30th September 2007

What a fustrating 6 weeks. September is normally one of our best months for surf but it's been flat since mid August.  Most of the surfers I know have been dealing with it in a number of ways, disappearing to France or Ireland, finding themselves another hobby or hitting the pub and throwing themselves into the Rugby World Cup.

Thankfully there seems to be a low pressure on the horizon and the surf looks good for next week just in time to save a number of people from alcoholism!

While unusual for us to have a flat September it's not unheard of.  All it takes is for the UK to have a high pressure in dominance for a few weeks and there have been fewer hurricanes this season that have tracked up the eastern seaboard of America.  It is not something I'd contribute to global warming.

With a lack of surf to film we thought we'd look at something more predictable - the tide!  As the Bristol Channel has the second largest tidal range in the world it is also home to the Severn Bore.  Every spring and autumn on the biggest tides of the year the Bore takes the form of a rideable wave.  So we sent Welsh Champion Jo Dennison off to try and ride it.  

With such a huge amount of water moving around the Bristol Channel every day surely there's a way we can harness this power so we managed to corner Swansea surfer and founder of Swan Turbines James Orme to look at the possible options for using the Bristol Channel as a site for alternative sources of energy.