Meet the Maker
WAV E RIDER Dick Pearce have been producing beautiful, hand-crafted wooden bellyboards at their seaside workshop in Cornwall for over a decade. We head for the beach to meet the man behind the board… Words | Emma Johnson
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he Cornish coastline is renowned the world over for its expansive white beaches, aquamarine sea, rugged cliffs, small coves and quaint harbours. It has been a surfing destination for decades, but at the same time retains a quirky, independent vibe that epitomises slow living, the beauty of the natural world and taking things easy. If it feels idyllic to visitors, that’s because it is. In Newquay, on Cornwall’s wild Atlantic coast, Jamie Johnstone is busy in his oceanside workshop cutting, shaping and bending plywood to a precise technique that is nearly 100 years old, and a closely guarded secret. Jamie is making bellyboards - simple wooden boards, cut in a narrow shape, with rounded ends and gently curved tips. The boards are stamped with his company’s playful logo, and painted in bright, sunny colours. Everything about them speaks to a passion for surfing, but also a commitment to timeless quality, heritage, fun and the unadulterated thrill of being in the ocean and riding its waves. à
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BritishTravelJournal.com
