Busy Bank Holiday

The run up to the bank holiday saw me overwhelmed with swine flu, spending my only free day in a few weeks lying in bed shivering! Managed to drag myself from my death bed to do a shoot in South Devon, really nice day although I'd forgotten about the bank holiday traffic on the M5 and the Devon Show in Exeter.

The Weekend saw the start of the 2009 UK Pro Surf Tour, with the Saltrock Open held in Croyde. Saturdays postponement due to lack of swell should have given me an extra days rest, but a failing car exhaust put a stop to that idea. Sunny Sunday was a treat for everyone, even those still dying of FLU. Swell built gradually over the day as the sun beat down, the contest was on. Great shooting conditions, with some excellent performances in the water, we even had Justin Lee Collins from Channel 4's Friday Nigh Project complete with film crew for his heat( and No JLC can't surf!!)

JLC lists sharks, paparazzi, jellyfish and giant tentacles for his in ability to paddle out.

Monday saw a busy day on Press, all outdoor events in the rain....yeha!! With timings tight and the usual chaotic bank holiday traffic, it was a hectic dash from Bratton Flemming Family Funday to Barnstaple's giant picnic in the park(thanks to the Baddeley's for the prawns) then off to Braunton's fair followed by an cross country jaunt to Paracombe for Maypole dancing. The last leg of the day was back off to Croyde for the finals of the SaltrockOpen. Well done to Glen Hall and Sarah Beardmore.
After all that its back to base for hours of editing and captioning...oh well, least I'm starting to get my tan back.

Catching up on real life

Well it's still flat out there this morning. Eyeing the charts and hoping for a little tickle tomorrow evening if not Friday. I the mean time I have a chance to sort through a 2 week backlog of shoots and sessions.

Nice to see Gulfstream Surfboards brightening up Caen St in Braunton with a sweet new paint job.

Well done to the boys.

Either end of the street however sees a sadder sight with the closing of Surf Station and the Spider store, a sign of harsher times? Lets hope not.

"Conor Spears"

I hear the new skate park claimed another scalp in the form of Croyde's Conor Spears......seems he lost it in the bowl and was knocked unconscious!! Heres a pic to cheer him up, taken a couple of weeks back.

First post - April 27th

Last week saw a run of swell hitting the North coast with surf in the 2-3ft range on many of the beaches most of the week, everyone got the chance to get in a blow away the cobwebs. The weekend was all change and brought challenging conditions for the many contests being held on North Devon Beaches.We had the BILLABONG/ HUNTER/ VW BRITISH SCHOOLS CHAMPIONSHIP held on Saturday and Sunday in Woolcombe. It was good to see how much talent we have coming through the ranks, so well done to all the groms who took part. I'm still waiting for full results at the mo, but good on yer to Karma Worthington 1st in the girls and 3rd in the Longboard, also Stuart Campbell, Maisy Lawton and Beau Bromham...I know there are other winners deserving of mentions and I'll try and update in the week.Croyde Surf Club held the 2009 AL RANNOCHAN Memorial which saw a good turn out battle the conditions and each other. Honours go Lyndon Wake who outshone Jinks, Charlie and Ossian in thrilling final. Also a mention for Adam Thornton who won the repechage (or special losers final as it's now known). We won't dwell on the alcohol fuelled mayhem that followed, you'll probably be able to read about it in "around the courts".We also had Woolacombe boardriders hosting Bristol surf club in a "friendly" invitational challenge, which was sensibly relocated to the shelter of Putsborough. With both longboard and shortboard categories this was a chance for the locals to shine, which luckily they did (I'd hate to be reporting defeat to the hands of the Bristol massive). That one man publicty machine and all round bald bloke, Nick"GoPro"Lloyd won the shortboard event with Greg Reynolds in premier place for the loggers.Finally Police are still on the hunt for the thieving scumbags who stole 6 surfboards from Masher at Spider Surf in Braunton last week. keep your eyes peeled for these boards:
1. “DANO FISH”, 5’10” long, it has a Blue bottom and a Yellow top with a distinctive Buddha design. It has a fish tail, it would have three fins although none were attached.
2. “DANO FISH”, 6’ long, orange top and bottom with a marble effect, this also has a Buddha design and a fish tail and fittings for three fins but none attached.
3. “DANO FISH”, 6’1” long, yellow bottom and a red streaky deck. It also has a Buddha design on it, fish tail and fittings for three fins but none attached.
4. “PHIL JAY”, 6’10” long, it is a single fin board, although none attached, it is white in colour, with PHIL JAY written on the deck in bold black letters.
5. “DANO”, 6’1” long, round tail with three black fins fitted to it. White in colour with a distinctive F16 fighter plane drawn on it and the words “bloody fast surfboards” written underneath.
6. “DANO”, 6’10” long, round tail with three black fins fitted to it. The fins will have “FCSG5” stamped on them. White in colour and the same design and words as the one above.Any info please contact:Chris Tucker
Braunton police station.
01271 818220
15001@devonandcornwall.pnn.police.uk