Dale Foster by Jason Feast
Here we go again! The annual festival of surfing, music and good times has began down here in Cornwall. There were waves, thank flip, the long range forecast a week or so ago was distinctly not good so everyone’s frothing it’s come right and there’ll be waves every comp day until it wraps on Sunday. The weekend should be pretty spicy n’all. Today saw a host of familiar faces go through and some of our juniors do well. The fierce battles start tomorrow when Rd2 continues for the men, and the ladies main Roxy event kicks off. The longboarding will begin, with all eyes on the European title race, on Friday. So there’s heaps to come and once Mr B finishes sweating bullets in his editing cave we’ll fire up the video round up from day 1 ASAP.
As for us, are we partying? Nope. Not after 12 hours on the beach today mainly being told how awesome the Maldives event that the boss, Steve England, is attending looks.
Noah Biersack by Jason Feast
–WSL PRESS RELEASE–
The Quiksilver and Roxy Open launched the World Surf League QS action today at Boardmasters in windy three-to-five foot surf at the iconic Fistral beach in Cornwall.
Surfers took on the playful peaks early this morning and competed all day to complete the men and women’s opening rounds, as well as four heats of the men’s Round Two under bright sunny Cornish skies.
Local pro Alan Stokes (GBR) was the first to find a wave with big scoring potential at low tide. The regular foot took apart a good sized right-hander for a 7.17, the highest single score of Round One. A multiple British champion, Stokes regularly makes an appearance on the WSL tour when the QS comes to his local break.
“We haven’t had swell here for a month so I’m happy it came up for the event, it’s head-high with lots of power and sections, it was fun!” Stokes stated. “I know the wave and how tricky it can be so that certainly gives me an advantage. I launched a new surfboard brand so that kept me busy and out of the events but it’s good to be in the jersey again and win a heat.”
Stoker by Masurel/WSL
Unfortunately Stokes couldn’t quite match the competition savvy of his adversaries in Round Two and bowed out much too early for the local fans.
A strong Brasilian contingent competed in the opening round, led by Maracaipe’s Jose Silva(BRA), who belted the opening round’s biggest combined heat total of 13.50. In his second event only, Silva posted an impressive win to advance into Round Two and will look to keep his form going into the rest of the event.
“I’ve been surfing for a long time but am only starting to compete really,” Silva said. “Conditions were fun today, a bit mushy and disorganized but there were some good waves in there. I’m going to do three or four events in Europe this summer and the goal is obviously to go as far as I can!”
Pedro Nogueira (BRA) and Christopher Holler (DNK) enjoyed an early man-on-man battle as two other surfers failed to show up for their heat. Nogueira dominated the exchange with solid surfing on the longer rights and lefts at high-tide to post two good scores and advance into Round Two.
“The wind was really good for airs so I was super happy to be able to try a couple and land a good one,” Nogueira said. “I’m excited for tomorrow and can’t wait to surf again. Only two guys out is pretty rare in the early rounds so I tried to really enjoy my time out there. It’s my first time here and I’m loving it so far, we have a good crew staying together and it’s been fun!”
Last year’s semifinalist Jobe Harriss (GBR) stepped things up in the first heat of Round Two and showed he’s lost nothing of his amazing form from 2017. With an 8.33 highest wave and a 15.10 total, Harriss’ numbers spoke for themselves as the surfer from Bude easily advanced into Round Three.
“I don’t really compete that much anymore, competitive surfing is not my main focus so I feel really relaxed out there and I guess it’s working out for me,” Harriss said. “I’ve got many things to keep myself busy, I’m working on building sites, lifeguarding, I even grow vegetables for a living as well, but thankfully I still get a bit of time in the water.”
The Roxy Open completed the only heat of Round One with three surfers late this afternoon, preparing for a full round of action tomorrow when the event resumes.
The waiting period for the UGG Men’s Longboard Pro and UGG Women’s Longboard Pro, final European longboard QS of the season, opens Friday.
Competitors will be back to Fistral at 8 a.m Thursday for an 8:30 a.m start of the men’s Round Two and 12p.m for the women.
Lukas Skinner, the youngest ever competitor at BM? He’ll be a fixture in years to come. PHOTO: Masurel/WSL
