One place I wish I'd gone to was Skewjack surf camp in its 70s heyday, but I was just a kid back then and hadn't even started surfing. It was situated above Sennen and was started around 1970 by local surfer Chris Tyler. Boasting ' 2 girls for every boy' it was soon nicknamed Screwjack and seemed to be a mix of hedonistic nights and summer days full of empty waves and a great hub of the local surf scene. Surfboards were free to use and hot local surfers either were employed as lifeguards or surf instructors for the young holidaymakers. Skewjack had good facilities with a pool, restaurant, disco / bar, surf shop and chalets to stay in.The 70s were the golden era and by the late 80s Skewjack was forced to close. There's a site dedicated to it , www.skewjack.co.uk , check it out for more photos and memories.
I was there 1978 - through to 1985, I'm just writing about it now hence the reason ended up here fining this site. I had a Tris Quad back then and was looking for images of the same or similar. The desription here is pretty much spot on. Good memories. I know Essex Chris's son, hung out with him for a few years in the late 80's along with a whole bunch of people down there. Peter Urqhart was my favourite amongst the staff along with the legendary Harvey Hoare, 'Gloria' (John)and others.
ReplyDeleteAye ! I was there 1978 to 1985 also.
ReplyDeleteit's a pity i didn't have the money to stay for the season.Every year i had to drag myself back to work after a week at Skewjack.
I went here when I was 17 in 1987. It was certainly an experience. We went by train to Penzance and camped to keep it cheap. We did drink a lot and had some good goes at surfing.
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