2018 Caravan & Motorhome Club English National Surfing Championships at Watergate Bay, Newquay — Saturday, May 5 to Monday, May 7

THE elite of English surfing, including a number from Bude, descended upon the blue ocean and expansive sands of Watergate Bay in Cornwall over the last Bank Holiday weekend.

With over 170 entries across 19 divisions, from eight-years-old to mid 50s, shortboard to longboard, the event had it all.

Competition was fierce throughout day one and day two as twin peaks ran simultaneously to give the surfers their 20 minutes to shine amongst the fog, with half of each heat progressing and half exiting.

Days were made and dreams were shattered as surfers competed to make their respective finals in search of the coveted English champion titles.

Finals Day was just like any good swell, it built and delivered, as each division took to the water and put their skills to work, navigating the sea, exploring the line up and laying down their best manoeuvres in the three to four-foot high tide pealing waves of Cornwall.

Before long the premiere women’s division open surfers took to the water and Lucy Campbell fought off her competitors to retain her Women’s Open title with Bude’s Emily Currie, who won the Women’s Open Longboard event, finishing third.

The Men’s Open final was described by some after as one of the most progressive, high-quality and electrifying finals to come out of England in decades.

As Bude’s defending champion Reubyn Ash took to the air, Will Bailey power-hacked, Luke Dillon chucked buckets and Bude’s Miles Lee-Hargreaves (fourth) rotated above the lip to the joy of all watching, the judges had non-top action to officiate over and in the end Reubyn took the win to retain his title.

It was also a good day for the Ash family as Joss ended up as the runner-up in the Men’s Seniors.