We took a trip down to Watergate Bay last weekend to compete in the British Stand Paddlesurf Association National for surf and distance. Matt Argyle, Holly, Neal Gent, Emile Kott and I were all entered in the heats. The draw had already been made during the week so it was up to the forecast to deliver the goods. Neal and Emile pulled out before they got to the comp due to injury and illness.

Holly myself and Matt had arrived there Thursday morning as the wind picked up by the end of the day it was 25 knots on shore – we made it out the back for some punishing paddle surfing and not much riding. Friday I had some coaching to do with Gareth Grant again in 25 knots which was not ideal paddlesurfing conditions.

Holly and Matt made it out the back on Friday evening when there was some huge sets rolling in – it was still windy but have to say it was the biggest surf Holly has been out in and she didn’t back off. Matt reckoned he had the biggest hold down in 15 years of surfing!

 Over the comp weekend the conditions on Saturday were tough still very windy with loads of foamy white water and not many gaps between sets – the 20 minute heats were punishing for competitors 19 minutes of paddling out with a very short ride if you were lucky. I had pulled out the comp due to my back but Matt good through 3 heats of 20 minutes and retired out just before the last 3 heats. Holly’s heats were postponed until the Sunday.

There was some very solid paddlesurfers out over the 2 days very impressed with Aaron Rowe who certainly looks set for the No1 spot in the near future, Jim Richardson was really on fire, Defending champion Gareth Grant rode some very impressive waves during the event, Andre the eventual winner was Mr consistent all the way through the event. Matt Smith had an epic heat and was showing some full on power surfing. There is a very high standard of riding at the event making the competition much tougher this year.

On Sunday morning the Battle of the paddle was run in what looked perfect windless surf –Charlie Grey was the eventual winner with Ryan James and Mark “da bull” Slater close on his heels. Holly’s heat with ladies started as the wind picked up again –she was knocked out of the first round and was frustrated with the judging results –but she still managed to be junior national champion so we will see what happens next year.

Good job for Rich Marsh and his team for running the event.

RESULTS: Mens Open Surf
• 1st Andre Le Geyt
• 2nd Jim Richardson
• 3rd Arron Rowe
• 4th Titou Minster
Womens Open Surf
• 1st Maria Buchanan
• 2nd Abigal Barker Smith
• 3rd Kath Jones
• 4th Mi Richardson

Jnr Boys Surf
• 1st Arron Rowe
• 2nd Ollie Laddiman
• 3rd Louie Harrow

Jnr Girls Surf
• 1st Holly Basset

Battle of the Paddle – Men’s 12’6″ Class
• 1st Charlie Grey
• 2nd Ryan James
• 3rd Oliver Shilton

Battle of the Paddle – Mens 14′ Class
• 1st Matt Smith
• 2nd Andrew Peterson
• 3rd Tim Rowe

Battle of the Paddle – Women
• 1st Maria Buchanan
• 2nd Lizzie Bird

Rapanui Wave Expression Session
• 1st Gareth Grant
• 2nd Matt Thomas
• 3rd Will Rogers
• 4th Jim Richardson

2012 Watergate Bay Waterman
• Andre le Geyt

The 8th Annual Wittering Charity Paddle Race organised by West Wittering Windsurf Club and Shoresurf Club held on Sunday 29th August has more than doubled the amount raised over 2011 for The Snowdrop Trust. This year we raised the entry fee a little this year to £15, and all of this amount was given to the Snowdrop Trust, which also helped raise the overall amount. We also encouraged people to raise a minimum of £15 in sponsoship money, and Simon Bassett pledged to ride with an inflatible crocodile on his back, which more than doubled the amount he raised. Next year we are looking to including a ‘teams’ category and a ‘fancy dress’ category.

Due to strong onshore force 6 winds the event was shortened and an upwind course was laid at West Wittering beach. The 32 competitors battled through the chop, paddling into the wind around a marker buoy then headed directly down wind back to the beach and ran over the finish line.

There were riders on surfboards, standup paddle boards, prone surfboards and kayaks – the ages of competitors ranged from 7rs old (Ollie Holland, Prinstead) up to 75yrs old (Roger Wilson, East Wittering) who brought a 1930s kayak made by his father.

On the beach we had a BBQ organised by Dicky Dale and Oliver Chipperfield and supported by the lovely ladies Sandy, Kate and Charlotte . To add to the atmosphere we had some great live music from the youngsters at the Chichester Music Academy who played all afternoon.

This year the overall results were combined with the total amount raised for the charity so the winners were:

Kayak class
1st Pete Dalaway
2nd John Watts
3rd Roger Wilson

Standup Paddleboard Class
1st Simon Bassett
2nd Paul Burgess
3rd Jamie Hawkins

Ladies Surf Class
1st Mary Rotterman

Prone Surf Class
1st Adriano Roldan
2nd Graham Taplin
3rd Brian James

Juniors Kayak Class
1st Theo Burley

Juniors Prone Surf
1st Miles Piper

Juniors Surf class
1st Lucy Howell

Junior Standup Paddleboard Class
1st Holly Bassett
2nd Poppy Holland
3rd Ollie Holland

Simon Bassett event director “We had hoped for no wind all week, Sunday morning we were ready to cancel the event, but we decided to shorten the course and run the event. Our objective this year was to increase the amount of money we raised for the charity we have doubled what we raised last year to £2270.00. I had to ride an inflatable stand up Padddleboard with an inflatable toy crocadile on my back to get some more donations”

We also like to extend a huge thank you to all the helpers, volunteers, and sponsors (total prizes donated £450)

Shore Surf Club (Adriano, Will, Graham, Adrian and Sarah)
WWWC donated jetski/fuel/2 staff members
X-Train (Chris, Luke, Angus and Jack) – staff for the event
2XS (Jane and Daisy) – donated all the event t-shirts, and event photography and posters/flyers/forms
Puma safety (Martin and Neal) – donated boat/2 crew/fuel
West Wittering Estate (David, Marcus and the lifeguards) – donated boat/fuel/lifeguards
Richard Dale & Oliver Chipperfield – donated all the food (with the help of Wallace Butchers & Splits Bakery) – donated
Indoboard (Adriano, Mary) – donated medals/prizes
Wittering Surf Shop – donated prizes
Ion – donated prizes
O’Neill – donated prizes
Prosport Suncreen – donated prizes
Supglobal – donated prizes
The Beach House – donated prizes
Lazy Days (Tiggs) – donated the inflatible crocodile!

And below are listed the finish times of each competitor:

SUP Mens Race
1 – Charley Grey – 07:14
2 – Jamie Hawkins – 07:38
3 – Matt Argyle – 08:03
4 – Paul Burgess – 08:26
5 – Jay Manning – 08:31
6 – Kevin Nind – 16:19

SUP Mens Open
1 – Bart Gay – 09:25
2 – Giles Barley – 09:41
3 – Russel Taplin – 09:46
4 – Simon Basset – 11:18
5 – Ken Harmer – 11:21

SUP Ladies
1 – Julia Toms – 11:02
2 – Lauren Osbourne – 17:05

Surfboard Ladies
1 – Mary Roterman – 10:41

Prone mens
1 – Adriano Roldan – 08:27
2 – Brian James – 09:42
3 – Graham Taplin – 09:43

Kayak
1 – P turnball/J.Achelleyl – 06:18
2 – John Watts – 06:39
3 – Roger Wilson – 07:18
4 – Mark Turnball – 08:48
5 – Peter Dallaway – 16:52

Juniors SUP
1 – Holly Basset
2 – Poppy Holland
3 – Ollie Holland
4 – Bertie Burley

Junior Surf
1 – Lucy Howell

Junior Prone
1 – Moles Piper

Junior Kayak
1 – Theo Burley

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2XS/X-Train, with Shore Surf Club are organising a charity paddle race to raise money for The Sussex Snowdrop Trust.

The annual charity race starts from Shore Road (on the beach at East Wittering), and ends at West Wittering Windsurf Club and competitors may use surfboards, SUPs or kayaks (prizes for the winner of each category COMBINED with highest sponsorship money raised).

Dates: Sunday 29th July 2012
Registration: 11.30am at Shore Road, East Wittering
Race Starts: 1pm (should take 20-40 minutes)
Entry fee: £15 (plus minimum sponsorsip amount of £15)
Bring all sponsorship money to the event.
It will be held in shallow water, at low tide, in safe conditions and safety cover will be provided by West Wittering Windsurf Club, Puma Safety and West Wittering Estate.

Download an Entry Form Here
Sponsorship Form Here Or you can collect from:
West Wittering Windsurf Club
Wittering Surf Club
Shore Surf Club

Holly, myself, Jane, Daisy and Matt Argyle piled in the van and and drove down to BSUPA National championships at Watergate bay at last weekend.

Neil was already down there with Scott, and the forecast looked pretty amazing for the weekend – sunshine, light offshore winds, and a 2 to 4 foot forecast.

50 competitors were divided up into heats of 4 or 5 and each had 15 minutes to cut some shapes on the wave face. A panel of 3 judges would then score each wave ridden with a max of 2 best waves to get maximum points.

All the top seeds were put across the the first round heats and the double reportage format meant the losers in each heat would get another chance.

I managed to get third place in my first heat against the junior champ Aaran Knowles and Adam Zervas ­but got 4th place in my second round – so that was it for me. I quickly realized how different you have to ride and how much you have to up your game when your in a comp.

Holly was in two rounds of the ladies and was the first placed Junior girls under 16.

Neal lost his first round and battled back through nearly two hours of heats and rode really hard to get 4th place overall in a close run final.

Matt got knocked out in the semis but clawed back a great result in Expression session on Sunday with 4th place. (We all used Nah-Skwell surf series 8’8/9’3 and Kialoa Methane paddles – we also had the new 8.10 Fanatic Pro wave for weekend to test.)

I have to say we all had great weekend riding some very decent waves ­and the atmosphere down at Watergate Bay was awesome. Holly manned up lots and got into some decent waves and we will definitely be back there for 2012.

2011 BSUPA Mens National Wave Champion Results
1st Gareth Grant
2nd Adam Zervas
3rd Scott Gardener
4th Neal Gent

2011 BSUPA Womens National Wave Champion results
1st Maria Buchanan
2nd Abby Ekingood
3rd Mi Richardson
4th Laura Williams

2011 BSUPA Under 16 Boys National Wave Champion results
1st Aaran Rowe
2nd Robert Williams
3rd Max Wilson
4th Louie Harrow

2011 BSUPA Under 16 Girls National Wave Champion results
1st Holly Bassett

2011 BSUPA Mens National Distance results 12’6″ Class Champion results
1st Mark Slater
2nd John Hibard
3rd Jim Richardson
4th Gareth Grant

2011 BSUPA Mens National Distance 14ft Class Champion results
1st Ryan James
2nd John Harvey
3rd Dan Harlott
4th Tim Rowe

2011 BSUPA Womens National Distance 12’6″ Class Champion results
1st Maria Baucannan

Westcountry Watersports Wave Expression results
1st Jim Richardson
2nd Finn mullan
3rd Gareth Grant
4th Matt Argyle

2011 Watergate Bay Waterman results
Gareth Grant

Extreme Academy 2011 BSUPA National Championships,Watergate Bay, Cornwall from BSUPA on Vimeo.

NATIONAL WINSURFING FESTIVAL – Hayling Island

The NWF at Hayling Island saw a good crew from the windsurf club in action. As usual the reports from the event were excellent – organised by Allan Cross who has really put this event on the map for windsurfing each September.

Visit the Boards Mpora to see the entire gallery of shots.

In the under Turbo 15s class 1ts place was overall by Emily Goodwin, 2nd Jack Petit, 4th James Arnell Smith, Graeme came 14th in the free ride fleet, and Julian Anderson came 12 in the pro fleet.

Part of the night time event was a relay with a pro –James was with John Skye, Jack with Ben Profit and Emily with Saskia – Jack won the event with Ben and I think everyone had a great time.
Rohan Goodwin came in 4th in the free ride fleet and Francis was fully on it in the mosh pit until closing time at the party.



 

Once again the annual paddle race from East to West Wittering is taking place on Sunday 24th July 2011.

The event has become more and more popular each year and is loads of fun as well as a good chance to raise money for a good cause.

The race starts from Shore Road, East Wittering and heads west along the low-tide shallow waters to West Wittering where the event finishes just outside West Wittering Windsurf Club.

There are separate divisions for SUP, kayak and surf and will be prizes for the winners in each division and age category.

To enter, please download an entry form and a sponsorship form.

The entry fee for all divisions and categories is £10 and this includes a barbecue provided at the end at West Wittering Windsurf Club.

To see the photos and results from last year’s event, have a look at this.

If you want any further information, please get in touch with West Wittering Windsurf Club on 01243 513077 or info@x-train.co.uk

A big well done for Neal for becoming National champion, Bobby and Matt also did very well in the comp. The guys from the Witterings did pretty well at the BSUPA nationals down in Watergate Bay last weekend. With no waves at any of the other events this year it meant Watergate became the Nationals!

The surf was head high in the morning and glassy, but became more challenging through the rounds as a sideshore breeze came up and the swell dropped. We were lucky though, with enough conditions to run right through the comp in one day. It was really noticeable that the average board length has dropped loads since last year- most were between 8’4” and 9’2”, which is about a foot less than last year! John Hibbard had some new starboards down to 7’4”. Even in this really small surf the shorter boards were standout all day. Matt Argyle SUP GLOBAL-2XS and i were both riding Nah-Skwell 8′”8″s which have already shown they can still rip in Wittering mush!! It’s amazing how quickly you can get these boards going and the shorter length and surfboard style outline make decent turns possible even in small stuff. Definitely helped us both make the final! My tactic of waiting further out for the sets rather than surfing lower scoring small inside waves nearly let me down in the final, but near the end of the heat I got lucky and rode a couple of ‘bigger’ sets and narrowly beat John Hibbard for the event win and the national title! Matt didn’t get quite as lucky with his waves and took fourth in the final having surfed well all day.

In the ladies, Bobby Cooper (2XS/Fanatic) narrowly missed top spot taking 2nd, and Claire Blacklock took 3rd, with difficult conditions making wave selection a bit of a lottery. Sunday saw Bobby take the racing silverware as well-having raced in two classes this year she actually managed to place 2nd overall in both for the year!! In tiny but clean waves we finished with an expression session, and my run of luck with the waves lasted one more heat!! About the only decent wave in all three heats arrived twenty seconds after my heat started and i managed enough to get a 7.0 wave score which turned out to win the expression session as well!!

That’s it for the events this year, but it was great to see a load of new riders attend, even if they weren’t challenging for the medals-it’s a great social and if you’re eying a new board it’s a perfect chance to try out some of next years kit!

All pics Bob Berry/BSUPA