Reflecting on a great second month at Blue Coast - getting very busy with lessons & tours, improving our offering, and some exciting new developments. Here's to continuing to grow into the summer months!
Giveaway
We kicked off this month with a giveaway of a surf or SUP lesson for 4 people, which was very well received and had a total of 201 entries. I was very happy to be able to get Blue Coast in front of more people locally and while there could only be one winner, it was great to see lots of folk making use of our offered discount code as a consolation prize and booking in.
Surf Wood for Good
We are delighted to be able to offer wooden bellyboards for hire free of charge, as part of the Surf Wood for Good scheme by Dick Pearce Bellyboards. This is to encourage the use of sustainable alternatives to the single-use disposable polystyrene bodyboards that people buy and discard every summer, and to get more people in the water making use of what Cullen has to offer, feeling good and having fun!
SUP Yoga Preparations
Our first paddleboard yoga class is taking place on the morning of Saturday 25th of June, with Kimberley Yoga. Kimberley has been brilliant at helping to organise this and together we've tested the anchors and equipment ready for the first class. The first class sold out very quickly without being promoted, and both myself and Kimberley have had a lot of interest since. All going well, we'll be offering multiple further dates after the first class runs.
Stretch & Surf Mini Yoga Retreats
We are also running two Surf & Yoga day retreats on the Sunday 26th and Monday 27th June, in collaboration with Yoga Megs. A surf lesson, pre and post-surf yoga, topped off by a delicious feel-good meal at The Royal Oak Hotel next to the beach. Sunday is sold out and there are two spaces left for the Monday retreat if you would like to book. Very much looking forward to these.
In Scotland We Surf
We had a visit from Sam Howard, a surf photographer from Stonehaven who has been putting together a really inspiring project In Scotland We Surf, documenting the people and stories behind the diverse Scottish surfing community. We were up very early for a sunrise paddle at Bow Fiddle Rock - I'm eagerly looking forward to seeing the photos and the finished project, which will displayed as an exhibition in different towns and cities across Scotland. It's an honour to be included! Have a look at the project's Instagram for more information and some inspiration!
Our first team member!
I feel very lucky to welcome aboard our first team member, Rebecca, who will be helping with surf & SUP lessons, creating video and photo content, and soon teaching a few paddleboard lessons herself. Have a watch of this cool vlog!
SSF Accreditation
Blue Coast Surf & Paddle is now a Scottish Surfing Federation accredited surf school. The SSF are Scotland's governing body for surfing, managing the future of surfing in Scotland. It's well worth looking at what SSF membership can offer you, including discounts at surf schools across Scotland and entry to competitions and events.
An encounter with a humpback whale at Portknockie
Our second month has been fantastic; it would have been very difficult to pick a highlight if it hadn't been for this visit from a humpback whale during a paddleboard tour from Portknockie Harbour to the Bow Fiddle Rock and back. Despite my awful camera work, it was an amazing experience to be approached by such a large majestic animal in its natural habitat, and was made particularly special by it being an unusual appearance on our coastline. It was active breaching about 100 metres out to sea before it approached us on our paddleboards and swam on past - something to remember. Louise Glen at the Press & Journal came across our video on social media and gave me a call, resulting in Blue Coast's first piece of press coverage. An encouraging sign!
Community groups / clubs
Promoting community around the sea and beach and making a positive contribution to the local community in Cullen and the surrounding area as a whole, are important future goals for Blue Coast.
To that end this month we've opened our community groups; Blue Coast Surf Club, a WhatsApp group for updates on the surf conditions, answers to questions in a community setting, and arranging group surfs with likeminded people, and Blue Coast Paddlers, a Facebook group for arranging group social paddles in nice conditions.
Feel free to join using the links, and watch this space for further developments in the near future.
And of course, good surf!
Of course there was plenty of good surf going about as well, and I took the opportunity to try something new with the school GoPro. Rebecca also made this reel of a group surf lesson. Great fun!
