The Cornish comeback story? (Part 1)

So… the start of the year didn’t exactly go to plan for us.

On 8th January 2026, Cornwall was hit by what the Met Office described as “one of the most impactful storms in the last 30 to 35 years.” With a danger-to-life weather warning in place and government emergency phone alerts blaring (quite possibly the loudest sound known to mankind), all we could do was watch our CCTV as our surf school was quite literally torn to pieces.

The day after the storm, a few of the team headed down to try and salvage what we could. Fortunately, our friends at the Esplanade Hotel stepped in to help. Not only did they help us secure the premises the following day, but during the storm they’d managed to save part of our shop from complete destruction — absolute LEGENDS.

Storm Goretti may have been the worst of it, but the months that followed brought more storms and weeks of relentless, gruelling weather. And yes — you guessed it — more damage. We quickly found ourselves stuck in the waiting game… contractors, quotes, materials, availability — a game we’re still very much playing.

But here’s the thing — you don’t actually need a surf shop to surf.

With all of our surf equipment intact (and thankfully no instructors blown away), we still had everything we needed to do the thing we know best: SURF LESSONS!

As our most enthusiastic instructor Jake put it:
“We don’t need in there (pointing to the remains of the surf shop), because we’re going in there (pointing at South Fistral).”

And honestly, it was exactly what we needed to hear.

With our morale back (thanks, Jake), we decided to take on February Half Term. We were technically homeless, but thankfully the Esplanade Hotel and the Fistral Beach Hotel put a roof over our admin hobbit Meg’s head — fuelling her with hot chocolate so all those not-so-glamorous winter jobs could still get done.

You’re probably thinking… okay, so what’s the point of this blog?
The point is: we’re open!

We’re here for surf lessons and surf hire. The shop is currently having a well-earned glow-up and, in a few weeks, we’re hoping it’ll be looking BEAUTIFUL again — and things will feel back to normal. In the meantime, you can call or email us and we’ll be more than happy to deliver the same quality service as always 😉

And finally — the biggest question on everyone’s mind…
Yes. The showers are still intact.
And yes, they’re still nice and toasty after your lesson — you’re welcome.