The British Championships 2007

I would like to start by saying a big thanks to Dan And Tam for organising the Comp and making it such a good weekend.

For Myself Robyn and Sam the weekend started witha nice short 10 hour drive which included lots of singing and dancing plus a visit from the AA man, when we finally arrived it was cold (-5) and we had decided to Camp which was interesting, we woke up in the morning and emerged from our iglu tired but ready for the competition. I was prepared for my first go in the northeast water but was still shocked about how cold it really was. The day ran smoothly with only one minor incident in the first heat but after Peter had been rescued the heats went by quickly, at the end of the day we all went to the village hall for the prize giving and party.

After another cold night and a lovely bacon and egg sandwich in the morning we had to head home, this time the route we took was a little different, everything was going fine until we realised we were quite lost, actually very lost so far lost infact that we were near London, but as we are young and intelligent we had a plan: go to birmingham then home so off we went again from london to birmingham then home. finally one last thankyou to everyone who helped out.

Cheers

Jack

A proud day for Mum and Dad

A little over 10 months ago our daughter Robyn got into a kayak in Santa Cruz thanks to our good friend Dan Crandall.

She had been out of a boat for around 2years before that and as a complete beginner at that stage had suffered a bad experience getting stuck in a boat, so we were delighted that Dan had managed to get her confidence back and also get her rolling.

Upon returning from S.Cruz she was determined to continue paddling and so with her new "Miss Mega" trident she entered Simon Hammonds contest in April. A good number of swims in her heats did nothing to dampen her enthusiasm and more contests followed along with some expert one-on-one coaching with Glynn down at Skern Lodge.

Roll forward to October and Robyn paddled for the England Team at Mundaka and Bakio in Ladies IC

All great experience, and more confidence boosting, having the opportunity to paddle with the Worlds best.

So now we come to last weekend, The British Surf kayak Champs at Druridge Bay, as is fairly common the ladies HP event was to be a straight final with 5 girls entered,

Robyn had already paddled 2 heats in the open HP and looked confident with the conditions, and the bitter cold.

A 3rd place in her second heat was her best domestic result yet, and so to the Ladies final,5 girls

none of which she had beaten before at any contest, including Tamsin, the reigning Champion.

5 mins into the heat and Robyn had already had what seemed like the 2 best waves so far, was it possible that she might even get a medal. My nerves were starting to show. I'd stopped watching the others in the heat and started to make my way down to the waters edge. The yellow flag had already been up for a while by the time i got down there and Robyn was on another wave which looked OK.

And then disaster, she got dumped on and he deck blew. She managed to stay in the boat and paddle in to knee depth then jumped out to empty and get back in, to late ,the Red was up.

Then for me, the nervous wait, I knew she had done well, but how well, was she really going to get a podium.

A couple of hours later, well ,every picture tells a story.

Robyn Pearcey, Ladies Britih HP Champion.

A huge thanks to everyone that has helped, encouraged, and supported Robyn.

I think she has just earn't her wings!!

Mum and Dad

Classic day in the north

Yesterday was the best session i've had in a long time. Despite the cold water of the North Sea, managed to last 3hrs in perfect 3ft conditions :) A light offshore breeze meant that barrels and fast walls were aplenty. Hopefully conditions will be good for the Brits at the weekend...fingers crossed!

Happy Surfing

Chris

UK First Event - Harlyn

First competition of the season – Harlyn, 26 Jan 2008. Soooo stoked as I won the men’s open!!!

A great junior short boat final in difficult conditions saw Sam taking the win, with me second and Jack third.

The junior long boat class was awesome, with Sam, Jack and I coming off of the water buzzing saying how fun it was. I came first, Sam second and Jack third.

Another first recently was presenting prizes for my local council’s summer sporting stars. I talked a bit about competing in surf kayaking and then presented awards to children aged 5-16.

Good luck Tamsin with the sports personality awards.
Looking forward to the Brits.

Philip

Brits just around the corner

hi guys hope all is well in the world of the flying squad. ive been put forward for a local sports personality haha very exciting. other than that we ve all been paddling hard up here in the north had some big waves of late.it has been cold tho as you probably notice by the phots. other than that we have all been working hard to get things in place ready for the brits which is hopefully taking place next weekend..... check out www.surfkayakbrits.blogspot.com
for all info.

please vote at http://www.northumberlandgazette.co.uk/12552/Vote-for-your-No1.3757570.jp to help me bluff my way to a nice awards ceromony. see you all soon love tamsin x