A beautifully warm, sunny weekend of calm shredding...
...or not.
When we all drifted into the INTO carpark at 6.30 (ish) on Friday evening, Geordie casually remarked “it is a bit cold actually isn’t it?”, to a general murmur of consent and carefree shrugging. With untroubled hearts we warmly (ahah) continued our conversation, kicking our heels until Henry Dawson’s mud covered skoda skidded into the car park, and after some slightly shoddy sat-nav organisation, the cars were packed, and we were on the road. An essential Tesco’s stop for bacon, frozen pizza, and alcoholic beverages later, and we were busy getting quite definitively lost due to some truly catastrophic diversion sign posting, only just finding our way through the dark silence of the north Devon villages by the magic of 3G. Upon arrival at the Braddicks holiday park, we (some more than others) quickly got our drink on, launching into ring of fire with little abandon, the night ending
with Max Robinson heroically drinking cider out of his shoe and the Freshers team winning at beer/(cava?) pong by a one point margin, in turn making Geordie Baxter also see off his drink out of (I think, although my memories are faint) a slipper??? (unconfirmed)
Saturday! The grimmest weather known to mankind gently awoke us on Saturday morning, most of us freaking out due to the alarming and previously unseen proximately of the sea outside the window, and after a miracle of breakfast organisation engineered with dedication by Anna Haskins and Max Robinson, we were powered by bacon as we set out for our day’s wake boarding adventures. Upon arrival, the wind driven rain slapping you in the face as you stepped out of the car was not at all appealing, but in true windriders spirit we battled on, with everyone getting in some super steezy runs, and many working to land or stick new tricks pulling off some excellent sets by the end of the day. The new and added bonus of the wake park was the beautiful nachos, crafted by Sally and the guys and which helped greatly with post lake numb fingers. Whilst it would have been nice to be able to see anything on the run down to the far end of the lake, and for the chop to have been less aggressive, we made the best of things and tried to take our minds off the weather by debating the dubious nature of Up and Go’s, (affectionately
dubbed ‘Chuck Up and Go’s’) making noises of disbelief at wake films, or (in my case) sleeping off hangovers in armchairs, whilst some braver souls survived multiple dips in the water. Lake session finished and practice got in for Sunday’s comp, we headed home for a power nap before venturing out into the wave battered night to £6 carvery heaven. After eating enough food to feed a small nation we discovered a near-deserted arcade and several great victories were accomplished, resulting in the establishment of Henry Dawson’s gambling addiction, several rubber ducks and a beautiful pink beanie crab named Gideon.
A few more drinking games back at the villas led some braver souls out to party for the rest of the night, while most finished a few solid rounds of f-ck the dealer and crashed into bed for a well earned night’s sleep before the comp.
Sunday dawned, cold and fresh but quite as miserable as Saturday, and it was business as usual, packing up and heading off to the park to get in a couple of practice runs before the comp. Now acclimatised to the chilly
waters we dived in with no abandon and soon it was comp time! With 3 double runs each, it was a chance for even the most beginner (me) to show off some new skills to the crowd, who watched from the comfy warmth and food giving haven of the clubhouse. From surface 180s to a magnificent attempt at a back roll off the kicker from Henry Dawson and a memorable 360 effort from Tom Barber, everyone gave their all, with Chloe Swales taking first in Girls Rookies, Bobbins taking 2nd and Kate Phillips placing 3rd. Henry Dawson just missed out on aggressive bid for the Mens Rookie’s title by placing 3rd, Max Robinson taking 2nd, and Lorian Dufresne sweeping in to win first place. For the Intermediates it was again an Exeter dominated podium with Emily Wheeler and Anna Haskins (who finally landed a hard fought for 360 in practice) taking prizes away, and Geordie clinching top spot in the guys Intermediates as well. Many kudos to the winning shredders.
Overall a great weekend was had by all, and it was with cold, windswept, slightly damp, but happy hearts that we left (after many valiant efforts to jump start a certain car) for the journey home to Exeter.
