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)
No comments:
Post a Comment