
This is the 2nd time this event as run and as in 2013 I won the kite side but this time I was really gunning for the overall title after practicing a fair bit the last month on my new Fanatic Allwave 8'5 sup.
The Kiting started on Saturday in dead offshore wind gusting from 15-35 mph and small waves. It really did show how far the kites have come, as we were able to ride no problem and as lots of people commented, 'you even managed to make it look good'. I won all of my heats to make it to the final which was put on hold until the next day as the tide got too high with the wind shadow from the cliffs.
Sunday and the predicted swell had kicked in with a slight side off breeze. First up was round 1 and 2 of the sup before the wind picked up just enough to run the kite finals. It was fairly tricky with 12-15mph of slight side on wind and double overhead sets. I managed to get a couple of good waves though with some nice turns riding the Neo 9m while Josh rode to 2nd using an 18!
It was now down to the business end of the comp with all the overall contenders still in and pumped with the swell getting bigger and heavier all the time.
As it turned out to get through the sup heats you needed a bit of luck on your side as the conditions were tricky to say the least with 8-10ft close out sets washing though meaning that no one had an easy ride and even the eventual winner only just scraped through in 2nd place in his quarter and semi final heats. Still I was pretty pleased with how I went winning my round 3 heat but unable to find a 2nd wave in the quarters after a big closeout left me paddling for the next 10 minutes. This left me in 3rd overall with 10 points.
Congratulations to Dave Ewer winning the sup who nailed some crazy close out smacks in the final and Dom Moore and Josh Coombes for joint 1st overall with both on 6 points and tied even after count back!
Well done to the BSUPA & BKSA crew for running a good event in testing conditions and Ben from K38 for rescue cover.
Thanks to North Kiteboarding for making the best kites, JP and Inlayz for the best boards, O'Neill for the greatest wetsuits, Fanatic and K66 for the great SUP kit, Satorial supplies for the accessories(the leashes certainly had their work cut out!) and Supersaturated for keeping me looking good on land.
Next comp is the English Surf Nationals, lets hope its pumping :)
Thanks to Keira Ridel for the pics.