29 . 09 . 18
Every year, as summer gives way to autumn, we invite all of our previous wooden surfboard workshop attendees back to Cornwall to celebrate their achievements and spend a weekend talking and surfing wooden surfboards. It goes without saying that not all of them can join us (our workshoppers are spread far and wide around the globe these days), but every year the pile of positive RSVPs is a little higher and the group who meet at the workshop on Saturday morning is a little larger. We always try to find a wave together and this year, despite the second named storm of the year passing through and lashing the Cornwall with wind and rain, we again managed to find a quiet stretch of beach with some empty peaks.
We enjoyed waist-high waves for a few hours, with fourteen wooden surfboards sharing the line up at one point! Then, after drying off and warming up, in the evening we all reconvene at the site of James’ original workshop at Dunkirk Farm. This year we had the pleasure of celebrating in a newly concreted barn (the pig stalls were then installed on the morning after the AGM), complete with a welcome woodburner to keep us all warm. Bathtubs full of ice-cold beer from the fine folks at Jubel greeted workshoppers on arrival, we had an incredible exhibition of one-of-a-kind woodcut artworks from Cornish artist Robbie Jones, local musician (and renaissance man, if truth be told) Nick Radford who plays his solo work under the name Frootful entertained us, and our friends from Woodfired Canteen fed us.
It was a wonderful evening of catching up with old friends, of many of our guests making new friends, fine beer, food, and entertainment. Truth be told, we wish we could lop the word “Annual” off the title, and do this once a month. At least. Until next year though, we’ll have to relive our 2018 AGM through this gallery of photos.
