Around The World In 80 Waves

I pushed further west keen to bag another beach today, but there are no spaces anywhere where you can pull in for a decent surf check. I really do mean none.

Any space that you might ordinarily sneak into for a minute or two to see what the waves are doing has been populated by automated car parks such as you see here. It isn’t hugely expensive but the standard argument I have had with car park attendants all over the world is particularly true here. ‘I just want to check the waves.’ However you get no more than about 30 seconds before the mechanics under your car lifts a hatch to stop you leaving without paying.

After a couple of these annoying stops I opted for the southern beach at Chigasaki where once more there are already people in the water and eagles in the sky.

I bumped into an English surfer drying off in the car park, who correctly predicted my session would largely be paddling. I didn’t take out the camera again because I knew he would be correct. He was right and I only caught two rubbish waves in the soup close to shore before getting out. It was grim in the 30mph onshore wind that whipped across the beach, leaving you feeling like you were being sand blasted on the way back to the car park.