The pleasure and the pain

Yesterday was a massive day for English surfers, literally. Conditions for the English Championships at Watergate Bay were horrendous, strong onshore winds had whipped up froth to the horizon and competitors needed every second of the 15 minutes paddle out time to get out back. Only the fit and the brave accepted the challenge to do battle with the lumpy swell and stand out of the first round was Micah Lester with two massive hacks on a wave that looked about a mile out to sea. As the tide dropped conditions deteriorated and the decision was made to find shelter in the bay, where sand grinding close outs where the new test…

Some excellent surfing going down from Gordon Fontaine in the quarters and Oli Adams dominating his semi but it was Tom Butler who timed his run to peak in the final, winning not only over the elements but three worthy opponents.

Surfing contests are totally consuming and exhausting for contestants and are often won or lost by small margins and tiny mistakes, in this crop of the photo above you can see the contrasting emotions of Butlers joy in victory and Adams desolation in defeat.