It has been five years since we enjoyed the St. Ives Cup, an Autumn handicap competition between local surfers that was so well-received by the community. Towards the end of last week Harris looked at the surf chart, checked that the tides were favourable and put out the call ” Who fancies it?” On Friday afternoon it was called ‘On’ for 8.30 Saturday morning and around forty competitors checked in for “The Porthmeor Cup”, a new incarnation of that fabled beast. There was a generous support of families and friends on a warm late-September day as the battle began in challenging chest-high surf that tested even the highly ranked chargers and created a thrilling spectacle for everyone on the beach.

I fear we didn’t capture all the action, or even all the competitors, on camera over the day, but here are a few more of them and a couple of beach scenes to round out what was recorded by our reporters on the day.

Our thanks are due to Harris and the Surf School crew for running such an ace competition flawlessly. Our gratitude also to Porthmeor lifeguards for their help and support, to Porthmeor Beach for feeding the competitors and to St. Ives Brewery for their refreshing ales. We also recognise the support of our community, particularly the families and partners of our competitors for sharing them with us for a precious day among friends. Thanks too to Barry Walker for the action shots of the surfing and to those competitors who took a spell in the judging chair during the day. Congratulations to all our surfers, and particularly to our champion, and first holder of the Porthmeor Cup, Johnny Fryer!