glissers.com/blog

We’re adding new functionality to the site, so right now the site is down. Sorry about that.

Wonder if it’s a good idea…

Maybe something for glissers, one day…

I’ve added text ads to Glissers, mostly because I wanted to learn more about how Google Adsense works. It took me 20 minutes to include the code on the site - amazingly easy to do. Here’s how it looks.

Yes, it hurts to sell out, but I have to put bread on the table.

This is the closest we get to a wave in London…

It’s pretty though. The photo is taken from Battersea Bridge.

I’m just back from a long-weekend in Algarve, Portugal. I went together with my girlfriend (who doesn’t surf unless the water is tropical…), so it wasn’t a surf trip . But I did get some surf everyday.

The first 2 days I surfed at Praia do Amado, a beach break just south of Carrapateira. Nothing special when I was there - probably because the swell was pretty small.
I was suprised how empty the line-up was though - on Saturday morning I had a decent wave all for myself, from 10 am to around noon.

On Sunday morning I called Rene at Atlantic Riders, one of the top rated camps on glissers. The surfcamp is located on the west coast of Algarve, with close access to tons of good breaks. He took me (and the rest of his guests) to a secret spot - a big, beautiful, and empty beach, with a gentle wave. We stayed there all day, and I even managed to convince my girlfriend to join us at the beach - it was that nice! I can’t tell you where it is though - Rene would hunt me down and kill me if I did.

We went to the same beach the day after. In the last day we drove to Amoreira , a bit further north. The morning surf was lame, but in the afternoon the swell picked-up, and period increased, and I had some brilliant waves.

All in all Algarve was better than I excepted. Great food and wine, pretty cheap, wild and beautiful nature, and tons of excellent longboardig waves. I’ll be back for sure, but next time I’ll stay with Atlantic Riders - those guys know the area and are chilled-out and friendly = recommended camp.

We’ve opened our own shop!

Go to Glissers Goodies and have a look.

My favorite is the cute little bear. That will be my default Christmas gift to friends and family

A friend of my told me about his plans to sail around the world a while back. I suggested that instead of “just” hitting standard destinations along the route, he should visit the best surf spots around the globe.

Westcoast of Europe (UK, France, Spain, Portugal), Morocco, Canary Islands, Cap Verde, Caribean, Panama, Costa Rica, Australia, NZ…All of them are along the route most sailers take, and full of world class surf spots.

The trip would probably take 2-3 years to do. And at least 2 years of preparations. But what a trip it would be!

I wonder if he can get back to Monday mornings in the office after such a trip.

This is what I’m using to drive to North Devon from London, together with my girlfriend. It’s 4.5h - 5 hours on the road, 350 km, mostly motorways. The car has an engine smaller than my old motorbike but it’s supringsly comfortable, quiet, and fun to drive. The only draw-back is that it’s pretty hard to carry a surf board on the roof… But I’m happy to rent, for now.

I’m just back from a weekend in Saunton, North Devon. This time I stayed at super-nice little cottage in the village of Braunton - review here: Bloomsfield Bed and Breakfast, Braunton.

The surf was OK, but not great. Sunday was clean but the waves really small. I recognized most of the locals in the lineup this time, and there are some great longboarders hanging out in Saunton. But the vibe is chilled and friendly.

Glissers has started to collaborate with globalsurfari.com , a neat surf forecasting service based out of Australia. It’s run by Gary Brewer, a UK-surfer / web developer who moved to Australia for the surf (and for his Aussie girlfriend).

Local Glissers accommodations are listed right next to the surf forecast on globalsurfari.com. And on glissers.com we show thet surf forecast for most accommodations - see for example Atlantic Riders Surf Camp in Portugal . I’m very happy about this, think this is a cool way of providing more value for glissers members