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With the summer SUP racing and demo season in full swing, and with events taking place most weekends across the country, it’s a pretty busy time for the racers and for us here at SUPboarder. A few months ago there was word on the street that for the first time ever, an international SUP race would be coming to the UK. Carbis Bay in St Ives, Cornwall was chosen as the location for the 2 day event as part of the international race series ‘The Euro Tour’. Glenn Eldridge from Ocean Sports Centre was the man behind the event which took place last weekend (30-31st May) at the stunning Carbis Bay. And what an amazing event it was.
We turned up to beautiful Carbis Bay which despite a chilly breeze looked like the Mediterranean, with its golden sandy beach and turquoise water. From the moment we arrived it had the feeling of a great event, with a relaxed atmosphere and yet lots going on. But it wasn’t all just about the racing. In the morning there were clinics, including talks from Fiona Wylde, the young and very talented Starboard team rider from the Hood River in the States. She has a vast amount of knowledge for somebody so young and she ran a great girls clinic sharing her enthusiasm and passion for SUP and was willing to help all the girls find their way in SUP on and off the water. Then it was time for the master of blades… Quick Blade designer Jim Terrell gave a fantastic talk about everything paddle related, including stories and the art of paddles, and what makes the difference between a good paddler and a great paddler. There were also plenty of shiny boards on the beach from many different brands including Starboard, as Carbis Bay was their first stop on the Starboard Tiki Tour. After a relaxing and informative morning for paddlers of all abilities, it was then time to meet the pros and let the racing begin. With Connor Baxter, Fernando Stalla, Paolo Marconi, and our own UK race stars hanging around on the beach, it was great opportunity for paddlers of all ages to meet and chat with some of those at the top level of SUP racing.
The race on the Saturday was a 13k distance race, with both 14’ & 12’6’’ class boards doing the same course and the same start, and the cruising class starting just a few minutes behind on a shortened course. The 14’ class was the most popular due to the points counting towards the Euro Tour. The standouts were obviously going to be the international contingent with Connor Baxter leading the way. But the dark horse of the event for us, has to be Starboard UK’s Paul Simmons, who kept up and challenged the main pack, finishing very closely in 4th. Paul is a paddler who is never one to underestimate, and proved it by beating all of the other home grown talents. On the 12’6 side of things Naish rider Ben Fisher took the win and had a good overall time even when paddling the shorter 12’6’’ board. 14’ ladies, Fiona Wylde charged in across the line to take the win in front of a really happy Marie Buchanan. It was a shame there weren’t more girls in the main event, but it was great to see the girls up there with the guys (and infact infront of alot of them!) In the 12’6’’ ladies race it was taken by a quick paddle from Tarryn Brown then followed by the super stoked Emily King+1. The cruising class did well battling the ever increasing wind, and the recently signed Starboard rider Ben Pye took a well deserved win. (More cruising results to follow shortly.)
Mens
1.Connor Baxter 1:28:07 – 14′
2.Fernando Stalla 1:28:13 – 14′
3.Paolo Marconi 1:28:22 – 14′
4. Paul Simmons 1:28:30 – 14′
5. Ryan James 1:29:16 – 14′
6. Aaron Rowe 1:30:57 – 14’
7.Pete Holliday 1:31:44 – 14′
8.Ollie Shilston 1:31:45 – 14′
9.Mark Slater 1:33:36 – 14′
10. Jim Terrell 1:34:31 – 14′
11.Christopher Parker 1:34:40 – 14′
12. Tim Harley 1:34:58 – 14′
13.Crispin Jones 1:36:00 – 14′
14. Nicholas Watt 1:36:06 – 14′
15.Damian Warner 1:37:14 – 14′
16.Benjamin Fisher 1:38:34 – 12’6
17.Charlie Jones 1:38:40 – 14′
18.Matthew Wall 1:42:34 – 14′
19.Scott Warren 1:43:03 – 12’6
20.MacRae Wylde 1:43:08 – 12’6
21.Tim Rowe 1:44:42 – 14′
22. Jamie Harman 1:47:06 – 14′
23.Dominic Moore 1:48:07 – 14′
24.Luke Bolsin 1:48:42 – 14′
25.Barry Short 1:48:53 – 14′
26.Carl Sawyer 1:49:18 – 14′
27..Jason Sawyer 1:54:22 – 12’6
28.Chris Bates 1:54:56 – 14′
29.SA Trott 2:02:59 – 12’6
30.Will Peak 2:04:27 – 14′
31.Peter Everitt 2:08:54 – 14′
Ladies
1.Fiona Wylde 1:38:34 – 14′
2.Marie Buchanan1:40:43 – 14′
3.Susak Molinero 1:45:07 – 14′
4.Tarryn Brown1:49:41 – 12’6
5.Emily King 2:02:59- 12’6
After an evening of drinking, eating and for some sleeping, day 2 started off with a grey dreary morning. But by the time the fun kids racing started it was sunshine. Paul Simmons and Glenn Eldridge took a happy bunch of young, keen paddlers for some race training. A really positive sight looking forward to the future of SUP in the UK. No politics, just fast fun racing with lots of smiles. We could all learn from the kids.
Leading on from the kids it was time for the knockout Surviver races to get underway. With all racers taking part at the same time, and the 14’ paddlers having a slightly longer course out and back to the beach. The last 5 in each round would be knocked out.
Taking from the kids example of having a laugh on the water, five of the pro’s decided that they would take their chance in paddling the Starboard Starship in the first round. Can you imagine if they lost!!? These were great races for the spectators being so close to the action all the time. After 5 rounds it was time for the 6 man final. 3 international and 3 local boys including our own SB rider Aaron Rowe launched themselves into the small surf for the final. The finish results looked very much the same as the long distance race results, except for Ollie Shilston who pushed his way up to 5th, pushing the energiser bunny Aaron Rowe back to 6th.
1.Connor Baxter – 14′
2.Fernando Stalla – 14′
3.Paolo Marconi – 14′
4.Paul Simmons – 14′
5.Ollie Shilston – 14′
6. Aaron Rowe – 14’
Then it was time for afew Mega SUP races and the price giving to finish the day off. A truly great weekend of racing and spectating. And an extremely well organised event by the Ocean Sports crew. This might have been the smallest stop of the Euro Tour, but it was all action packed from start to finish. A big thank you to all the Pro’s for supporting our young UK paddlers and getting them even more stoked on SUP. We look forward to seeing you next time (hope your feet have finally defrosted!… don’t forget your wetsuit boots!)
For us it was more then a race event… it was an event weekend designed to encourage and inspire SUP in the UK. It makes us realise how the UK scene has really developed over the last fews years. We hope to see the event back in Cornwall again next year. If you are looking to get some sea water on your board then this is a great sea race event to get you into the salty stuff. Carbis Bay is a very sheltered bay that is great for SUP of all levels. Make sure not to miss out next time. We’ll be there. Will you???
For more information about Carbis Bay and the Ocean Sports Centre visit their website here. And to read about the other stops on the Euro Tour in more detail read SUPracer’s posts here.