Falmouth Delivers Epic British National Championships at the Paddle Logger Falmouth Bay Open 2025!

Scott Warren
6 days ago
6 min read

Group Photo at the Paddle Logger Flamouth Bay Open 2025

What a weekend! The Paddle Logger Falmouth Bay Open (PL FBO) truly outdid itself this year, not only celebrating its fourth successful event but also proudly hosting our British National Championships.

It was a natural progression to bring our most prestigious title to such a mainstream and flexible event on the UK SUP calendar. And Falmouth, as always, allowed us to adapt and deliver a world-class event, even with some truly challenging conditions thrown our way!

This year was especially significant as we navigated the newly internationally aligned British National Championship categories for ICF delivery, alongside crucial Team England and Team GB selections (for ISA & ICF respectively) across both SUP and Prone disciplines. Our event team, alongside our incredible competitors, faced conditions that tested everyone's resolve – but as always, we rose to the challenge!

The Championships comprised three demanding races: the Distance race (10km for adults, 5km for Challenge Tour, 2km for U14s and U17 girls), thrilling Sprints on a 150m course with beach starts and finishes, and the ever-exciting Technical race featuring beach starts, a challenging beach transition each lap where paddlers dismount and run around flags, and a beach finish.

Saturday's Distance race was a testament to adaptability. The day started calm, but a weather system quickly rolled through, bringing choppy seas and strong winds. While we sadly had to cancel our morning junior nipper races and our first-ever AquaPaddle at the BNC due to the conditions, our team worked tirelessly to adjust the course.

We managed to get our full distance in, utilising a triangle format that offered paddlers a much-appreciated long downwind leg and allowed us to maximise what shelter we could find from the prevailing winds. The sheer effort and determination from every single paddler in those challenging conditions were inspiring to witness.

Our Challenge Tour novice fleet, in particular, did amazingly well to even get out on the water, paddling in conditions far beyond what they might normally encounter.

At GBSUP, safety is our number one priority at all our events, and the distance course at Falmouth was a shining example of how robust our planning and execution are. On the day, we had two jet skis, one IRB safety boat, and seven prone rescue paddlers strategically positioned across the course, working with our event safety partner, Gylly Surflifesaving Club. Inevitably, some paddlers pushed their limits and chose to retire, but crucially, they felt safe to do so with the comprehensive coverage of the course. Our spotters also played a key part, with a dedicated team on the beach and the far headland keeping a watchful eye over the entire course and directing our safety teams to those in need. This meticulous approach to safety is what sets GBSUP events apart as a leading example of SUP racing management in the UK.

Speaking of standout performances in the distance, Blue Ewer looked utterly at home in the tricky conditions, while Hector Jessel showed incredible progression, pushing Blue hard. And a huge shout-out to 14-year-old Selwyn Pritchard, who incredibly came home 4th overall in the men's fleet after starting right alongside them!

In the ladies' race, Annabel Page secured the first win of the weekend from Holly Pye, both putting in impressive times and demonstrating their world-class level as they continue to push women's racing to new heights in the UK. Their international experience was clear in how beautifully they navigated the course.

James Tuck and Cathy Regan led home our Challenge Tour paddlers in what must be one of the most impressive feats of the day – truly inspiring to watch them push their boundaries in those conditions.

Sunday became a jam-packed schedule!

Our Junior Nippers kicked things off with a fantastic fun race, expertly led by our local team lead, Tom Hicks. Tom is a true hero of this event, working tirelessly all weekend to coordinate safety, set courses, and deliver the nippers' racing. Juniors are a key development area for UK SUP, so to have several youngsters, ranging from 6 to 11, get involved and see them enjoying SUP racing was absolutely fantastic!

Our rescheduled AquaPaddle then came next, joining David Walker, co-founder of our title sponsor Paddle Logger, for a 5km loop of the bay. AquaPaddle is a fantastic way to experience a SUP racing event – it's essentially "parkrun on the water!" Our paddlers can challenge themselves, aim for a new PB, or simply enjoy being part of the bigger event at their own pace. The AquaPaddle team delivered a fantastic paddle, and we hope to see them back again for more SUP action at our remaining events this year.

For the competitive fleets, it was Sprints in the morning and Technical racing in the afternoon. The sprints had the best conditions of the day, with calmer waters and a few small bumps to catch, helping paddlers nab a place or two back to the beach. There were fantastic performances throughout, with many paddlers trying beach sprints for the first time.

The Men's Masters 50+ fleet, in particular, delivered some incredibly close racing with two heats leading to a nail-biting final. Dave Ewer just nipped in front of Denzil Williams at the left-hand turn to take a crucial advantage, with Paul Drake narrowly missing out on second. What a spectacle!

Will Keetley joined the sprints looking to secure a place in the selections and came home 2nd in the open fleet, with Dawid Kuleta taking 3rd in another exciting race. In the ladies' fleets, we combined some age groups to create thrilling finals, and we had to consult our media teams to confirm a very close photo finish. Merle Wilson and Lynne Hawthorne had an incredibly close race, both reaching the shoreline together. Merle managed to edge ahead, but a stumble as she dismounted left the door open for Lynne to sneak through. Lynne herself stumbled, turning it into a desperate dash to the line. With another sprint and more stumbles on the loose sand, it was Merle who took the honours with an athletic style dip for the line, putting her leading shoulder in just before Lynne. We had to confirm that with our photo finish, but what an exciting race!

The Technical race brought the event to a spectacular close, with all fleets getting out on the course. The beach was already packed with a World Ocean Day event and parade taking place, and the technical race provided plenty of action on the water.

Continuing their battle from all weekend, Annabel Page and Holly Pye traded blows as they chased each other over the three laps. Annabel took the win to claim not only the race but also the overall victory in the ladies' fleet, after Holly had taken the sprints earlier in the day.

In the men's fleet, Blue Ewer made it three from three, with Hector Jessel making up for a disappointing sprint performance to come home 2nd, staying close to Blue's tail throughout. Dave and Denzil continued their battle, coming home 4th and 5th overall, respectively.

The rest of the fleet was incredibly close, led by Joe Jones and Charlie Wagg, with the next 13 places covered by less than 8 minutes! Andrew Byatt and Molly Roodhouse showcased what our prone paddlers are capable of, with skilful navigation of the technical course and impressive times against the SUP paddlers. In the juniors, Selwyn Pritchard once again showed his skills and is definitely one to watch, coming in an impressive 4th overall, and our other juniors did one lap, getting stuck in against all the adults in an impressive display of determination and bravery to be right in the thick of the action against 70 other paddlers!

The overall British National Champion titles are decided by total points scored across the three races. Blue Ewer claimed the men's title with an impressive display of three wins from three. Blue is truly one of the leading male paddlers in the world and can often be found challenging for top 10 spots and higher at international races across the globe.

In the ladies' race, Annabel Page took her first British National Championship title! With a focused year of SUP racing ahead, we can't wait to see how high she can climb in the international ranks after an impressive showing already this season.

A massive thank you to everyone involved – our incredible event team, our safety crews, the volunteers, Paddle Logger, and of course, all the amazing paddlers who made this event so memorable. This is how we continue to set the standard for SUP racing in the UK!

Full results are available here: https://www.gbsup.co.uk/results