This years worlds are coming to an end. The team event finished today and the English took the title and fully deserved it. We were in the running right up to after half way, and then the results went the wrong way for us. Not to worry as third is a result to be proud of. Special mention to Shalene, who claimed her first heat win of these worlds in the Ic, against some highly experienced opposition.
This morning Ashley Andy and me all competed in the quarters of the mens open. The results didnt go our way. Ashley was sitting in 2nd right up to the last 2 mins when the welsh paddler took a wave and scored high enough to knock ashley and me out of the heat.
Jonny and me had our long boat quarters shortly after that and we both came through and have made tomorrows semis.
Its a team meal tonight an early one for some of us. At this stage im looking forward to a night up at the festival site. They said that there was 8000 people at the concert last night. Hopefully we can celebrate with a few victories tomorrow night. Corin has two junior finals and Andy has the junior IC final as well. Chloe will probably add a few photos later tonight.

16 hard fought heats see a delighted NI team finish 3rd in the 2009 World Championships.

1st England
2nd Basque Country
3rd Northern Ireland
4th Jersey

Were at the business end of the worlds today. Its the mens quarters this morning. They are all extremely tough heats. We have Andy, Ashley and me all surfing in the mens open. Then straight after that is the mens IC and me and jonny are in heat 2 and 4. As soon as that is finished its the Team finals. So the action will run untill at least 5 o clock today. At the minute 7.40 am there is a decent sized swell and not a breath of wind. So its going to an exciting and action packed day. The team final will have 16 heats back to back with our teampaddling in every single one of them.
Fingers crossed for good results.

tough conditions today with big dumping waves and plenty of swims (the photo of me is after mine) none of the photos really do justice to the size of the waves today.
chloe

It was a tough day of competition today. Big Big surf on the main site and big closeouts on the south site. Big congrats to Ashley and Andy on making the Quarter finals of the mens open class. Its Ashley's 4th worlds and this is as far as he has made it in the individuals. Andy has come through the prelims and has made it through 4 rounds so far and both the guys are in the running for a top 10 placing. Me and Andy drew each other in todays heat and the last 5 mins of the heat were nerve racking. We were placed 1-2 and it was a case of holding back and making sure that we got the set waves and making sure that the other paddlers werent any of them. There was man hugs after the buzzer.
Not sure on whats happening tomorrow. Its either the quarters of the mens or the finals of the team.
Big congrats to Corin who has made his second junior final of theis contest. He and Andy were in the same semi and Andy finished third and didnt get to the final of the Hp. Both the lads are in the final of the IC class and were hoping they can cliam the top two spots on the podium. The rest of use are looking forward to throwing them in the pool.(Its an ocean spirit tradition)
More from the rest of the team team later including some photos from chloe.

Several rounds of the individual competitions ran today before the kite surfers decided that they wanted the contest site.

Men's IC round 2
Jonny Bingham 2nd
Dessie McGlinchey 1st
Andy McMurray 4th

Men's HP round 2
Ashley Hunter 1st
Dessie McGlinchey 1st
Andy McMurray 2nd
Jonny Bingham 3rd

Ladies IC quarter finals
Chloe Hamilton 3rd

Junior HP semi finals
Corin King 2nd
Andy McClelland 3rd

Quarter finals in both men's events due to run tomorrow with 1st and 2nd places again progressing.

well done everybody today. another big day for indivduals tomorrow should hopefully run through to finals for everybody - then finals day on fri for team and individuals.

more pics tomorrow hopefully not as busy as today.

chloe

18 months after the last worlds in Bakio, the same four teams make the final out here in Portugal
The line up for Fridays final is
England
Basque Country
Jersey
N. Ireland
We would love to have the finals seeded, that means you paddle against the same ranked paddler from the other 3 teams. This used to be the format for the finals but it hasnt happened at the last 2 worlds.
Jonny Darren Edu and Chris would make some Hp heat. Now that would be worth watching live on the internet.

NI team reached the final of the World Championships today after a hard fought second day. Some super surfing from the whole squad saw the team just pip Wales into that all important 4th spot that allows us to compete in Friday's final. A big thanks to the Welsh guys for surfing so well and being such good sports. Results etc to follow.

today saw the start of the team event and finished with 12 mens hp heats to go hopefully tomorrow morning. challenging conditions and hard fought heats probably more of the same tomorrow. will let you all know when we know where we stand for round 2.

chloe

Team event now live at:

http://www.santacruzoceanspirit.org/OS_LIVETV.html

Individual results so far here:
(thanks Denzil)

http://www.refreshjudging.com/ospirit09/kayak/menshp.html
http://www.refreshjudging.com/ospirit09/kayak/womenshp.html
http://www.refreshjudging.com/ospirit09/kayak/juniorshp.html
http://www.refreshjudging.com/ospirit09/kayak/mastershp.html
http://www.refreshjudging.com/ospirit09/kayak/mensic.html
http://www.refreshjudging.com/ospirit09/kayak/womensic.html
http://www.refreshjudging.com/ospirit09/kayak/juniorsic.html

About to head down the beach for the first round of the team event. Fingers crossed NI goes well. Unfortunately the swell looks to have dropped off a bit. Will post results up later.
Live link yesterday was
www.santacruzoceanspirit.org

ok so todays update:

andy mcc 1st
corin 2nd
jake 3rd - yes all in the one heat putting andy and corin through to the next stage
jack 3rd in his heat means he bows out at this stage

jonny 1st mens hp 1st round with the token one handed bing bong pictured above

the heats stopped at 1pm today to allow the kite surfers to complete their competition in the building afternoon wind. this leaves andy mcm, dessie and ashley to compete tomorrow morning to finish this round of the mens hp.

the team event should start tomorrow after lunch all being well so the team members are preparing for this this evening.

team list: mens ic jonny, dessie, jake king
mens hp jonny,dessie, ashley
ladies ic shalene, chloe
ladies hp shalene chloe
masters hp matt
masters ic paddy
juniors ic corin
juniors hp andy mcc

more later
chloe

Well done to the Andy and Corin making the final of the junior IC. Jake just missed out on the final 4 after being called for an interference, being honest none of us would have called and id nearly go as far as saying it wouldnt have been called at any of the last 3 worlds, but each worlds is different. All 4 juniors have made the quarters and fair play to Andy Mc Murray on getting through the two prelim rounds to make the mens last 64. It just so happens that Andy and Ashley have been drawn together in the same heat along with Scottish paddler Dave Russell.
We have been told that after some 3 days on competing on the sites at either end of the beach that the mens hp will run on the best and middle peak, but there is a rumor going around tonight that the Rip Curl Grom contest will be on that peak tomorrow. I think there will be a lot of unhappy paddlers tomorrow if the kids get the best peak , with the best conditions predicted for the rest of the week.
We just came back from Santa Cruz this evening after having a great meal round at the Kings apartment. Its time to turn in for the evening.
Jonny is our first paddler on in the morning but its not untill heat number 8 so we might be able to get breakfast in the hotel for a change.

A few results that I can remember

Juniors IC Semi finals
Corin King 1st
Jake King 3rd
Andy McClelland 2nd

Junior HP 1st round
Corin King 1st
Andy McClelland 1st
Jack Pothecary 2nd
Jake King 2nd

Ladies IC 1st round
Chloe Hamilton 2nd
Shalene Ward 3rd

Men's IC 1st round
Dessie McGlinchey 1st
Ashley Hunter 3rd
Andy McMurray 2nd
Jonny Bingham 1st

Men's HP trials
Andy McMurray 1st

In each case 1st and 2nd progress to next round.

another successful days surfing for ni kayak surfers with dessie, jonny, andy mcm, andy mcc, corin, jack and chloe all through to the next round of the compeition. waves provided very challenging conditions in most heats with two sites running at the same time.

more results with rankings and updates to follow later

the festival atmosphere continues with music concerts every night and good food on offer at the competition site although everybody returned to bed early feeling the effects of competition and a day in the sun and wanting to be fresh for the next days competition.

mens hp tomorrow i think although the programme has been changing regularly throughout the days here. will keep you all updated


chloe

The contest action hots up in the morning. With almost everyone paddling at least once tomorrow.
The juniors are up 3 heats in a row in the morning on the North site and Ashley kicks off the IC in the first heat at 9am on the south site. Jonny is up next and then its Andy and Shalene is on at the same time on the North. The wind wont be just as strong tomorrow and by the end of the evening we hope to have all three juniors in the final of the IC, which would be a repeat of the last worlds.
Here is a snap of the Red Bull soundsystem and the bit sticking out the top is a set of decks. Pretty cool if you ask me

The contest got off and running today some 2 hours later than advertised. Andy Mc Murray was up first in the prelims for the mens open. He surfed a solid 15 min heat which saw him pull and land a big re-entry and we had him in 1st place right up to the last min or so when he was overtaken by an Australian paddler. Then it was up to the other end of the beach to see Shalene paddle in the womens open. The conditions up at the north site were much bigger than the south and it was tough going. After riding a wave through to the inside the close out picked her up and slammed her out in front and blew the spraydeck. After getting the boat emptyied and launched again she just couldnt find the 2nd wave that would have made the difference in the heat and Shalene finished in 3rd place and thats the end of the open individuals for her.
The Junior IC was next up for our lads, all 3 were on the north site and in back to back heats. A great series of results here with Andy, Corin and Jake all taking 1st position in their heats. Corin was on fire posting one of the highest wave scores of the whole day with a super clean barrel roll off a closeout.
Matt had the toughest heat of all our paddlers today drawing two very big names with 35 odd years of compedative experience between them. Id also have to say that i wouldnt have fancied a heat in the conditions that he got, huge heavy beach break waves that would drag you right to the inside and then you were faced with a continious wall of whitewater on the way back out. Matt finished 3rd in his heat and bows out of the contest at this stage.
The running order will be posted again tonight at 6 and hopefully the rest of us will have a heat somewhere in the procedings tomorrow.

Another sunny day in Santa Rita.
The swell has dropped a lot today. The opening ceremony was last night and it was late before things got going. There was an impressive fireworks display around midnight with the music on the main stage still going at 2am.
Were going to give tonights party a miss and the bbq is lit. There is a band setting up on the beach outside our hotel so we wont have to go far tonight to listen to some live music.
As for the contest today, there wasnt any. It was comptetors meeting this morning and the heats for tomorrows surfing were posted at 6pm. They are running two sites one either side of the main contest break which we arent on tomorrow. First into action will be Shalene in the ladies Hp with Andy McM on the other site two heats later. Then its the juniors in the IC later in the day. The mens prelim will take up most of the day on the southern site with 8 people going through to the contest proper the following day.
Today saw the Boardies compete in the a Rip Curl sponsored event and by the time the tide got high there wasnt alot that cound be done on the wave that was breaking onto the beach.
The plan is to be up early on the beach and claim a spot for the day. Good luck to all our team tomorrow.
There seems to be a live feed on the internet but i dont think the kayaking will get covered untill Sunday but its still worth checking out
http://www.santacruzoceanspirit.org/OS_LIVETV.html

rained all day yesterday but super sunny again today. big surf arrived this morning with next to no wind all day with the right amount of kickings and shore dump. "its in the game!" Andy McM

boats all checked and stored on the beach.

more photos later
chloe

The sun is shining and the weather is hot. Good to see the old surf up. About to try the old long boat for the first time this trip. Looking forward to the opening cermony and getting the action underway. Hopefully by tomorrow night team NI will have some good results to post.

This mornings session was the best so far. Big glassy waves. Ashley was paddling the Bullit s and able to get on any wave he wanted.(great boat choice for these beach break conditions) I reckon there was quite a few people intimidated by the size and power of the surf. That didnt stop Jake the Snake and Cunning Corin King getting on some large ones. I was sitting out back when a huge dolphin came out of the water less than 50ft away. Jonny reckoned it was a whale :-)
Just dack down for Breakfast and then were heading back up for more.
Boat check in is a 1pm, so we will spend a good part of the day at the contest site

No more surf sessions today. The wind got up to at least 25mph this afternoon and doesnt like its going to back off today. The swell has increased a lot from this morning and the only people having fun in the water are the Kiteboarders. The contest site is almost fully built and its an impressive site to see. The Ocean Spirit kicks off tomorrow with registration starting at 1pm and then a rehersal for the opening ceremony at 5 with the big ceremony at 10 pm. The music also kicks off on the site tomorrow with music acts on both stages. No official word on the running order. Im going to have to get the rest of the team to start posting here so you other peoples perspective on whats going on.
Andy and Shalene are the cooks tonight and some fisherman stole our bbq, so were on the old reliable pasta tonight to get the carbs in the system for tomorrow.
Dessie

The NI team were showing their eagerness this morning we were in the water just after 7 for our first session of the day. The swell is bigger than yesterday with it expected to build all day, the wind has changed direction and strengthened from the sw.
Just finished breakfast and were heading back up for a look and possibly another hour in the water. Last night we had a cool bbq just on the beach close to the hotel and that will be the plan for the next few nights, not bad when you see the view, check the photo from the hotel room last night

Took this pic earlier today its Harrys Canadian cousin Chatting to the english and americans

Just recieved word that our remaining boats have arrived out on this mornings flight. Now how do we get them to the beach. Aerlingus say that because we are more than 50km from the airport they are not responsible. Hmm.
Anyhow if they dont deliver them we can get them lifted later tonight. So all being well we will be on the water by tomorrow morning.
The picture is some of the marquees that are being put up on the beach with the events statue, good old Mr Neptune on the hill, check out the judges greenhouse in the foreground and yes it has air con.
The wave was nice this morning at low tide with no one in the water, hopefully we will have some surfing pictures for the blog tomorrow.
Dessie

Just received the first update from the Worlds in Portugal, texted to me by Andy McClelland. Thanks Andy
Harry

We (mcclellands) arrived yesterday to 33degrees of heat and strong northerly winds. Checked the beeches and everywhere was flat bar peniche which had about 5ft messy very onshore waves. 25degrees today with less wind. Scored some realy fun 5ft waves in baleal today, surfed with just a buoyancy aid on top, the tan is coming on well! Took a drive to porto novo (competition site) this evening and there seemed to be alot of activity on the beech with marquees etc being set up. 4ft waves and very strong cross/onshore. There were about 10 paddlers out. More updates to follow, most of the squad arrivin in tomorrow and tuesday.
Andy

A nice Sunday evening session on the outer reef down Sligo way.
Meet up with Andy and we got a good hour just as the wind dropped off and it went glassy. My last session before we all head to Portugal next Monday. Some great colours through the waves with the setting sun. Surfed right up untill 11pm. Isnt the summer just great.
http://www.vimeo.com/5582660