In My Opinion

Getting amped for the UKProTour event at Lynmouth this autumn and cant wait to see Britain’s best surfers hacking into one of Britain’s best waves. The event will be run in one day and the UKPST has allotted three wildcards from the 32 man draw to the local surf clubs; Croyde, Woolacombe and Westward Ho! So it will be interesting to see who the clubs put up for the contest and if their ‘local knowledge’ can cause an upset or two (or three).  The event (and indeed the whole Relentless Super Series with £15,000 prize money) is a step up competition level for the Tour surfers and will benefit the development of surfing in the UK by raising the top of the pyramid and be a counter the oft-whinged epithet that all contests are all held in shit surf. (Not actually true by the way, anyone remember previous UKPST stops in Croyde, Thurso and Portrush?)

Never the less they’re will be some moaning from the hippy brigade with their preconceived prejudices, such as Chris from Exeter who e-mailed me and who thinks that surfers on the tour are “a circus of self obsessed, super ego industry sluts”. Apart from denying sportsmen and women who at the top of their sport in this country a chance to earn some money, which smacks a bit of jealousy, I’m sure Chris doesn’t know any of the top surfers, because sluts they may be but they are nice sluts! (And what some people perceive as ego is in fact supreme confidence in their ability to rip). I bet Chris was watching the Chopes barrel fest, the NY airshow and the Trestles gouge-a-thon on the internet with just about every other surfer on planet earth.(Wasnt it good). Not only is it churlish to slag off pro surfing while enjoying the thrills and spills – it’s hypocritical, because pro surfing has an effect on every one of us – without pro surfing there would be nothing to drive surfboard design forward and where would we be now without the modern surfboard?

Anyway, Lynmouth is not a secret spot, it never has been –  it’s been in every guide book since the sixties and is plainly visible from the main road. It has one local surfing family – the Berrys, who are all totally behind the contest and like me they cant wait to see how the likes of Russ, Oli, Fryer and Stoksey attack it. But in the spirit of Aloha here’s a gimme;

These two spots will be working when we have our one day of pushing surfing (kicking and screaming)  forward in this “milestone” event – get off your asses and seek, and maybe you shall find.

Canon 5D c/w EF 70mm-200mm f2.8 IS L

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