UKSRL Notice Board

On behalf of the rowers of the UKSRL we would like to thank members of Portreath SLSC for the safety cover and the post event organisation of food and grog. Favourable comments flew fast and furious on the splendid cake selection at the far end of a weighty table of food and Charlotte (Chucky) Savage ran a mean bar when it came to trying to blagg a freebie !

With eight Surfboats on the beach at Portreath, could this at long last be the beginning of the growth of Surfboat rowing in the UK? Porthtowan brought along their second boat and an extra bouy to row to and Portreath Mens crew made a long awaited 2005 appearance as guests in No1 alley.

The final results of the UKSRL Mens Open pointscore has to be one of the closest fought battles since we began the league events some five years ago. The duel between Porthtowan and Perranporth came down to the result of the 3rd and final mens race of Round 6, with Porthtowan winning and Perranporth in 2nd. If the result had finished the other way round, Perranporth Men would have won the overall pointscore by one point. No pressure !

Bude Mens crew kept everyone guessing and very nearly upset the party on several occasions, Saunton Sands with new rowers have stuck to their task all summer and St Agnes made two appearances this season showing good promise for next year.

In the Womens event Porthtowan have dominated the series all summer with strong, powerful rowing. Bude could have made more of an impression following their success at the Woolacombe Goldcoast event. The Bude crew revel in the surf, unfortunately this year we seemed to be dogged with flat seas caused by the high pressure which has given us a long warm summer but no waves. Perranporth and Portreath chased after the remaining scraps with some very close finishes being decided on the beach sprint to the finish flag.

In the Novice Sweeps event, everyone thought that for the first time a woman would take the title. Unfortunately Anita Adams snuck off to France for a surf trip and thereby left the door open for Phil Martin to take the 2005 Novice Sweeps Title. This event is in it's second year and it is reassuring to see new names appearing on the novice sweep results list. It takes time and patience to master the "big stick" at the stern, but once you get that buzz of steering a boat on a wave all the way to the beach, like a rollercoaster, you just want to keep doing it over and over again.

With the UKSRL rowing safety qualification criteria kept to a minimum, I firmly believe we will see more surfboat crews entering the UKSRL events in 2006. The growth in Surfboats and crews reflects upon the success we are having in attracting new rowers to the exciting sport of Surfboat rowing.

Plans are afoot to have a UKSRL 2006 Open Championship one day event which could include invitations to be sent to International crews to come and participate. We would then have our current UKSRL league events and also an "FA Cup" style one day event as a show case for the sport. I hasten to add that this idea is in an embryonic stage and details will follow in the autumn.

The next event on the 2005 calendar is the SLSA GB Surfboat Championships at Fistral Beach on Friday 2nd September. Due to the need for all crews to hold a current SLSA GB Lifeguard qualification, I anticipate that the surfboat entry will be dissappointingly low.

Perranporth has two Surfboat crews in the 22 mile London Great River Race from Richmond to the Isle of Dogs in Docklands. This year the race on Saturday September 11th, is part of the celebrations of Nelson's victory at Trafalgar . Perranporth has entered a Mixed crew and a Nipper Dads crew, last I heard they were arguing over who owns the tub of Aqueaous Cream used as lubrication on the fixed seats.

On Saturday and Sunday 24th & 25th September Surfboats are racing within the Cardiff Bay Barrage. The investment in this area of Cardiff in recent years has been enormous with pubs, restaurants, offices, apartments and marina facilities, a mini London Docklands, for more information contact: Sally Jones sally@allatsea.wanadoo.co.uk

Congratulations to all the rowers who competed in and or supported their crews and Surfboats the 2005 UKSRL League events.