When your dad is Shane Dorian, there's a strong chance you may pick up a few skills, but come on this is mental! Check out young Jackson Dorian as he tears the bejesus out of the Waco wave pool. We salute you Jackson, long may you surf.
In total 45,771 volunteers from across the UK joined Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) at community clean events on beaches, rivers and mountains in the week of the 6th – 14thApril.
Locations of cleans:
Furthest North – Ronas Voe Beach, Shetland
Furthest South – Le Braye, Jersey
Furthest East – Lowestoft, East Anglia
Furthest West –Enniskillen Island, Northern Ireland
Most Rural – Arnol, Outer Hebrides
Most Urban – Royal Docks, London
The week of the 6 – 14 April saw SAS’s biggest ever Big Spring Beach Clean: Summit To Sea take place. From beach fronts to mountain tops, rivers to streets 45,771 people turned out to protect their environment and stop plastic from polluting our oceans. Volunteers removed 70,799.31kg of plastic pollution, the equivalent of 17,700 full bin bags.
“This is the Attenborough effect in action, we are witnessing an incredible community response to plastic pollution on our beaches, rivers and green spaces across the UK. For so many people to have given up their time and joined a clean really shows the current attitude towards environmental protection.”
- Jack Middleton, SAS Community Manager
“Iceland Foods Charitable Foundation and Surfers Against Sewage are passionate about tackling the scourge of plastic pollution head-on and we know that momentum for action is building in communities throughout the UK. We’re very proud to be part of this year’s campaign and have seen tremendous interest and support from Iceland colleagues in all parts of the country. The fact that over 45,000 volunteers have taken part nationwide is very encouraging and a testament to how much this issue matters to our communities.”
- Richard Walker, Trustee of the Iceland Foods Charitable Foundation
The Scottish National Surfing Championships 2019 took place on Easter Weekend in Caithness under fantastic sunshine. This year the event’s main supporters were EventScotland, the Highland Council and the Caithness Collection hotels. This year the event was officially opened by European Surfing Federation president Huw John.
59 competitors participated in what was one of the best ever Scottish Surfing Federation events ever ran with thousands of spectators making it down to see the action over the weekend and enjoy the live and online scoring using the Refresh system, 4-man priority, heat updates and music pumping from the Red Bull event vehicle as well as Red Bull samples being handed out by the Red Bull wings team.
Day 1
The event commenced on Friday the 19th of April at Sinclairs bay on Caithness’ East facing coast and junior and longboard rounds were completed. Finals of the U14, U16 and U18 Girls divisions took place in the afternoon in waist to chest high surf with light onshore winds.
Northcore u16s
Ben Larg retained his U16s crown with a nail biting final where him and Craig McLachlan exchanged blows. Ben got off to a solid start controlling the heat with a combination of snaps as Craig looked nervous in the opening minutes. But Craig would claw his way back into contention with a big layback move to put the pressure on. Ben beat Craig by 0.24pts with an 11.57pts heat total and was chaired up the beach by Tiree Surf Club members.
1. Ben Larg (TSC)
2. Craig McLachlan (NSSC)
3. Hayden Peace (LSC)
4. Luca Baltrunas (MFSR)
Narosa u14s
Craig McLachlan took the victory in the Narosa U14s division in emphatic style with a 16.16pts heat total in his semi final posting one excellent score and another near exellent then a 12.24pts heat total in the final. Ben Kobedza did well to give Craig a run for his money with an 8.54pts heat total.
1. Craig McLachlan (NSSC)
2. Ben Kobedza (MFSR)
3. Luca Baltrunas (MFSR)
4. Robyn Larg (TSC)
Blackhouse Watersports U18 Girls
A tight battle also ensued in the U18 girls division this time between Tiree Surf Club’s Robyn Larg and eventual winner Natalie Kobedza with a close first exchange as each girl posted a high 3 but Natalie’s second wave, a 6pt ride, couldn’t be matched by runner up Robyn or either of the North Shore Surf Club girls who were both competing in their first nationals.
1. Natalie Kobedza (MFSR)
2. Robyn Larg (TSC)
3. Jessica Simmons (NSSC)
4. Nadia Murray (NSSC)
Day2
Day 2 was a lay-day due to lack of surf but also as the forecast for the following day looked very promising contest director Chris Clarke decided to call the event off for the day. That evening competitors, members and spectators were invited to a fundraising event in the Pentland Hotel Thurso where Malcolm Anderson premiered his new video ‘Sleepy Hollows’ followed by live music by Donald and Kerry Peace, a raffle prize draw and presentations were done for the completed divisions presented by European Surfing Federation president Huw John and ex British & European Ladies Champion Linda Sharp.
Day 3
An early call to start on remaining competition at Brims Ness was made and first in the water at the Cove were the U18 Boys semi finals followed by rounds of the Mens Open Division in absolutely pumping surf at the Bowl. The sun came out and the surf only improved as the day went on and the entire competition and finals were concluded.
Staunch Longboards
After commencing early rounds at Sinclairs bay, 2 days before, the Longboarders were itching to get underway with their final which took place at the Cove – the smaller less intimidating brother of the bowl which allowed for a steep critical drop followed by some traditional longboarding on the 9ft + boards. Eventual winner would be Malcolm Findlay who had the stiffest competition ever with an on form Chris Clarke who was last year’s winner and has been training hard on his new equipment which was evident for spectators. Malcolm and Chris both showed off their combination of moves new and old and Jamie Marshall had also been on form in earlier rounds to make it to the final ahead of Frazer Reid.
1. Malcolm Findlay (BSC)
2.Chris Clarke (NSSC)
3. Jamie Marshall (EBSC)
4. Frazer Reid (FSC)
Y-Not Masters
Mark Cameron dominated the division in what seemed like revenge after Craig Sutherland pipped him to the Masters title last year but also knocked Cameron out in the early stages of the open division in 2018. But this year there was to be no stopping Cameron as he blew his Masters opponents out of the water with a commanding victory and a 12.93pts heat total, second place was Sutherland with a 5.86. Well done to James Sutherland and Dominic Duquemin making their first ever Masters finals at the Scottish Nationals.
1. Mark Cameron (BSC)
2. Craig Sutherland (MFSR)
3. James Sutherland (MFSR)
4. Dominic Duquemin (NSSC)
Northcore U18 Boys
No surprises as to which boys made the final in the Northcore under 18 boys at the cove. In the final however, the boys were given the option to surf either the bowl or the cove as the judges could easily see both breaks and spotters were on hand to ensure no action was missed. Ben Larg was the only boy who opted to surf the more critical break of the bowl and was rewarded for his efforts winning the division ahead of his older club-mate Finn MacDonald who is just back from a year long stint travelling the world. Ben posted excellent and good scores to make up a 14.83pts heat total and Finn’s heat total came in at 7.27pts.
1. Ben Larg (TSC)
2. Finn MacDonald (TSC)
3. Craig McLachlan (NSSC)
4. Hayden Peace (LSC)
Seafoam Open Women
It was a relatively low scoring affair for this year’s Open Women’s division final which was also contested at the cove but Iona McLachlan made the most of the tricky conditions with a heat total of a 7.03pts to pip last years champion Phoebe Strachan by only 0.07 and keep the Women’s trophy in Thurso. Iona’s second wave a well surfed 4.33 with a couple well connected carves back into the pocket, would make the difference and give her the nod in the judges eyes as this year’s Scottish National Champion.
1. Iona McLachlan (NSSC)
2. Phoebe Strachan (NSSC)
3. Shoana Blackadder (NSSC)
4. Catriona MacDonald (MFSR)
Pentland Hotel Open Men
Early round upsets included a first round elimination for George Watt, last year’s runner up as well as younger up and comer’s Andrew Robertson and Finn MacDonald. The bowl would be the venue for the Open Men’s division and the waves were pumping! Bigger than many of the competitors may be used to at this venue as it is usually favoured in smaller swell with more tubing sections on offer but the raw swell served up big faces for carves and turns as well as heavy slabbing sections.
No surprises as to who were the standouts in early rounds as 6x Scottish Champion Chris Noble, 7x Scottish Champion Mark Cameron and reigning Scottish Champion Mark Boyd posted the highest heat totals and progressed through their heats convincingly, Cameron and Boyd winning all of their heats.
Another standout was Andrew MacLeod who had one of the first round’s better scoring waves for a big hack followed by an inside tube which the judges rewarded with a 6.5. Chris Noble posted the highest heat total of the entire day in round 1 with a 15.16 and a high wave score of an 8.33 matched only by Boyd in the final. Boyd and Noble would meet in both the quarter finals and semi finals where Boyd progressed ahead of Noble with double figure heat totals.
Other notable performance was from Doug “the peoples champ” McAlister who made his first ever Open Men’s Final at the Scottish Nationals. Dougie was consistent throughout the day with good wave selection which proved important in the maxing conditions at the bowl.
As the sun was setting at 20:30hrs the Open Men’s final got underway. Boyd got off to an early start and put the pressure on from the outset. Only Cameron would answer back, but Boyd’s last wave, an 8.33 would mean Cameron couldn’t just quite reach Boydie’s score on the last exchange and Mark Boyd would be crowned Scottish National Champion for the second consecutive year with a 14.00pt heat total.
1. Mark Boyd (NSSC)
2. Mark Cameron (BSC)
3. Doug McAlister (NSSC)
4. Chris Noble (NSSC)
VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA – APRIL 27: Two-time world champion John John Florence of Hawaii and Courtney Conlogue of the USA win the 2019 Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach after winning the final at Bells Beach on April 27, 2019 in Victoria, Australia. (Photo by Kelly Cestari/WSL via Getty Images)
Today in perfect six-to-eight foot Bells Bowl conditions, Courtney Conlogue (USA) and John John Florence (HAW) won the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach, Stop No. 2 on the 2019 World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT). After dominating their respective fields in picturesque Bells conditions, Conlogue rang the coveted Bells trophy for her third time, and Florence clinched his first Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach win.
Celebrating its 58th year running and 50 Years of Surfing at Rip Curl, this year’s Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach culminated with what some called the 50-Year Storm; some of the biggest conditions the event has seen since 1981, a test for every competitor in the field, and a show for the crowd to remember.
VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA – APRIL 27: 2X World Champion John John Florence of Hawaii advances to the final of the 2019 Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach after winning Semi Final Heat 2 at Bells Beach on April 27
, 2019 in Victoria, Australia. (Photo by Kelly Cestari/WSL via Getty Images)
“It’s a surreal feeling to have won this event,” Florence said. “Especially an event like this where we started at Winki with small waves then to how big it was yesterday and then just totally perfect today. There has been so many different faces and challenges and then surfing against Filipe (Toledo) is always pretty scary.”
“This was definitely the most testing Final day of my career,” continued Florence. “From how big it was yesterday to the matchups today, it was really tiring and needed a lot of energy for the two heats yesterday and three heats today. I was just trying to surf my best and focus on myself, and it worked out. I couldn’t have done it without my team and my family. I just wanted to say thank you to everyone in Torquay for letting us surf your waves. It’s been so fun.”
VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA – APRIL 27: Courtney Conlogue of USA wins the 2019 Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach after winning the final at Bells Beach on April 27, 2019 in Victoria, Australia. (Photo by Kelly Cestari/WSL via Getty Images)
“What an event! I went from being out of rhythm with the ocean to the ocean being in the kind of rhythm I enjoy,” Conlogue said. “I was trying to contain my ‘grom froth’ watching the waves all day. It feels incredible to get another Bell, they’re not easy to come by. Every single Bell has its own special path and journey that got me it and this one was definitely an amazing one to win.”
“The conditions were amazing today and it was great to share the Final with Malia,” continued Conlogue. “It was unreal. She’s been surfing spectacularly this whole competition. When I heard she got an 8-point ride I was like, ‘It’s on’. To come back and post a Perfect 10 felt so amazing. My team means everything and I couldn’t have done it without them.”
It was a year to remember at the 2019 Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach. Congratulations to all of the surfers on facing some of the biggest surf the World Tour has seen in recent years; congratulations to wildcard Jacob Willcox (AUS) on achieving a quarterfinal finish; and congratulations to 2019 Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Champions, John John Florence and Courtney Conlogue.
The UK government has advised against all but essential travel to Sri Lanka after recent terrosrist attacks. Most attacks are deemed highly likely.
“Security has been stepped up across the island. A State of Emergency and night-time curfew remain in place. The Sri Lankan authorities have made a number of arrests in relation to the attacks, and security operations are ongoing, including controlled explosions of suspicious packages and vehicles, and temporary evacuations of buildings. However, the extent of any continued threat following the 21 April attacks remains unclear. On 24 April 2019, the Sri Lanka police issued a warning that mosques may be targeted by attacks, specifying ‘Aulia’ Mosques connected with the ‘burial sites of Muslim Saints’.
If you’re in Sri Lanka, you should:
remain vigilant, keep up to date with developments and follow the advice of local security authorities and hotel security staff;
keep a low profile, avoid crowded public places, large gatherings (including religious gatherings and places of worship) and any demonstrations. All of the attacks on 21 April were carried out either in places of worship or in places where foreign visitors were affected. Any further attacks may be targeted against similar locations;
avoid travelling during periods of curfew (other than to/from the airport – see below);
keep in touch with family and friends, ensuring they are aware of any plans you may have.”
More advice here here
If you have been directly affected by the attacks or need urgent consular assistance, call the British High Commission in Colombo on +94 11 5390639
Legit edit, legit tunes, and some great logging. Press play. Not your average logging flick by far.
