FREE FAMILY SURF LESSONS WITH TOP PRO LLEWELLYN WHITTAKER OVER AUGUST BANK HOLIDAY WEEKEND

The popularity of surfing continues to grow apace and thanks to the sponsorship of the English Surfing Federation (ESF) Surf School by Freespirit, families will now be offered a unique opportunity to learn to surf for free with top pro Llewellyn Whittaker. Over the August bank holiday weekend (Sunday 26th and Monday 27th August) special family focused clinics will be available on one the UK’s most famous surfing beaches – Fistral Beach in Newquay.
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Sunny skies, a favourable wind and clean 2ft waves welcomed the Rip Curl Boardmasters to Newquay’s Fistral Beach this morning for Day 3 of the week-long surf and music festival. Although the swell size did drop overnight, competition did start at 8am this morning – with event organisers running the final eight heats of Round 2.

Tour veteran and 2002 ISA World Champion runner-up Frédéric Robin (Reu) handled the small waves well this morning, unleashing his quick back-hand attack to defeat Nathan Carroll (HAW), Michael Marjanovic (AUS) and Norman Landa (EUK) in Heat 19. Robin recorded a two-wave combined heat score of 13.50 points out of 20 to book himself a spot in Round 3.
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Despite some early wet weather this morning at Newquay’s Fistral Beach, the Rip Curl Boardmasters launched into action at 8am this morning with the opening round of the 5 star Men’s World Qualifying Series (WQS) contest.

The opening round featured 12, four-man heats, with the event’s unseeded competitors battling the tricky 2-3ft (0.5-1m) surf in 20-minute spurts.

Eight British surfers paddled out in Round 1, all hopeful of winning through their opening heats and impressing the large local crowd.

Mark Harris (GBR), Sam Lamiroy (GBR), Matt Capel (GBR), Oli Adams (GBR) and Johnny Fryer (GBR) all won through their Round 1 heats, advancing to the ‘Round of 144’.

Lamiroy was one of the early standouts, defeating former ASP Europe Pro Junior winner Josch Scmeltzer (ZAF) and Joss Ash (GBR).

“I’m glad I made this one, I just checked the heats yesterday and realized I would be out in the water very early,” said Lamiroy. “It ended very good for me, so I’m just happy to get through.”

Lamiroy was later eliminated in Round 2 by former 2004 European Pro Surf Tour champion Justin Mujica (PRT).

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Four revolutionary eco-friendly surfboards are being exhibited by the Eden Project at the Rip Curl Boardmasters Surf & Music Festival at Fistral Beach, Newquay, until Sunday (August 12).

The boards are being heralded as “the most sustainable in the world to date” and two will be surfed by professionals in the Rip Curl Eco Tag Team Contest during the festival.

Every year approximately 750,000 surfboards are manufactured worldwide. The vast majority of these are made from oil-based plastics with little thought to the environmental impact of either their manufacture or disposal at the end of their life.

Eden has been working on its eco board project for four years with the ultimate aim of seeing all boards manufactured using sustainable materials and processes.
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The Davidoff Cool Water Wave Women’s 5 star World Qualifying Series (WQS) event hit the water at Newquay’s Fistral Beach at 8am this morning, launching an exciting week of action sport and music mayhem at the 26th annual Rip Curl Boardmasters.

The WQS surfers faced wind-blown 3-4ft (1-1.5m) waves throughout the morning, competing in front of a massive crowd who were also enjoying one of the more warmer days Newquay has seen in recent weeks.

WQS events always showcase the exciting young talent moving through the surfing world ranks, but the Boardmasters is also blessed to have some of the ASP World Tour’s elite in town for the week. Tour veteran Megan Abubo (HAW), Sam Cornish (AUS), Jacqueline Silva (BRZ) and 2006 ASP World Tour ‘Rookie of the Year’ Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS) are four of the higher profile surfers who competed today.
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Saturday night saw the arrival of a solid 4-5 foot swell. A light off-shore which only lasted until the end of the morning gave way to a steady side-shore. The waves continued to pick up with the out-going tide, making the paddle-out difficult for all the surfers.

The contest started at 8 o’clock with the girls. They had the good fortune of taking advantage of the best of the conditions to finish the semis and the final.
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