Yesterday morning I rode for the first time, the Severn Bore. An amazing experience for wave riders, not just for the ride, it’s the anticipation, the people you meet (and crash into:-) and the thrill of the search.
Rode it for roughly 25-30 minutes (2-3 miles maybe?) from Newnham to near Epney, crashing a couple of times. Each time I fell off I got washed over a sandbank with the surge, i got up, ran and made it back on to the bore (thanks to Brad’s advice!). Eventually got into a river section of deep water, came off and paddled up to the Severn Bore Inn.
If you or any of your mates do it, wear a helmet (smacked round the head a few times) and maybe a mouth guard (front teeth a bit wobbly from one of the crashes)!
DEFINITELY wear a leash…absolute must, There are several places where large whirlpools form. One of the regulars has been sucked down one of these and was only saved by the fact that his board stayed with him…I surfed past at least 3 spots where this can happen.
What the regulars do is pick up your leash when you get to your feet and don’t leave it dragging in the water to get snarled on other surfers or bits of flotsam. Some of us will sew large beads onto the velcro tab to make it easy to grip with gloves on in the event of it getting snarled on trees or anything like that where it can pin you while the tide rises (Thanks to Neil Law for this advice).
Looking forward to the next time……..
For some great video of bore riding, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4f2yObnz30&feature=related