SERVING DURING A CHALLENGING BOARDMASTERS

This years Boardmasters was definitely one of the more unusual Boardmasters weeks we have had serving at the event. On Tuesday night, just as the festival site was being completed the event organisers had to make the difficult decision to cancel the festival due to the strong storm forecast at the weekend. Despite this we set up as usual in the surfers area on the headland at Fistral beach and welcomed an international field of surfers with fresh smoothies, granola and yogurts – we are all about a healthy diet these days!

The first day of the contest got under way in decent surf with the Men’s Open and the first round of the Women’s Open surfing in some good conditions. With the forecast deteriorating through the week the decision was made to do as many heats as possible and after 12 hours of surfing good progress had been made. By Thursday morning the waves were a lot smaller but we were able to carry on with the Women’s Open and make good progress in the Longboard contest. It is always great to spend time with the longboard crew and there was a really friendly vibe in the surfers area. By the end of the day it was all change. With the wind on Friday evening forecast to be up to 50mph the event organisors decided to take the surfers area down, which meant a change of location for the CS crew and setting up a make shift surfers area in the Surf Lifesaving clubhouse.

We started day 3 serving breakfast in our new facilities, complete with a fully fitted kitchen, changing rooms and a place for the surfers to hang out. Friday also started with a completely flat sea, but the swell was due to build through the day and by 2pm there were 6ft rolling in and the surfing got under way with all four categories surfing in some pretty testing conditions. The decision to clear the headland also meant that the staff catering had no were to relocate, which meant that Christian Surfers had the opportunity to step up and as well as serving the surfers, serve the contest and event staff as well. With the relocation to the Surf Lifesaving Clubhouse we had everything we needed and were able to fill the gap and bless the event beyond our original role.

After a lay day on Saturday due to the sea being out of control and strong winds we had the opportunity to take a break in the midst of a very busy event, hitting up the skatepark and spending some time around Newquay harbour.

By Sunday morning the weather had calmed, the sun was out, the waves were pumping and the beach was packed, everything was finally back to normal! The standard of surfing on the finals day was outstanding from all four divisions giving the spectators on the beach a real show. With this years Boardmasters being one of the most challenging for all involved it was so good to end the week in such a positive way.

A huge thank you to all the CSUK crew who worked so hard all week and made such a positive impact on the event. With so much positive feedback from the surfers, site staff and event organisers we felt so encouraged by the whole week. Also with David on the judging panel, Phil spotting and Andy helping out the contest staff as well as the opportunity for the CS crew to serve everyone involved in this years Boardmasters, we felt very blessed to be fully involved in the biggest surfing event in the UK.