On September 28-October 8 Valley Surf Kayaks presented the 2011 World Championships of Surf Kayaking, held at one of the most spectacular coastal regions on the East Coast of the United States, the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Astral was a contributing sponsor in association with Outdoor Sports Marketing, who was one of the major sponsors of the event. Most of my time at the event was spent taking photos at the water’s edge or above the break on Jennette’s Pier, and my nights were spent updating the event website. I did however find a couple hours to go surfing and participate in the competition. As a representative of Astral I wanted to bring home some photos and a report to show the mountain folks what yonder ocean looks like. Please enjoy the photography and captions. – Spencer Cooke, Effort Inc.
- US East Coast surfer Anthony Bell drops on a B-eautiful right. Check out that offshore wind blowing the top of the wave skyward.
- Competitors and spectators look onward as national flags fly beside the tide.
- Astral team member Haley Mills competed on the US East Coast team in her first surf worlds
- The surf really started cranking for us on October 2nd when an offshore tropical storm pushed in a swell that produced the waves the East Coast is best known for; steep, hollow, fast.
- Edu Etxeberria of Basque Country is the Eric Jackson or Bryan Kirk of surf kayaking. Put him on a small, inconsequential wave and he will make it look like the most dynamic wave you’ve ever surfed. Give him a sizable, powerful wave and he will blow your mind.
- There was no shortage of these guys to be found in the surf. Commonly known as Cannonball Jellies, this species is prolific in our warm Atlantic waters. Reminds me of a t-shirt I saw somewhere.
- Rachel Krugman is a very talented surfer from the US West team. Here Rachel drops on a glassy right-hander. When the waves got big and heavy Rachel was one of the first to charge out through the break and to take daredevilish rides toward the pier. She ended up taking the silver medal in short boat, barely behind Tamsin Green of England. – photo Chris Gallaway
- 4-time World Champ (maybe 5-time?), David Speller, drops on a frothy wave, framed in nicely by the columns below Jennette’s Pier.
- Joey Hall slings some spray off the stern of his long boat in a practice ride before the competition. – photo Russ Buskirk
- A friendly Sandpiper named Joe grabs a snack between waves.
- The eco-friendly Jennette’s Pier glistens in golden sunlight. The wind turbines are a great indicator if you need a quick visual on wind direction.
- Jorge Anchorena came all the way from Argentina to show us that he could rip the blankityblank out of some waves. He’s good. – photo Chris Gallaway
- Jorge drops underneath the closing hand of mother ocean.
- Amidst a foreground of onlookers Corin King of Northern Ireland races onto the shoulder of a left in the long boat quarter-finals.
- Tamsin Green of team England earned herself a World Championship title in the short boat division with dynamic moves like this pop-off floater.
- Womens short boat finals. Tamsin Green drops into a bottom turn while Devon Barker and Garazi Iturraide paddle out.
- Terry Petch of the Australian team stares down the line while a dark wall builds ahead of him. Seagull is scared and goes the other way.
- Sam Davenport of Team England rides into the mouth of the beast. Long boat quarter finals.
- It’s not often you come by a mess of surf kayaks like this. These events are pretty amazing, not only for surf kayaking as a subculture but for the paddling and surfing sports as well. There is so much going on in regards to boat design, surfing and paddling technique, lots of really great people and a wealth of knowledge from around the world. I strongly encourage anyone who is remotely interested in surfing a kayak to attend not only the worlds but also your local surf events. Big or small waves it is always a great day at the beach.
- I love competing but it just wasn’t in the cards for me this time. This was me in the first round of short boat where is had lots of fun. That’s how I say that I got eliminated, hah. Check out my surf kayak designs, the Ninja 7’6″, Sword and Ninja 6’8″. – photo Denzil Pearce
Full individual results from the 2011 World Championships may be found here. Congrats to all the new World Champions and everyone else who attended the event. Congrats as well to the Basque Country for winning the team competition. If you are interested in the sport of surf kayaking please visit the WSKA for information about kayak surfing and competing around the world, and visit ESKA about surf kayaking on the US East Coast.
