FOREWORD
A Busy Year for The Boardriders!
2005 was a very productive year for the Royal Navy/Royal Marines Boardriders. The number of personnel attending the Beginners/Intermediate events has increased from approximately 20 to 50 per event and our membership numbers have multiplied. The profile of the club has been raised considerably; this is due in part to the outstanding work and commitment of club members, some of whom have travelled the length of the country just to support the various club events. This has culminated in over 200 Service personnel and their families being introduced to the sport of surfing with approximately 100 personnel returning as improvers/intermediates.
The Boardriders profile has also been assisted by our presence within the front and back pages of the Navy News throughout the year. This is due to the outstanding photographs of club members in action taken by one of our new members Bob Sharples. Bob has also assisted in the conception and running of the RNRMB website
www.royalnavyroyalmarinesboardriders.co.uk
Our newest member to the club, is Cdre Steve Jermy RN who has kindly agreed to represent the RNRMB as the club President. Cdre Jermy has been a keen surfer for some time and has now seen the light and progressed to the pinnacle of surfing that is Longboarding. Cdre Jermy kindly presented the trophies at both the British Longboard Club and RN Championships this year and has assisted the Chairman and Vice Pres in a bid to see surfing as recognised as AT.
Members of the RNRMB have competed in a number of Longboard and Shortboard events throughout the year with some success. The first Club triumph of the year came in April by winning the Inter-Service event again!! During the summer the Club hosted the British Longboard Club Championships at Gwithian on behalf of the Hotdoggers Surf Club. This proved to be a great success with all who were involved including the Penwith Council who have asked if we would like to hold another event this year. We hope to repeat the success of the event in 2006 in the form of an Invitational Contest. The BSA were also impressed by the standard of the competition and have asked us to host an event on behalf of them in the future. The year’s competitions culminated in the RN Champs, held at Sennen Cove, Cornwall. Both the Longboard and Shortboard events were successfully completed within one day with CPO ‘Dave the Wave’ Burr taking the Longboard title and NA James Bulpit the Shortboard. Due to the increase in the workload created by competitions CPO Dave Burr will now assist as the shortboard competitions rep alongside WO Paul ‘Keano’ Keenan.
The 2005 training camp was held in Biarritz and proved to be a real test for all those attending. A number of the team experienced some extreme conditions for the first time, as fins and leashes were snapped and boards were destroyed on the reef. All members of the team returned in one piece and were all richer for the experience, however CPO Mick Wakeham’s board did not!!
Thank you very much to all those who have helped make this year a success. I would like to wish CPO Sean ‘Big Issue’ Maloney and Capt Pete Mclleland RM, good luck for the future as one has already and the other very shortly will leave Her Majesty’s finest. Due to the commitment shown by both it was agreed that each shall receive an honourary membership to the Royal Navy/Royal Marines Boardriders. 2006 will be a busy year for us but I am hopeful that our joint efforts will produce some exciting and memorable events.
GR
G D A Ross
Lt RN
RNRMB VP
Boardriders Beginner’s Weekends
IF YOU have any doubt that surfing might be popular these days, then consider the amount of beginners the Boardriders have introduced to the sport this year.
Over the past year the club has pushed over 250 wannabe rippers into waves, with half a dozen beginner weekends being staged by the club’s professionally trained and accredited surf instructors.And for those salty seadogs out there who have forgotten what it is like to be a learner, then here is an account from PO Su Benton (A veteran at the weekends) who has taken those intrepid steps to taste the magical experience of wave riding with the Boardriders. “The RN/RM Surfing beginner’s weekend is an absolute must! Having attended several over the last twelve months, I recommended the event to a friend. So, with my friend and her two sons in tow we ventured off on what turned out to be a superb weekend. My friend, a total surf virgin, is now completely hooked. With instruction she managed to stand on the surfboard, ride a wave in, and yell the obligatory wahooooo! Likewise, my boys enjoyed improving their wahoooo’s and surf skills, under the excellent guidance of the instructors.
Although the surf was a little flat, all fifty wannabe surfers hit the sea with enthusiasm, and after the first two hours these wannabe’s were actually surfing! A fantastic day in the water followed by the mandatory social! The BBQ and camping is an essential ingredient, it gives the opportunity to swap water war stories and partake in party games and a little Tom Foolery. Whether single, with partner or family, this weekend is a fantastic opportunity to discover the joys and pleasures of surfing. The excellent instruction improved my own surfing immensely and provided a new dynamic sport for all that attended. Many thanks to the instructors and organisers for, yet again, a fantastic weekend.”
Longboard Club Championships hosted by the
Royal Navy/Royal Marines Boardriders
September 2005
By 0930 on the morning in question, nine teams had made their mark on the entry form for the National Longboard Club Championships. These teams were from all over the UK, as far afield as Scarborough. The Boardriders had been asked early in the year if we could host the Championships on behalf of the Hotdoggers (based in North Devon), gladly the challenge was taken and with a sigh of relief after months of planning Gwithian graced us with waves worthy of holding the comp. Hopefully and by good judgement the surf would hold for the two day event, so it was, that the first Longboarders took themselves to the waters edge and the comp began in the 2ft surf peaking at sheepdip. Good banter was heard between the clubs as all sat and watched the heats as they ticked by, some nice graceful cross stepping, but with small surf and some long waits between sets there was a watchful eye on the horizon from each surfer watching and slipping into position to take the waves to take there team ahead in the comp. By the end of day one The Hotdoggers were ahead and with a very social night ahead a good day had been had with everyone praying for decent surf for the Sunday, but with thoughts on food, the Red River Inn, Gwithian and Boardriders BBQ hollered to all.
The evenings events were in full swing, the BBQ fed the masses, the apples was flowing nicely and Three Minute Warning, the band for the comp played two outstanding sets well into the night.With Baggy heads a plenty, the comp site set up every one eager to crack on as an increased swell had arrived at low tide giving glass 3-4ft perfect Longboard conditions. With the comp underway for the second day the break was pretty hectic but as the day went on the glass that had preented itself in the morning had begun to die away until the afternoon heats were held in 1ft “paddle like a demon” surf. Eventually the Club Champs was concluded with Commodore Jermy, the President of the Boardriders presenting Hot Doggers A-team with the 1st place trophy, with Hotdoggers C taking 2nd. The Boardriders put up a gallant display holding a respectable 4th.
The Royal Navy/ Royal Marines Boardriders wish to thank all those who competed and made this years Championships the success that it was.
Royal Navy/Royal Marines Boardriders Training Camp Lafitania, Biarritz, 2005.
If you were to calculate the quality of waves by their wrecking power, then the figures from the Boardriders’ week in France add up to a pretty respectable sum.
That tally consisted of four broken leashes, four snapped fins, one trashed tail and a board in fibreglass intensive care. With the addition of the even more impressive factor of eight out of eight – that is eight days surf from eight. Easy maths!
However, the numbers were not adding up quite as well on the evening of departure at Culdrose, when it was found the van was booked for the following week. Still, trips are always blessed with better luck when things go a little awry at the start. Fortunately the transport trouble was solved by some quick problem solving and the contingent from Cornwall left in enough time to meet up with the total complement from Yeovilton and beyond for the ferry from Plymouth to Roscoff.The following dawn found the crew stretched out on the floor between seats: lips were ripped off from dribble-encrusted carpet and necks ached for those without the forethought of bringing pillows. On the up side, we did all have the interminable drive from the top to the bottom of France! As it turned out, it wasn’t so bad. It took 10 hours for the 15 surfers in two vans with 30 plus surfboards (comically all on top of one van) to travel down to Lafitania near St Jean de Luz.
It was raining when we arrived, and the campsite was muddy and marked with puddles. Under the darkening overcast sky a 3-4ft disorganised swell stuttered down the point directly in front of the camping area, and a rat scampered beneath tent awnings. At least the presence of surf brightened things up.Optimism from seeing swell on arrival was well placed as the next day France did its thing. We left in the dark and returned in the dark, but an overcast and closing-out low tide morning soon brightened into a sunny blue sky and perfectly peaky session for all. The group split into two but each vanload found good waves on different stretches of Hossegor beach break.
With the high tide, conditions really turned on. Four foot peaks bowled up just a dozen paddling strokes from the beach, and blue barrels funnelled down the undulating, bunker sprinkled golden banks for miles. It was France at its finest.
The following day the swell had increased as was forecasted but a cross-offshore wind took us back to Lafitania after an early and fruitless check at Hossegor and Anglet. By the afternoon double-overhead mackers were exploding onto the point in front of our tents, with a seething, whistling and hassling crowd of around 40 guys on it. Block out the crowd though, and Lafitania is a nice wave at size. As sets approach, the take-off zone boils as water is sucked off the reef. Steps jut out of the wave face, making for some interesting drops for those too far deep. Then, framed by cliff on one side and a wide sweeping bay on the other, the wave stands up and rifles across the line-up before mellowing and sweeping down the point.
Across the other side of the bay a whole different ball game was being played out. Massive peaks at Avalanches detonated off the headland, with some plucky chaps entertaining the crowd with some massive drops and ballsy pull-ins. That same crowd meant some of the team searched out the many other waves in the area according to their desires, with everyone getting a surf in somewhere. But there was a price to pay. Out at Lafitania Mick got punished and his leash gave up the ghost, sending his board into the rocks fronting the line-up. The result – two snapped fins, a severely busted nose and deep lacerations over the whole board. Dave Burr also broke his leash, but was saved the dismay of a dinged board by a timely rescue.
The next morning had lost the larger sets, but the swell was still solid, overhead and clean; if anything cleaner and more lined up. Again the breaks around Lafitania were tackled, with Ads snapping his leash on Guethary-left after a double-overhead set snuck up and bulldozed through the line up he and Jim had shared to themselves for the afternoon. At the halfway mark of the trip the rhythm of life on a Boardriders training camp was pretty much established. If we passed a Tabac, it was obligatory for it to get a special visit, nudge nudge, wink wink – no Tabac, was left unexplored!; if there was a simple way to get through Biarritz or to Hossegor, we wouldn’t take it; Dave Burr’s tent was HQ1, much to his dripping delight; the pirate ship was our favourite place to eat and steak was our favourite dish; & if Sean was in one van, the Burr would be in another. And as if material were needed, Trafalgar night fell during the trip. So there we are in the pirate ship, the restaurant owned by a former French international rugby player, and Dave kindly reminds this giant of a man about our famous victory 200 years ago. The rugger bugger had never heard of it, so Mr Win friends etc, etc gives a full explanation, at 120 decibels of course, for the entire restaurant to hear. We of course are in hysterics, and fortunately the owner, resembling more a “Man Mountain!” laughs too. “We’ll come in tomorrow to celebrate yes?”, Oh I think not!. Touché.
The second half of the trip began with a drop in swell, but which stayed between 2-4ft for the remaining days. The smaller, clean conditions led the group to the beaches around Anglet, and best of all the good banks at Chambre d’Amour which served up some quality waves and barrels on day six. This was possibly the best day of the trip overall, with everyone having a top session. Under the watch of the lighthouse that dominates the skyline of Biarritz, 3-4ft lines rifled off both ways between the rock groins that divide up the beach. Perched on one of the groins and in perfect position was Bob the duty photographer, who had as successful a day as anyone. The waves offered up opportunity to give a good whacking or to pull in, as Jim took advantage of in full, tucking into several barrels. Everyone else sure made the most of the powerful conditions too. For the final few days and in the perfect way to end a trip the surf slowly fizzled away to a still fun 2-3ft on the final two days. By which stage nearly all were reaching totally “surfed out” stage. Jim was lost to the duties of the met shack catching a plane back early, leaving the crew to enjoy a final small day of waves and the drive back to Roscoff and home. Of course nothing is that simple, (who gave the map to the Bandy!) and in fine fashion Ads and Spud added some more interesting directional decisions to the already debatable ones made during the trip.
But this is what good trips are comprised of, and the 2005 training camp was most certainly that.
Surf Comps!
Royal Navy/Royal Marines Boardriders Champs:
A NEW champion has joined the ranks of the RNRM Boardriders following the 2005 surfing championships.NA James Bulpett added his name to the winners trophy in the shortboard division and was joined on the podium by longboard victor CPO Dave Burr in the event held at Sennen Cove at the start of November.Large storm surf raged either side of the competition, but the sea served up only small waves for the day itself. Undeterred, the competitors suited up and stuck straight into the longboard contest.Contest director WO 'Keeno' Keenan looked the early favourite before losing out in the semi-finals, with LACMN 'Bungi' Williams stroking into the best waves of the day and consequently the final. Others were not so fortunate in the confused conditions so had to make the very best of any decent wave found, including multiple switch stance manoeuvres from Tom ‘Iron Man’ Sawyer. Never to be underestimated, Dave Burr, who won the shortboard division last year, proved his well-rounded surfing credentials by taking charge of the final with good length of ride and another title to his name. No time was wasted in getting the shortboard event going due to fading light and the 2-3ft waves deteriorating badly. L(AH) Richie Turrell showed good form from the start, as did PO Steve Hicks and as the tide moved up to high the waves mercifully began to improve. Reaching the final was Dave Burr going for the clean sweep, along with Bulpett who was out for revenge after losing out to Burr the year before. But Turrell and Hicks were not to be left out with the former keeping his momentum going and locking in some solid rides. But it was the determined Bulpett who got the judges nod just ahead of Richie Turrell after hacking apart a tasty lefthander. On the beach to present the awards in near dark was Commodore Jermy, the newly installed president of the RNRM Boardriders.
Inter-Club Shortboard Champs:
Nobody wants to surf like a girl in front of their peers. However, the rules are for breaking as they say and one Navy surfer who shall remain nameless wished he really HAD surfed like a girl.
Such is the topsy turvy world of surf contests where muscle bound men flap around in the shorebreak, wiry groms flit around in overhead storm surf, and 14-year-old girls succeed against sailors by virtue of their whitewater limitations. The 2005 British Inter-Club Championships was a tale of two days, with the first round bulldozed by 4-6ft onshore wind-wrecked waves, and the second round a pleasant 3ft fun-fest. The RN/RM Boardriders team, consisting of Dave Burr, Simon, Sean, Pete, Mick, and Jim, assembled at Woolacombe in North Devon on the blustery first day to uninviting conditions. At least half the competitors present failed to make it out the back, with the ocean punishing the groms, girls and men with equal disdain. The first to come unstuck in the dumping inside section was Dave, who spent his ten minute paddle-out and the first ten minutes of his heat going nowhere at best. But with great Royal Navy fighting spirit, he battled on to get outside, catch a credible right with a thumping reo, and a back-up wave to avert total disaster. But the conditions continued to become more difficult and much to everyone's amusement a certain team member was pushed halfway to Newquay and consequently came last, behind a teenage girl. On any other occasion a position to be thankful for. Fortunately the lows of Saturday (although a credible 1st, two 2nds, a 3rd, and two 4ths) were eased by radically improved surf on day two. The surfing by all improved dramatically and the team put in some battling performances. One of the best heats of the day involved top seed Jim against the top seed of current champs Croyde, with the 20 minutes blessed with consistent waves throughout. The two were going blow for blow, and pulled out some explosive surfing but Jim was out-manoeuvred by his opponent in a tight finish.The team gained another mixed bag of results in round two but acquitted themselves superbly to finish 7th overall.
THIS NEWSLETTER needs your news!
I have heard the basket making club and whistling society claim surfers are dull. But I refuse to believe it. However, if we do not receive YOUR tales of bravado (real or imagined), exotic travel dits, staring-death-in-the-face accounts, news or anything at all you fancy telling us about, then I will have to write all about my winter. And that will be dull. Please send your contributions to myself, NA James Bulpett, by email at cumetab5 or jbnose@yahoo.com. Or if writing is not your thing, please feel free to call James at Culdrose Met Office on 01326-552423 and give him all the information