2009 World Surf Kayak Championships
Porto Novo, Santa Rita Beach, Portugal
By Devon Barker, Team NRS

I began surf kayaking in 2005 and have been hooked on the big waves and steep drops ever since. Jimmy Grossman from Idaho started me off by calling to tell me I needed to join him in Costa Rica to train for surf kayaking -- he knew I like to surf big river waves. In an instant I said, “Great, when should I fly?”

Devon showing our colors on the beach at Santa Rita. © Russ Buskirk

The Surf Kayak Worlds are held every other year and include individual and team competitions. This year there were twelve teams from around the world (England, Basque Country, Northern Ireland, Jersey, Wales, Scotland, USA West, USA East, Ireland, Portugal, Galicia and Japan) with many other countries represented in the individual competition. Team Japan was new this year and represented their country very well. The Worlds had over 150 competitors who compete in more than one event. There was Open/Short boat with fins and under nine feet, International class- no fins and over ten feet and the team competition. The result: seven to ten days filled with outstanding competition set on the beaches of Portugal.

World Surf Kayak Association, www.wska.org, oversees the Worlds and helps the host country with the logistics of running such a big event. Luis Abreu and Bruno Melo, from Portugal, worked non-stop to make sure we had a fantastic competition. Luis updated www.kayaksurf.net continuously during the event and linked all of our updates to this page.  The Worlds were held in conjunction with the Ocean Spirit event in Portugal. Ocean Spirit held skim board, surfboard and kite board competitions, in addition to surf kayaking. They created an arena on the beach with a swimming pool, three stages, a kayak VIP bar, shopping vendors and six different restaurants/bars for the competitors to enjoy. They even erected a huge surf statue on the cliff over the break. The amenities were amazing and made this year’s Worlds really stand out. And, we also had great waves! 

Surf kayaking competition looks a lot like a surf contest, where the heats are twenty minutes long. The judges are looking at wave selection, radical moves in the power pocket and exit moves off the wave. If you are in the foam, you are not scoring points. Wave selection is the trickiest for me. If I pick a good one, I can carve it up, but if I misjudge, I go for a steep drop to a closeout on my head, followed by a tumble toward shore. This is when my whitewater skills are put to the test.    The opening ceremonies began at 10 p.m. with a live band, free drinks, fireworks and a display of the teams in their uniforms and surf kayaks, all illuminated with spotlights as we floated in the pool. It was a sight to see. I walked back home at midnight with fireworks going off overhead. The party was just getting started but I was already thinking about my first heat in the morning.

Devon with her long boat. Light as a feather and built for speed. © Russ Buskirk

Four people are in each heat with the top two advancing on to the next round. I won my prelims heat and then my quarter final heat by picking up my last wave a little behind the peak with 8 seconds left on the clock and charged onto the green for cut backs, a spin and a finish move to a safe landing on the beach! The beach in Santa Rita is a little steep at high tide, which makes it hard to get out before the waves pull you back into the shore dump (see http://www.jacksonkayak.com/teamjk/teammember.cfm?member=devon for my other updates from Portugal). In the semifinals, I placed second and was on to finals.  On my second to last wave, instead of hitting the lip and catching air, I took a hit from the lip of the wave which was harder than any hockey hit I have taken. My upper chest felt like it was smashed flat, but I grabbed my ribs and they seemed okay so I charged back out through the waves. When the adrenaline wore off, I realized that I was so sore that I could not take my Astral Bella pfd off or bend forward.

Staying out of the foam and fighting for points. © Russ Buskirk

My training partner Valerie Bertrand and I both paddle Murky Water Kayaks that are orange/red with matching helmets. In pictures, we have to check our paddles, to tell who is who as my Werner Twist has green blades and my NRS Stampede shorty is covered up by my jersey. I wanted to surf with her in finals. Her heat was right after mine and I kept asking my friend next to me to cheer for her, as I could not breathe very deeply. She failed to advance to finals by a mere 0.8th of a point. Our motel room was sad, happy and hurt that night.  0.8th of a point -- no way. It was as if I just watched myself not make finals.   We wanted a repeat of finals from the Basque Land in 2007, where Valerie took first and I was third.

There was a break in individual competition as the team competition began. You have to have at least six people on your team and a maximum of 21. The Basque Team won the event in 2007 and were charging to capture the title again. Twelve teams began the event with the first cut to eight and then to four. USA West had only six on our team with four empty slots. Normally you have Masters, Men’s, Women’s and Juniors. We were missing two junior slots and two men’s slots, which meant we started with twenty points against us, but we charged ahead hoping for the best. We made the first cut but not the cut to four.   

Surfing the team event really brings everyone close together. We are all there cheering and pulling for each other. It really shows the spirit of the sport as all the teams are gathered with their flags flying and everyone is cheering. Once we were eliminated, my attention focused on the Basques. I met many of them in Costa Rica in 2005 when I won the Worlds. They saw my Basque Cross necklace and when I told them I was Basque, I had an instant family. In 2007, they treated my family to a grand time and in Portugal I camped all day on the beach with them taking photos and cheering them on while nursing my chest. In the end, England edged them out for the win. 

At finals the next day my teammate Jimmy Grossman placed third in open and first in International. My finals heat was second to last with USA West and the Basques cheering me on. Well, if 0.8 points was not enough, I missed third by 0.1 of a point. Holy cow, not that I wanted third, once you have won that is the only place you want, but to be in fourth by that small of a margin was unbelievable. I had a good heat but took a couple of closeouts that cost me a lot of time. The level of surfing was amazing, and I was so excited to be in the finals at the World Championships for the third time. I was all smiles as our heat was greeted on the beach with the flags waving for all the countries represented at the Worlds. This is why I kayak.

Riding the face of the big green monster. Devon’s in heaven. © Tim Harvey

If you like to catch big waves, if you love to carve on green faces and like to drop huge faces, then you should really start surf kayaking!  There are divisions for junior, men, women, masters, grand masters and team. All the results can be found at http://www.kayaksurf.net/ and there are lots of photos at www.photof8.uk.com. Drop me a note if you would like to know more as I would love to have you surf kayak with me.  The next Worlds will be at Outer Banks, North Carolina or the Sunshine Coast of Australia… Enjoy the wave but get off before the beach dump!

Boas Ondas - Devon
devobarker at yahoo dot com