Surf Action - Supporting Combat Veterans: The past month...

The past month have seen three major events for Surf Action. Firstly the charity completed their second residential week for six veterans suffering Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The venue for the event was Bosweddon House near Cape Cornwall and an ideal setting for the activities that were planned. The event was a great success and promoted a positive move forward in the lives of these veterans. 

Each day, outdoor activities included surfing, fishing, or walking and are intuitively beneficial in terms of physical and mental well being and research is now showing the benefits of a connection to nature in terms of its calming and positive outcomes. One of the most fun days was the fly fishing at Tree Meadow Trout Fishery at Gwinear Downs and the rainbow trout we kept were kindly cooked beautifully for the group by the team at Bosweddon House.

Veterans were also introduced to the more holistic therapies such as mindfulness, yoga, tai chi and art therapy and can all be used to help reduce the feelings of anxiety and stress and be additional tools to also cope with the effects of PTSD and can be very effective.  These residential weeks funded by Dial a Flight  and help Surf Action return to Prussia Cove in June for their third week. 

The second event was the return of the Not Forgotten Association at the end of April. The NFA who have been operating for 92 years provide leisure and entertainment to injured service men and women and also veterans as a form of respite. Surf Action welcomed eight men and women to St Ives where they took part in three days of surfing which again had great positive results. 

Rosie Thomson from the NFA says" I love these weeks and the whole Surf Action team make it such a fun week we never want to leave and we shall be back this year".

Surf Action arranged for Nikki Stone to also be on hand for some massage treatments and all round pampering for every one on the week. The group included a injured Sniper Carl Ansty who last year rowed across the atlantic. Carl was injured in Afghanistan and had his leg shortened due to the blast from a misfire which killed two comrades. Carl is also an avid surfer and will be returning as much as possible as this week just gave a taste of things to come.

Rich Emerson says "It is these activities that truly help these guys come to terms with their injuries and if surfing can help them realise that anything is possible and we put a smile on their faces then we are doing our job".

The third major event is our move to Heartlands in Pool. Directors Rich Emerson, Russ Pierre and Chris Hines are delighted to be part of the Heartlands project. It means we are less isolated and more accessible to the veterans and ex services we are supporting. The charity have taken two units that will provide a drop in centre and operational headquarters and also another which will be an art studio that incorporates a private therapy room and sensory area. The art studio has been part funded by Falmouth University and will help develop collaborations between the veterans and the students and lead to some great creative workshops. 

Russ Pierre stated " Since moving we have already seen a steady flow of veterans and ex-services coming in to see us looking for support. We are closer to the beach at Gwithian Towans and will help us to be much more accessible and better provide the support and facilities to our veterans and ex service men and women.

If anyone would like to know more about our activities then please contact us.