Naval surfers riding high at the Royal Navy Surfing Championships in Cornwall
Surfers from across the Royal Navy and Royal Marines took to the waves at the Royal Navy Surfing Championships at Tolcarne Beach in Newquay.
The championships, which is open to all Navy surfers of all abilities, took place this month after being postponed from its original date in October due to the unusually flat conditions, NavyFit reported.
The competition included disciplines such as Bodyboard, Longboard, Shortboard Open and Women's Open.
The Shortboard Open final, where surfers ride waves on boards shorter than nine feet in length, was the highlight of the event as large waves provided the Navy's best surfers the greatest chance to prove themselves in ideal conditions.
Able Seaman Jake Sage, also known as Jake the Ripper, won the closely contested Shortboard final.
In the Bodyboard, which consists of riding a five-foot-long board in a prone position, Lieutenant Ryan Woodridge took the win for the second consecutive year before also placing fourth in the Shortboard.
The Longboard event was between just two competitors, with Corporal Ryan Joslin winning with some impressive rides against Able Seaman Levi Jack, who fought through after losing his board before paddling back out to rejoin the final.
The Women's Open title looked like a done deal for defending champion Able Seaman Leni Milne, but the decision to hold back and wait for larger waves proved to be the wrong strategy.
In the end, relative beginner Lieutenant Patricia Longthorp kept herself in contention by staying out, with her highest wave count leading to her winning the title.
Lieutenant Commander Ollie Judd won Wave of the Day with the longest ride of the championships, culminating in the ‘running over’ of a fellow surfer who had unwisely paddled right underneath him.
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