Cor blimey have you seen this!!!

[HesterShaw]

Here!

Read the text with it. There's going to be enormous swell from northern Scotland all the way down to Morocco! I have never, ever seen a swell forecast like that one.

It looks like the giant ball of evil heading towards Earth in the Fifth Element :o

Hopefully people watch from a safe distance and leave the actual surfing to those who know what they are doing. It's not often all the Americans are heading over to Europe for surf.

Yikes
Might be interesting to watch the webcams (if they're not underwater!), tomorrow morning.

Bloody hell! That's mad.

Hope you're good my dear .

They're mad. Completely and utterly insane. There are actual nutters who intend to surf in these conditions??!!!

Omg people want to surf in that? Crazy.

The term 'natural selection' springs to mind!

Of course there are. People fly all over the world looking for enormous waves to surf. It doesn't mean they'll automatically die if they go out in that! Not all surfers are dumb - quite the opposite actually. They spend a lot of time studying meteorological charts and are very knowledgeable about weather and swell systems. They wouldn't choose somewhere the wave is pounding down onto a beach - they'll seek out some shelter where the wind is blowing offshore and the wave is clean. There will be some spots in Portugal and Ireland and Cornwall tomorrow which will be all-time.

Hello Autumn How are you?

Have a look at this one :o

I'm fine thanks Hester. I used to love surfing. On a bodyboard. When I was ten. Don't think I'd make it through that.

Body boarding was as far as I got. In August!

DH is a maniac. He will be out hunting for some action tomorrow. I may go along to take pictures.

Your cor blimey drew me in

Yikes, at giant ball of evil...

Ah, lovely wavers everywhere!

I have no doubt that some surfers are really smart, but I've only met the more stereotypical sort. Still, I hope nobody gets squished due to, er, overconfidence

Holy moly, it,s dark matter I tell you!

Why would you.go near it?

Apart from anything else, it's awfully cold!

On a serious note, people do get The Rage down here when some hapless tourist with a bodyboard is pulled out of the sea seconds before drowning and is described as "a surfer" (at the same time as being glad they are safe of course). Experienced surfers can handle themselves while recognising the risks they are taking. They don't expect anyone to risk themselves trying to rescue them. Accidents can and do happen of course, but they are rare. They do change naturally when children and dependants come along.

And a wave that size breaking on a sandy beach is unsurfable. They need to find other places.

They don't expect anyone to risk themselves trying to rescue them.

The problem is that others do have to rescue them if they get into trouble.

I don't agree. The surfing community is close knit and look after their own, and others when the occasion demands. They generally don't get into trouble because they know and assess the risks properly... They're not some daft kook down here on holiday who thinks s/he is untouchable but who then screeches in fear if something goes wrong and they find themselves out of their depth.

DH is both a surfer and a lifeguard and plenty of family are lifeboat volunteers btw. The ones who need rescuing are the ones (visitors or those who rarely go in the sea) who have no idea what they are doing.

Blimey Thats big ..hope the people in the nearby villages are prepared as well ...