British Wavesailing Association

New BWA team members

2012-02-28T00:38:00.003Z

BWA is delighted to welcome two new members to the board. Duncan Dumbreck of Bangor University and Amy Carter of FLOW windsurfing. Chairman Nigel Treacy comments "we are delighted to have Duncan and Amy on the team. We had an amazing tour in 2011 and I am confident that their energy and enthusiasm will have a positive impact on the future tour".

Sky Sports

2012-02-10T14:29:00.001Z

Franklin & Marshall, Puravida Cornwall Wave Classic 2011.
In case you missed the programme broadcast on Sky Sports, here it is.....

Thanks especially to Cliff and his team at 1080 media: http://www.1080media.org/
More 1080 episoded here: http://www.youtube.com/user/1080mediaTV

Date change and confirmation.

2012-02-10T10:36:00.002Z

Due to a clash with PWA Sylt event in 2012 we have moved the Scottish leg of the tour to 13th-19th October 2012.

The dates for 2012 are as follows:
Wales, Rhosneigr: 11th - 13th May
Ireland, Brandon Bay: 14th - 18th May
Scotland, Tiree: 13th - 19th October
England, Gwithian: 26th - 28th October

Remember, for 3-day events (Wales & England) the pros will sail all 3 days and all other fleets will be Sat and Sunday only. For full week events (Ireland & Scotland) all fleets will sail every day.
More information will be provided for each event soon.

2011 BWA Championship Results

2011-11-02T11:19:00.001Z

Updated with adjustments:

1. Amended Masters result. Last 5 amended to '5' from '7' error. (Stu Tibury also comes up to 5 from 9th following seeding 'bye')

2. Youths final positions corrected

3. Blue background removed for ease of viewing (Blog not coping with Blue!)

2011 UK Wave Champions

2011-11-01T15:37:00.003Z

After 4 incredible events the BWA proudly announces the following results for 2011. The overall results for all competitors will be released in the next few days.

PROS
Champion: Ben Proffitt (Simmer)
Vice Champion: Phil Horrocks (JP,)
3rd: Andy 'Bubble' Chambers (JP, Neil Pryde)

Pro Champs: 3rd Andy 'Bubble' Chambers, 1st Ben Proffitt, 2nd Phil Horrocks

AMATEURS

Champion: Aleksy 'Lecky' Gayda
Vice Champion: Lewis Merrony
3rd: Alfie Hart

Ams Champs: 3rd Alfie Hart, 2nd Lewis Merrony, 1st Lecky Gayda

LADIES:

Champion: Sarah Bibby (Simmer)
Vice Champion: Kariina Pirhonen
3rd: Debbie Kennedy

Ladies Champs: 3rd Debbie Kennedy, 2nd Kariina Pirhonen, 1st Sarah Bibby

MASTERS:

Champion: Mark Lloyd

Vice Champion: Danny Geereedhary

3rd: Lee Medway

Masters Champs: 1st Mark Lloyd , 2nd Danny Geereedhary, 3rd Lee Medway

YOUTH:

Champion: Tom Bennett-Lloyd
Vice Champion: Liam Ellis
3rd: Luke Raistrik

Youths Champs: 2nd Liam Ellis, 1st Tom Bennett-Lloyd, 3rd Luke Raistrick

Cornwall RESULTS

2011-10-30T14:47:00.001Z

Cornwall 2011 saw the biggest number of entries in over 20 years of British Wave sailing competition. A full report and final Championship results to follow very soon.

The final result

2011-10-16T21:40:00.002+01:00

Pros

The scene was set in the pros with BenProffitt (Simmer) and Phil Horrocks (JP) tying for 1st after 2 rounds. But it was John Skye (RRD) who threw anindustrial size spanner in everyones works. John has missed both Wales andIreland rounds but returned to his favourite UK event to upset the scoreboard. Proffitt took thesingle elimination and with a bad ankle was last seen praying for no wind. Inthe double, Skyboy came from 5th place to storm the ladder to knock Ben to 2ndplace. So the scene was set for a boom-biting final as all fleeatsarrived at the Maze for the final day of comptition. And the final day of the Tiree Classic 2011will go down in history as Horrocks fought back from 6th place to take a welldeserved 3rd place.

PreviousTiree Classic winners, Jamie Hancock and Timo Mullen (Starboard, Black ProjectFins) stood out from the crowd in freesailing but failed to deliver enough whenduring their heats. Once again Andy 'Bubble' Chambers (Neil Pryde, JP) put in focused perfomances and the king of freestyle getting quite aname as Mr consistant in the wavesfinishing an impressive 5th.

WildcardAndy King was the one to watch. Mrunassuming quietly stayed in the background for most of the competition and anyone who didnt pay attention got anasty surprise as the silent assassin swiflty and clinically disposed of eachoncomer to take a 2nd place after the first elimination and a credible 4th in the final triple.

Anotherfavourite Adam Lewis had a shockingstart. The young gun who can threaten the top eight in the world at any PWAevent on port tack but the cruel starboard tack conditions left Adamstruggleing with a 12th and 13th place in the first eliminations. With port tack on final day Adam pulledhimself up to 7th place.

The Ams

Scott McDowell has won previous amateurfleet and under BWA rules should have been pushed up to Pros fleet but with afull pro fleet the Scot was pushed back to Ams under a sub rule. No matter,Aleksy 'Lecky' Gayda did not allow the previous champ to distract him fromtaking a very convincing win in all eliminations. PWA Head Judge, DuncanCoombes has already remarked that he expects to see Lecky making a bigimpression on the world tour in the not too distant future.

Theother rising star of the amateur fleetis Lewis Merrony who has continued to stun everyone throughout thechampionships with amazing wave riding and confident jumps. The quietly spokenstar experienced a flurry of 'competition rage' as he unleashed his anger atBWA Chaiman and Tour Manager, Nigel Treacy. Onlookers prepared for a full scale blood match but were dissapointedwhen both were last seen heading off the beach hugging.

2011 has also seen a very welcome return byBoardseekercameraman extraordinare, Alfie Hart who threw off some of the some of thesickest tweaked donkey kicks of the competition but was only able to take afourth in a highly competitive fleet.

The Ladies

Debbie Kennedy delivered a perfectperfomance in Tiree scoring 5 first places. KariinaPerhonen and new girl on the block, Sophia Gilje battled it out with 2nd placeswitching between the two every day . But in the end it was Sophia's smootherwave riding that put her ahead. WhilstEilidh Sutherland came 4th every time her performance was also noted with thejudges remarking how much she improved through the comp and have earmarked heras one to watch in future.

The Masters

Inrecent years the masters has become one of the most competitive fleets in theChampionships and this year was no exception. Big davey Edmiston arrived on theisland with 2 previous Tiree wins under his belt and desperate to win histhird. But it was popular man Mark Lloyd that took the overall win afterbattling through a single and then defending his position well in the doubleelimination. With only 1 event to go and 2 first places, Mark is already rubbinghis hands on the Championship trophy. Big Jumpers, Keith Shorrock and Boardsmag editor Dave White always threatened to upset the leader but the lighterwinds rarely provided enough power fort them to shine leaving Keith to take 3rdwith the mighty Whitey in fourth.

A massive thanks to the beach team in 2011 especially Judges Duncan Coombes, Lukasj Zajdi and Ian 'Bolbo Baggins' Ross. Heat Manager Jackie Lloyd and roadies Jon Greatrex and Nick. Photographers Dave White and John Carter But our biggest thanks being to Wild Diamond's owner Willie Maclean and young Stewart Cowling for taking care of all of us. WIllie's magic trailer and 4x4 ensured the event and competitors stayed warm and happy. There were many more to mention and I thanks you all.

See you in Cornwall.

Your Chairman

Nigel Treacy

Proffitt takes it

2011-10-15T19:08:00.001+01:00

Were on our way home and run into a wifi zone to quickly get this report in so apologies for the brief report. We should hopefully have more to report in next few days.

The last day of the event went right down the wire with Ben Proffitt storming back in the Triple elimination to force a super-final against John Skye. And it was Proffitt's slashy wave-riding and huge jumps that wowed spectators and impressed the judges.

We will have the final results for all fleets soon but for the meantime here are the headlines and the Championship table as it stands with only 1 round (in Cornwall) to go.

Tiree

Pros:

1st Ben Proffitt

2nd John Skye

3rd Phil Horrocks

Ladies

Debbie Kennedy

Sophia Gilje

Kariina Pirhonen

Amateurs

Aleksy 'Lecky' Gayda

Lewis Merrony

Scotty McDowell

Masters

Mark Lloyd

Davey Edmiston

Keith Shorrock

Championship results after 3 rounds

Day 6 - Update

2011-10-13T20:13:00.004+01:00

The night before.....
A welcome return to Carters Quiz night was enjoyed by many of the competitors last night. JC was joined by glamourpuss assistant, Timo. The pair did a fantastic job entertaining the crowd and keeping the cheats in line. Ironically the main abuser of rules turned out to be full time copper, Andy King who also led his team to victory. And whilst I am not noted for being a perfectionist I must take this opportunity to point out to JC that as far as we know there really was never a black activist by the name 'Marthur' Luther King!

To the beach
All fleets spent a frustrating day waiting for the wind. The competition crew were split as Pros and Ams went to Balephuil whilst Masters and Ladies fleets toughed it out at the Maze. And whilst both venues served up decent waves the wind was sadly always just teasing.

And so with a better forecast for tomorrow, all fleets are early to bed and the scene is set for a nail-biting triple elimination.

Tiree Wave Classic event founder Andy Groom returns to Tiree with his wife V and assistant Louise Adams.

And here is a little shot from the night before the night before....!

Take two glum chums... add some of this stuff... 5 minutes later!

Head Judge Duncan Coombes moves in closer in an attempt to demonstrate his feelings for legendary photographer John Carter. John is seen here screaming for an exit.

Day 6 - Tiree

2011-10-13T09:44:00.003+01:00

All sailors are in An Talla on hold until 11.00. We have 2 teams monitoring 2 site, Balevullin and the Maze. We have also updated the Triple elimination as Timo Mullen had been missed off. All sorted now, thanks Timo!

Triple Trouble!

2011-10-12T16:37:00.000+01:00

With a single and double elimination completed, the pros fleet have a new leader in John Skye after his amazing comeback from 5th place to take out current tour leader Ben Proffitt.
But there is a storm ahead with wind forecast for Thursday and Friday, the Maze looks a possible setting for yet another competition. Unlike the PWA events which come to a close after a double elimination, the BWA is licensed to kill its competition leaders at any time by putting further rounds on.
This year sees the introduction of the 'Triple elimination' a format never run previously and will be eagerly watched by the worldwide associations to see how well it works. In a nutshell, the current competitors are re-seeded from the double elimination and the leaders once again face the possibility of having their crowns removed by the rest of the fleet.
It all now depends on conditions. The leaders will be praying for calm whilst the competitors in lower positions will be begging the wind gods to deliver for Thursday or Friday.

Day 5 - Tiree - The morning after the night before.

2011-10-12T14:50:00.001+01:00

We woke to the aftermath of 'Big Tuesday' this morning with hardly a breath of wind in the air. And just as well considering the amount of tasting that went on with the previous evening's whiskey tasting session. and for those of you that were not present, here is a short update of the evenings events:

Competitors arrived at the famous Tiree Lodge Hotel for an evening of fine Springbank whiskey tasting. Now I never realised that the competitors were connoisseurs of the fine stuff but they must have been because they took on the tasting challenge with tremendous gusto. And once the whiskey had run out they then proceeded to empty the bar.

Ian Ross of RB Sails in Cornwall was equal to the whiskey challenge but his one complaint being that the bar's was uncomfortably hot.Here Ian can be seen with BWA Chairman in his finest briefs. The landlady was quick to resume normal service and ordered Ian to put his t-shirt back on!
Timo and Lewis went one step further and were last seen exiting the bar wearing their briefs around their necks. Not to be outdone, Shillito decided to demonstrate his crowd surfing prowess and was immediately walked out of the building by his ears only to return moments later via the back window!

One of the downsides to the small island is that it only has 2 public bars. This is particularly devasting for Chris Muzza Murray who has now been banned from 50% of them! This occurred when the barman attempted to call last orders by turning the lights on and off. Muzza panicked at the thought of an early night and proceeded to remove all the light bulbs in a moment of genius. Here he can be seen removing the stereo equipment "If I cant stay and dance Im taking the party with me" he was heard to slur!

And so to breakfast.... when Head Judge, Duncan Coombes requested a full breakfast the restaurant manager explained "You can have anything but it needs to be on a bun". And here you can see the result when Duncan insisted on a full breakfast...on a bun!
I opted for the landladies hangover special and here it is, fresh bun, scrambled eggs and 2 panadol...I kid you not!

2011-10-11T19:04:00.003+01:00

Day 4 - Tiree
Light cross-onshore winds at Balephuil. First heat was the Masters double elimination which saw big Davey Edmiston start a charge through the pack. Unfortunately conditions didn't stand up long enough to complete the elimination as Head Judge Duncan Coombes called it a day for the sailors.

And with more wind and waves forecast for the end of the week, all sailors now eagerly await the opportunity to take down the current leaders who are:

Pros Ladies Amateurs Masters
John Skye Debbie Kennedy Aleksy Gayda Mark Lloyd

And here are the latest results from the Masters. If he wins the Tiree event, Big Davey Edmiston will have worn the crown 3 times....no pressure then ;)

Forecast for tomorrow looks super light which is just as well.... tonight all competitors are invited to a whiskey tasting night at the Tiree Lodge Hotel.

2011-10-11T10:02:00.001+01:00

Day 3- Tiree

Sorry we had no report yesterday but communications went down.....as did many of the competitors in the bar!

Were now heading to the beach for a possible 10am start so here are the updated tables. More info to follow when we get a break.

Ladies

Debbie Kennedy still leading but Sophia Gilje now moves into second place despite starting her 12-minute heat 5 minutes late!

Lewsi Merrony went on a charge from 3rd place to beat Aleksy Gayda but Aleksy beat him back to retain 1st position in the final.

The mighty White has been taken down by current tour leader, Mark Lloyd. The Willcocks boys had a drastic start to the day but are keen to improve in the double elimination. Big Davey Edmiston also suffered a shocker when he decided to attempt a forward loop through his own sail!

John Skye had the charge of the day. He sat in 5th equal at the start and 8 amazing heats later took down current tour leader Proffitt who had a difficult day.

Compiled by Nigel Treacy
Chairman BWA

BBC News - Tiree

2011-10-09T22:58:00.002+01:00

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-15213887

Day 2 - Tiree

2011-10-09T20:21:00.001+01:00

Competitors woke to light winds despite epic forecasts. After 2 hours on hold head Judge Duncan Coombes called the competition for Ballephuil. Light cross-on conditions prevailed and the amateurs were first on the water followed by the ladies then the pros fleet.
Masters were released for the day after big Davey Edmiston complained that his toes were cold and wanted to go home for his slippers [Sorry davy, I could resist!]

Results as follows:

Ladies
Debbie Kennedy put in another solid performance in challenging light winds to take first place. After yesterday's disappointing 3rd place, Kariina Pirhonen was keen to improve and narrowly beat new girl Sophie Gilje into 3rd place. Eilidh Sutherland struggled in the currents and is yet to get out of the blocks but looking more confident than yesterday at her first wave competition.

Amateurs
The amateur fleet is looking stronger than ever with many of the sailors looking as sharp as the pros. And there were many battles amongst this competitive fleet. Scottish hopeful and previous winner Scotty McDowell had a shocker getting knocked out of the first round. There was a lot at stake for young Aleksy Gayda who is looking to go professional in future and he brought it home in style winning a hard fought final. Alfie Hart blew the judges away with spectacular table tops and snappy waveriding. After a flying start, Lewis Merrony failed to show his best finishing third and new boy Schlep came a credible fourth in his first comp.

Pros
There were some shocks and surprises with Jamie Hancock being knocked out despite looking one of the best sailors in free sailing. Another surprise was Phil Horrocks, currently 2nd in the tour, struggling with the lighter winds but perhaps the biggest shocker was Adam Lewis failing to get past his first round. On the PWA tour Lewis is only a few points away from being in the top eight in the world but starboard tack killed his chances and spirit leaving him a broken man on the beach. Skyboy and Lewis were later seen sharing a box of cleanex!

The final saw Ben Proffitt and Andy King fighting for waves. Andy King has been away from competition for a few years but as we all know the 'backloop-king' can cause big upsets on the day and he nearly did with very snappy waveriding and confident jumps but it was current tour leader Ben Proffitt who just proved too consistent and took a deserving win with popular freestyle legend Andy 'Bubble' Chambers claiming third.

So these are the results as they stand but with 5 days still to go and the likely chance of double eliminations, the final script is not definitely written.

Compiled by Nigel Treacy, BWA Chairman.

2011-10-08T21:53:00.001+01:00

Tonight the Tiree lodge welcomes all competitors for a 'gentle' drink!

And here are the draws for the week:

And were off

2011-10-08T21:29:00.000+01:00

After a hectic registration that saw record numbers attending the 25th Tiree event, sailors headed to Balevullin for the start of what promises to be an epic event.

Conditions were fairly light and Head Judge Duncan Coombes called for the ladies to hit the waves just after 3pm. Whilst the wind never really kicked in the waves certainly did and the ladies battled hard to land our first result for the event.

The results were:
1st Debbie Kennedy
2nd Sophia Gilje
3rd Kariina Pirhonen
4th Eilidh Sutherland

Congratulations to Debbie but a special well done to Sophia and Eilidh who make their debut in the UK Championship at Tiree.

2011-09-01T10:30:00.001+01:00

We are pleased to confirm this years event will be hosted by Creative Events and take place on 8th - 14 October 2011.

The Tiree Wave Classic is the most prestigious and longest standing windsurfing event on the British calender, this year celebrating its 25th Anniversary and looking back over the event's history.

From the 8th -14th of October the event will play host to Britain's best riders in Pro, Amateur, Masters and Women's fleets with a fantastic prize fund guaranteeing the top Pro £1000 and as well as many other top prizes for the other fleets! It is set to be an unmissable, adrenaline fuelled week of competition and entertainment set against the breathtaking backdrop of Tiree's spectacular scenery. Who will pull the Scottish Broadsword from the sand?

LATEST:

Tiree Legends: 2011 welcomes back past legends including Nik Baker, Duncan Coombes, Timo Mullen, Jamie Hawkins, Farrell Oshea, John Skye, Chris Audsley, Jamie Knox, and may others who are brushing the dust off their kit for a revenge competition.

Hosted by: Pura Vida Boardriders & Creative Event Solutions

Tiree event Supported by: Event Scotland, Argyll & Bute Council, Puravida, Firefly Natural Energy, The Chocolate Brownie Company, Beachbum and Wild Diamond

BWA UK Wave Tour Championship Results after 2 rounds

2011-06-02T10:57:00.000+01:00

Ireland - Round 2 - EVENT ROUND UP

2011-05-15T13:47:00.001+01:00

Thursday offered North Westerly winds, some nice swell and sunshine.....but unfortunately not quite enough to run any heats! Did the competitors enjoy some rest ready for the closing party? Not exactly!

We got the light wind fleet of Mini-Tankers kindly provided by Exocet on the water for some fun in pretty decent sized waves! Loads of the am's had a go and I have to say all were surprised at how good these things ride and turn, and how easy......great light wind weapon and super fun!

Friday did provide some decent onshore waves for jumping so Duncan Coombes made the call to run an amateur expression session right of the bar front at Spillanes and the battle was on! Hot favourites Aleksy Gayda and Lewis Merrony were taken down by Emile Kott so I asked Duncan how he won?

Duncan “Emile was pretty psyked to settle the score with the other lads and went straight out to pull a decent backie in the soft onshore conditions, the other guys were going for it too but he sealed it with a clean, fast and perfectly landed forward”

Danny went out to impress in the masters beating hot favourite Mark with a Rocket Air and some good clean jumps.

The ladies also went out to run another heat as a final round to the competition. Once again Sarah's training paid off and the conditions worked in her favour. The Simmer rider took 4 heats out of 5 and clearly impressed everybody there with her performance this week, and I do know she is keen to get a stab at a PWA event this winter if possible – watch this space.

Rounding the week off the Pro results remain the same and Funsport legends Ben and Phil will go on to do battle at Tiree. Simmer rider Ben Proffit technically holds the lead having won the most recent event but it's all to play for over the next 2 rounds.

Phil finished up saying “with 2 good events and 2 good results under my belt it's been an excellent start to the year for both me and Ben. I'm hoping to make all the events if I can and would love some solid conditions to fight for the top spot'

When I asked him what he thought of the Irish leg he said “there are better numbers all the time since the BWA took over the tour, and the standard across all the fleets has really improved. The atmosphere among all the guys is awesome and I have to say there are no real favourites in the pro's or the am's so lots of the top guys have a real chance at the title”

Closely following the top two is Andy 'Bubble' Chambers “Tiree 2010 was a lucky event for me and I was just finding my feet in competition wave sailing learning a lot all the time. It's been great to have consistently finished on the podium and prove myself amongst the more experienced competitors. Really stoked with the year so far and looking forward to Tiree and Cornwall”

JP/Pryde team-mate Sam Neal finished 4^th last year and already has a place for some PWA action later in the year. When asked how this year was going Sam said “Good so far but I was really hoping for classic down the line conditions that normally work here a lot, which suits me better. I'm not the strongest in cross-on port tack and got nocked out early at first but steadily climbed back in the double elimination to finish 7^th overall at the hands of Bubble! Ha ha.” Although Sam didn't get his favourite conditions it's not a bad start if he gets it good in the next round.

One of my hot favourites from last year and a sure contender is Chris 'Muzza' Murray riding Tushingham and Starboard. He's always been an exciting guy to watch in the freesailing and claimed 3^rd alongside teammate Shillito last year, but so far it's not gone his way. With the promise of solid conditions ahead Muzza said “the first two events have been port tack with loads of cross-on which I'm totally out of practice on. I came back from Maui late to enjoy more hookipa action there but that was always starboard tack riding so it's left me a bit behind. I should have warmed up more on the other tack and will be raring to go by Scotland!!”

In the masters Mark Lloyd is out for revenge and wants another crack at Big Dave White “Fair play the big man can sure move on a board, but look out! It's been an excellent week on the road and really well organised so we got stacks of heats in. Top fun, and considering my local wave break is a good 3 hour drive if I want any practice all the travelling is well worth it, more people should hit the BWA events”

In the Am's 17 year old Aleksy Gayda has impressed everyone with his two well earned victories. Lewis Merrony said “It's been a tough comp for the heavier riders like me, but fair play to Leckie, he's been smashing it! I've really enjoyed sailing with him and all the other guys and will be looking to hit back if we can get some big stuff at the next 2 events”

Simmer have a great start to the season in the quest for the constructors title with the top sailor in Pro, Am and Womens on the 2011 Icons and Black tip.

Jamie Knox has the perfect venue for this event and pretty much any windsurfing or kitesurfing or surfing in any direction and swell that comes. I've been here before and so have many of the other competitors for that very reason, and can vouch that it truly goes off. Credit goes out to Jamie who judged all week alongside Duncan and Lukaz and provided invaluable local knowledge. Put that together with the awesome hospitality at Spillanes bar and you are sorted for the week.

Hats off again to BWA Chairman and Tour Director, Nigel Treacy who ran the competition like clockwork with great help from Mark Lloyd's legendary wife on the flags, and Jeff Scott's wife with the sausage baps and coffee at base camp!

All of the sponsors and more info about this and the 2 upcoming rounds of the BWA Championships can be found on the website – hope to see you supporting the next great event!

As I finish this I'm just settled on my early ferry to hear news of those Simmer Riders, Lewis Merrony and Aleksy Gayda, scoring Hells gate big time along with a full crew of the pro riders!! Cross-off logo high perfection to finally show what this awesome spot can deliver......fingers crossed they got some pics??

Jim Pura Vida - BWA

Ireland - Round 2 - day 3

2011-05-13T19:23:00.002+01:00

Sorry the site went down for a few days....Blogger! Ok here is the update from Wednesday:

Wednesdays conditions offered much more waves with better size, longer rides and wind switching between cross and cross-off. As well as the contest area there was stacks of freesailing going on and a busy day at Gowlaine! Worth mentioning that parking on the beach was the only option and Jeff Scott scored first place with a huge stuck mobile home, and runner up was the Tushingham Boys with a good burial of the front end! you can always depend on Team Tushie's Muzza and George to provide great entertainment!

Pros:

George Schillito gave the standout performance of the day with some awesome waveriding and smashed his way through the first few heat nocking out one of the hot favourites James Cox early on. His run was only stopped by Bubble who was also coming up the ranks to get back at a podium chance. Despite a very close heat Bubble clinched it and went on to score 3^rd place just ahead of Rob Jones. Adam Lewis was firing again and clinched 4^th today.

George on Tushingham quoted “Great day and real stoked with my riding, the judges gave some positive feedback and it was very close with Bubble!”

It was hard to separate Rob, Lewis and Bubble with the scores coming pretty close. Adam has shown some expressive freesailing and stood out with some great rides in his heats but Bubble was solid and consistent to rack up what the judges wanted to see!

Bubble “Ireland delivered today and I enjoyed the conditions with a big improvement over yesterday for me. I ran better heats and just made sure I took my time and held out for the bigger sets”

Phil and Ben patiently waited to do battle, and Phil was keen to beat Ben and run a third heat to challenge for the top spot. Once again the Funsport boys shone through as the top seeds, but it was Simmer rider Ben pulling off more consistent and fluid rides and landing takas on the wave to secure his first place that will now be very hard to beat!

Ben said “It was a tough wait all day guessing what kit to use in the changing conditions, and there was a good bit of banter with Phil...but I was just glad to get out there in the best conditions of the week!

Masters

Chris Goldfinch from SX Waterports climbed up a place today and was tapping at Danny's heels giving him a good challenge for 3^rd, and if they get some more heats it's all to play for. The real battle though has been between Mark lloyd and Dave White – both these guys have been ripping and Whitey has just managed to keep Mark in 2^nd Place. Credit has to go to Dave White, despite the tricky winds he looked light as a feather and nimble as a ballerina on his feet and really stood out I all the masters heats.

Women

The lead has been back and forth between both of the very talented female competitors, both saying how great it would be to have more women getting involved on the tour. These ladies could easily give the men a run for their money and the heats were great to watch. With both riders on Simmer, it was the Pura Vida Teamrider Sarah Bibby that kept hold of 1^st place.

Katie told us “Today I really got on great with my new Moo Custom and enjoyed all the heats, hoping for more tomorrow. Sarah has come back from her travels and is really ripping, she totally deserves 1^st place”

Sarah “ I enjoyed better waves today, but Katies riding was so good and each heat finished close. I didn't expect to win so I was pleased with the results!”

Amateurs

Emile, Stef, Jeff and Craig all got back in to the double elimination to do battle and try and get through to the top seeds. Jeff and Emile got straight through only to go head to head and it was standout performances from jeff like this all day that just kept him going up the ranks. It was only when Alfie had to defend his 4^th place with some stylish riding that Jeff's run came to an end.

Jeff Scott “The wind was in the ideal direction and riding was super fun with long rides on the bigger sets. I was stoked to get through so many heats today getting up to 5^th place”

Nile beat Alfie, and went on to challenge Lewis. His local knowledge proved key with the wave selection and despite one real high scoring wave from Lewis Nile had 2 more to get him a spot in todays final with Aleksy Gayda.

Nile won the first heat and Aleksy had to defend hard with another round. The wind kicked in and jumping was back on, so 17 year old stepped up his game and looped his Simmer Sail with ease, adding some stylish riding to impress the judges and keep the top spot yet again.

Chris from SX Watersports who support Aleksy said “ we are real pleased to support him with Simmer and his progress already this season has been amazing! It's been a cracking event and look forward to more wind if we are lucky”

So the results can still change in the next few waves depending on what comes through!! Stay posted......Jim Pura Vida - BWA

Ireland - Day 2

2011-05-11T03:08:00.000+01:00

9am skippers meeting and the Head Judge announced fresh side-shore winds in the bay and made the call for all sailors to head to 'Dumps'. Nursing a poorly tummy, Jim Brookes-Dowsett took this call quite literally and spent the first part of the morning in Jamie Knox's lav!

Dumps is a popular local beach which delivers great waves in a southerly wind. Today the waves were not epic but steady enough to allow the amateurs to continue their battle.

AMATEURS - continued
In the final round Aleksy Gayda, Niall Melon, Lewis Merrony and Alfie Hart fought hard and close for every wave but it was Aleksy who took 1st place with epic forwards and solid waveriding. Lewis Merrony took a very close 2nd place with Niall 3rd and Alfie 4th.

MASTERS
With the pack eager for revenge against Whitey the 5-man heat promised to be exciting and it didn't dissapoint. Mark Lloyd pulled everything out of his bag to knock Whitey into 2nd. With both sailors now holding equal points the scene is set for an epic battle. Snapping at their heels, Danny took another 3rd place with Lee and Chris sharing 4th.

LADIES
After a testing 1st day the 'Galway Gladiator' Katie McAnena was hungry for revenge against her new rival Sarah Bibby. Both scored good waves but it was Sarah who was able to make the most of the decreasing conditions to score a 2nd win against Katie.

PROS
Our man on the scene, Jim Brookes-Dowsett will is drafting a full report of the days action with the pros which we hope to deliver first thing tomorrow morning. In the meantime we leave you with the Pros results...

Ireland - Day 1

2011-05-11T00:17:00.003+01:00

ROADTRIP....."SAVAGE"

The first 2 rounds of the UK Wave Tour take place in Wales then Ireland and is now endearingly referred to as the 'Back-to-back' event. When Nigel Treacy, Bucky and Jamie Knox first engineered the idea some sailors remarked "it will never work" and ran for cover. But the UK Wave Tour has a history of being challenging and setting benchmarks and the hardcore sailors rose to the challenge for the first time last year and it was so successful we decided to do it again.

BUT this year really separated the men from the boys with a 9.30pm finish at Rhosneigr followed by a 2.30am ferry from Holyhead and an overnight roadtrip from Dublin to Dingle arriving at the famous Jamie Knox centre for a 9am registration.

I have never seen so many bloodshot yet excited eyes at registration. By 10.30am the competitors were rigging up at Dumps ready for a start. However, the wind did not play until just after 3pm allowing competitors to grab power naps anywhere they could.

Just after 3pm the wind picked up to a fresh breeze with moderate rolling waves and so we went straight into competition sequence with Masters up first followed by Ladies and then Amateurs.

MASTERS Result (after 1 round)

Boards magazine's very own Chief Editor, Dave White showed the crowd that he still knew a thing or two about sailing waves and put in a convincing win leaving the rest of the masters hungry for revenge. Regular masters competitor, Mark Lloyd put in a solid performance for 2nd. Danny Geereedhary has also stepped up his game in the waves taking 3rd place. With 5-man heats over the week this board will be an interesting one to watch.

LADIES Result (after 1 round)

A small but feisty fleet consisting of newly qualified doctor Katie McAnena and newly graduated sailor Sarah Bibby (they grow up so fast!) took to the water in a no holds barred battle. Yes they both look sweet and angelic on the beach but once the hit the water there is no love lost and fight for each wave like possessed women fight for the last chocolate malteser. Katie practically unwrapped her newly shaped custom Moo board on the beach as the sequence flags went up whilst Sarah had a moment of panic with a stubborn boom. But neither were phased and put in fantastic performances but it was Sarah that emerged victorious on day 1 of what will be a long week.

AMATEURS

Heat 1: With the wind and waves still playing, PWA World Head Judge, Duncan Coombes announced the start of the amateurs. Fresh from his win in Wales, Aleksy Gayda fought new man on the block, Jeff Scott and 'older' kid on the block Craig Hamilton in the first heat. Craig and Aleksy both sailing hard and going through to the next round.

Heat 2: Like Craig, 2010 Masters competitor, Russ Jenkins has been forced into the Ams fleet after an age- rule change by the BWA. He took on newby Jon Kershaw and local favourite Niall Melon. Russ and Niall both landing clean forwards to secure their places and go through to next round

Heat 3. The willowy mad man from South Wales, Lewis Merrony, went against the competition-seasoned Emile Kott and Rhosneigr local boy and 2010 youth Champ, Liam Ellis. Lewis and Emile put in sold performances to also secure their places.

Heat 4. The crowds were delighted to see Cameraman Alfie Hart emerge from his lens to take on the experienced Stefan Hilder and less experienced Jim Brookes-Dowsett. What Jim lacks in comp experience he more than makes up for in boundless enthusiasm and headed out to "get the job done". Unfotunately for Jim, Alfie showed he was as good in front of the lens as he was behind it with some wave skills some pros would be proud of. Hart and Hilder go through.

Head Judge Duncan called an end to the days competition as the waves started to die leaving the Amateurs to wait until tomorrow to continue their battle.

Wales Round 1: Final Results

2011-05-09T19:36:00.003+01:00

Finally we get the Pro and amateur results.

After a fight to the dark in the double elimination, Phil Horrocks came out as Champion winning the double elimination as well as the single. Ben Proffitt beat Andy Chambers who was lying in second after the single elimination and Adam Lewis fought his way back through the double to take fourth place.

PRO RESULTS RHOSNEIGR

1. Phil Horrocks (JP)
2. Ben Proffitt (Simmer Style)
3. Andy Chambers (JP/Neil Pryde)
4. Adam Lewis (Starboard)
5. James Cox (Ezzy)
6. Sam Neal (JP, Neil Pryde)
=7 George Shillito (Starboard/Tushingham) + Adam Sims (RRD/RRD)
=9 Michael Archer, Chris Murray (Starboard/Tushingham), Alan Jackson (Starboard/Tushingham), Brian Martinez-Perez

AMATEUR RESULTS RHOSNEIGR

1. Aleksy Gayda
2. George Bolwell
3. Emile Kott
4. Lewis Merrony
=5 Stefan Hilder + Jim Brooks
=7 Nathan Saville + Johnathan Kershaw
=9 Alex Tritten + Duncan Dunckbeck
12 Max Rowe
=13 Jeffrey Scott, Craig Hamilton and Russ Jenkins

WOMEN RESULTS RHOSNEIGR

1. Sarah Bibby (Simmer)
2. Kariina Pirhonen
3. Megan Gayda

YOUTH RESULTS RHOSNEIGR

1. Tom Bennett Lloyd
2. Liam Ellis

MASTERS RESULTS RHOSNEIGR

1. Mark Lloyd
2. Gerry Willcock
3. Chris Willcock
4. Chris Goldfinch
5. Danny Geereedhary

(Apologies for not including these with the original results)

Everyone is now over in Brandon Bay where the wind continues to blow. Competition started at 3pm, following a drive through the night for the sailors. It was abandoned at six as the wind died. Forecast for TUESDAY is south-west winds 30-40knots and big waves at Gowlane.

Currently the entire fleet are in BED!

Photos are Ben Proffiitt, the stylish leaders yellow rash vest now passed over to Phil. Photos by Dave White.

Proffit and Horrock shoot out

Wales Round 1: Day 3

2011-05-08T22:16:00.001+01:00

Sunday 8th May: Well we got the wind and finally the waves as the tide came in at Rhosneigr today. The competition was still going on when I left the beach as the Pro double elimination was started at around 6.30pm this evening, but we do have some results from earlier in the day.

LADIES: Sarah Bibby returns to the Tour after a year off completing her degree and with her strong wave riding and forward loops she won the Ladies contest convincingly. The keenest windsurfer in Wales, Karina Pirhoven, came second and 14 year old, yes fourteen year old Megan Gayda in third. Megan is Aleksy Gayda's younger sister and she is super competitive and ready to gain as much experience as possible on the wave tour (school terms permitting)!

MASTERS: A good start to the season for Mark Lloyd who was a class act today in the Masters fleet winning both rounds. Gerry Willcock came second ahead of his brother Chris Willcock with Danny Geereedhary in fourth and newcomer Chris Goldfinch in fifth.

AMATUERS: Well I can't tell you the final result as the judges have withheld this until the prize giving which will probably take place on the ferry to Ireland! But the whole amatuer contest was great to watch - such a high standard in the latter rounds. Aleksy Gayda, Lewis Merrony, George Bolwell and Emile Kott ended up in the 4 man final.

PROS: So the single elimination finally started around 4.30pm. Ben Proffitt (Simmer Sails) and James Cox (Ezzy Sails) were fighting for 3rd/4th place whilst Phil Horrocks (JP) and Andy Chambers (JP/Neil Pryde) were busy in the Winners Final fighting out for 1st and 2nd. But of course with the double elimination everyone gets a second chance so when I can get hold of one of the Judges (who are now rushing to get the ferry), I'll report back!

Louise

Wales Round 1 - Day 2

2011-05-07T13:13:00.005+01:00

Saturday 7th May: Day two of the Rhosneigr event and the good news is; its started raining! The warm front is approaching as the low pressure moves in. Forecast for Sunday is classic Rhosneigr: cross-shore southerly winds, decent swell and even some sunshine by the afternoon. The heats have been drawn up for all fleets and the plan is to start off with the Amateurs, Masters and Ladies followed by the Pros who may find themselves getting the 2am ferry to Ireland rather than the more leisurely, late afternoon boat!

The plan this afternoon is to get the Exocet Mini Tanker boards out for some light wind fun. Exocet have kindly lent us some boards for the Tour and with the building swell, currently with 4ft faces, it gives a chance for the Pros to pass on their top tips for wave riding to the other fleets.

Tonight is fancy dress (of course) and as this is Wills & Kate's local beach the theme is 'Royal Wedding'. Dust off your top hats and tiaras - the four Rhosneigr pubs won't know what's hit them.

Updates on all the Sunday action here!

The conditions gave us a chance to formally award the 2010 BWA UK Wave Tour Constructor Championship trophies. The first time this award has been introduced to UK Wave sailing.
Congratulations to JP Austalia (Board) and Simmer Style (Sail).

Receiving the awards on behalf of their sponsors were local sailors Ben Proffitt (Simmerstyle) Phil Horrocks (JP Australia) .

NEW FOR 2011

2011-05-03T16:11:00.001+01:00

The following amendments follow a period of consultation with members, Judges, organisers and sponsors throughout 2010. Effective immediately.

ATTENDANCE POINTS - (applied to no-wind or non-complete events).
Sailors not entering will be scored at 0 as before. Sailors entering a no-wind event will receive a more favourable '-1' score.

DISCARDS
1 discard after 4 completed events.

FLEET CAPS
Pro fleet to be capped at top 16. This will be based on previous years Championship results. Wildcards to be included at discretion of Head Judge. At end of Championship, bottom 2 riders will be relegated to Amateur fleet, top 2 Amateurs will be promoted to Pro fleet.

MASTERS
To increase age to 40 years of age.

Cork discount - 10%

2011-04-27T13:59:00.000+01:00

In addition to the Holyhead discount, we have a 10% discount for anyone travelling on the Cork route with Stena:

The discount code as requested will be BWSA2011 please ask your members to quote this at time of booking. They will receive a discount of 10% off the public fare.

Laura O’Brien

Reservations Supervisor

E: laura.obrien@fastnetline.com

T: + 353 21 437 8892

W: www.fastnetline.com

Thanks to 'Mr TurfDog' Mike Archer for that.

BIGGER Ferry saving - LOVELY STENA

2011-04-15T15:18:00.000+01:00

Those fantastic folks at Stena are looking after you boys and girls.

Call 08445764764 and ask for Sharon (although her team should also be able to assist)
Let her know you are with the BWA and she will discount the fare.

As an example, they are quoting over £100 off normal fare.

You MUST be a member of the BWA to get this discount. Sharon will be sending all the names onto me and I will of course be checking! So make sure you are fully paid up with BWA.

This applies to crossings on 8th/9th May and returning 14th /15th May.

FERRY SAVING

2011-04-12T11:53:00.002+01:00

We now have a further 10% OFF code. You will need to send Nigel an email to get this:
nigel@britishwavesailingassociation.com

BWA Wave Tour 2011: Here we go!

2011-04-12T11:50:00.001+01:00

The first event of the season is 25 days away so now is the time the BWA Team bombard you with reminder emails making sure you’ve booked your accommodation and that ferry before it gets too expensive.

RHOSNEIGR: Friday 6th to Sunday 8th May

The Pros need to be at the Funsport shop on Beach Road in Rhosneigr for 9am on the Friday for registration.
ALL other fleets need to be at Funsport at 9am on Saturday 8th for registration.

Getting there: M6/M56/A55. If from the south, don’t get off at Telford and go through Shrewsbury unless you like a scenic tour of Shropshire.

Accomodation: Rhosneigr has a few B&B’s and plenty of self-catering. There isn’t any other town nearby so you will want to stay in Rhosneigr. There is quite a good campsite should you wish to stay under canvass. Any more info about accommodation please contact the Funsport shop: bucky@funsport.fsnet.co.uk
01407 810899. Or go to www.rhosneigr.org.uk and click on accommodation.

Extra: Friday is, as usual, LLANDUDNO SKI SLOPE night which is ‘on the way’ to Rhosneigr. Amateurs/Masters/Ladies/Youths can registrar for the event from 7pm at the Ski Centre and in return you will have access to the slopes for ski or snowboarding and for those of us not so hot on the slopes there is the toboggan run. This is all followed by a free BBQ. So registraring Friday night is well worth your while before heading the extra 40mins to Rhosneigr. Don’t forget to bring a pair of GLOVES. They will be another registration on the Saturday morning if you arrive too late Friday night.

Saturday night is party night in Rhosneigr. Theme to be announced shortly!

RHOSNEIGR TO IRELAND ROAD TRIP

What fun we had last year dashing for the ferry on the Sunday evening and arriving late in the night to the magical Brandon Bay. Let’s do it again!

Having had a good look at the ferries, our suggestion is to pay an extra £10 and book a flexi ticket with Stena Line so you can change bookings at no additional cost. This means if the wind/waves don’t oblige on the Sunday we can all get over there early. However, we will hopefully be having a full day of competition in which case the late evening ferry looks the best. Here are the options:

1350-1705 (Stena Adventurer, slow boat, taking you to Dublin port)
2030-2345 (Stena Nordics, slow boat taking you to Dublin port)
www.stenaline.co.uk

You can travel with Irish Sea Ferries but they don’t seem to offer a flexi ticket. Their prices are the same as Stena.
Irish Sea Ferry options for the Sunday 8th are:
Leave at 1200, 1410 or 1715 all taking you to Dublin Port.
www.irishferries.com

IRELAND TO HOME

More details about the Irish event very soon but for now you need to get home on Saturday 14th May. Those of you living in the south can go Cork-Swansea on the new ferry www.fastnetline.com , which leaves at 2000 on the Saturday getting into Swansea at 0800 Sunday morning. Price for one adult in a car, booked NOW is £145.

Those up north can get back to Dublin or Dun Laoghaire via Stena Line or Irish Sea Ferries.
Please contact Jeremy at Jamie Knox for help with accommodation for the week in Ireland: jamieknox@eircom.net

More updates to follow…..

The BWA Team

Dates for 2011 - UPDATE

2011-02-07T15:23:00.007Z

THE FULL 2011 DATES ANNOUNCED

After last years success, BWA announce the Back-to-Back Wales/Ireland event....."Roadtrip !!!"

Wave 1: WALES - Rhosneigr hosted by Funsport

Pros: Friday 6th - Sunday 8th May

All other fleets: Saturday 7th - Sunday 8th May

Wave 2: IRELAND - Brandon Bay, Ireland hosted by Jamie Knox Watersports

All fleets: Monday 9th - Friday 13th May

(closing party on the Friday night)

The second half of the year as follows....

Wave 3: SCOTLAND - Tiree host to be announced

All fleets: Saturday 8th - Friday 14th October

(closing party on the Friday night)

Wave 4: ENGLAND - Gwithian Cornwall to be Hosted by Puravida Boardriders

Pros: Friday 28th - Sunday 30th October

All other fleets: Saturday 29th - Sunday 30th October

We are currently looking to run Amateur series in 2011. If you would like BWA to run an amateur event at your local spot, contact the Amateurs rep, Jim asap: jim@puravidaboardriders.co.uk

Note: It is our intention to stick to those dates but as always, they may be subject to change. We will do everything we can to notify you of changes and announce here first.

New style website

2010-12-01T11:42:00.000Z

Our webmeisters have been busy changing the BWA website. This new style incorporates a blogger-based script allowing us to get the most up to date information to members quickly.

We also aim to use this facility to offer couch potatoes the opportunity to keep up to date with forthcoming competitions with daily updates from our team of editors.

Big thank you to Coxy and Skyboy for getting this organised....gold star!

PLEASE LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK.....