MARINAS
If you have a bit longer in the area and you love an opportunity to go surfing, then you’re in a good spot. One of my most magical surf experiences happened not far from Milford Haven, on a long sandy beach backed my massive sand dunes. It was Freshwater West – asurfing mecca – on a hot summer’s day with low winds and chest-high waves. I inflated my surf SUP by the van and weaved through the labyrinth of dunes to find a sandbar with no other surfers. It was perfect.
After paddling out and getting a sense for the swell, I soon spotted ‘my wave’ approaching. The trick when paddleboard surfing is to flick your feet from straighton to side-on. This is usually the moment when I tumble – but this time, I made it and caught the wave. This is when the magic appeared; the water was so clear that it felt as though I was on a hoverboard, gliding over the sand and we raced along the wave, parallel to the dunes. It was an unforgettable moment.
Years before, I had been to the same beach in the depths of winter. The swell was huge and a friend and I attempted to paddle through walls of brain-numbing whitewater. After an hour we gave up and the waves spat us back onto the shore, exhausted. We crawled back to the miserable tent and wondered why we ever thought this was a good idea. However, what we lacked was local knowledge; just around the corner, the area was sheltered by a headland and the waves were perfect. Had we gone out with the Pembrokeshire Surf School, that miserable day would have been euphoric.
The wealth of knowledge that the surf school
