I had been looking forward to and preparing for the World Championships of surf kayaking for the past two years. Ever since I came 5th at the worlds in 2011 in North Carolina and found out that the next World Championships was going to be held in Australia. I knew from the start that it would be hard job raising all the money needed to go but in the end I managed it. It was a close run thing though, I wasn’t sure I was going until about 3-4 months before it all started. I found a reasonably priced ticket just before Easter and decided to go out to Australia for 1 month. The competition was only ran for about 2 weeks so I went out 2 weeks before it all started so I could get over jet lag and get used to the breaks we would be surfing on. Back in 2011 I arrived only a few days before the worlds and I definitely didn’t do as well as I could have done so I was determined not to make the same mistake twice!
In the weeks preparing for the worlds I searched for ways to take two surf kayaks with me but in the end I found that it would cost way too much and in the end just took one with me as my checked in baggage. I was flying out from London Heathrow, through Dubai and Melbourne before arriving at my final destination, Brisbane. The flight from London to Dubai was only 6 hours long and as my flight was late arriving I went straight on to my next flight. This one wasn’t as short! It was a 12 hour nonstop flight through to Melbourne which was very interesting! It was hard to sit still for so long and as I don’t sleep that much on planes I watched several films and listened to a lot of music. When I got to Melbourne I had to collect my kayak and all my baggage and check it in for my domestic flight. While I was waiting for my kayak to arrive in the large baggage department I met a very friendly chap who was emigrating from Ireland to Australia. We helped each other out with our kit and it was great to have someone to talk to while waiting for my next flight. I got to Brisbane and I had to wait for awhile before the chap who I was sharing transport with arrived to pick me up.
I had arrived at 10.15 in the morning and as I walked out of the terminal I realized I was in for a nice time. It was so hot compared to England! One wanted to stay in the cooler places as much as was possible. As soon as I was picked up we headed straight to the beaches and within two hours was surfing a sucky point break with 40 board surfers, 10 kayak surfers and about 15 surf skis. It was busy! After that I headed out for something to eat and then for that night crashed out in my friends van. The next day we headed to another point break called Moffats and had a great time. In the afternoon I looked up and found a backpackers that had some room before heading out to the shops to get some essentials and some food. I stayed at that backpackers for several weeks and then moved and shared accommodation for the final weeks with someone who had come over from Wales for the Worlds. This worked out very well, we had a good time and it ended up cheaper as well. The next week or so went by in similar bliss. Getting up early and getting a 2-3 hour surf in before the breaks got crowded, get off the water and either go looking around the local area or just sit and sun bath.
In my time before the worlds I surfed a fair few different breaks. I got quite a few lifts with Darren Bason one of the organizers so I got to surf some of the breaks that were further away from where I was staying more often than I would have otherwise. I also got to see what lengths they were going to organize it which was good. It was a great place to hold the worlds. Everyone was very friendly, and most people were into some sport or another. Surfing was really popular but a lot of people had never seen a surf kayak before! I had people coming up to me as I walked up the beach and asking what it was I was doing. I had been expecting everything to be extremely expensive as lots of people had been warning me but I found that although most things were more expensive than back home one could keep an eye out for things on sale that made it all a bit cheaper. Also there were a few cheaper restaurants around that were ok. There was one Chinese that I’m sure used one kind of meat for all the Lamb and Pork dishes and just tried to disguise it in different sources! There were also lots of BBQs around the beaches that one could just go and use for free which was very useful.
Towards the competition dates the rest of the England Team started to arrive and unfortunately the surf and weather started to deteriorate. On the registration day it was the first time all the contestants had been in the same place at the same time so it was great to see how many had come from all around the world, including Japan, America, Canada, Portugal and many others. Quite a few people had booked into a resort further up the coast which meant that when free surfing one didn’t get to see them. The first day was a separate competition called the ‘Gath Shootout’. The way it was run was that everyone had a heat of 15 minutes and one surfed like usual but when one had a ride which was the best one thought one would get in that heat they would raise their paddles to claim it. Then at the end of the heat the scores for each paddler would be compared and the top two would go through like in the usual competitions. It was a good way to make sure that everybody was familiar with the flag systems and that everything worked ok. There were quite a few swimmers that day as the surf was pretty powerful but everyone was ok in the end.
For the first few days of the World Championships it was decided that they would run the first few heats of the individual competition. Mainly the Men’s HP as there were a lot of entrants. The way it was run was that in the first round the person who came first went through to the 3rd round and the rest went through to the 2nd round. This meant that everybody surfed in at least 2 heats which was great as it meant that the ones who didn’t get through wouldn’t have gone all the way to oz just for one heat. All the heats were hard and the level of surfing from everyone was very high. In my heat I had a fellow England Team paddler, actually he was from the same club as me so I had to make sure I beat him! When the heat came we went down and the surf was a good size, pretty heavy and not very clean. One couldn’t have very long rides and I didn’t think I had done very well but to my surprise I had won my heat! That meant I was through to round 3 which was great.
In the Men’s IC I didn’t do quite as well which was a surprise but I have a good excuse! In my first heat I did reasonably well getting a 3rd place which meant I was through to the 2nd round. In the second round I got another 3rd place which was not good enough to move into the next round. In that heat I couldn’t use the boat I usually would so I borrowed one of the demo boats and it was horrible. The hull flexed all over the place and it just didn’t want to surf at all! I think that possibly had I had a boat I was used to I would have got further. But, that’s how things go! It was a disappointing finish in that class as I knew I could have surfed a lot better but my later performance in the HP class certainly made up for it.
The first few rounds of the Individual competition and the Team event were held at Alex beach, It presented a great judging and viewing platform and I got quite a few photo’s while it was held there. Unfortunately though they didn’t have permission to run it there any longer than a few days so we had to move on to another beach. This was called Moffats and was a point break which meant that there were a few rocks one had to be careful not to miss and there wasn’t much of a lip to hit at the end of one’s rides. The 3rd round of the individual Men’s HP was run here and in this round the top 3 would go through to the quarter finals. I was fairly confident that I would get through and although I didn’t feel I had done that well I came 3rd so I was through to the quarters! This was great as I hadn’t expected to get this far as I had gone out mainly for the Junior classes so it was great to know that I wasn’t that far off the Men’s level of performance for my step up next year. My quarter final was really hard. By this time only the best paddlers were still in and I had the one I had thought had a good chance of winning the worlds. Plus 2 other really good paddlers. The surf was dropping off a bit when we paddled out. I had a really good wave at the beginning but that wave seemed to be the last of the bigger sets and I had to settle for several smaller waves after that. It was the top 2 to go through to the semi final and I was pretty happy with what I had done, but I had no idea of how everyone else had paddled but it was paramount to place ahead of another England team paddler who was in my heat as I knew him quite well. The scores were added up and then written onto the board and low and behold I had come 1st! A really excellent result that I was not expecting. So I was through to the semi finals and when the heats were drawn up I had some really hard competition. The surf for the semi was not very good but I caught a few waves but I wasn’t happy with what I had done and I wasn’t too surprised when I came 4th. It was still a great result as it meant I now have a ranking of number 7 in the world. Which isn’t bad!
It was decided that all the Finals would be run on one day at Mooloolaba right at the end. That day the surf was quite small but it had enough power in it to be quite nice. My 2 finals the Junior HP and IC were towards the middle of the days surfing. I got ready and was fairly confident that I would do reasonably well. In the IC I had a good time but I wasn’t sure if I had done enough as I felt that I had stayed too far from the pocket most of the time so it was a bit nerve racking as I waited for the prize giving when we would find out the results. In the HP I had a couple of good waves but I didn’t think I had done enough to win.
The end of the day finally came and everything was set up for the prize giving. I was very tense as the results were read out and everyone went up to get their medal and Koala Bear. At last they came to the Juniors and they started with the IC. They read the results from 4th place up to 1st and it was a great feeling to have my name called out last… I was the 2013 Junior IC World Champion! I had a really big smile on as I went up to receive my medal. It was a great feeling to have all the training pay off and to realized that all the thousands spent to get me to where I was, was worthwhile. In the Junior HP I got second place which I was happy with. It would have been nice to get 2 titles but I was definitely happy with just one! A couple of other England paddlers got 3rd and 4th places which was great.
In the first round of the Team event I was surfing in the Men’s HP and the Junior IC. My Junior IC heat went well with me winning my heat and my Men’s HP heat went well as well with me coming 2nd which was what was needed. Everybody did well with nearly everyone placing in the top 2. By the end of the round it was the Jersey Team which was knocked out and the Teams that were looking the strongest were the Basque, Australian and of course England. In the next round I was in the Junior IC and the Men’s IC I got a second place in the Junior class which I was a bit surprised about but as I had tried something different I decided to revert to my original surfing style for the next round. In the Men’s class I won my heat which was good. At the end of round 2 it was the Americans who were dropped and the final consisted of the Basque who were looking very strong and the Australians who were showing they could put together a very strong team, and of course us the English!
The final was run on one of the last days in some interesting conditions. It was quite big and gnarly to start with and then as the tide rose it got a bit friendlier. I was in the Men’s IC and the Junior IC and I won both my heats despite having a swim in the Men’s heat! It was my first unintentional swim in years! I was borrowing someone’s boat and I was a very lose fit in it. I was on a big wave and then as I bottom turned I went straight down and got completely sucked out of the boat. At least there wasn’t much I could do about it… The team final was very tight. Coming in to the last couple of heats the Australians were not really in a position to win but between us (the English) and the Basque it was pretty tight. It went down right to the last heat but the Basque had one of their best paddlers in it and in the end we had to settle for another 2nd place with the Basque winning for a 2nd time in a row. Well done to the Australians for getting 3rd as it was the first time they had entered a team.
It had been a great event, well organized and it was in a great place so I’m glad it was allowed to be run in Australia. I was heading back home the day after it all finished which was a shame as I would have loved to stay longer but my budget controlled how long I could stay for! My flight back was from Brisbane to London Gatwick via Dubai and my flight from Brisbane to Dubai was 14 hours long! By the time the flight had finished I was getting pretty fed up of sitting down and of flying in general! I had a bit of a wait before my next flight so I had time to stretch my legs which was good. After another 6 hour flight I was back in the UK. I arrived to nicer weather than that which I had left in Australia! I’m sure that it’s not supposed to be that way around! Anyway, it was a great trip with great results both for the team and for me individually. Roll on the next worlds! It hasn’t been decided yet where it’ll be held but I hope it goes to Spain which is one of the possibilities. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the people/organisations who made my trip to Australia and consequently me winning the Junior IC World Championship possible. Thanks to the Penzance Canoe Club and the Lords Lieutenant Fund for help funding the trip, Palm for providing me with the kit to win in (!) and a special thanks to Andy McColough for sharing his transport with me, spending a lot of his time with me making sure I could get to the surf to get enough practice in and in general being a great friend. I’m not sure if I would have done quite so well if he hadn’t been there.
For this year that is all the competitions done. Till the next surfing season then! See you!
Photo’s courtesy of Pete Blenkinsop, John Gibson, David Priddis, Rachel Wall & Myself!
JTG
The first competition of the season dawned as one of the best days we have had in Cornwall for a long time. Not much wind and the sun was coming out and I hadn’t packed any sun cream! The surf was small as has been common with this competition but was reasonably nice. After the sign in and the brief in which I found out that the heats were to be 13 minutes long. I saw that I was on the last heat so I had time to catch up with friends and to have some breakfast! I wandered around watching the surfing for a while as well and then it was my turn to judge which gave me an idea of how things were looking.
My heat came and I was hoping to do quite well but unfortunately I was trying out some smaller thruster fins and I wasn’t ready for the difference they made! I lost the tail a couple of time but the difference they made when I slashed was amazing. It started to all come together towards the end of the heat but I only managed to get a 3rd place. Everyone were shuffled around in their heats according to where they placed in their previous heats. I was on again about half way through the second round so I stayed in my kit and judged a heat.
The tide had come in by the time my next heat arrived and the surf had got better and I really enjoyed my heat in which I managed a large lip move but unfortunately I didn’t land it fully. I did well though and came 1st which I was really pleased about! I stayed in that heat because I won my last one while the other people in my heat were replaced and so I had a while to wait before my next heat. I again stayed in my kit as it was wet and I don’t like getting into wet kit! My next heat again I did well in and came 1st. Which was great although it wasn’t good enough to get in the mens semi final as I needed to have had two 1sts and a 2nd instead of the two 1sts and a 3rd that I got. I was pleased with my result though, a good start to the year! After the mens final and the prize giving for that and the handicap event we packed up and moved off to the campsite where we were staying the night. We set up our tents had a shower and then headed down to the village where we had a meal booked at an inn with all the competitors.
Unfortunately the inn didn’t open the restaurant on time so we had to wait around and I was getting very hungry! At last we went in and at least there was a lot of food that we could help ourselves to! We didn’t stay long after the meal as we wanted to get an early night in preparation for the next day. We heard though that several people carried on partying till quite late as it was someone’s birthday.
Sunday dawned nice again but it was colder and cloudier than the day before. We got down to the beach and signed in and I was on one of the earlier heats in the mens long. I didn’t do very well although I thought the surf was quite enjoyable. It was a reasonable size but one had to be careful which wave one took as a lot of them were closing out. I got third place in that heat. I went through to the reps because of that placing so I had another heat to look forward to towards the end of the day. Next I had the two junior finals. The junior short was first and the tide had come in a bit so the waves weren’t as dumpy as they had been earlier. I got on the water but unfortunately had to wait several minutes as someone was late turning up which was annoying. I had several good waves but I had no idea of how I had done compared to everyone else.
A few heats later I was in the junior long final. Unfortunately in my first heat of the day I had broken my boat. I had tried to pan-am and had got too steep and nosed dived straight into the sand and split my boat along the seam either side of the nose. It was still surfable but it was taking in water so I didn’t do as well as I could have done but I got several good waves and I was happy with what I had done. I was getting a bit tired by the time my next heat the mens long rep came along. I thought I might not give everything into each wave as I usually do and let someone else go through to the semi final but as soon as I was on the water competition mode switched on and I gave it everything! I had what I think were my best waves of the competition and won that heat which meant I was through to the semi final. I had a heat or twos rest and then I was on in the semi. I had some nice waves but the tide had come in close and it was a bit messy and was closing out. Never the less I did reasonably well coming 4th out of 5. This wasn’t good enough to go through to the final so I was able to get changed and warm. I hung around watching the final and then they set everything up so the prize giving could commence when everyone was changed and ready. It was an interesting prize giving, several people had already set off home. I got a 2nd place in both Junior categories. I was happy with this but of course I would have preferred to have come 1st! Anyway for the first competition of the season I felt I had done reasonably well and I had a good time which is always the main thing! Next competition is the Cornish Open which is being held at Godrevy, it’s one of my local breaks so I don’t have to get up very early which is nice! Till then, Good Bye!
JTG
The Home Internationals were held from Monday the 29th of October to Thursday the 1st of November. Then on the 3rd and 4th of November the British Open was on. Both these events were held in Pembrokeshire.
Monday morning I caught a lift with someone else who was on the England Team and travelled up to Wales. We got into Tenby which was just outside Manorbier, where we were staying and we did a bit of shopping before heading up to Manorbier beach to see what the conditions were like. It was pretty flat so we then retraced our steps and went to the youth hostel where all the teams were staying and the boat check-in was being held. We got our boats checked in and then went in and got comfortable in our rooms. In the evening it was decided who was going to surf when and I was chosen for a heat in the Mens IC class and for the Junior HP. After a very nice and very filling pizza we had a good night’s sleep before getting up and getting to Freshwater West for 8:00.
I had a good day, getting 2nd places in both my heats and everybody else also did well so that by the end of the day we were in the lead by about 10 points. This was great as it left us a bit of a margin for the second round. The next day we all headed out to the beach and it was decided that we would move to Manorbier beach but when we got there it was decided that the comp. would be postponed to the following day as the surf was massive and the wind was vey high. Everybody went out for a free surf and got some nice waves, I got an air but unfortunately I didn’t land it – but it felt great! It was hard work so I was glad that they had decided not to run the comp.
Most of us then went back to the youth hostel and had a rest. Some went back to the beach later on as the wind had dropped and apparently had a great time. Almost everybody went out to the cinema that evening to see the new James Bond but a few of us decided to go for a surf. It had dropped off quite a bit but there was still a nice wave and as there was only 4 of us out there it was great. We surfed till after dark and then as I was surfing in on my last wave I made a big mistake. It was so dark that I couldn’t really see how close I was to the beach and the waves were breaking right onto it. I took my last wave and thought that it was going brilliantly and I was just preparing to go for the lip when I realized that there was no water in front of me! I went up with the lip and landed on my face on the beach. Apparently it was hilarious to watch from the beach. Thankfully I wasn’t really hurt and nothing was broken. Just had a bruised lip and a couple of slightly loose teeth!
We went back to the youth hostel and had some dinner. Then the program for the next day was put up on the notice board and I was in the Junior IC class and it was being held at Manorbier beach again which was great as it was only a couple of minutes drive from where we were staying.
When we got down there the next day there was quite a nice wave coming through. All the HP heats were on first so I was on later on in the day. I did a bit of judging and watched until it was time to get down for my heat. The conditions were very interesting but I had a couple of nice waves and got a second place. We all had good results that day and we gained another ten points on Northern Ireland who were in 2nd place meaning we won the Home Internationals with an advantage of 20 points! The prize giving was that evening where everyone got a small trophy and was followed by a Halloween party. It was fun watching some of the Halloween games as well as seeing all the different fancy dresses!
The next day was supposed to be a rest day but because of the forecast and because of the number of people who had entered in the British Open it was decided it wouldn’t be and that we would go straight into the competition.
I was entered in the Junior IC and HP. The Junior HP semi was on fairly early and I didn’t have a good heat. I just didn’t seem to get things right and couldn’t catch any nice waves. I came 3rd which wasn’t quite good enough as I needed either a 1st or a 2nd to get through to the final.
I had a bit of a break before I was on again this time in the Junior IC semi. I did better this time and got a 2nd place meaning I was through to the final which I was really pleased about. Shortly afterwards I had to go out for the Junior HP B final and I got 2nd place in it which meant that I came 6th overall in the Junior HP. Then I had a couple of heats break before going into the Junior IC final. I didn’t feel that I had done brilliantly but I was fairly happy with what I had done – we weren’t going to find out the results until the next evening (Saturday). There were several people who hadn’t yet arrived so they couldn’t do all the heats. We retired to the Youth Hostel and had a shower and a rest, before going out for a team meal in the evening, kindly paid for by Surf Kayak Skills. The next day I wasn’t going to be surfing so I hung around watching the surfing and occasionally helping out with the judging. The Mens IC class and the Masters HP class and the Lady’s HP class were finished that day and we had the prize giving for them and the 2 Junior classes that had been run the day before. that evening. Then after that we had an auction of items that had been donated to raise funds to help get the Welsh Team to the Worlds next year in Australia. We then retired for the night as we had to be at the beach fairly early the next day. We also had to remove all our kit from the Youth Hostel before we left.
The next day started as a rather wet day but with some nice surf. I went out before the heats started to try a new boat and that was my undoing as I bought it several hours later! The final heats were run and we had the prize giving at the beach. I then transferred both my boats and all my kit to someone else’s van for the drive home. It took us about 6 – 7 hours to get back but it wasn’t too bad. We all had a great weekend and it was great to have participated in the Home Internationals and of course to get a 4th place in the Junior IC and a 6th place in the Junior HP.
JTG
The Cornish Open was being held at Godrevy. The day dawned cold yet fairly dry. There were rain clouds on the horizon but thankfully for the whole day it didn’t rain. There was a strong breeze blowing which wasn’t very nice. The surf was looking fairly big and powerful and looked like it had potential to be nice.
After the briefing we took the judging equipment down to the cliff and everyone who was in the first heat got changed. I was entered in the Junior Long, Junior Short and Open Long. My first heat was to be the Junior Long combined with a heat of the Open Long. The tide had gone right out and there was what looked like a quite strong current going along the beach so when one launched it took one quickly down the beach to the reef at the end!
After warming up and getting on the water I found out that the paddle out was just as hard as it had looked from the beach. When the heat started I took one wave in and then I couldn’t get out back again and I realized that I had better get an inside wave as ones best two waves out of ten are scored. I then managed to get out back just as the red flag went up signalling the end of the heat. I then had my best wave of the heat coming in. I came third which meant that I went through to the Open Long reps.
I had most of the day to wait for the Junior Short final so I had something to eat and watched all the other heats. There were some nice waves taken and as the tide came up the surf got a bit better. Finally the time for the Junior Short final arrived. I chose a place to launch as since the tide was now really high there was practically no beach, just lots of rocks! I had to wait for the right time and then jump into my boat quickly. The paddle out wasn’t too bad, I got back out and waited for the heat to begin. When it started I had one wave in. It wasn’t too bad and I was confident that I could do well in the heat and then while paddling out I found myself in the wrong place as a big wave came right at me. I decided to turn and run rather than take it on the head. It was a disaster, everything went wrong and I had to come out and I found myself swimming pretty far from the beach. Then Jack Barker, one of the other juniors in the heat, came over and gave me a tow in until I could touch the bottom with my feet and as the lifeguard paddled out on his board I waded/swam to the beach. I got my paddle and boat as quickly as possible intending to get out again and score at least one more wave but then found that all my foot rests had been washed out so sadly I had to sit out the rest of the heat.
I was on again in the next heat. This was the Open Long reps and I didn’t do very well as I was pretty tired out from my beating/swim. So afterwards I went and got changed and came back to the beach to watch and help judge the remaining heats. Then everything was taken back to the car park and everything was made ready for the prize giving. I came 2nd in the Junior Long and 3rd in the Junior Short. Well done to Glen Scott who won the Junior Short and for becoming the new England Junior Short Boat Champion and to Jack Bark who won the Junior Long and the Open Long becoming the new England Junior and Mens Long Boat Champion. Jon Mount came 2nd in the Open Short claiming the Mens England Short Boat Championship title and Gary Adcock is now the England Masters Long and Short Boat Champion with Clare Eatock claiming the England Ladies Championship title.
The Final Competition for the year is the British Open which is on the 3rd and 4th of November but before that is the Home Internationals in Wales which starts next week. Until then goodbye!
JTG
Originally there was a competition scheduled for the 8th and 9th of September but unfortunately it had to be cancelled because the organizer was unable to get permission to run it. Someone thought that it would be nice for everybody to still come down and have a day of surfing together on the 8th and calling it September Surfacular.. I’m not sure who named it! It was also decided that the England Team coaching day would run on the 9th so that everyone who was on the Team could come down and have a weekend of surfing if they wanted to. As I have qualified for the Team this year I would be taking part in the Team training so I went up to Bude where it was being held for the whole weekend, camping overnight. I was desperately hoping for some nice weather and good surf as I didn’t really want to be camping in the rain and good surf is always nice.
Coming up to the weekend the weather forecast was looking good, really nice on the Saturday and getting a bit colder on the Sunday. But most importantly it wasn’t going to rain! The surf forecast wasn’t so good, quite small on the Saturday but to pick up during the night to be a couple of feet on Sunday.
The day before (Friday) it was decided by the organizers that they would move the social surf to Northcott Mouth instead of Black Rock because the surf was so small. It was a good job that they did as when we got there Saturday morning there was only a very small wave. It was high tide so most of us decided to give it a couple of hours before venturing out and as it was a really nice, hot day, hung out in the car park chatting while a couple of more venturesome surfers decided to risk the dumping surf, and the rocks that were only revealed when the waves drew back, to try and get some waves.
On the Saturday social surf there was also going to be a best wave competition but this was postponed till the Sunday as the surf was so small. The surf got a bit better as the tide went out and when I decided to go for a surf the sets were a couple of feet and although they were only short rides and one had to work hard to keep on them it was great to be out on the water with fellow surfers. After several hours of surfing I came in for lunch and the tide was fairly far out and the surf had dropped off. I had certainly gone out at the right time. After lunch I decided not to out again but sat on the beach and watched several other people surfing. Then about mid afternoon I decided to leave and have a look around Bude before finding a campsite to stay in for the night. There was a meal organized in a local Inn for anyone who wanted to go so we went and chatted to several people and then retired for an early night in preparation for the training the next day.
The weather on Sunday wasn’t as nice, a bit cloudier and it looked like it might rain before the day was out. We all met up at Black Rock car park and then had the best wave competition for a couple of hours and then everyone selected for the England Team met up and and had a talk before walking down to beach and getting on the water.
The coaching was really good. It was only the second coaching session I have ever had in surfing, it gave me several things to think about and to put into practice. The surf was a reasonable size and the weather wasn’t too bad, it was a nice day to be out.
Overall it was a great weekend, nice to meet up with everybody and go surfing with them, living so far south means that most of the time I don’t get to see them except when competitions are on.
Next Competition is a local one for me so not too far to drive!
JTG
Over the couple of days leading up to the Gower Madness surf competition the weather and surf weren’t looking very nice but on the Thursday before, it was decided that it would run. It was planned that the comp site would be at Rhossilli beach and we would all meet at the car park on the top of the cliffs.
We travelled up to the Gower on Friday afternoon in fairly good weather but it was very windy. When we got there, 5/6 hours later, the sun had come out and it was a lovely evening. After setting up the tents we went for a walk along the coast to the competition site. The surf looked really big and horrible, the wind was blowing onshore and just making it a big mess.
After an early night and a good sleep we got up in the morning to find that the wind had dropped as the forecast had predicted but it was still pretty strong. We drove to the comp site and the waves looked a lot smaller than the day before but still not very nice. When everybody had arrived we had a brief and we all started to carry our boats down the cliff. It is a long walk down and I had to do it a couple of times as I had two boats and my kit as well.
The first heats on were the Men’s Open Short and my heats weren’t on till later on in the afternoon. I helped judge a couple of heats and sat around and watched until it was time to get on the water. My first heat was the Junior Short final. The tide had gone out a fair way by now so we had quite a walk to the waters edge. This was my second competition in my new boat and I hadn’t got fully comfortable in it yet so I wasn’t sure how well I was going to do. I had some nice waves, though, and I really appreciated how fast it was compared to my old one! At the end of the heat, which was 15 minutes long, I had no idea of how well I had done. I felt I’d had a couple of good waves but compared to everybody else, I had no idea.
My next heat was the Junior Long final and it was decided that the top two would go through to the Men’s Open Long semi-final but I had quite awhile to wait before I was on again. I helped judge again and then I stood on the beach taking advantage of the break to have a bite to eat and a drink. Then I was on again and I thought I hadn’t done too badly. I have never felt that the long boat is my strong point but I was happy with what I had done. I carried my boat all the way back up the beach as I thought I probably wasn’t in the top two only to find out a couple of minutes later that I was! So, in a couple of heats time, I would have to carry my boat all the way to the water again for the semi-final of the Men’s Long and the tide had gone out a long way!
I didn’t do so well in the Men’s Long semi and I came 4th, which wasn’t good enough to get me into the final.
It was time to get changed and start taking my boats up to the car park. By the time I had got halfway up the cliff path it felt like my arms were dropping off! After several rest stops to change my grip I got to the top and got all my kit in the car and my boats on the roof rack.
There was quite a wait for the prize giving, as everybody had to get up the cliff and get changed. Finally though, the time came to find out how well I had done. I came 2nd in the Junior Long and 1st in the Junior Short, which was great and made the trek up and down the cliff really worth it!
We decided that we would travel back home that day, as we didn’t really want to pay another lot of camping fees so we packed up and left. The journey back was really horrible. It was raining very heavily and the wind got up a bit as well so we were glad that we hadn’t stayed another night in the tents!
I’m really pleased with my results, a few weeks before the comp I was wondering if it was worth going all the way up to Wales but in the end it was definitely worth it!
The St Ives Bay surf competition was on the 7th of April and the weather wasn’t very nice and the surf wasn’t very good either! Check in was from 8:00 – 8:30 and then we had the safety brief. I was entered in the Junior Long and Short and the Open Long and Short. A couple of people didn’t turn up because of a car breaking down so the first heat was cancelled and we started with the 2nd heat. I was in the 4th heat which was the Junior Short final combined with a heat of the Open Short. I had a couple of good waves in it and then I had a set back about ¾ of the way through the heat and I didn’t have any waves after that. I hadn’t thought that I had done very well so I was pleasantly surprised when I looked at the heat results and found that I had won it! So I was through to the quarter finals. I had a couple of heats before my next one which was the Junior Long Final combined with a heat of the Open Long so I grabbed a bite to eat and helped judge a heat.
When the competition first started the tide was fairly well in but by the time my second heat came on the tide had gone out fairly far and the surf was not looking very pleasant! I hadn’t been out in my long boat since the last comp. so I wasn’t sure how this heat would go for me. But I felt that it wasn’t going too badly when I got out there and I had a few good scoring waves and came second. This meant that I was through to the semi finals which was great as that was the first time I had got through to them. My next heat was a long way off and was a Long semi final so I helped out with the judging and got pretty cold! The weather was windy and not very pleasant to be out in.
My next heat came around and the tide was far out and the surf was fairly small. Again I had a couple of good waves and I won it! so I was through to the final of the Open Long for the first time. I was shortly going to be in the quarter final of the Open Short and the tide was even further out now and the surf wasn’t very good at all but I had a couple of good rides and came second. So I was through to the semi final of the Open Short. I was feeling very cheerful at this point as I had done the best I have ever done in a comp. before. I had never managed to get to the semi finals of either the Open Long or the Open Short before and so far I was in the final of the Open Long and a semi final of the Open Short!
My next heat was the Open Long final and I had some nice rides but I had no idea of how well I had done compared to the others. Next I was in a semi final for the Open Short and I had some rides that I didn’t think were too bad but then I got a pain in my upper right arm and I came in before the heat had ended. Thinking that I hadn’t done well enough to get into the final I started moving both my boats up to the cliff path. Then someone came down and said that I had come second and was in the final if I felt that I was feeling up to it. I decided that I was OK as the pain in my arm had passed so I grabbed some food and a hot drink before my next heat.
The Open Short final was the last heat of the day, I went down to the beach and asked someone from the heat before to give me a push off the sand so I didn’t hurt my arm. I took it easy all through the heat as I was starting to get cramp in my legs as well. After the heat I got both my boats up and got changed and warmed up just in time for the prize giving.
I came 1st in the Junior Long, 1st in the Junior Short, 1st in the Open Long and 3rd in the Open Short!
A very satisfactory competition! I now have a new boat to get used to before the next competition, which is in two weeks and is being held in Bude.
JTG
The original date for the Celtic Cup was on Saturday the 3rd and Sunday the 4th of March and it was being held at Black Rock in Bude. When we got there at 8am the surf didn’t look very nice from the car park. It looked big and messy and I wasn’t looking forward to going out in it.
After the check-in and the safety brief I found out that the first heat of the day would be the Junior Short final (which I was in). I got changed quickly as I hadn’t a lot of time and then I got a bib and my boat off the roof-rack and went down to the beach. We launched, and paddling out I had some of the worst beatings I’ve had for a long time! The surf was really powerful and if I timed something wrong I definitely got a beating. I finally managed to get out back and then I found that I couldn’t see the flags! After looking very carefully I managed to spot them and saw that the green was up meaning the heat had started. It was really messy and I had trouble catching a wave. In the end I caught one but it wasn’t very good. It was closing out so I only had time to turn and go for the lip. Once back inside I found that I couldn’t get out back again so I tried to get a few inside waves and managed to get a couple but they weren’t very good.
When the heat finished we got out and did safety cover for the heat that was on after us, then I went up to the car park and got something to eat and drink and watched the next heat. At that point it was decided that the competition would be cancelled and re-run on a different date. It was decided, though, that the expression session ,which was going to be held on Sunday (the next day) would be held then instead, but at a different beach. I hadn’t entered this so I stayed around and watched a bit before I went home.
The re-run date was decided for the 17th and 18th of March (Saturday-Sunday) at the same place. After getting there I saw that surf was smaller than the time before but was still messy. There were a few heats before my first one so I had some breakfast while I was watching them. My first heat was in the Open Short and I didn’t do very well. I came third and the surf wasn’t very nice: again it was powerful and messy but it was better than the previous date! My next heat was later on in the day in the Open Long so I had time to watch everybody surfing. My heat in the Open Long was combined with the Junior Long final. I went out and I was glad of the extra length of my long boat as it was faster on flat water so it was easier to paddle out. I again didn’t do brilliantly and I came third so I didn’t move on to the next heat of the Open Long.
I had one more heat and that was a rep in the Open Short and I did a bit better in that and came second but I needed a first place to move on. That was all for me as I didn’t have any more heats to attend so I went and got changed and had some lunch and then I helped out with the judging for the rest of the day. There was some impressive surfing to be seen and towards the end I think everybody was beginning to feel tired.
Finally, at the end of the day we had the prize giving. The results for the Junior Short that was held on the first competition date still held and I came 3rd in that. In the Junior Long I came 2nd. I would like to congratulate Jon Mount who won the Open Short for the first time, beating the current world champion in the process. Well done! I can’t wait for the next competition (which is in April) to try and better my own results. See you around.
JTG
It wasn’t looking great when we got to Godrevy Saturday morning as it was very windy and although the sun was out it wasn’t very warm.
After I’d signed in I walked up onto the cliff and had a look at the surf. It didn’t look too bad although the wind was off shore and it was blowing the tops off the waves.
I went back down to the car park and after the briefing helped carry the judging equipment up to the cliff and as I wasn’t on for quite awhile I stayed around and helped out with the judging for the first heat. It looked like it wasn’t easy to get on a wave although it didn’t look too bad when you managed to get on it. I had entered in the junior short and long but as only a few had entered in the junior long I was allowed to enter in another category so I chose open long.
I got my boats down to the cliff in preparation for my heats ‘though mine weren’t on till about lunch time. My first heat was the junior short final. The tide had come in quite a bit so it was tricky to get down the cliff path and I had to take both of my boats down to the beach as the open long was the following heat. On the water we had to wait quite awhile for the heat to start. The surf was nice but the spray was blowing back in my face when I was on the wave so I had to rely on the feel of the wave sometimes to time my turns. I had a couple of really nice rides. Finally I think I have got my fins in the right place as I have been fiddling around with them and since I got back from the Worlds I have tried putting them in a completely different place. As the heat ended I rushed back to the beach, changed bibs, grabbed my other boat and then got out back just in time. I had some good rides but they weren’t good enough and I came 4th.
I then had a bit of time to spare before my next heat, the junior long final, so I had a bite to eat and watched everybody else surfing and there were some nice rides to watch.
At last the junior long final arrived and we got down onto the beach. The surf wasn’t looking very good by this time although it looked as if there were a few nice rides to be had if you waited for the right one. When the heat got started a set had just gone past so I had a few rides on the inside but I didn’t think they were that good. Then some better waves arrived and I had a few nice rides and quite a few bad ones as well! Most of the waves that I caught were peeling with a shoulder and no lip to go for at the end although there were a couple that I caught, that weren’t quite as long, that had a breaking lip to finish on. There were only a couple of heats left after my last one so I went and got changed and got back to the judging site just in time to watch the men’s short final which was good to watch. Then everybody helped take all the judging equipment back to the car park and we had the prize giving.
I came second in the Junior short and to my pleasant surprise I won the Junior long! It was the first time I had won it so I was very happy! I think that it was a good finish for the year for me, putting me in second place on the England ranking list in the short boat and third in the long boat. Roll on next year!
It all started for me when I was asked to join the England team earlier this year. The months that followed we arranged the flights, car hire and accommodation in America. The venue was at Nags Head on the Outer Banks of North Carolina and we flew into Washington DC from London Heathrow. It was about a 7 and a half hour flight and after that we had to drive for about 6 hours to get to the house we were renting with some other people in the team. Most of us were all on the same flight so we were all able to be around to help each other if it was needed. We got to the house at about midnight on the 28th and got to bed about one. We had about 6-7 hours of sleep and then everybody was moving around so we got up and met a couple of the team for the first time and then we all went down to the beach to see what the conditions were like. That day was just going to be for getting used to the surf, getting all the boats checked out to make sure they met all the rules, getting the judging stand set up and for all the competitors to get used to things. The surf was very small but it was quite fun . I went out for a couple of hours in both boats. Later on, after the boat check in, we went off shopping to get lots of sun cream as it was extremely hot, in the 80s Fahrenheit, also some mosquito repellent as there were lots of them! We all had to be back for the team parade in the evening and after that was a meal at the pier next to the competition site.
Next day was the first day of competing, round one of the team event which saw lots of good rides and placings for the England team. I was in the junior short category with two others. The surf was quite small that day and not that powerful but I had a couple of good rides and came second although I kept catching an edge which I think was partly because of nerves! At the end of day one England were in 1st place and it was nice feeling that one had done something to help it get there.
Day two and round two of the team event, which was the semi finals, started with some quite nice surf. It was a bit bigger than the days before and everybody went out for a surf before everything started and catching a wave was a matter of making sure that you weren’t dropping in on anybody and then weaving your way around the surfers paddling out! I was first heat on, in the junior long this time, so after paddling in to get a bib I paddled out and waited for everybody who wasn’t competing to get off the water or to move out of the competition zone. When it all started there were some fairly good sized waves coming through and they were the kind that I do best on so I was able to get some nice rides with lots of turns in. I won the heat which I was very happy with as I had felt I had done well. At the end of the day three teams moved in to the final, England in first place, Basque in second and the US West team in third.
Day three the individual event started and I was competing in the junior short and long. But I wasn’t going to be surfing in the long boat that day as it was going straight to a semi final. I was not on till the end of the day in the short boat so I had all day to watch people surfing. There were some very good waves surfed and some big moves scored. In the men’s short lots of people were going for big moves off the lip like airs and pan-ams. At last my heat came up and we got on the water. I think we had some of the best waves of the day. There were quite a few big ones coming through and some really nice rides to be had. I had a couple and then I had a bit of trouble catching the waves so I didn’t have that many but I did well enough to come 2nd which was good enough to advance me into the semi finals.
Day four of the competition started and it looked like I wasn’t going to be surfing that day as all I had left were the semi finals of the junior long and the junior short and they wanted to do all of the semi finals on one day if they could. But it was nice to have a drive around the area and to watch everybody surfing.
Day five and I was in the junior short first. The surf was getting a bit bigger and I had some really nice rides and actually managed to get an air but failed to land it so it didn’t score that well. I came third which wasn’t good enough to get me into the final which was a shame but I felt that I had surfed well so I wasn’t too disappointed. Later on I was in the junior long and again I had a couple of nice rides but only came third and didn’t make it into the final. This left me in 5th place over all in the juniors.
But there is always next time!!
Day six was the Team finals and the Teams in it were, England, US West and the Basque.
It was a very exciting day watching all the surfers compete and the level of surfing was very good. At the end of the day the Basque team were in first place with England in second and US West in third.
Day seven the wind had changed direction so the surf was different for the individual finals and it looked like it wasn’t easy work. I think everybody was pushing themselves a lot and it was nice to have a good place to watch them (being on the pier). Everybody did very well – full results are to be found here.
http://www.worldchampionshipsofsurfkayaking.com/2011/10/07/victory-at-sea-full-individual-results/
Day eight we had a fun ‘iron man’ comp’ in which you had heats of about four and the one with the most impressive wave moved on to another heat. It carried on like that until you had only two left and they surfed against each other for first place and Jorge from Argentina won. The awards and closing ceremony were that evening and it was very nice as actually they took place just across the road from where we were staying! Everybody had a good time and several people got thrown in the swimming pool!
The next day was our last day at the comp’ site as we and most of the England Team were flying back home on the tenth. So we drove around and had a relaxing day in preparation for the long drive to Washington DC airport and then the flight back.
Next day we got up fairly early having about a six hour drive to the airport and we got there with plenty of time to spare, which was nice. After a seven hour flight and collecting our kayaks we then went out to find our car and to find that it was very windy, cold and overcast. A big difference from the 75 degrees Fahrenheit and clear skies that we had in America!
We all had a good time and I for one am looking forward to hopefully going to the next Worlds which are being held in Australia on the Sunshine coast.
Congratulations to the Basque Team for winning this years Worlds!
