Volunteering to Knotbliss – Annabels Blog 29 January 2020

Helping young people realise the joys surfing has to offer, is the main reason I volunteer with the Wave Project, I started volunteering at Bigbury in South Devon in June 2018, after seeing the Wave Project store in Newquay, I knew I wanted to get involved!

I’ve always felt comfortable in the water and as a keen surfer myself, it’s great to share the stoke of catching a wave, with other young people, often it’s even better than surfing for yourself! Watching young people grow in confidence throughout the course of the project, paddling out, standing up, or even just their enthusiasm to get in the water, which in some cases was non-existent at the start of the project. As a volunteer this makes you question if it’s you that’s helping them, or them helping you. Surf therapy is contagious.

The highlight of volunteering so far- Unicorn Surfing! Alisha (the young person I surfed with) demonstrated her famous Unicorn move while surfing to the other kids, suddenly Unicorn surfing was quite the trend!

 

I’m currently studying towards a Business Management degree at Plymouth University and recently had to start up a business. Sick of seeing ghost nets on the beach nearly every time I went for a surf, I started collecting the nets, I started tying bits of net around the zips on my bags, I then realised I could do the same thing with a surf leash string, it’s just a 30cm line of rope, knotted, and there you go! An Upcycled leash string, a practical solution to plastic pollution.

It’s called Knot Bliss. https://www.knotbliss.co.uk/