Week two brought an increase in numbers of surfers with no lessening of enthusiasm. The waves for our Dolphins and Sharks session were more testing than the previous week and provided just the conditions that the coaches would require when they asked them to cut the bottom turn short in order to make a floater and hopefully a completion on the wave. The first hour had seen the Dory and Nemo groups catching loads of waves as parents and helpers coaxed them into some gentle runners by Mans Head. It has been a brilliant start to the season and promises much for the coming weeks and months. There’s some of the action from the day below.
An idyllic Saturday in late-Spring/early Summer provided the perfect introduction to our Junior Surf Club for 2025. I’m sure those new faces will be itching to get back to Porthmeor again next week after a morning of clean little rollers and the bluest of skies gave them a first coaching session which must have whetted their appetite for more. Our more advanced surfers in the dolphin and shark groups may have wished for bigger waves, but finding good rides in small conditions can bring great satisfaction and there were plenty of smiles in that second session suggesting they were taking on the challenge. Here are a few pictures of the day to set the scene for what we might expect this summer.
The banner picture shows the nine o’clock group ready to smash out another session on a day that hinted at Autumn. There were waves to suit all abilities, and Harris’ brief to the Sharks at 10 o’clock was to slow down, eradicate the jerky manoeuvres and allow the wave to develop the turn. We had two very useful sessions over the course of the morning with Porthmeor again serving up the goods!
Well, we are still waiting for summer to commence this year, and we issued an advisory prior to Saturday’s surf club that conditions were forecast to be quite lumpy with an onshore wind. Maybe a little off-putting for a novice surfer or a weak swimmer. However, our turnout was a healthy number of juniors keen to test themselves and we had fun challenging the short windblown waves and the washy conditions on the inside. Outback, our advanced surfers had problems to solve to find rippable waves and also to get out again to the green waves through the succession of broken waves faced from the inside. All-in-all it was a valuable morning coming to terms with conditions that were less than ideal, conditions that surfers often face when finding time to get in for a couple of hours! Here are some pictures of the session, and a list of forthcoming dates below .
It has been five years since we enjoyed the St. Ives Cup, an Autumn handicap competition between local surfers that was so well-received by the community. Towards the end of last week Harris looked at the surf chart, checked that the tides were favourable and put out the call ” Who fancies it?” On Friday afternoon it was called ‘On’ for 8.30 Saturday morning and around forty competitors checked in for “The Porthmeor Cup”, a new incarnation of that fabled beast. There was a generous support of families and friends on a warm late-September day as the battle began in challenging chest-high surf that tested even the highly ranked chargers and created a thrilling spectacle for everyone on the beach.
JohnnyJayceHarrisGiacomoJonnySimonDeanoOllieMarcoRobJudges on rotationChristianRobDanTeddyScrappyKazDanCharlieBenOllieCharliePeteJohnnyJayce
I fear we didn’t capture all the action, or even all the competitors, on camera over the day, but here are a few more of them and a couple of beach scenes to round out what was recorded by our reporters on the day.
Another judging sessionBen, Jayce and SteveJackMarleyMickTimbo post-heat debriefOwenBenThe sceneBenJacobOllieHarrisSimonPumpsHamishScrappyThe business end of the comp.Hospitality tentDan – finalistJohnny – winnerCharlieTarps and PeteChristianJohnny – finalistFinal line-upPresentationBen collects a prizeShaun and JohnnyDon’t want this party to end! Note Charlie’s award!
Our thanks are due to Harris and the Surf School crew for running such an ace competition flawlessly. Our gratitude also to Porthmeor lifeguards for their help and support, to Porthmeor Beach for feeding the competitors and to St. Ives Brewery for their refreshing ales. We also recognise the support of our community, particularly the families and partners of our competitors for sharing them with us for a precious day among friends. Thanks too to Barry Walker for the action shots of the surfing and to those competitors who took a spell in the judging chair during the day. Congratulations to all our surfers, and particularly to our champion, and first holder of the Porthmeor Cup, Johnny Fryer!
We held the postponed end-of-season finale last Saturday in pumping waves under a clear blue sky. We could not ask for better conditions, and a large turn-out was guaranteed to witness the competition to be club champion 2022, the post-season presentations and enjoy the promised ” sausage sizzle” afterwards.
There were regular group sessions for the juniors to enjoy, offering a last chance to impress the coaches and maybe claim ‘surfer of the summer’ in the group.
Over in the competition area some keenly fought heats saw a final four boys emerge to contest their final, after five girls had contested their own final.
Boys finalistsGirls finalistsThe judges hawk-like intensity!
And then it was up to the clubhouse to learn who the winners would be, and to honour all our young chargers for their efforts this summer. A packed room cheered the awards as our groups acknowledged winners in three categories: surfer of the summer, most committed surfer and most improved surfer. There were medals for all juniors to commemorate the season, and then the contest surfers received their medals in reverse order, leaving Leila and Teddy as our champions for 2022.
The Trophy TableChampions
And then it was back out onto the putting green for a “sausage sizzle” in the late-summer sunshine. What a day!
Well that was a most satisfactory way to complete our season. Nature’s elements combined to offer us a perfect day to say farewell to summer 2022.
Many thanks to Tesco St. Ives for their generous support to the BBQ. Thanks to St. Ives Brewery ( again!) for their support on every event day. Thanks also to the contest judges and thank you to the club committee for a fine day, and a fine season. Our gratitude to Porthmeor Beach management and to Porthmeor Beach RNLI lifeguards for their support and encouragement over the season. St. Ives Surf School is the rock on which our Kids Club is built and we owe Harris and his crew a debt we can never hope to repay for their unstinting efforts. And, finally, a word of praise for those Dolphin surfers who gave their Saturday mornings to helping the younger groups into waves: Kaz, Ollie, Marley, Kaitlyn and Bridget are names that readily spring to mind!
To all children and parents who participated over the summer – We have relished your company. ” Thank you ” and we look forward to seeing you all again in 2023!
The RNLI are holding a seminar on 22nd October in the clubhouse to demonstrate some of the skills and techniques which will help keep our members safe in the water this winter once lifeguard cover at Porthmeor ends after October half term. Recommended!
That’s All Folks … was the farewell line as the cartoons finished on TV back in the day, and today’s blog signals the end of the Saturday Kids Club for another season. We left it in style with the largest attendance of the summer. While the younger groups worked with their coaches in polishing their techniques, the more advanced surfers had a chance to compete in a knockout under the professional judging rules and taste the experience of putting on the coloured rash vests and going head-to-head with their peers. Our first few pictures show some of those juniors working on their stances.
At the same time competition got underway for the seniors with the clubhouse balcony offering a fine view for our judges to score the waves in each heat.
The judges on station
Competition was fierce as the rounds progressed, and both the boys final and the girls required a close checking of the scores of our judges before the winners could be ascertained. In each case there were three surfers within a point of winning at the end of the contest.
The Girls Finalists
Kaitlyn on her way to a win
The Boys Finalists
Teddy building a score
Kaitlyn took the honours in the girls event, securing her first title after making the final on several occasions in the past. Our banner picture shows our newly-crowned champion receiving her trophy from the chairman. Teddy, likewise, took home the boys trophy, a well-earned result after some near-misses in the past.
We then repaired to the clubhouse to make the presentations and to celebrate the achievements of our youngsters this season. Each group awards accolades in three categories; Surfer of the Summer, Most Improved Surfer and Most Dedicated Surfer. There were more than a few damp eyes among coaches and parents as some of these presentations were made, and a real delight in everyone in the room to share in the joy of our young recipients.
The Sharks
The last picture shows Teddy receiving his trophy from our chairman to the general acclaim of the room.
In closing, I must offer the heartfelt thanks of Saints Boardriders to St. Ives Surf School for hosting those Saturday sessions, coaching our youngsters and for organising a splendid end-of-season competition yet again. Thanks also to our judges and to the morning admin desk and photographer for keeping the day in focus. Wood Paper Scissors made the wonderful medals which our participants were awarded on the day, and these greatly enriched the experience of our young chargers and help us celebrate our membership of the club. Porthmeor Beach have fed us and welcomed us warmly this year and many previous years, our gratitude to them is deep. The contribution of the parents is also a factor in building the spirit of the club and we are blessed with some great support in that department.
We look forward to re-convening around the beginning of June 2022 to welcome everyone back for another season of Kids Club and another summer of Saturday surfing!
Arriving for our fourth session of the season we were confronted with a tricky challenge. The water was barely back off the high tide bank after a spring tide and there was the remnant of a Northerly swell pushing some lumpy waves into the beach. It promised a difficult paddle to get out back for our more accomplished surfers and some battles on the inside with breaking waves for our younger participants and their helpers. To everyone’s great credit these challenges were met head on, resulting in some fine surfing and with a growing confidence in all groups that we can be comfortable and find suitable waves even in a moody Porthmeor swell. We had a full gamut from the chest-to-head-high waves that the Sharks tackled to the running ankle-slappers on the inside that the Dory and Nemo groups shared. Some of the action is shown below:
The third session of the season saw the largest turnout to date and enjoyed pretty perfect Kids Club conditions at Porthmeor. The waves were friendly enough for the Nemos and Dorys, yet also offered some peaks and faces for the Sharks to lay down some turns and polish their small wave skills. Our newer instructors are beginning to appreciate the talents of their young charges and are helping them push their techniques to higher levels. All in all, a perfect morning’s surfing for Saints Boardriders! The party wave in the banner picture sums up the relaxed vibe of the day.
