Russell Winter has won on home turf in front of huge crowds of fans and family. Despite a less than perfect route to the final, Russell pulled out all the stops when they were needed most.

Stormy Weather and 3 Foot Waves

The competition which was held on Fistral beach initially had small surf for the first rounds. Then the weather turned nasty and washed out the next days heats with on shore winds and heavy rain. Luckily this stormy weather brought 2-3 foot waves the next day to give the competitors a chance to show the crowds what they could do.

Winter Brothers Shine

Russell Winter's brother, Steve, also did well winning a prize for being the highest placed resident Newquay surfer. He could have gone a long way further, but his shoulder gave out during the competition. Hopefully next year we will get to see some sibling rivalry in the final.

Meanwhile on the beach the crowd got to enjoy the antics of the skaters on the vert ramp in the Xtreme Right Guard Vert SK8 competition. The guys were really going for it, trying to get Christ airs and 720s.

Drunken Raffle Shocker

Each night there was a party in one of the many nightclubs and bars, with the usual sore heads in the morning. The charity night held in the Walkabout in the centre of Newquay was a success, but when the prizes for the draw were announced they had to be redrawn and then re-announced until someone who wasn’t unconscious or on the pull realised they had won a surf board or a holiday.

In all everyone seemed to be having a great time, much to the relief of the organisers, who put in a lot of effort to make it the great event it was. Even Shane Dorian, who had looked glum earlier after coming second, was now beaming from ear to ear, sitting on the lawns of the Headland hotel with a group of friends, looking out across the bay and watching everyone else having fun.

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