BSUPA Round Three Results
The third round of the BSUPA national series took place in the Swansea area
on the 19th and 20th September 2009. In the run up to the event the weather looked like it would be perfect for the distance race, with little to no wind forecast at all, but the surf forecast did not look at all good.
On Saturday 19th the action began in Swansea Bay, BSUPA had teamed up with the Bae Fest, a festival of music, sports and charity events. With the tides being some of the biggest of the year, we had to wait until the afternoon to run the distance race. In the mean time the competitors took in the sights and sounds of the festival. At 3pm all the racers decamped over to the Mumbles, this was going to be a downwind race. At the start line the sea was still a good 200 metres away and we had to wait until the tide had pushed in, despite some confusion over transportation, the race kicked off at 4.15pm (with Mark Slater, Nick Watt and Jon Parker starting about 200 metres behind due to a mix up with cars). Jock Patterson stormed off in front to establish an early lead, Andrew Wickens, in his first BSUPA series race, quickly got into second place with Matt Argyle in third. Adam England also raced, but he agreed that his result would not count because he had a 15ft board (in the 2009 series the maximum board length is 12ft 6").
The pack followed with Richard Morton, junior racer James Hardy and Dan Bramhall at the front.
The race took the competitors across the middle of Swansea Bay, heading from Mumbles straight towards Swansea Marina, then around a marker and back up to the centre of the bay, then a quick sprint over the finish line, 6.7km in total. The wind was cross off most of the way across, meaning that nearly all of the competitors were paddling hard on their right hand side, in the middle of the bay there was chop coming from all directions making it difficult to keep up speed and balance. Just before reaching the mark, some competitors managed to get glides on swells, which helped as once round the mark it was a hard slog into the wind.
It should be mentioned that Mark Slater and Nick Watt had the paddle of their lives, catching up with the pack and powering along, Mark managed to place fourth overall - an incredible feat of athleticism. Credit should also go to BSUPA photographer and regular at our events Jon Parker, who was pursuaded to take part in the race on a board that was far too short - good on you Jon !
Once all the competitors were safely over the finish line we then took part in a world record attempt to have the worlds biggest surfers chain. The organisation was very slick - all the surfers had different coloured arm bands and they were called out into the water one colour at a time to increase the size of the circle. Over head we had a plane with a photographer in to capture the moment. The stand up boards can all be seen in the aerial photo.
Some of the guys decided to sample the delights of Swansea's night life (they had been warned) and they hit Wine Street, the hot spot in town. Reports back were that everyone had a good time (and some were already planning to return).
Sunday dawned with very light winds and little hope of a wave. BSUPA had decamped to Llangennith, a beach at the end of the Gower that picks up the most swell. As we drove over the last hill to get to the beach we were greeted by small, but perfect lines on the horizon. This was going to be a good day !
The ladies kick off with a final with Claire Blacklock getting some nice turn combinations and Wendy McGee picking off the set waves. The result was Claire in first and Wendy second.
Round one of the men's started with some stand out performances from Matt Smith, Jock Patterson, Matt Argyle and Mark Slater. Connor Griffiths was surfing very well as was Nick Watt who was very smoothly linking together his manouveres. James Hardy, one of our juniors, picked some clean waves to get some long rides on. It was great to see some new Welsh compeitiors getting in on the action, Alex Jones, Ian Richards and Richard Morton all had good heats. Jon Parker once again wanted to get in on the action and give a surf contest a go, so he had a heat against Jock Patterson! After this we decided to have a repechage round to make sure it was fair for all concerned (and everyone got to surf at least two heats in the great conditions).
The semi finals progressed as the tide dropped, the waves had picked up slightly, but weremore prone to close out, so picking your wave became the key. Matt Smith, Jock Patterson, Matt Argyle and Mark Slater made it though to the final. It was a close run final, but the sheer speed on Matt Smith's surfing impressed the judges and spectators. On his Drops 8ft 11" Vulcan he was flying down the line, looking more like he was on a short board than a stand up paddle board. The other competitors fought hard combining cutbacks, floaters, noserides and move combinations and at the end of the heat Matt Smith had taken first place, Jock Patterson second and Matt Argyle third.
As always this was a great weekend, and BSUPA will certainly be back to the Gower. Thanks to judges Chris "Guts" Griffiths, Pete Shiplee and Pete, special thanks to Matt Smith and his team from SUP Gower for being our man on the ground in the Gower, and, of course thanks to all the competitors who made it a such a great event.
Distance Results and times (6.7km)
1. Jock Patterson : 48.00
2. Andrew Wickens : 51:48
3. Matt Argyle : 54.39
4. Mark Slater : 56.48
5. Richard Morton : 58.36
6. James Hardy : 59.32
7. Dan Bramhall : 59.35
8. Nick Watt : 59.57
9. Ian Richards : 1.00.14
10. Alex Jones : 1.01.59
11. Stephen Woods : 1.03.00
12. Claire Blacklock : 1.08.02
13. Richard Marsh : 1.13.19
14. Jon Parker : 1.13.19
15. Wendy McGee : 1.22.40
DNC : Adam England (using a 15ft board, therefore not eligible for a BSUPA result - see board length rules) 51.19
Womens Distance Results
1. Claire Blacklock
2. Wendy McGee
Mens Surf Results
1. Matt Smith
2. Jock Patterson
3. Matt Argyle
4. Mark Slater
5. Connor Griffiths
6. Nick Watt
7. Alex Jones
8. James Hardy
9 = Ian Richards
9= Richard Morton
9 = Jon Parker
Womens Surf Results
1. Claire Blacklock
2. Wendy McGee
Distance winners Andrew, Jock and Matt. Photo Credit : SUPGlobal.com
Connor Griffiths, Junior BSUPA rider slides down a nice one. Photo Credit : SUPGlobal.com
All of the following photographs are Copyright to Jon Parker Photography. There are plenty more photos on his website so go check them out.
