“Every single day, I still surf on the same beach where I grew up and where my parents ran our family business. Home is very special.”
When you think of surfing in the UK, it’s probably Cornwall and its miles of golden beaches, Devon and its low-tide sessions, or Scotland and its crazy slabs that come to mind. But the country’s north east has a strong sense of community, and it’s one that local surfer Sandy Kerr has been part of since birth.
That theme of community runs deep in these northerly realms. The surf here can be fickle and slow, often marred by wind and tide — but there are moments when it all neatly aligns, even if only for a few hours.
Some of those sessions come courtesy of gigantic North Atlantic storms, flushing across the ocean and boomeranging towards the UK before rippling down the coastline, waking up surf zones across Norway, Denmark, and the North Sea. Other times it’s more local; swells filtering down from systems in the Arctic Ocean, or simply stirring across the top of Scotland.
In a lot of ways, this cold water community shares something with the US’s Atlantic surf scene — similar water temperatures, similar patience required. The North Sea runs bitterly cold through the deepest part of winter, with water temperatures dipping to below 30F. Yeah, it’s no joke here.
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For Sandy, that’s just the way it is: “I started surfing when I was around six-years-old, because I would have to go to work with my mom, who had a beach cafe, but only ever playing around. I had my own surfboard but it didn’t matter if I was on that, a bodyboard, skim board foamie – I was just grateful to be in there. When I was 15, I really got into it – and that was it after that.”
From there came brand support from the likes of UK-based Finisterre, who have invested in the cold water community. “Home is where everything begins,” said Sandy. “And that carries so much gravity for me. I learned to surf there. I learned to lifeguard there, too, which led to a 17-year career that took me around the world.”
As for surfing in the North East, Sandy describes a session from last year — a pocket of gold amongst a winter of raging wind. “That session, you had to take off a touch after the peak. It really felt pointless taking off behind it. Every time it caught us by surprise, I remember almost stumbling on the take off and thinking ‘I’ve won’ but then it was so tricky. When you made it, and looked down the line, it felt like the wave of your life. That was something special. You really had to work for it.”
Elle Sutherland is a longboarder who grew up along that same long coastline, picking her moments to surf amongst the North Sea’s fickle windows. It’s not all throttling barrels on this side of the world.
“Although I’ve spent my life here, I didn’t actually start surfing until I was in my mid-to-late twenties,” said Elle. “It was a snowboarding trip that actually inspired me to give surfing a go in the beginning. I spent years surfing shorter boards, but it wasn’t until I got into longboarding, about eight-years-ago now, that I feel like my surfing life really started. Something just clicked for me. And we get some great log waves here, but I also have a mid length for the reefs when it’s shoulder high or above.”
For the most part, the North East is home to miles of left-handers. But there’s plenty else in the mix too — and a few surprises as well.
But the main thing the surfers come back to is the sense of community, and no one does it quite like this: “The surf community is so rich with kindness, stories and stoke,” said Sandy. “Before I could surf I was never short of a lift from the older lads. And I think the North East in general is so welcoming to everyone, we have a metropolitan backdrop to our coastal towns and such a diverse community that puts such a great atmosphere over the region.”
As for what Sandy’s looking for this season: “Is that even a question? I want big cold brown water left tubes!”
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