On the 21st of October, Daymer Bay hosted the UK’s first-ever surf foil event - the Kernow Foil Classic. An early start combined with prime conditions allowed wing and prone disciplines to compete, with the UK’s best shredders bringing their world-class skills to the bay. It truly was an outstanding day!

Expanding from our school in Poole, we recently opened Poseidon Watersports, a kite, wing, and foil shop in Newquay, Cornwall, where we’ve seen first-hand the surf foil discipline grow with both speed and strength. With such a high standard locally and across the UK, we wanted to create a legit wave-riding competition, providing a platform for those riders to show their talent and grow the sport. And, with Cornwall providing choice conditions and a peachy backdrop, Daymer Bay was the apparent decision.

Cornwall, however, is a notoriously protected county, with locals preferring to stay off the map where possible. Because of that, we needed to get the blessing of the community, so we approached the local landowners first. After lengthy conversations and late nights pulling together detailed risk assessments, we were granted the green light from the good folk of Daymer, the Padstow Harbour Master, and the Kernow Foil Crew. We secured the insurance we needed to run the event safely.

With those thumbs up, it was all hands-on to begin work on the logistics. Tom Earl meticulously equated the probability of the tides and weather aligning to be able to run both disciplines, and whilst the margin was tighter than Pavarotti’s dinner jacket, we deemed it doable. The pipe dream was coming together, and a plausible format, on paper, had some potential. We’d ironed out some of the kinks and pulled together judging criteria, with further help from Rich at the KiteBarn and the rest of the event team.

For the whole concept to work effectively, we needed to understand Daymer Bay in all its states. Nestled into the Camel Estuary, the bay faces west and features a point break on the near side and on the southern side, towards Hawkers Cove, the Doom Bar, which forms a beach break. The Doom Bar gained both name and notoriety because of the many boats that ran aground and fell victim to the sand bar’s wave that we now respectfully have the pleasure of riding. The point break has a specific set of conditions required to work - a big swell and an NW wind, only when the tide is high enough. We decided on neap tides when the workable window is at its’ maximum of around 6 hours. With these natural restrictions presenting a particular set of dates, we were left with a series of potential weekends to run the event.

Now, we needed the support of the industry, and that’s what we got, in abundance from all around the world. We were humbled and hugely grateful to the list of sponsors that soon came together with funding and prize bundles for our grassroots competition. From Kaohi Leashes and Hydrofoil Wing Screws flown in from Hawaii to fill podium prize winner’s swag bags to the big league players Armstrong gifting an XPS wing and Freedom Foilboards donating a foil board to our silent auction. We weren’t short of prizes, and we’d pricked the ears of the international scene.

The idea was in place, so we pitched it to foilers across the country, announcing the plan and waiting with bated breath for it to be received. Some of the UK’s best riders put in their entries overnight, filling the 30 places we’d set.

As we approached the first holding date, our eyes rarely strayed from the forecast. The start of the week looked like a definite no, with light easterly winds seemingly making the decision an easy one. But, in proper British form, out of nowhere, some forecast models began to flirt with good NW winds and big swell. Too good to ignore, we put the event on standby. Next came three days of nerve-shredding changeable forecasts, masses of uncertainty due to a ruptured jet stream causing a deep low-pressure system named Storm Babet set to follow a northerly track. Day by day, patterns were forming, and some models started to agree; we leapt and called it. We gave the green light for the Kernow Foil Classic. And so followed many more late nights, packing prizes, folding rider t-shirts, lining up media, and liaising with the full crew of team and riders.

It was an early drive to the bay for a wet and windy pre-dawn riders briefing under an undulating Ozone event tent. There was wind, and although we couldn’t see it yet, the swell was there too.

The judges huddled in the Mitsubishi Delica loaded with cheese baguettes and black coffee atop the prime spot of the amphitheatre that is Daymer. Wingers illuminated the beach with head torches, pumped up and ready to kick off the action as the sun sleepily rose above the dunes. This was it; the horn blew, and the Kernow Foil Classic was underway. What followed was nothing short of a whirlwind of 15-minute heats, beach sprints, lightning-fast rash vest swaps, and mind-bending foil skills. We’re still trying to work out how and why Guy Bridge is so bloody fast.

The first heat blew up as Jack Salmon set the bar almost untouchably high, taking fluid lines. In heat 2, Oli Evans paddled out with all the energy you’d expect from a 15-year-old breaking onto the scene, but it was Guy Bridge’s speed that accelerated him into the quarter-finals. The wingers were captivating the crowds, and the day was flowing when the proners out back suddenly began scoring some waves. We quickly formulated a plan to pause winging and roll with the prone competition. That was the split decision that meant we could run both disciplines in a single day.

The judges left the luxurious comfort of the wagon and relocated to the cliff edge. The prone competition began in a breath. With a prime tide state, we ran extended 8-man heats on a single knock-out format. Whilst it wasn’t getting too much warmer for the spectators, things were certainly heating up on the water. Rides were long with multiple sections, and it was the local Cornish boys who knew how to work them to their best. Mike Chapman was consistent and fluid, taking 3rd place. Smiler showed technical ability, putting him in 2nd, and Tom Earl’s speed, vertical attacks, and turns earned him the win. 

We picked back up with the winging and rolled into the quarter-finals, pushing it for time with the tide threatening to pull the plug. But the swell held, and the riding became more technical. Ultimately, experience won the day - Guy Bridge took the win with fast, aggressive, powerful riding and immeasurable wave-reading ability, ticking all the boxes for the judges. Jack Galloway came in 2nd with more risky rides in a critical section of the wave, and 3rd place went to Oli Evans for his progressive airs and cutbacks. 

In all, the event ran from 7 until 3, with achy muscles and a buzz that lasted long beyond sundown at Bluntrock Brewery. Our biggest takeaway was the energy and ability of the UK riders. We’re a small island not to be overlooked, and the Kernow Foil Classic certainly showed that.

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The Kernow Foil Classic 2023
By Georgina Read

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