Mischa Maguire speeding off down the line towards the iconic Godrevy Lighthouse on her way to the finals on the Seadar.
This year’s event saw all 32 places filled, with competitors travelling from as far afield as Jersey to join the fun. Saturday was blessed with sunshine, light winds, and most importantly the two week flat spell that has plagued Cornwall broke for the day to let a waist-to-chest high swell hit the beach. The competition kicked off and the day was going brilliantly with some excellent waves being ridden, until the Surfers Against Sewage alert pinged through on numerous phones to inform us that the combined sewer overflow had discharged raw sewage in to the red River and it was rapidly on it’s way to the sea at Godrevy. The lifeguards promptly raised their red flag and evacuated the water due to the imminent health risk, and the contest was cancelled for the remainder of the day whilst a disgusting brown slick exited the river mouth and spread south across Godrevy and Gwithian. Why on earth South West Water authorised the dumping of raw sewage, including human waste, on a sunny Saturday in late June when hundreds of people were enjoying the beach and the ocean is beyond us. It is worth noting that South West Water are hugely profitable and charge some of the highest water rates in the country, so they should be able to fulfil a significant section of their remit to dispose of waste water safely and effectively by investing to improve their current infrastructure which is clearly unfit for purpose. It’s disgusting on many levels.
