Surfing Through Winter in Scotland
The c-monsta wetsuit hanger brand colours have been inspired by the cold dark winters of Scotland, the flash or orange colour represents the bright light that surfing brings to those months.
For many, the months of January, February and March are a dismal prospect, short days, cold winds and often persistent rain. Dreich is a Scottish word meaning bleak or dreary, even the sound of it has a resonance or tangibility that elicits a sense of woe. Scotland in January, February and March can often be described as dreich.
The autumn months will bring some nice swells, the days grow a bit shorter but you still get some warmth from the sun, the water is still a relatively balmy 12 degrees and the wind doesn’t bite and tear at you. This time of year does come with a price tag though. Normally through summer there are not so many swells and when they do arrive they lack any real substance. By the time autumn arrives, appetites are high, surfers who have been planning trips through the summer months are ready to head off to the headline spots to get the perfect wave that they have been imagining all summer.
Waves are a finite resource, there are only so many storms that come through a year and they all take a different trajectory, there are only so many days when the swell is the right size, the wind is blowing in just the right direction and the tides are at their best. With each of these variables the probability of an energy pulse travelling through the ocean and landing at a beach or reef in exactly the right way becomes less likely. Surfers in the line up are all trying to make the most of a finite resource.
Different line-ups have different policing strategies and different vibes but during the autumn months things can get quite heated. Windows waxed, cars scratched, fights in the water, even kids getting chased out of car parks by grown men. I don’t know if you have ever seen people fight in the water, but I am yet to see a good one. It usually involves one person trying to throw their fist at another person but because they can’t get any purchase with their feet it tends to look at best a bit pathetic. I imagine a good slap might be more effective. Perhaps it is no coincidence that deer rut at this time of the year.
By the time January has come about usually people have had a few nice sessions under their belt, they’ve had a few nice waves to remember and they’re less fussed about getting up in the cold and dark. That is the time of year that inspired the c-monsta wetsuit hanger.
The wetsuit hanger was designed to help you to get through those months and snag as many waves as possible. It is designed to avoid lying in your van waiting to see someone catch a wave to see what size it is. It helps you to be the person who is out there showing all the stragglers how good it is. The wetsuit will be waiting for you, it might have had a night to dry, you will know where your boots and gloves are. They will not be lying in a frosty heap in a tub outside the van, or dripping wet in your shower tray.
The c-monsta wont make your porridge but it will make your life a lot easier and hopefully you’ll be the one scoring the empty line-up.