Surftember Spectacular 03/09/2011

The day began with everybody thinking that the weather was for once going to be very nice.

We all met at the car park for 8:30 and the sun was already out and it was very warm.

After the briefing at 8:45 the first heat got on the water for 9:30. I had hours before my first heat so I went out for a free surf after helping take all the judging equipment down to the beach and then up onto the cliff.

The surf was very big, messy and extremely powerful.  I took awhile to get used to it as it was the biggest surf I had been out in and the first wave I took was a bit of a disaster.  I went flying down the face of it and then bottom turned and went for the lip.  I hit it and I came down and was instantly turned upside down and I was tossed about quite a bit till I was released off the back of it.  After that I choose my waves very carefully!  Sadly the weather started to make a turn for the worst.  The sun went in and dark clouds appeared though it didn’t start raining till later on in the day.

I went up the cliff to the judging area and watched everybody else surfing till my heats came up and I was able to see whereabouts the best place for surfing was.

My first heat was the junior short semi-final and the surf hadn’t dropped off any at that stage so it was still extremely big.  I only had a couple of waves both of them long rides but sadly I miss-timed all of my ”off the lip moves ” so I didn’t score as highly as I could have done although I did well enough without them to win that heat and put me in the final.  I had to wait quite a long time again for my next heat and I debated going out again for another free surf but in the end decided against it.

The tide had really gone out when the time came for my next heat which was the junior long final.

It was quite dumpy and still big so it was hard work to paddle out and to get a good ride.  I don’t think it helped having a boat with lots of water in it either!  I’m going to have to check it and make sure I don’t have any holes in it as my deck fits it pretty well.   I didn’t really have any good rides so I wasn’t very happy at the end of it!

I had about an hour till my last heat of the day (which was the junior short final) and it was now raining so I took the chance of getting to the van and getting warm and also having something to eat.

The organizers were wondering whether to leave the rest of the heats till the day after (Sunday) as it was still dumpy and it would take several hours for the tide to come in enough to make a difference but in the end they decided to carry on as the forecast for Sunday was not very nice.  – Bigger surf and horrible weather.

At last the time for the junior short final arrived and we got into the water and paddled out back.  It was still big and it was hard to get a good wave.  I had a couple of waves but wasn’t too happy with them but considering the conditions I didn’t think I had done too badly.

There was now a couple of heats left so I had enough time to change and deal with all the boats and kit before the prize giving.  I was able to watch the last two heats and a couple of people had some swims which wasn’t too surprising as everybody was getting tired.

At the prize giving there was a box of ‘goodies’ kindly donated by AS Watersports  for the people who had come first and second.  Also there were some very nice shields for the ones who came first but sadly I just missed out on one as I came 2nd in the Junior Short and I came 3rd in the Junior Long.

Next competition is the World Championships in America in three weeks!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

British Open 2011

 

The forecast wasn’t looking good for the weekend but when we got to the car park at 8:15 I had a pleasant surprise.  The weather wasn’t brilliant but the surf was a couple of feet though messy.

After the briefing at about 9:30 the first heats started.  I was entered in the Junior HP, Junior IC and the Open.   Unfortunately the car park was up the hill from the beach so to get to the beach (or back to the car) one had to walk  down (or up!) through quite deep sliding sand which was very hard work.  So I tried to limit the number of times I needed to go up and down the path!

My first heat was a bit of a disaster.  It was the open and for some reason I just couldn’t get on a good wave. The waves were pretty powerful but it was fairly easy to paddle out.  Unsurprisingly, I placed last.  The tide was right in and was ebbing when everything started so when my next heat started it was quite far out and the surf had dropped off quite a bit. This heat was important because if I wanted to get into the quarter finals I had to win the heat or place second to get in to the last chance heat.  Sadly, I only just lost out with a third.

I now had to wait till late in the afternoon for the Junior IC and I had a good chance to watch all the other good surfers ripping it up.

 

When the time came for the Junior IC final the tide was right out and in some places it was dumping right onto the sand, a danger of  breaking boats if one wasn’t careful! There was only a final as not enough people entered to need any heats before hand.  I made a mistake and caught some waves that didn’t really have a shoulder to them so I didn’t score as high as I think I could have done.  Though I had a few nice exit moves.

The rest of the heats had to wait for the next day (Sunday) as we were running out of time.

There was meal organized at a local pub, which was really nice just what one needed after a days surfing!

After the meal there was a prize giving for the classes that had run that day which included Junior IC, Ladies IC, Mens IC and Masters IC.  I came 4th in the Junior IC with Aidan Brackenbury in 1st place after really ripping it up.

 

Next morning we all gathered at the beach for 9:30 and everything started.  I went out for a free surf while the first heats were running as the Junior HP, which was all I was entered in that day, wasn’t on till about 11:30-12:00 as it was second from the end.  The surf had picked up from the day before and now the weather had taken a turn for the better although the wind was still quite cold.  My final at last arrived and the surf had dropped of again as the tide went out but there were still some nice waves coming through.  The sea was now getting a bit crowded by all the surfers and body borders who were taking advantage of the nicer weather so one couldn’t surf as well as one wanted to.  We had to look out for where the wave was taking us and several times I had to stop and get off the wave so I wouldn’t hit anyone.  At the end I was happy with what I had done.  Then I had to wait on tenderhooks for the prize giving.

At the prize giving I came 3rd in the Junior HP which I am happy with.  Now I have to get lots of practice in for the next comp’ which is in two weeks time.  The Results are below.

 

 

Results

 

 

 

Gower Madness Surf Competition

The forecast for the weekend wasn’t looking very good when we set off at lunch time Friday.  It was supposed to be very windy, big messy surf and raining.

After a couple of hours driving some very dark clouds appeared in front of us and as we got up towards Bristol it started raining.  At first it wasn’t very heavy but the showers were quite long and as we approached Swansea it started raining very hard.  After several missed turnings because of bad visibility we finally made it to Llangennith camp site at about 9:30 where we found some other kayakers that we knew had arrived earlier and gone out for a surf.  During the night it carried on raining and the wind didn’t drop, but thankfully it stopped raining at about 7-7:30am.

After breakfast we were told that the competition had been moved along the beach to Rhossili so we set off leaving the tent to be picked up when we’d finished.  When we got there the surf was just as bad as the forecast said it would be – pretty big, messy and blown out.  After the introductory speech we all got kitted up and carried our boats down the cliff path to the beach.  The path was very long and zigzagged down the cliff with several gates and lots of steps.

Finally, down on the beach, the first heat started and I was judging.   My first heat was the third of the day which was the men’s open long final.   It went straight to the final as only four of us entered.

Next was the junior short final which was very interesting.  I was using a new paddle for the first time which was a mistake.  It was the same as my old one just shorter so I thought it would be all right.

I wasn’t placing the blade in the water at the right angle so I didn’t turn when I wanted to.  I was getting used to it by the end of the heat but I still wasn’t comfortable with it.  I had to wait for the sets to come through to get any good rides and then sometimes they got dumpy so it was hard to find a good one, though I was able to practice my exit moves!

Next was the Junior long final.  It was getting bigger by then as the tide went out and it was a struggle to get out back.  When the sets came through I found it a bit too dumpy so I stayed inside and caught several smaller ones.

We finished at about 12:30 and had lunch and then we had the prize giving.  I came second in the Junior Long, third in the Junior Short and as expected fourth out of four in the Men’s Long.

Then we set off home  and thankfully it didn’t really rain which made the trip nicer.    JTG