June the 16th – 18th was the Fat Face Night Surf held down at Lusty Glaze, Newquay this was the best Night Surf yet with some incredible surfing and an awesome party.
Lunch time on Friday all the surfers turned up and registered but due to very small surf it was decided to postpone the start though the afternoon. To keep the crowds entertained the competition was taken on to the volleyball court. Teams of 5 signed up and took on Fat Face Team Riders Chris Thomson, Emma Skinner, John Hibbard, Neal Gent and James Heraty. Although going a game down to a team with an average age of 12 they pulled it back and retained their pride. Surfing was cancelled for the day at 19:00 which brought the start time for Saturday forward to 08:30. Once the decision was made the surfers relaxed into party mode and were entertained by local band Chunky Kustard.
With an early start on Saturday the team from the BPSA (British Professional Surfing Association) managed to get through all the heats for the Open, Longboard and Women’s categories through the day leading into the semis just as evening approached. Set to the stunning backdrop of a dazzling sunset and a packed beach up and coming star Belle got the entertainment going with an incredible set from her first album. With the semi’s underway the standard of surfing was fantastic and crowds of people started to descend the steps to the beach for the finals. Local band Avalon (lead by the commentator Anton) put in an early set to get the crowd in full party mode. As the Longboard finalists took to the water under the floodlights there was an estimated 3,500 people on the beach with all eyes on some of Europe’s best surfers. In this close final it was Sam Bleakley who took the title from Lee Ryan who came in second with Fat Face Team Rider Chris Thomson in third and James Parry in fourth. The Women’s final was closely contested with last year’s winner Nicole Morgan managing to retain her title for a second year with Eskey Britton in second followed by Gwen Spurlock and then Kathleen Spears (who also won the under 16 girls). Due to timings it was decided to run the Fireworks before the Open final and the crowd was dazzled by a truly spectacular display over the bay. Once the Open finals were underway it was clear that this was going to be a fight to the end but it was Alan Stokes who regained his title from 2 years ago with Reuben Pearce in second, Shaun Skilton in third and Martin Black in fourth.
Sunday was another early start for the team as the Grommets (under 16) surfers took centre stage. There was a very high level of competition with some very impressive surfing from all ages. It was Fat Face Team Rider Harry Timson (10) who dominated the Under 12’s. Katheline Spears (15), who also competed in the Women’s category in the main Night Surf event, who took the trophy for the Under 16 girls. The Under 16 boys was so close that when Lewis was announced as winner he literally punched the air in delight. It was great to see so many Grommets in this new section of the Night Surf weekend we have some seriously good surfers who are going to up there in the main event very soon.
All in all the best Night Surf ever and a massive thanks to the whole team at Lusty Glaze for coping so well with record numbers on the beach. Also to Dave Reed and the team from the BPSA for there putting on such a high level of competition.
The next event of the Night Series is the Night Ride – National Mountain Bike Championships on 14th – 16th July.
These images are copyright Stewart Plant Photograpy.
