BSUPA Event 4 2009 Results - Watergate Bay

The fourth and final round of the BSUPA National Series took place in Watergate Bay on 17th and 18th October. The week running up to the event had seen a fantastic low over the Atlantic creating some great surf on the North Cornwall Coast so expectations were high for the conditions the weekend would bring.

It did not disappoint as Saturday dawned to some 30 competitors and a good 2ft wave on a falling tide...it was only going to get better! The wind was light so men’s heats got underway after registration with the women’s heat to be run straight after. There were seven first round heats, 4 in each heat with 2 going through for the quarter finals. It was great to see guys from the Swansea competition such as Adam England and our junior distance winner James Hardy had made the journey to Cornwall. After the 7 heats had finished it was decided to leave the women’s heat till after the quarter finals to give the men more recovery time for the semis. So the quarter finals progressed with 4x3 man heats...one knocked out with each heat. These heats were great viewing, commentated expertly by Watergate Bay’s Anton and steamed live on his website. It really was an eye opener to the guys on the beach and in the water some of whom had never really seen what could be done on a paddle board. As the wave size steadily increased so did the skill with guys like Watergate bay’s life guard Lewis Timson showing off his helicopters and others such as Jim Richardson and Mark Millergill, new BSUPA members skilfully executing moves really raising their game as the conditions improved. By the time it was the women’s round the waves were great with sets of 4/5 ft rolling in. The women had to really pick their time paddling out but some good waves were caught and their 15 minutes were over in a flash! Bobbie Cooper came first catching great waves. There was 0.2 points between 2nd and 3rd Lara Murray catching 2nd place with Claire Blacklock 3rd and Wendy McGee 4th.

Bobbie Cooper - Photo : Jon Parker

In the semi’s the level notched up a gear again with the well known faces of Mark Slater, Jock Patterson, John Hibbard and Matt Argyle once more linking manoeuvres such as cut backs and nose-riding to impress the judges. New comers to BSUPA events such as Gareth Grant and Adam Zervas were not to be out done and skilfully made it through to the 4 man final along with John Hibbard and Alex Murray. The final was a real nail biting 15 minutes. The waves were closing out quickly so the guys had to use all their skill to get the turns in. John Hibbard executed some great floaters and Gareth wowed the spectators with his speed. The victor was Adam Zervas who caught an excellent wave right at the last minute, John Hibbard a close second followed by Gareth Grant and Alex Murray. The guys were understandable exhausted but delighted with the quality and regularity of the waves throughout the day.

Adam Zervas - Photo : Jon Parker

Alex Murray - Photo : Jon Parker

The Evenings celebrations were held at The Phoenix Bar that with a great mountain of food and drinks on tap. Though the tired satisfied faces of all the competitors showed just how much they had all put into the days competition.

Sunday dawned at Saturday. The threatened winds did not materialise and everyone was raring to go on the distance race. A course of roughly 4 miles was set, paddling out to a buoy the with a left hand turn towards Porth around a second buoy and back. The one thing on every competitor’s minds was how to get through the 5ft sets rolling in on 12ft+ boards. The start was timed so the sets were slightly smaller but even then some of the guys got caught and took a while to get out back. Once over the race was on with John Hibbard, Alex Murray, Jock Patterson and Nick Healey in the leading pack. Adam England and Jan Sleigh were on oversized boards and though not competing for rankings entered for the race itself. The wind was against them as they paddled for Porth and as they turned the 2nd buoy for home the pack position had already changed a number of times. The final buoy saw them head for the shore and the final outcome seemed set...that was until the 5ft sets came in! If the wave was caught at the right time then the ride in was fine but there were a few classic wipe-outs. Harsh enough on a surf sized board let alone on one 12ft!

Mark Slater looked to have the edge on John Hibbard for first place but was caught by a wave on the rail and John overtook to claim first after a mammoth run up the beach to the finish line with a time of 33.34 minutes. Mark came in second just 30 seconds later. Nick Healey arrived to clinch 3rd place in a time of 34.59 minutes. Though not on for a podium finish the real race was for 4th place. Matt Argyle who had worked his way through the pack to 6th place turning round the last buoy saw Adam England who was just a head get wiped out on this 14fter caught a lovely wave to bring himself neck and neck with Jock Patterson at the water’s edge. The race was on up the beach for the pair of them with Matt Argyle digging that little bit deeper to find that last bit of energy to take 4th place with a time of 36.07 minutes. It really was fantastic stuff! Jock crossed the line just 5 seconds later. A great race to finish the weekends (and years) competitions.

Or so we thought. After a short rest some of the guys were eager to get back in and make the most of the glorious conditions Watergate Bay had to offer. Not to dampen their enthusiasm an expression session was held sponsored by West Country Water Sports. Well done to the winners...

The final competition of the BSUPA 2009 Series was a resounding success and our thanks go to Watergate Bay, The Extreme Academy and Richard Marsh for all his hard work.......

Here are the winners from the weekend contest :

Men's Surfing :

1. Adam Zervas
2. John Hibbard
3. Gareth Grant

Women's Surfing :

1. Bobbie Cooper
2. Lara Murray
3. Claire Blacklock

Men's Distance :

1. John Hibbard
2. Mark Slater
3. Nick Healey

Contest video thanks to SUPGlobal.com.