CORKY KIRKHAM: STILL HOOKED AT 59!
CORKY KIRKHAM: STILL HOOKED AT 59!
CORKY KIRKHAM: STILL HOOKED AT 59!
At 59 years old, Corky Kirkham shows no signs of slowing down. After his early years wave sailing on the Northumberland coastline, he discovered the windsurfing mecca of Fuerteventura around 1990 and has lived there ever since. Over three decades later, he’s still out on the water every chance he gets, as stoked to windsurf now as he was at 19. From those early days in Newcastle UK to running one of Fuerteventura’s most iconic surf bars, Corky’s story is one of hard work, good times and an unshakable passion for windsurfing. John Carter caught up with Corky to find out how he’s kept the fire burning for so long!
Photos: John Carter and Courtesy of Corky Kirkham!
JC: How did you originally get into windsurfing?
CK: “My dad bought a windsurf board on a holiday in Spain! We used to go to a place called Pals, which had really good Tramontana winds. My dad couldn’t do it and the family kind of got stuck with this board. I was watching all the windsurfers saw they were all doing exactly the same thing. They were standing with the same stance and I thought, I can do that! I literally got on our board and just copied everybody else. I never had lessons or anything. I just learned from the other sailors.”
JC: Tell us a bit about your background before you headed off to Fuerteventura?
CK: “I am from Newcastle upon Tyne. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do for a career, so I did my basic training for the Fusiliers. I was in the infantry and got my Berry and everything past that. But then I left as I didn’t want to do that. After that I started going into sports and gym work. I ended up working at the Holiday Inn in Newcastle for nine years! That allowed me to windsurf in the mornings or in the afternoons because it was split shifts. The Holiday Inn was two miles from the coast. So, I could go sailing before work and after. So, all through the winter, I was constantly sailing.”
JC: So, you were pretty addicted early on to windsurfing?
CK: “Yeah, as soon as I started, I was proper addicted. There was a good group of lads where I used to sail. They were all a bit older than me at that time. But we’ve all made friends and I can even remember walking into the sea over the snow on the beach to go sailing. We were all pretty nuts!”
JC: What were the beaches you were sailing at?
CK: “Yeah, basically the whole Northumberland coastline is insane. There are loads of reef breaks and everything, but mostly it was Alnmouth, Beadnell Bay all the way up to Craster. And then we sailed all-around Newcastle, Blythe, South Beach, Blythe, South Shields and Whitley Bay. All those places have really good waves at certain tides. So, I was really lucky. And there was only four or five of us that used to sail.”
JC: So what? What gear were you riding back in those days?
CK: “Actually, I was lucky enough to get sponsored really early on by Scan Row. It was a company in Newcastle upon Tyne, and they actually made the 295 pink and mint green plastic boards. I can remember rocking up at the factory and they just wanted as much publicity as possible! They had a massive factory, millions of masts, millions of booms, millions of everything. And they did sails as well. I think I was about nineteen when I rode for them.”
JC: And when did you first get the idea to go to Fuerteventura?
CK: “Well, yeah, Fuerte came along because all the all the guys that were sailing with me went on holiday at Lanzarote every year to Costa Teguise. I never went because I was too young, but I always thought about going. When I was old enough and could afford it, I saw Fuerteventura had better waves than Lanzarote and a lot more beaches, so that really interested me. And then I started seeing the photographs in the mags of Gary Gibson, Farrel O’Shea and Mark Moore, with the Turquoise water and the white sand and I knew that Lanzarote didn’t really have beaches like that! The white Sahara sand and that water colour tempted me to head to Fuerteventura and check it out.
So, I went on a two-week holiday and sailed pretty much every day. I met people on the beach that were living in their vans, Germans and Swiss and crew like that. And I got talking to them and they were there for five to eight months. Obviously being English we only got a two week holiday every year and I had to go back to work! I knew as soon as I got back, I had to get back to Fuerte. I made a plan to work and save up and decided I was doing it 100%.
I worked like a dog for the next two years. I stayed working at the Holiday Inn, but I also had a night time job in body Zone Gym in Newcastle City centre, so I was going to work in the evenings throughout the night as a personal fitness instructor. I did those two jobs for two years, sold my van and then just flew out to Fuerteventura with my gear.
I knew I had enough money to last for six months and had I pre-rented a little studio room that had a swimming pool as well. It was in a tiny complex at the back of Rock Café, so that was cool. I made so many friends during my first five months. The English crew, all met up in the English restaurants and hit the bars. The owner of a restaurant called Fagans offered me a job in my 5th month in the kitchen and that enabled me to stay longer. I thought, ‘you know what, I’m not going back!’ So, I managed to rent a hire car, a tiny Fiat Panda to get me to the beach. And that’s basically how it all started. The crew at Fagan’s restaurant used to sponsor me to go to Tiree as well. He helped me get there and used to pay for my flights.”
JC: So, when did you start Corky’s Bar?
CK: “Well, I worked in Fagans for a long time, they actually moved me from being like the kitchen cleaner. I had been cleaning the kitchen when the shift finished, the walls, the oven and the floor, all the plates and cutlary….it was brutal. But then they moved me into the bar because they thought I was really funny and my personality went down well with the punters. I never actually wanted that. I only wanted to be with the lads in the kitchen. But anyway, I started doing the bar and I was like, ‘oh, this is alright, I’m clean, I smell nice and there were lots of tour operator girls coming in. They would come in in the evenings and eat there. So, obviously I thought this is alright. I was chatting up all these girls and when we closed, we’d all go out together. And that’s how it started really. And that’s how I got into bar work…I bumped into a few more people that had bars and they were saying you should get your own bar well as well. There was not a surf bar in town so that was my angle, it was 1993. I started looking to rent somewhere, found a small place, and I thought, you know, I’m just going to go for it.
The plan was for it to be a windsurf bar to start with. Just for windsurfers because there were so many windsurfers in town. So, I thought, you know what, we’ll just call it Corky’s, and we’ll try and fill it with everyone that does water sports, boogie boarders, surfers and windsurfers. I managed to get a bit of a deal from Red Bull. So, I was able to push the whole extreme sports videos on all the televisions and things and everyone used to come in after sailing or surfing. It was the place to be. We used to cater for everybody, and it just took off big time. I eventually moved to a bigger bar directly above the first one. And that is where all the water people hung out. It had the pool tables outside, Severne flags and even a dancing pole in the corner for the girls.
Early on, when I was going to Tiree I was with Lodey, and I had the idea to put the Confederate rebel flag on the bottom of my board. Jason Prior was always one of my heroes, so I thought that would be something different. And it’s kind of stuck. So, then I used it behind my name on the bar. People used to send me all Dukes of Hazzard stuff to go on the walls of the bar. I used to put all the windsurf magazines on the counter and do a daily surf report.
A lot of windsurfers just came in to find out the forecast and where to go but then they would have a few pints and the bar would be rocking. There were a lot of crazy nights. We had Dunkerbeck in there Josh Angulo and all the big names when they were in Fuerteventura. I remember Dunkerbeck swinging from my ceiling fan and cutting his head open! That was a classic. I had that bar for fifteen years, believe it or. not. When I look back, if I wanted to do it now, I don’t think I would last one year. But it all happened just at the right time. I was the right age, I was single and I was sailing and working every single night! I had to go in at 6am to clean up, mop the floors and make sure we were stocked up. And I was sailing every single day. It was absolutely crazy!”
JC: Why do you think your passion for windsurfing has never dropped off?
CK: “I don’t know. I really, really don’t know. It’s properly in my blood, isn’t it? My passion has never dropped off. I’m still the same fanatical windsurfer now at 59 as I was back then! Tomorrow is going to be cranking on the North Shore. It’s going to be 30knots and I’ve already got my gear ready and I’m excited. Windsurfing is just mental, isn’t it?
My love for windsurfing has never ever wavered. Obviously, I wouldn’t want to live in Fuerteventura, if I couldn’t windsurf. I am 59 now, I’ve just got to carry on sailing until I get injured or something. I had a bad foot for a long, long time. About a year ago, but right now it’s fully OK. I think you know, as long as nothing serious happens to me I will be wave sailing. As you get older, if you get a big injury, it takes a lot longer to recover.”
JC: There must have been many epic days over the years?
CK: There have been many insane days. Big ‘Acid Drop’ days, that day in Cotillo upwind, from the harbour. The waves are unbelievable and there are still many uncharted waves as well. There’s lots of waves here where we go now and sail, to get away from the people and hardly anyone knows where they are. When the big swells come in there are waves everywhere!”
JC: Has Fuerteventura changed much over the years?
CK: “It’s got busier obviously, but I mean, I have been here 35 years now, so it’s bound to change, isn’t it! Everywhere, changes in 35 years, but it’s got so busy now. I think there’s over 60 surf schools that take the tourists to the beaches, which is a ridiculous amount. They’ve all got the plastic boards and they’re all crashing into the reef and cutting their heads open and. It is Unbelievable.”
JC: Would you call yourself a competitive windsurfer?
CK: “I never liked competitions. I was just always just trying to please the sponsors and did Tiree when I could and other events around here. But no, I hated competitions like all that standing around on the beach and trying to be friendly and people ignoring you. I’m definitely a free sailor for sure. I just like going out, doing my own thing. But there are things you have to do to get the equipment you know so you have to keep the sponsors happy!”
JC: What bring you back to Tiree every year?
CK: “Well, that’s the that’s the main competition of the year compared to all the others throughout the year. It’s a fixed contest window and you are most likely going to get solid conditions. You’re going to get good waves, good wind, and you’re going to get decent exposure for the sponsors. That’s the one event you can’t really miss, and it just happens to be in October, where I’m absolutely sick and tired of the heat here because I’ve probably had six months of solid sun, 30° and I and I wouldn’t want to go anywhere hot.
So, Tiree ticks all the boxes for me. I get all excited about going and I want to be cold and I want it to rain and I want a hurricane. I’ve done a couple of hurricanes, Ophelia and Gareth! That was insane, really. But yeah, when that aeroplane door opens and that cold air hits me, I love it. Everyone behind me is unhappy because they don’t want bad weather. But I come alive in the cold and rain especially after a summer in Fuerte!”
JC: What are your favourite moves?
CK: “I still love the Eagle Wing! That is my favourite move without a doubt I. I Love doing them and there are not a lot of people that can do them on both tacks. That’s one good thing about Fuerteventura. We get 50 / 50 of starboard and port. So, I’m quite good on both tacks with all the jumps as well. So that is great for Tiree and places like that! Yeah, but I would say the. Eagle Wing, without a doubt is my number one jump. I like everything, Crazy Pete’s, arch back loops and table top forwards.”
JC: Who are your favourite windsurfers?
“My favourite all time all time from back in the day was always Jason Prior with the rebel flag on his board. He was always a rebel, you know, he slept on the beach and was fighting and stuff like that and we used his logo on the bar! Josh Angulo was always one of my heroes too. All the Angulo family, Mark Angulo as well, but Josh especially. Josh is a good friend right now and obviously lives in Cape Verde, but we’re in touch quite a lot. He sponsored me for a for a couple of years as well with the Angulo boards. But yeah, he’s a really, really top bloke! I remember watching Dave Kalama, US 212. He was one of my favourites and then there was Brett Little and then Polakow came on. That was my favourite era.
Out of the current crop…I feel a bit of a shame about Ricardo because he, to me, is one of the most talented windsurfers out there without a shadow of a doubt. It is just such a shame that he hasn’t got a decent deal really. Mark Pare is ripping. I’ve been with him in Tiree a couple of times. Mark’s a really nice guy. He’s going to go all the way and be world champion, I think. Anton Martin and Braw and all that lot are sick sailors. You know, they’re all really amazing windsurfers. But yeah, Ricardo, he’s the one you always watch at Pozo, its such a shame that he can’t get a deal.”
JC: What is it you love about windsurfing?
CK: Any problems you’ve got when you’re out there windsurfing just go away. I even just love the speed across the water. I mean, even if you take away all the jumps and everything and you just sail super-fast and you’ve got that turquoise blue sea flying past you! It is amazing. It’s just you and the ocean and you don’t think about anything! Before you know it, you’re two miles out to sea. And then you throw in all the jumps and all the stunts and then it just makes it 10 times better. But yeah. Just blasting is just insane, especially when you are totally overpowered. It’s not the same in England, I suppose with the grey water, but you still get the same rush!
I was fishing off the rocks the day before yesterday and a pod of dolphins swam past and they were literally 20 metres from me. I was stood there with my mouth open absolutely gobsmacked. There were about 7 or 8 of them all jumping out going past me from left to right. Unreal”
JC: So, will you always live in Fuerteventura?
CK: “Yeah, I’ve got my house here now. I don’t want to go anywhere else. I’ll just travel from here and come back. This is home. This is the best place in the world! Four hours from England with the beaches and the wind and the colour of the sea and everything here, why would you want to want to go anywhere else? Like I said, I was fishing the other day and the sea was so blue. It was like the Maldives or Mauritius…So I’m happy with that, you know.”
Corky is sponsored by:
RRD Watersports.
K4 fins.
VW Canarias.
Little acorns nursery furniture.
Da Kine.
Mission.info
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