Surf to Salt 2014
Another year, another Surf to Salt race, although a short
distance and preliminary a lifeguards prone race its one I really enjoy and
this was my 3rd time to give it my all. Based down at the entrance
of Hayle in Kernow (Cornwall) the Race sets off from in front of the lifeguard
station at the Bluffs, head’s out towards the navigation marker around
900metres out from the entrance of the river mouth and back up the river
towards the end of the creek to the Salt pub. Weather depending you have to
battle out through waves off the beach and also surf them back through the
mouth before the sprint finish. Conditions over the last few years have been
varied and it means its always a good idea to take a selection of boards but it
can make the final choice somewhat hard. This year I had chosen to take with me
the C14 and the Ace Pro, figuring that the volume in the nose of the Ace pro
would be better suited to punching through the waves and well as being more
stable and manoeuvrable in the surf. The C14 was there as my speed weapon of
choice if there was only a minimal swell to deal with.
As I went to go and get registered its always great to see
how many youngsters really take to the race for the club and to see their drive
and passion for the water. After registering I took a few moments to study the
water and contemplate what board id want to use, the only problem with this
being that the first time I did the race it was relatively flat a few hours
before the race, I made my choice of the K15 and then seriously regretted it a
few hours later when the 5/6ft swells pounded the shoreline, needless to say I
was cautious of this knowledge and decided I’d wait till the last minute. As I
was walking back to the van local legend and UK Number 1, the man to beat Ollie
Shilston came over to have a quick chat, I had hoped he wasn’t going to be
doing it this year as I hadn’t seen his name on the signup sheet the day before
but as it was right on his door step it wasn’t a surprise. Nothing personal Ollie :)
Monitoring the water I decided that id go with the C14 as my
board choice figuring that if I could get across Loch Ness in the conditions it
threw at me I could handle 2.5 miles in anything that built up down at Hayle.
By the start of the race there were a few good shore dumping waves and a bit of
rolling swell but nothing to much to worry about, the local kernow contingent
had turned up and it was good to see the likes of Anna Shekhdar back in the
racing mix. Everyone was lined up along the stretch of the bluffs and with
prone boarders taking the closest line then SUPs then some of the other classes
such as kayaks and I believe 1 dragon
boat.
Moments before the start I took my energy gel to time nicely
into around 4 minutes off the start so as energy levels started to wane from
the initial sprint I got a further kick. I had a better start this year but I
was slightly conserned that there was a small sand bar not far from the beach
where it got swallow enough to potentially clip the fin if the swell timed
badly. I got through it and started to focus on the navi mark. Over to my right
I watched as a huge train of prone boarders all kicking their legs in rhythm to
their paddling surged out. I tried to stay slightly away from their wash and
stick to clearer water although the sea state was fairly messy and it was hard
to push top speeds from my board.
By now Ollie shilston was charging ahead and
already had a fair gap, I tried to look for a slight gap in the chain to be
able to think about getting a clean turn round the can but was stuggling to see
a space, I gave a sudden burst of pace and managed to find just a slight gap to
get the nose of my board through and took a long arched turn to make sure I
didn’t get knocked off by the horde of prone boarders, although I lost a
further place to a SUP by taking the longer turn it did keep me clear from
anyone drafting me and I much prefer to stay out on my own where possible. I
started managing to grab small runners as my board is very efficient in small
swells and catching bumps, I pushed into 3rd place sup and 6th
overall, now with the wind behind me I started to pull ahead of 2 prone
boarders who were unable to make the most of the extra windage and slipped into
4th place, I was determined to not get beaten by the paddleless
brethren this year and looked on to see the only one left in front drafting the
2nd place SUP, as we approached the river mouth the water became
less choppy and I could feel the board becoming faster and faster and started
gaining on the 2, by now the prone boarder had lost the draft and kept glancing
back to see me gaining on him, it was
hard to tell if he wasn’t just checking to see where his competitors where or
if he was looking to see when he could draft me and keep up a much better
speed.
By now I was really catching but I knew I was running out of water and
time, my arms were aching and lungs were burning as we rounded a very shallow
marker where the river splits down the creek we needed and I had to shift my
weight towards the nose in order to not scrape my fin, the final stretch was
apon me and I could see the finish line and tents set up although on a
different side this year as the usual place had been taken over by a big
building development. i didn’t manage to catch 2nd but was more than happy to
take home 3rd place SUP and 3rd overall, yet again
improving my performances of Surf to Salt, next year first overall ??
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