Words by Jack Barker…
“On Saturday 16th May the Cornish Open was held at Godrevy Beach, St. Ives, Cornwall.
We were greeted by small messy waves at mid-low tide, as the first heats went on the tide dropped onto a lovely bank, creating 3-4ft peaky sets. And a lot of fun was to be had.In the first Short Boat Round, Ride Surf Team members; Chris Hobson, James Hawker and I won all our heats to advance to the semis. Then the waveski’s had their heats, a brilliant sight to see, especially as it was the biggest turn out of skis we had seen all year.
Long Boat Round One was pretty tough for all, but good conditions were upheld by the tide. Chris and I managed to get a heat together, getting 1st and 2nd respectively. Straight through to semis. New to the Equinox was a great friend and fantastic paddler Jack Davies. A good contender for the Junior World Champs, especially how he was paddling in the heats; beating 2 other Mens England Team Paddlers!As the tide pushed on and up into Godrevy rivermouth, the swell died to begin with, giving some very scrappy semi finals. I managed to get through my Short Boat Semi Final, same for Chris and James. In the Longboat I unfortunately got knocked out, after a pretty meagre heat. Whilst Chris went straight through to the Finals. Unfortunately, although he gave it his all, Jack Davies didn’t make the cut.Finals time!
Great 3-4ft+ sets started to appear as we all prepared for the finals, paddling out into it we could see a highly contestable couple of heats ahead. In the Short boat I had a fairly shaky start but got a few decent rides. The drive the Zenith can produce is astounding! Hitting lips that I could never manage before. I didn’t see a lot of Chris but he must have had a great heat… as he won it. The same goes to James.
Results
1st Chris Hobson – Ride Eclipse
2nd James Hawker – Ride Zenith
3rd Jack Barker – Ride Zenith
4th Philip Watson – Mega Edge
The Long boat final was again a great sight to see. Some of the best paddlers England has to offer were battling it out in great waves. Chris proved that nothing can match his skill and power in the class, coming 1st. 2nd was a very surprised (had no reason to be) Gary Adcock, who has forever been one of the top paddlers around – and he proved his worth in the Equinox.
Results1st Chris Hobson – Ride Equinox
2nd Gary Adcock – Ride Equinox
3rd Philip Watson – Mega Bullit
4th Aidan Brackenbury – Mega TridentCongratulations to all Ride Surf Kayak Paddlers, as a brilliant day was had. And congrats to all the good friends of mine who got into the finals.See you all at the Worlds!!
Jack Barker “
3x Surf Kayak World Champion 