We are now home, but I wanted to document our last couple days in Portugal and summarize the 2009 World Surf Kayak Championships with one last post.

A reflection of the view of the surf from our room. We took one last surf session outside the hotel at Praia Azul the day before we left and it was an excellent time.

First, we’re selling some apparel to cover the costs of our trip.  These are assorted colors, so you have to choose the size, then color will be a surprise.  Hey, they’re a bargain, so stop yelling at us.

$25.00 - DFL "Flow" Sweatshirts - Assorted colors, hooded, zip-hooded, and hoodless. You may only choose size.

These are only currently available in large sizes.  They tend to run 1 size too small, so XL should fit a LG person.

$25.00

Sizes – run 1 size too small

XL 2XL 3XL

$15.00 - DFL "Flow" T-Shirts - Assorted colors

$15.00

Size

SM MD LG XL

$25.00 Rapid Transit Snail Sweatshirts - Assorted colors, hooded, zip-hooded, and hoodless. You may only choose size.

$25.00

Size

SM MD XL 2XL

Our team, US East, officially placed 8th.  Trophies were awarded under a moonlit sky.  Most everyone ended up in the pool after or during the awards.

US East Team Captain, Anthony Bell, shows off our 8th place trophy. Anthony was also our highest placing man in the Senior division. He took 9th in Long Boat (ic)

Well deserved and earned, Team England took the 1st Place Trophy for Team World Championship 2009.

Three of my teammates walked away as World Medalist.  Two thirds and a fourth.

US East 2009 World Medalists: Russ Buskirk, Lindsay Usher & Tom May

After it was all over we were hungry.

A Santa Cruz restaurant, Au Coq, served a serious chicken dinner. The four of us devoured two birds in very short order.

As luck would have it, Joey discovered Attack From Mars, one of his and my favorite pinball machines (also Mars Attacks, different machine, is pretty awesome which is the one with the video screen if you ever get to play it. Both are awesome games), the night before we left and we spent an hour and several coins enjoying it.

On our final day we decided to sightsee a bit.  I saw this site and took a picture of it too.  This windmill was just outside a tower on one of the Castle Walls of Obidos.  This castle, which is very old (enjoy my history lesson here) still stands fully intact and functions as a town, full with restaurants and shops and lodging.  It’s a tourist attraction, we were toursist, and we were attracted to it.  Job well done.

View of an old windmill from the Obidos Castle Walls

Closer view of an old windmill from the Obidos Castle Walls. It's pretty cool to see how well these people harnessed natural energy long ago and are still doing it today.

Flowers at Obidos

Unsuspecting European at Obidos. Hey man! Heeeeey! Don't mind me, I'm just walking on the castle wall up above your poolside slumber at your holiday bungalow! There are also hundreds of other toursists with cameras up here if you think you might want to put your pants back on! No big deal! I might suggest that it's not a good idea to sunbathe with that fair complexion of yours! The sunlight in Portugal is much harsher than that of your computer monitor back in London! While we're talking, where can I buy "man" brand underwear?!

The Agua was locked up everywhere we went. I assume these were public waterworks, like fire hydrants or something. Regardless, I thought they were cool looking. Actually the drinking water at our hotel was good straight from the tap.

No agua for you, it's locked.

You can laugh at this if you want.  It’s not a complaint, just a record of what happened.  We (Joey, myself and other team members) got some kind of cold or flu before we left Portugal and were blessed with clogged sinuses, runny noses and throbbing headaches the whole way home.  Lovely I know.  The flight was long, around 9 hours and we sat beside some awful couple who kept bickering at one another as well as the flight attendants the entire flight.  Nothing they were served was good enough, the seat wasn’t comfortable enough, they wanted our seats (which we took great pleasure in saying “NOPE, we chose aisle seats for a reason”), and the list goes on.  There’s more to this experience but the part you need to know is that basically it was miserable.  Luckily we can look back on these type of experiences and laugh.  I guess that is if you survive.  The funny thing is that if one were to dig up any old trip reports which my friends and I may have written about these kayaking trips over the past 8-10 years you would find many similar stories.  Thumb through the blog archives of Effort.tv and you may find such stories.

Joey very comfortably snoozin on the plane ride home. We caught some Zs off and on during the 9 hour flight.

I’d like to give a final thanks to everyone at home who helped us get to Portugal, to the Portuguese and WSKA for a great event, and to all our friends and competitors who visited this site and read about our experiences.  We hope to see you all again at another beach or the next World Championships in 2011… wherever that may be.  Maybe OBX, Australia or an undisclosed “world class break,” tba…

*Special Thanks mentioned at bottom.
Sincerely,
Spencer Cooke
US East Surf Kayak Team 2009

(Joey on left and me on right) We were practicing what it would be like when we got lockjaw from the disease we caught in Portugal. Can't ever take too much precaution. Always thinking ahead, us guys.

Special Thanks go to:
Families:
Cooke, Robins, Hall, Lavell, Sherburne, Acuff, Jenkins, Auer, Houck, Davis, Foley, Cooper, Kee
Individuals:
Shari Robins, Mason Cooke, Maria Young, Raymond Cotton, Drew & Eileen Hayes, Margaret Matthews, Jacques Lewin, Chris McMillan, Michael Pesant, Clark Cross, Paul Moreno, Andy Gates, John & Kara Weld, Roger Loughney, Craig Langford, Jonathan Nameth, Adam Motes, Jeff Rivest and Simon Martin.  (Sorry if anyone has been forgotten.)
Businesses:
Mike Byer Auto & Truck Repair, Nantahala Outdoor Center, Asheville Pizza Company, Dwellings, Drinkin’ Beanz Coffee House, Highland Door Company, Dirt Girl Design, Tomato Jam Cafe, Trout Lily Market, Troyers, The Fairview Town Crier and more.
Kayaking Sponsors:
Immersion Research, Shred Ready, Astral Buoyancy

Visit http://ESKAsurf.com for more detailed info about our team and organization.

Hello to everyone back home.  This may be the final correspondence before we return.  The 2009 Surf Kayak World Championship Finals wrapped up yesterday and today with some very notable performances.  Conditions this morning were not extremely favorable but ended up providing ample waves to choose the World’s Champions.  Swell size dropped in half from yesterday to today giving waist to chest high waves.

I saw at least 20 hours of the competition like this. My eyes are tired.

My teammates from the US East, Lindsay Usher, Russ Buskirk and Tom May gave noble competition efforts resulting in two 3rd places and one 4th.  Each of them definitely have what it takes as surfers to get the gold but all the puzzle pieces didn’t quite fall into place today.  I’m very proud of these guys for persevering to the finals and I think they all have feelings of achievement.  If not, hopefully they will find the passion and drive to give it another shot at a future World Championship.  This type of motivation can sometimes be difficult to conjure up in oneself, but I feel it needs to be one your own terms.

Sand, lots of sand.

It is crammed into, caked onto and stuck inside of everything we own.

More Notes, some strange:

Sugar comes from elephants in Portugal. Little known fact.

Congrats to my friends Nathan Eades and Naomi James, 3rd and 1st in the World in their respective classes for Short Boat (HP).

Naomi James from Team Wales is the new Women’s (hp) Short Boat World Champion.  Today Naomi set the bar for Women’s Surf Kayak Competition far higher than any woman ever has.  I watched her surf an entire heat flawlessly with one beatiful ride after another.  She hit re-entry lip moves, moved edge to edge on the wave with finesse and never caught an edge.  The fifteen minutes that her final heat lasted should go down as a true landmark for the sport of surf kayaking.

Naomi’s man Nathan Eades, also Welsh, also shredded his way to the short boat finals today.  Nathan happily came out of the water with a 3rd place.  Yesterday the guy was simply ecstatic to make it to the semi-finals, so I think he hit and exceeded a competition goal with a bronze medal.  I’m psyched for both of these guys.  Pretty cool for a couple to both do so well in a world level event.

Both Nathan and Naomi competed in Nathan’s very own kayak design.  See photo below.

Nathan Eades with his 7'7" HP boat made by Airtime, the new surf kayak division of Downtime, a UK based composite manufacturer.

David Speller from Team Jersey made his debut into the Men's class this year after his past two (three?) World Championship titles as a Junior. Here he is seen throwing a gigantic lip move in the long boat class.

Nathan Eades and David Speller congratulate one antoher after the finals.

Urko Otoxa from the Basque Team (Spain) won his first World Title today in the Men's Long Boat class. I competed against Urko in my first heat of the worlds last week and he very nicely eliminated me from the contest. Very nice guy, Urko (pronounced Oord-ko) and I'm glad to have been slain by him.

England's Gary Adcock, a Master (40 and over), performed by far the largest aerial of the entire contest in his long boat and landed it perfectly. I have this on video and it is outstanding. There is also a really sick photo of it on kayaksurf.net Gary is a man of large stature. He carries his kayak under his arm like a surfboard and it doesn't look at all awkard. Big boy, big air.

Edu Etxeberria of the Basque Team (Spain) performed some of the most memorable maneuvers of the entire event. He was certainly a favorite for many to win this event, but walked away with the 2nd Place in Mens Short Boat. Notably, the entire Basque Team are rippers. These guys looked like they trained and trained well for this contest. They should be proud.

An unknown (to me) lady slashes the lip in the Women's Long Boat Semi-Finals.

Rui Caldon of the Portuguese team and Watertech Kayaks shows one of his shiny new boats.

Pete Blenkinsop of the England, the World Champion Team this year, drives the line in his old trusty blue trident.

At the North Contest Location the Skimboard World Championship went down.

And a final note to my wife and son waiting at home for me.

Dangerous.

Still dangerous, but if we're gonna do it let's do it together. A true test of our love.

See ESKAsurf.com for today’s World Final results for the US East Team.
Visit KayakSurf.net’s News for tons of amazing photos and full World Surf Kayak Championship Results.

Later,

Spencer Cooke
US East Surf Kayak Team 2009

Hello friends.  Final results for our team is 8th place.  Not our wish but that’s what we earned this time.  None of us seem too heartbroken over this and there is a general air of accomplishment among the team regarding our performance.  Just happy to be here representing our country, home towns and families.

South event site at Santa Rita taking some biiig swell today. If it looks big from the beach it is really big. Further, if it looks big from the beach and above, it is really really big. Be forewarned.

In the below photograph you can see the face of Luis Pedro Abreu , proprietor of KayakSurf.net and one of the primary promoters of the sport of Surf Kayaking.  Luis himself is Portuguese but draws interest and attention to kayak surfers and other facets of the sport from all over the globe.  I have had the opportunity to talk with Luis many times via email over the past five or six years but have never met him face to face until now.  He is a very friendly and warm fellow and truly loves the sport of kayak surfing.

Luis, myself and Russ Buskirk posing in front of the Motherland's National flag.

I’m very proud to report that four of my team members from the US East are still in the contest and moving to the next rounds.  Lindsay Usher has made the finals of the Women’s Long Boat (IC) division and will face the championship round tomorrow.  As well, Tom May and Russ Buskirk have both advanced to the finals of the Grand Masters (50 and over) division of short boat (HP).  Anthony Bell is still in the game for the Mens Long Boat (IC) division and faces quarter-finals tomorrow.  Please wish these guys and girl luck tomorrow.  Maybe we’ll have some World Champions from the East Coast coming home next week!  As usual you can see more full results from the day’s event at http://ESKAsurf.com

The US East Surf Kayak Team arose this morning for a group photo overlooking yon surfing beach break. (left to right) Myself, Tom May, Joey Hall, Lindsay Usher, Charles Salters, Matt Lewis, Paul Scrutton, Anthony Bell, Andy Gates, Russ Buskirk

More of my photos from yesterday and today.

Downtown Santa Cruz sidewalks. Nothing more, I just thought it was a cool picture.

This huge vein of rock and compacted sea shells runs from the beach between layers of eroded sandstone.

For those unfamiliar with surfing competition: Typically, a heat of competition consists of four surfers, each dressed in a vastly different colored bib/rashguard. The different colors must be easily recognizable so the judges may quickly determine which surfer they are judging. Here you see Yellow, White, Black and Red.

Commemorative, yet temporary symbol of this event.

Lindsay Usher took huge drop-ins and cranked her IC boat off the lip today resulting in a ticket to the finals.

The flora around the beach is fairly minuscule in size but quite varied in color and type.

The shortcut to downtown from our hotel is a dirt road. Apparently our car wants to be washed.

Main event site here at the surf break

A downtown Santa Cruz doorstep. Reminds me of a certain retail shop back home.

Room without a window, can't see out.

Thanks,

Reporting from Santa Come, where I have firmly planted my butt in a seat for at least three hours every day to bring you these updates. Santa must be around because there are tons of kids and desserts.

Spencer Cooke
US East Surf Kayak Team 2009

This update is covering the past three days.  Really it only covers the 27th, 28th and half of today, the 29th.  Things got really busy and I’ve been too tired.

Santa Rita was breaking big on the 27th and has dropped in size over the past two days. Still we've had decent waves.

Andy and Joey taking photos and video on the beach, below the feet of her highness.

The announcer at this World Championship event has been the highlight of each of our days on the beach.  He is a local surfer with a truly entertaining commentary on each and every moment.  He is informative and funny and I don’t know what more you can ask for.  We like him.  Without question, we will remember the following phrases for the rest of our kayak surfing careers.  Each phrase is followed by a translation for those watching at home.
1) Situation (status of competitors scores during a competition heat)
2) The heat is on. (the heat has begun)
3) The heat is off. (the heat has ended)
4) Dress and undress your t-shirts in front of the judges stand. (take your competition bib on and off in front of the judges)
5) Red, you are on 1st place. (other bib colors or places may be inserted here.  the phrase means “you are in 1st place”)
6) Lastly, the announcer has disclosed nearly all of Darren Basson’s life history.  (Darren is a highly decorated surf paddler from England and Australia, truly incredible to watch in the surf.)  If anyone needs his eye color, height, weight or credit card number just ask anyone who attended the championship.

This is me before I went out for HP Prelims. Surf was large and heavy this day. There were many swimmers due to blown sprayskirts. I did not swim but I did swallow a lot of water. Didn't surf badly necessarily but I also did not have the best competition strategy. More conservative next time perhaps.

Now, a personal update for all my friends and family back home.  Let me begin by saying I have been eliminated.  That’s about it.  Thanks for your support and sorry I don’t have better news.

Tom May ripped the Grand Master's (50 and over) class in the prelims and we are anxious to see him in the next round.

My travel companion and teammate Joey Hall has however done very well for himself in the individual competition thus far.  He placed 1st in both his HP and IC heats and is awaiting the next round.  Further, we have several teammates who have advanced.  All but three of us are still in the game as of this minute.

Russ Buskirk, a very tough 50 year old, made a remarkable comeback after an all out ass pounding (pardon the expression but there's no other way to describe it) in the shorebreak. Russ surfed two waves and eliminated a very highly ranked paddler.

A bit of good news is that our Team, US East, placed in the top 8 of the team event, making the Semi-Final round,  but I’m not sure if we have a chance to make finals unless the place 1st in every heat.  Based on the fact that I just left the beach about half way through semi-finals and we had posted three 4th places, one 3rd place and one 2nd place, it wasn’t looking too promising.  Maybe I’ll be presently surprised upon my return.

Our friends Naomi and Nathan. That's Joey on the right but he's not our friend.

If I haven’t already mentioned this, my teammates have been great fun and very supportive of one another, a great group of people to spend this time with.  As well, the other teams from abound have been cordial and excited to hang out and talk.  For the most part I see very friendly competitors out there.  I will beat myself up for my shortcomings during the competition despite the encouragement of my teammates.  This is just my competitive nature.  “Hey, you did great, don’t worry about it, you surfed well,” unfortunately does not console me when I lose so I just have to have time alone for it to soak in.  I am envious of my friends who easily brush off a loss and don’t seem to worry.  A song called COMPETITION by the Gorilla Biscuits summarizes my feelings fairly well.

Gorilla Biscuits "Start Today" released 1994

Lyrics to “COMPETITION”

It seems that all successful things and all the envy that they bring
might not be worth it.
Being shot down every minute for the effort you put in and all the time that you’ve spent.
The key to success is the faith in knowing you’re right.
Memories of better days is what you’re holding onto,
when the critics loved you.
Competition has it’s way of bringing you down.
Always being number one, robs the music of it’s fun,
Ego trips get in the way of the goals we set.
Now the audience is split.
We’ve workd too hard to watch it ALL FADE AWAY.
Memories of better days is what you’re holding onto,
when the critics loved you.
Competition has it’s way of making you mad.
Why can’t you be glad…for me?
Well I know what competion means and all the feelings that it brings.
Friends that want to be on top, you’re on the list of the friends to drop.
Success is what I want to feel, it’s jealousy…and jealousy’s not true.
No it’s not true…at your expense.
In competition with you.

A couple more photos that I enjoyed taking.

Downtown Santa Cruz alive at midnight.

Edu from Basque Country, Spain quietly awaits his next heat.

After a couple hours I talked Andy down. We were all glad he didn't jump.

Some video is coming when we get home.  Sorry we haven’t had much time to edit each day because we are tired to say the least.  As before, you may see more detailed results for our team at http://ESKAsurf.com

And I leave you with a beautiful piece of literature from the Japanese Team.

Words to surf by.

Good day,

Reporting once again from Santa Come. Santa is still not here. I miss my family.

Spencer Cooke
US East Surf Kayak Team 2009

Last night we had some good friends over for dinner and a movie. From right to left, Mark, Nathan and Naomi, all from the Welsh Surf Kayak Team.

Today we headed back down to the beach for more individual preliminary heats.  Low tide has been hitting in the late AM making for some interesting conditions.  Today the swell was as small as we have seen it, around waist high consistently with head high sets.  It was also pretty windy by the time most of our heats rolled around making it choppy and sloppy.  Nonetheless, most of our team did well, advancing to the next round.

We met a most curious creature on the beach today. Numerous of these blue, jelly-like critters covered the beach once the tide dropped out. At first glance they seemed to be a shell with a sharp fin coming off the top, but in actuality they were soft like a jellyfish. I have not yet identified what this is, but it is beautiful.

I arrived at the boat locker before 8am and caught our security guard posing as a “sleeping security guard.”  I thought it was a most brilliant idea.  I’ll act like I’m asleep and just when someone is stealing a kayak I’ll jump up and tackle them. Just kidding, these guys are working hard to look after our stuff.

Surf Kayak Security this early AM

A little morning siesta never hurt anybody.

This morning I competed against an English and a Spanish (Basque) in the IC class.  I lead the heat by a healthy margin from the get-go, all the way until the last couple minutes.  The final announcement before the heat’s end was White Bib (me) 1st place, Red Bib 2nd, Yellow Bib 3rd.  A couple waves came through at the end of the heat and my competitors posted high enough wave scores to push me out by approximately a tenth of a point.  So there you have it friends, I’m eliminated from the IC Class.  This is a pretty weak display and I’m sorry to let my supporters down.  I gave what I thought was my best but obviously it wasn’t good enough.

On the brighter side Joey dominated his heat placing first as did the majority of the team.  We had six wins and three losses today.  Bear in mind that Mens HP preliminary rounds begin tomorrow and the team competition has not even begun.  Swell size is expected to more-than double in size overnight, giving us 6-8 foot waves perhaps.  Swell prediction is rarely exact, so we’ll see if that comes to fruition

I am continually impressed with Tom May, our senior team member.  The man is 57 years old and he surfs and competes like a champ.  He has yet to lose a heat after paddling in three of them.  Better yet he has placed 1st in all three, advancing himself to the next round.  Tom has been surfing for fourty+ years and his wisdom exudes.

Tom May, Jedi Surfer. Not the best photo because I was focusing more on shooting video. Anyway, it gives you an idea of the slop we were surfing today. You did your best on what you got served.

Tom Checks his scores at the judges booth. 1st place once again.

That’s all until tomorrow.  Come back here for the next report.  Also you can visit http://ESKAsurf.com for more full results.

Thanks,

Reporting from Santa Come, a little cafe in Santa Cruz. Santa is not here as far as I can tell. Maybe he owns the place.

Spencer Cooke
US East Surf Kayak Team 2009

Okay, settle down now, she isn’t real.  I should have known better.  I’d like to think that she was carved from a single pillar of stone a hundred years ago by the first surfers.  Perhaps they used their surfboards to paddle out and catch fish with hand-lines outside the surf break.  Later they would bring their bountiful sea harvest back to hundreds of hungry villagers by heroically surfing the pounding beach break with a net full of Tuna and Dorado in one hand and the other hand dragging the face of the wave, just for style of course.  That’s a good story, is it not?  Let’s just leave it at that instead of me telling you that she’s plastic and they put her up there two days ago with a huge crane.

Her lady enjoying the sunset and moonrise. She looks glorious in the twilight.

Opening ceremonies commenced after dark and consisted of a social event with each of the represented countries displaying their national flag.

Anthony Bell and Andy Gates flying our colors at the opening ceremony.

The Japanese seem like a very nice group and have arrived with their own, new brand of surf kayaks called Water Field.  They are looking really skilled out on the waves.

Team Japan at the opening ceremony.

Santa Cruz and all the surrounding towns are absolutely littered with advertising of all kinds for this event.

Ocean Spirit Bilboard displaying Kayak Surfing, and other surf sports.

The tradition for the US East is to have a team dinner the night before the competition begins.  Anthony Bell, our Team Captain, invited us all up to his room for a feast.

E....A.....S....T... East Coast! Anthony bell says hi.

Back to the beach this morning and the competition is finally begun.

Local vegetation enjoying some sandy soil.

Five of our team members competed today in the individual events and they have all advanced to the next round.  Competition heats are seeded based on your national and world ranking.  You compete in a 15 minute heat against three other paddlers.  Basically, you are judged on Wave Selection, Style and Length of Ride.  Top two placers in each heat advance to the next round.  I myself and four other teammates will not compete until tomorrow.  Visit http://ESKAsurf.com for more detailed competition results of the full team.

Low tide exposes a few rocks and barnacles.

Today’s contest was pretty grueling with gusty winds and a low tide that made for steep, dumping waves.  Our guys and one girl toughed it out with three 2nd places and two 1sts, advancing all of them to the next round.

Joey Hall, filming for the next INTERFERENCE film?

Joey and I captured a decent amount of video footage and plan to put a short film together when we return home.  Look for that on RapidTransitVideo.com and InterferenceSurf.com

Anthony and Matt meet Tom after a tough competition heat.

Typically we meet one another at the surf’s edge before and after heats.  This keeps morale high, and it’s always nice to have someone carry your boat after you’ve just exerted yourself physically for 15 minutes.

The people here are very small and fragile. Just look at the size of their arms compared to my gigantic thumb.

I haven’t eaten the snails yet but apparently they are delicious.  I’ll provide a meal report when it improves beyond the oatmeal and spaghetti we have been making in our room.

Thanks again and please come back tomorrow for another report,

Spencer Cooke, US East Surf Kayak Team 2009

To all our friends, family and neighbors, THANK YOU for helping get us to Portugal.  Joey and I arrived safely yesterday morning in Libson and made it to the surf for a short session before evening and are now enjoying our second day here.  Opening ceremonies for the World Championship event is Thursday evening.  Competition will begin on Friday Morning, July 24.

Prior to departing the US we held a couple very fun and well attended events which also served as fundraisers for our efforts to compete in the World Surf Kayak Championships in Portugal.  We first held the official World Premiere of Joey’s new Kayak Surf Film, INTERFERENCE, at Asheville Pizza Company on July 9th.

Joey busted his rump to finish editing the film the night before the showing. Almost ready to ship these DVDs out to consumers, woo hoo!

Two days later on July 11th Fairview NC residents and several Asheville NC area businesses pooled together to help us with a fundraising event just down the road from my house.  We termed it the Outdoor Fun and Music Day and held it at the Spring Mountain Community Center in Fairview.

Spring Mt Community Center - (left to right) Joey Hall, Pete Smith of Fairview, Mary Ann Auer of Fairview and Myself.

Along with all the gear one needs to kayak, we displayed whitewater, rec, touring and surf kayaks for attendees to touch and feel.  Our generous community of friends pitched in to make the event fun for all ages with homemade ice cream, desserts and more.

Thanks to a warm sunny day slipping, sliding, water fun was available to children of all ages.

Old Fort String Band filled the air with old time sounds while the kids played and desserts were served.

Old Fort String Band (of Fairview NC)

Wrapping up a very fun day of visiting and sharing The Flying Rock Band laid out their Classic Rock stylings.

Gill Houck, vocalist for Flying Rock.

What a fun time this was and a great chance to get to know all the nice people in the community.  The time, energy and efforts that went into this event did not go unnoticed.  Thank you.

One week later my longtime pal Mitch kindly took the time to drop Joey and I, along with our surf kayaks and gear, at the airport.

Myself, Mitch and Joey with the beautiful departure terminal in the background.

We raced across the Atlantic but Mr Sunshine was too fast for us.

Preparing for takeoff.

One layover and twelve hours later we arrived in Libson Portugal.

Back to the aiport once more to pick up our friend Andy Gates and our full team is now here.  Wish us luck.

Andy Gates arriving at the Libson Airport with boat and luggage in hand.

The wind in Portugal blows across the ocean making beautiful waves before it is recycled into wind-energy, truly resourceful.

The surf has been excellent so far.  The wind has kicked up several notches since we arrived doubling the waves in size and cooling things off a little.  Short sleeves are bearable in or out of the water but a long sleeve won’t hurt your feelings.

Just outside our hotel.

Thanks so much to all the incredible people and businesses listed below for supporting us as athletes at the 2009 World Surf Kayak Championships in Portugal.

Come back soon for our next report.  Thanks,

Water = fun.

Spencer Cooke

Special Thanks go to:
Families:
Cooke, Robins, Hall, Lavell, Sherburne, Acuff, Jenkins, Auer, Houck, Davis, Foley, Cooper, Kee
Individuals:
Shari Robins, Mason Cooke, Maria Young, Raymond Cotton, Drew & Eileen Hayes, Margaret Matthews, Jacques Lewin, Chris McMillan, Michael Pesant, Clark Cross, Paul Moreno, Andy Gates, John Weld, Roger Loughney, Craig Langford, Jonathan Nameth, Adam Motes, Jeff Rivest and Simon Martin.  (Sorry if anyone has been forgotten.)
Businesses:
Mike Byer Auto & Truck Repair, Nantahala Outdoor Center, Asheville Pizza Company, Dwellings, Drinkin’ Beanz Coffee House, Highland Door Company, Dirt Girl Design, Tomato Jam Cafe, Trout Lily Market, Troyers, The Fairview Town Crier and more.

Special Mentions:
One of our sponsors requested that we bring the issue of Autism to attention.  Autism is a mental condition, present from early childhood, characterized by great difficulty in communicating and forming other relationships with other people and in using language and abstract concepts.  1 in 150 children are diagnosed with Autism, and it is the fastest growing serious developmental disability in Children in the US.  Autism has eclipsed the numbers of children diagnosed with AIDS, Cancer and Diabetes combined.  Learn more at http://autismspeaks.org/

In an effort to raise awareness of the incredible outdoor recreation opportunities in Western North Carolina, and to help Joey Hall and myself raise money for the upcoming Surf Kayak World Championships in Portugal, the Spring Mountain Community Center in Fairview, North Carolina is hosting an afternoon social event.  On Saturday, July 11th at 2:00 pm I will be sharing a presentation about my career as a filmmaker and rep for outdoor equipment companies as well as some of my kayaking expeditions around the globe.

Studying the point break at Tafadna, Morocco - Photo by Yellowboy

We’ll be doing some fund raising through a raffle that will occur on-site that day.  Goods and services to be raffled include some pieces outdoor recreation equipment, a one-day private kayak instruction with myself and/or Joey, products and gift certificates from local businesses, restaurants and more.

Enjoying the Spring Mountain Community Center in Fairview

The Flying Rock Band will be performing classic rock and oldies afterward and there will be homemade desserts and refreshments available.  All ages are welcome to attend this event, which is expected to run no later than 6 pm.  Donations to the cause are by no means mandatory but are very appreciated.  Cash contributions are tax deductible and may be made to the Eastern Surf Kayaking Association, which is a 501(c)(3), Non-Profit Organization.  More info about donations can be obtained HERE.

Event Itinerary
2:00-3:00  Kids slip & slide Water Fun
3:15- 4:00  Kayak Video Presentation, ice cream, desserts & raffle.
4:00-5:30 Music by Gil Houck and The Flying Rock Band
*Bring a lawn chair or blanket. If you will bring a dessert to share, call Mary Ann @ 628-1364.

Enjoying the Spring Mountain Community Center track - Photo by Horizonline Pictures

Huge thanks go out to my neighbors, Mary Ann Auer, for helping me plan this event and offering the Spring Mountain Community Center as a Venue, and Gil Houck for his jolly spirit and musical talents to entertain our guests.  Also, thanks to the Fairview Town Crier for helping with publicity.  I really look forward to this fun afternoon and I know my son Mason will as well.

Sincerely,

Spencer Cooke
US East Surf Kayak Team 2009

2 happy guys

Thanks to the Fairview Town Crier and the Fairview NC community for helping Joey and I get to the World Surf Kayak Championships in Portugal this summer.  I’m really excited and have been preparing for the competition on a daily basis.  I plan on organizing a film premiere before and/or after the Championships somewhere in Fairview.  Date and venue to be announced.  Thanks and please stay tuned.

Spencer Cooke
US East Surf Kayak Team Member

Fairview Town Crier - June 2009 (photo by yellowboy)