ability. He has made a board for Steve King, current Guinness world record holder for the longest wave ridden. Steve recently surfed the board on Brazil’s feared and formidable river bore, the Pororoca. Mike also made a board for local bore rider Stu Ballard who was invited by the local government in Malaysia to promote their local bore known as the Benak as a tourist destination.

MATERIALS

Mike uses predominantly epoxy resin and polyurethane blanks which produce a very strong but light board. However he also has experience in working with other materials including polyester, XPS, composites, hollow wood construction and boat construction with epoxy and plywood.

ARTWORK

Thanks to the creative talents of his wife Jacki, daughters and graphic designer friends,
Mike is able to incorporate (for those who want it) appealing graphics into his boards from small logos to full length decals.

BOARD REPAIR

Thanks to the brutality of the Severn Bore on surfboards, Mike has gained a lot of experience doing repairs ranging from small structural dings and damaged fin boxes to snapped boards. He recently received a commendation from McDing Repairs in Hawaii regarding the repair of a snapped stand up paddle board. “That's a solid repair. I've done lots of Surftech, NSP and Boardworks repairs in the years I lived on Maui. Your repair would be good enough for any shop.”

BOARD HIRE

Mike hires out a selection of boards for use on the Severn Bore.

REPAIR & BOARD BUILDING TUITION

Mike offers instruction on basic ding repair and board building.

MERCHANDISE

A selection of Wave Goddess merchandise including clothing, wax, leashes etc is available on request.

WAVE GODDESS

The Wave Goddess refers to Sabrina, the mythical goddess of the River Severn in Gloucestershire who is responsible for creating the tidal bore.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Mike Clement

27 Carters Orchard, Quedgeley, Gloucester GL2 4WB

Tel 07748477904

Email info@wavegoddesssurfboards.co.uk

Website http://wavegoddesssurfboards.blogspot.co.uk/

Wave Goddess at The Bristol Outdoor Show

Wave Goddess Surfboards will be exhibiting at The Bristol Outdoor Show this Saturday 9 June:

http://bristoloutdoorsshow.co.uk/

Wavelength Mag Article on Severn Bore and Wave Goddess Boards

6' 8" Epoxy Simmons Quad +1

New 6'8" Simmons Quad. Just back from testing it in 3-4 foot waves at Rest Bay this morning. It does the business! Easy to paddle, catches waves very easily, fast, glides, very responsive, turns beautifully, stable in the white water. Pure fun. I love it. Unfortunately I did not get a chance to ride it with just a large single fin (70s style) because the waves died at high tide.Cant wait to try it out in some bigger surf and with some different fin combinations. This board is definitely my new love.

Work in progress - 6' 8" Quad Stock Board

6'4" Mini Simmons featured in Wavelength Surf Magazine

Photo courtesy of Greg Martin, Wavelength Magazine

8'4" Simmons for Lewis Chapman

8'4" Midi Simmons with Twin Keel Fins in Progress

9'6" Single Fin - for Steve Jayne

WAVE GODDESS T SHIRTS NOW AVAILABLE

White 100% cotton t shirt with black logo on front
Sizes: S M L XL XXL
Price £9.99

SUP Fin Box Repair

Custom 9'6" Single Fin - Work in Progress

10' Blake Simmons Vintage Hollow Plywood Board - for Stuart Matthews

‎10' Hollow Wood Surfboard - Work in Progress