On the contest scene October saw epic conditions at the O’Neill British National Open Championships. With one of the biggest number of entries in the contest’s history, and sizable clean surf lined up, it looked more like Le Gravier than Fistral beach.
Whilst plenty of Brit’s were tucking in to Sunday lunch, North Fistral was on fire. Spectators were torn between watching pros rip up the glassy swell, and scoring some waves at South Fistral. Needless to say between heats I snuck in a couple of short sessions. In the Women’s, Beth Mason a seventeen year old from Swansea earned her second title in a row. Beth’s strong surfing solidified her reputation as Britain’s number one, a big accomplishment for someone so young.
The men’s final kicked off later in the afternoon as the tide began to push for high, meaning the size backed down, and the waves became a bit fatter. Having watched the earlier heats I thought Alan Stokes might have pulled it out of the bag for the final, after his return from injury. Ben Baird and Reubin Pearce had also both shown form in the earlier heats, with Baird even taking the Senior title. Yet it seemed Newquay boy Mark ‘Egor’ Harris was the only one really on the ball, as the peak shifted. Egor caught a number of hefty right handers, before any of the other finalists caught a decent wave. The changing conditions were obviously difficult, but from the beach Egor was the clear winner early on. Reuben Pearce made a late bid scoring some worthy rides, but by this point Egor had the competition bagged, with the other surfers combo’d, meaning they each need two high scoring rides to stand a chance at the title.
When the horn signalled the finish, Egor was cheered ashore by his troop of local fans. At the beach presentation Egor told his fans: ‘I’m so, so stoked to be the British Champion! It’s a title I’ve always wanted and to do it on my home break is even better.’
Whilst plenty of Brit’s were tucking in to Sunday lunch, North Fistral was on fire. Spectators were torn between watching pros rip up the glassy swell, and scoring some waves at South Fistral. Needless to say between heats I snuck in a couple of short sessions. In the Women’s, Beth Mason a seventeen year old from Swansea earned her second title in a row. Beth’s strong surfing solidified her reputation as Britain’s number one, a big accomplishment for someone so young.
The men’s final kicked off later in the afternoon as the tide began to push for high, meaning the size backed down, and the waves became a bit fatter. Having watched the earlier heats I thought Alan Stokes might have pulled it out of the bag for the final, after his return from injury. Ben Baird and Reubin Pearce had also both shown form in the earlier heats, with Baird even taking the Senior title. Yet it seemed Newquay boy Mark ‘Egor’ Harris was the only one really on the ball, as the peak shifted. Egor caught a number of hefty right handers, before any of the other finalists caught a decent wave. The changing conditions were obviously difficult, but from the beach Egor was the clear winner early on. Reuben Pearce made a late bid scoring some worthy rides, but by this point Egor had the competition bagged, with the other surfers combo’d, meaning they each need two high scoring rides to stand a chance at the title.
When the horn signalled the finish, Egor was cheered ashore by his troop of local fans. At the beach presentation Egor told his fans: ‘I’m so, so stoked to be the British Champion! It’s a title I’ve always wanted and to do it on my home break is even better.’
Photo Mark Harris in Action, courtesy of Geoff Tydemann
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