Newsletter join now Keep in touch with all the latest surf news, green scene and partner info by joining the Drift weekly update. SIGN UP NOW
What are we made of? Drift Magazine is made from ECF (Elemental Chlorine Free) FSC Certified pulp and low VOC vegetable inks. Studio power by Ecotricity and delivery made using Biopower V100 waste oil.
British champion heads for uncrowded waters
by George Mojo
09/09/2006:// Five-times British longboard champion Lee Ryan is leaving the UK to surf uncrowded waves along New Zealand's rugged coastline.
Apart from dominating the professional ranks in recent years, the 33-year-old Newquay surfer is a well-respected surf coach and lifeguard.
Ryan, who grew up in South Africa, has been competiting around the globe for the past 14 years winning all the major British titles as well as representing England at international level.
He was part of the GB team at the World Surfing Games in Equador where he helped the British team to its best-ever result at the tournament.
Living in Cornwall, which is home to growing numbers of major players in the GB surf scene, allows him to not only pass on his skills to up and coming surfers but train new coaches to teach the sport.
Voted the best progressive longboarder in Britain in a recent survey, Ryan's stile is more a blend of the old and new, combining powerful off the lip moves with stylish tip time.
"You can only surf the way the wave allows you to," he admits. "We don't have the classic points breaks of California or Australia, so the time we spend on the nose is drastically reduced."
A stand-out at his local break at Fistral Beach, Ryan has travelled the world in search of perfect waves - seventeen countries in all, including South Africa, Indonesia, Hawaii, Australia and Costa Rica.
But it's New Zealand that has proved most tempting to start out on a new road of discovery.
"I was just blown away with the surf when I was there and I'm looking forward to what the country has to offer," he told Drift at the Surf Expo in Exeter.
"Both islands have so many good waves. I'll be living in the North Island and although everyone thinks the breaks are huge distances apart, you can travel from the west coast surf near Auckland around to the East coast point breaks in just a few hours and because it's not that populated there are unlimited surf spots to discover which are totally uncrowded."
"I'm excited about what the country has to offer."
The 2008 Beachley Classic got underway this morning, completing Rounds 1 and 2 as well as the opening two heats of Round 3 at nearby Freshwater Beach in clean two-to-three foot (1 metre) waves
Layne Beachley (AUS), 36, has officially announced her retirement from full-time competition, effective at the end of the year
Former Exeter University student Josh Lewin first heat at the Ocean and Earth Pro in the Canary Islands has been delayed because the 2ft surf was deemed uncontestable
Skype us
.jpg)
.jpg)
Surf art 
Surf environment