George's Surf School

The Clip below is a corker. Thanks to Debbie Loftus for the share! Click Here for the full article

One of the joys of spending time with people who share my passion is that you get to learn about theirs. Perhaps not surprisingly I tend to be drawn to adventurous types who have built businesses with a clear vision and product that embodies their spirit as an integral part of its DNA.

Britain’s business world has a glorious history of eccentricity with tales of determination and belief in the face of challenge and mirth from larger, more established companies. Branson Dyson and Morgan are great examples of celebrated and homegrown household names that have achieved a worldwide recognition whilst retaining a quintessential ‘Britishness’.

As a teacher and coach, being on a constant quest for information is par for the course. Growing up in a military family I’d heard of the ejector seat manufacturer Martin Baker, but until recently hadn’t given it much thought. Then twice in a month the significance of their work blipped up on my radar.

Bob Lindo is the founder of Camel Valley wines in Cornwall. On leaving the RAF Bob moved to Cornwall to bring up his young family, and planted vines. 20 years ago you’d think that was the first line of a joke but with passion, hard work and a gift in the dark arts of Oenology he now presides with his son Sam over the multi-award winning Camel Valley wines.

As we enjoyed a glass of wine overlooking his vineyard we got onto the subject of his time in the RAF. I was interested to learn that without Martin Baker we might not have been standing there drinking the fruits of his labour.  “I was in the RAF club in London”, Bob explained “and a guy asked me if I’d ever tried landing without wheels. I’ve landed without a plane chum I replied…”.

On Friday 6th June 1986, crews of two Jet Provosts collided in a training accident and both airmen were forced to eject. One of the airmen was Bob. The same family passion and hard work he and his son put into their wines had fortunately been put into the engineering and development of the ejector seat that saved both airman’s lives that day. To date ejector seats engineered and built by the British family owned company Martin Baker have saved the lives of over 7400 aviators.

Having spent that rather idyllic sunny Cornish afternoon with Bob Lindo and Mimi Avery (of Bristol vintners, Averys) tasting and discussing his wines whilst looking out onto his vineyard, I wasn’t expecting to come face to face with an ejector seat just a few weeks later. Far less so on South Audley Street in London. However I had just stepped into the Bremont boutique and the world of Giles and Nick English, a boys own adventure that has manifested itself at an alarming rate as one of the hottest names in luxury timepieces.

Drink in hand, Giles swept me along jumping from boats to bikes, planes and every boy’s favourite subject - stress testing. A serious business for a company that came into being following a plane accident that killed the boys’ father and left Nick with more than 30 broken bones. Looking at the energy, engineering and love in each chronometer I can think of no greater tribute or epitaph to the passion and skills their father had bestowed upon them growing up.

It’s no surprise that adventurers relate so strongly to Bremont and to learn that the boys have a bond with the armed forces as well as an ongoing and close working relationship with Martin Baker. Bremont have a dedicated watch collection in tribute to Martin Baker’s contribution to aviation. The movement of each Martin Baker series timepiece is protected by an anti-magnetic Faraday cage and a specifically designed anti-shock case mount. The range has been designed and tested to withstand the Martin Baker ejection seat test programme.

Each watch series Bremont make has both an innovative quality and a story to tell.  They combine elements of function and fantasy that extend to the wearer.  A Bremont clad wrist captures a sense of history, future and adventure that has impact. If what we wear is our clearest non-verbal communication to the world of who we are and what we’re about, it’s little surprise those with a sense of adventure look at Bremont as ‘their’ kind of brand.

If James Bond is actually out there, free from million dollar endorsement deals, I suspect he’s drinking Bob and Sam’s fizz and keeping time on a Bremont.

People come to Polzeath to learn to surf or improve their surfing usually as a part of their personal sporting/adventurous agenda. It’s been interesting over the years to watch the other initially hidden benefits. No ‘smart’ phone, but another distraction. Surfing at every level is all consuming, physical and cerebral. Clients often comment on not being able to think about anything other than catching the wave and trying to ride it. What psychologists refer to as being ‘present’ or ‘in the moment.’ This in itself delivers a second vacation one from ourselves and our daily worlds.

Oceanographer and Big wave surfer Dr Tony Butt has written a great piece for Patagonia’s blog, ‘The Cleanest Line’ on ‘Flow’ and while he approaches it from a Big Wave perspective it can translate to our experience of surfing and waves based on each individuals personal surfing ability.

It’s good to acknowledge the benefits (and potential pitfalls) of challenging ourselves in Nature…

I Love this pre 2nd World War footage from August 1936 of  a family holiday at Polzeath. It was edited & posted by Phil Howard-Jones and shared by the Museum Of British Surfing.