On a beautiful autumnal morning, we met at 8am at Freshwater west beach to find the surf small, but set to build as the day went on! Beautiful Blue skies, no wind, and and the surf built resulting in 4-6ft waves for the Finals of the competition!

After a great days competition, the heats were done, and we had a short wait to see who would be crowned British Champion!

I was lucky enough to Win both HP and IC Categories, in my Ride Equinox and Mutant!

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Open HP (HP Surf Kayak)

The thought of driving over 800 miles, with the chance of there being no surf does’t sound very appealing… But even though, I thought it would be a good idea! and it was…

I arrived in Tynemouth late Thursday night to hear the surf rolling in… So I set my self up for the night, in the hope of an early surf.

The next morning I woke up somewhere along Druridge Bay to find Dan and Tamsin parked up next to me, ready for a Dawny. It was a pleasant surprise, but the wasn’t as cold as I had remembered the North East to be.

I headed over Tynemouth shortly after for a coffee and some breakfast, where I happen’d across a place called ‘The Black Middens’, or ‘The Mittens’, as I thought it was called! Here I found a beautiful reef, with perfect peeling lefts, and the only people near the line up were container ships and dog walkers… PERFECT!

That evening saw a social, and a few beers at Cullercoats Cycle shop, as we all chatted about the days competition ahead.

Saturday morning saw us having 3ft onshore surf, and to be honest,it didn’t get a lot better. BUT, the organisation, effort, and warm welcome I received made the conditions seem insignificant, and saw everyone thoroughly enjoy them selves throughout the day!

So a HUGE thank you to everyone who put the effort in to make such a fantastic day, and CONGRATULATIONS to Dan Green, Winner of the first Tynemouth Surf Kayak Championships!!

See you all next year!

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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 “

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