I meet up with Alex again for breakfast before we both head back to the car for the short drive to meet up with Jules and Jess, who’re braving the conditions with us, after winning our Live Life To The S-MAX competition that we ran with Ford.

“It’s looking pretty big out there…”

Along with a day’s surfing, the prize won by Jules also includes a Skindog surf board made specifically for him by master shaper, current European Longboard Champion, and holder of no-fewer that 16 British titles, Ben Skinner. We arrive as Julian is checking numerous online webcams pointed at all the local breaks. “It’s looking pretty big out there,” he confirms, somewhat ominously.

While the conditions were doing their upmost to put a dampener on our Cornish exploration, Jules and Jess’ spirits lit up the atmosphere. Their enthusiasm for the trip was absolutely infectious, and by the time we were ready to load up the S-MAX, all four of us were determined to find a set of waves that we could call our own.

With lush Cornish countryside rolling past the windows, morale in the car remains high. “This is surfing” suggests Jules. “This is real surfing.” He’s right. While catching a wave is always the end goal, the journey is all part of it. With the car breezing along winding country lanes, complete with a strip of grass down the middle, the anticipation of what may lie in wait for us starts to boil.

In no time at all, we find ourselves back on the South coast, and looking out onto a completely flat stretch of sea. The gigantic waves of Newquay have gone, but in their wake is nothing but a ripple gliding across the surface of the otherwise billiard-table like water. Optimistically, we pour out of the S-MAX and stare at the sea, almost willing waves to appear from somewhere. Mother nature isn’t obliging.

Jess suggests another spot that’s back on the North shore, and in no time we’re back on the hunt. The S-MAX eats up the miles, as we weave happily through the countryside, the four of us getting to know each other. It turns out that, when she’s not catching Waves, Jess spends her time playing Roller Derby.

It’s a sport that’s as complex as it is brutal, and as she explains the rules, the three of us nod away, trying to get to grips with what Blockers, Jammers, and The Pack are. It soon becomes clear that, if at any point we actually get to surf, when Jess says it’s her wave, it’s definitely her wave.

We try another couple of potential surf breaks, only to find the waves either far to big to be safe, or non-existent. As much as a surf trip is about the journey, it would be good to find something approaching surfing to end things with.

With my phone hooked up to the console in the S-MAX, I make a quick call to Hayley from Ticket to Ride, asking if she can think of any other places where the four of us can finally get a wave.

Everyone takes turns dropping in, trying to master the precarious, but enjoyable wave. As soon as anybody looks to have mastered it, they’re sent rag dolling back over the lip and into the cold water.

There’s no way this relentless punishment should be fun, but smiles never drop for a second. Alex’s confidence grows enough for him to try a few skateboard tricks on the wave. He appears to land a Pop Shuvit – spinning the board 360 degrees while he jumps above it – only to land and, as is now expected, gets fired rapidly up the ramp and over the falls.

People whoop from the side as Jules drops in and holds the board steadily in the middle of the wave for what seems like a full minute. His faced is etched with concentration. It’s the longest ride of the day, but of course ends in an inevitable tumble. Enthusiasm never dips, and our allotted hour flies by.

After a warming dip in the hot-tub, which at this point is more medicinal that luxurious, everybody hits the showers, exhausted but elated. We had set out for waves, and while the ones we got may not have been what we imagined when we all woke up on that cold Saturday morning, our adventure had rewarded us with endless smiles and enough laughter to keep our stomachs aching for almost as long as the continuous bails on the Flow Rider would.

Showered, dry, and back in regular clothes, we climb back in the S-MAX one more time. Heaters on, and the sat-nav programmed, we head back to Penzance to drop Jules and Jess back at their door. By now, exhaustion should have got the better of all of us, but the stories keep rolling, and Jules continues to point out local spots that would make epic surf locations when the weather was kinder.

We drop the pair home, and make the mutual promise to do this again in the future, but hopefully at a time when nature was being a little kinder to us. In reality, the lack of rideable waves hadn’t ruined our adventure. They’d made it.

While the plan was to hit a spot and surf it to it’s fullest, we had the opportunity, thanks to the Ford S-MAX, to roam around, and make a trip a real mission of discovery, albeit a warm and comfortable one.

The S-MAX unpacked, Alex and I set off on the final leg, the drive back to London. As day gave way to night, the roads that led to the capital got busier and busier, but our stoke could not be dampened. This hadn’t been a text book surf trip. This had been an adventure in the truest sense, and has built memories that will endure for some time to come.

You may also like:

9 Life Hacks That Will Make Surfing Way Simpler For You

15 Surfing Quotes That Completely Define The Sport