Will Bennett is Kitesurf Wavemaster Champion Again
Cornwall kitesurfer Will Bennett took the British Kite Surf Association (BKSA) Wavemaster title for the fourth year running with an impressive win at Brandon Bay in Ireland.
The kitesurfing legend pulled out all the stops to narrowly defeat former surfing professional Richard Sills in a hard-fought final.
The BKSA event on the west coast of Ireland featured the UK’s top kiting waveriders including Cornwall’s very own James Waters and Lee “Pasty” Harvey.
Strong winds but small waves greeted the competitors for the multi-day event around Brandon Bay. Styles were vastly different from unstrapped unhooked to strapped and hooked in – strapped looking like the best option as the waves were extremely choppy and unpredictable.
In the Men’s final defending BKSA Wavemasters champ Will Bennett met his toughest opponent to date in Richard Sills. Richard had some great waves and smacked vertical. However Will’s linked turns and smacked lips, and his uncanny wave selection of finding the best waves secured another win for the 4th year in a row.
In the losers final it was the two outsiders who had ridden fantastically during the event Dom Yule and Rob Sayer both with straps who took to the water for the final heat of the day – Dom was unable to match Rob’s wave selection and while putting in some great rides Rob powered his way to a well deserved 3rd
Overnight, the swell picked up and the wind swung a touch more offshore so organisers led everyone to Stony Gap for the remainder of the Ladies rounds. The conditions favoured Debbie Kennedy and Kirsty Jones who both rode some long walls. Celine Coullard put in a great try on her backhand however it was not enough, Debbie took 2nd overall and Kirsty 1st.
For the remaining days, the wind was deemed too light to compete but the surf increased so many of the competitors went surfing instead. On the final day presentation, competitors received glass trophies and a share of the £1000 prize fund.
Final Results
Mens
1-Will Bennet
2-Richard Sills
3-Rob Sayer
Ladies
1-Kirsty Jones
2-Debbie Kennedy
3-Celine Coullard
Seniors
1-Richard Gowers
2-Trevor Hale
3-Marc Rowley
More information on Kitesurfing in Cornwall >>
