The winner of the Down the Line Surf (@downthelinesurf) and Carve @carvemag #WarriorsOfWinter competition has been announced by Kelly Slater (@kellyslater). Kelly has chosen James Bowden’s (@jamesbowdown) photo of surfer Jack Johns (@jackjohns) in a dark and cold mid-winter session.
The story behind James’ photograph really sets the scene and describes the reality of a harsh Cornish winter and the lengths taken to get the shot. With so many outstanding entries, we knew it would have been a tough choice for Kelly, but for him this photo really captured what winter is about – “With one or two friends and getting crazy barrels”.
After a crazy winter of waves, we are already looking forward to next winter’s comp and more epic entries from around the UK and Ireland. We have our fingers crossed the waves will be just as good and hopefully we will get some decent swell throughout the summer until then.
Ezekiel Lau gets invited to test out the world’s newest Wave Garden at Alaia Bay in Sion, Switzerland. In this episode, Zeke shows what a mission it was to get to Switzerland, then finally gets to surf the wave pool for the first time at 16:00 on the edit.
“The foil itself is essentially a guillotine’ an anonymous surfer told the Bournemouth Echo here.
“If it collides with somebody it is not just a surfboard it is a blade with wings, people have been pretty mangled up by these already.”
“If you are hit by one you are going straight to hospital if you are lucky.”
The surfer suggested they could head to quieter areas, or areas like Poole Harbour where windsurfing and kitesurfing already happens regularly.
“The problem is they want to ride waves and they are best around the pier and around Branksome which are areas often populated by surfers and swimmers,” he added.
“They are doing it safely, there are videos of these guys riding them around, between people, they are in control.
“But if someone sees it and thinks it is great fun and wants to do it and don’t have the skill level someone will get hurt.
“We are all there to enjoy the beach but perhaps don’t do it in packed areas.
“The level of surfing in Bournemouth is not very high, adding in the danger with foiling, it is going to end up in a bad way.”
The paper reported Councillor Mohan Iyengar, portfolio holder for tourism, leisure and culture, said: “We’ve been contacted recently by a resident with a concern about the safety of foiling. This particular sport hasn’t been an issue in the past, but safety is our first concern and we’ll be examining it more closely in the run up to the peak season.”
Would seem like common sense ?
Jamie Mitchell issued a warning about foiling in 2016 read here
Surfing England have announced their 2021 events calendar… Fingers crossed for an uninterrupted season!
2021 Rip Curl Grom Search: 22nd & 23rd May, Watergate Bay, Cornwall.
We are proud to partner with Rip Curl to bring back the Grom Search this year. This event shows rip curl’s firm commitment to the development of youth surfing and is the perfect event to give our groms a platform to showcase their talent. This event will be a single peak, live scoring contest, with single division entry. More information will follow mid-April.
2021 English Adaptive Surfing Open: 8th July, The Wave, Bristol.
We cannot wait to return to The Wave, Bristol, for the 5th ever English Adaptive Open. The Wave have been instrumental in the development of adaptive surfing in England, taking headline of the event for its first 3 years. We look forward to welcoming adaptive surfers from around the globe to this iconic event. The Wave is purpose built with inclusivity at the heart, and we are excited to further showcase this venue and adaptive surfing.
2021 Caravan and Motorhome Club English National Surfing Championships: 17th – 19th September: Watergate Bay, Cornwall.
The Caravan and Motorhome Club English Nationals will return in 2021 as a full 3-day, double peak surfing contest, returning the event back to its roots at Watergate Bay. We will be aiming to run all divisions from U12s, through to masters, and longboard surfing. Due to coronavirus restrictions in May/June and the ISA World Surfing Games scheduled late May > June, we have taken the decision to move this event to the Autumn for 2021. Save the date and be in with the chance of claiming an English Champion title!
The Interclubs will return this year with great anticipation after a break the last couple of years due a couple of unlucky forecasts and the pandemic! We are raring to go with this event, bringing our surf clubs together in the ultimate battle for club champions as we reignite club rivalry! The event will be a double peak surfing contest all weekend, and is sure to be heaps of fun!
Surfing England Membership
Members also receive insurance for surfing worldwide, including at The Wave, Bristol. For 2021, we have upgraded our insurance package which you can find out more here.
After getting out the water this session, big wave legend Ryan Hipwood said ‘it was one of the most intimating swell events he’d ever surfed’. This place is at the top of the Aussie big wave surfing locations for paddling. How’s that hideous over the falls at 7:20, full respect to all the crew out that day, we salute you.
