Surf's up for top Cornish kayakers

Members of a Cornish canoe club have triumphed at the 2011 World Surf Kayak Championships.

Kayakers from Bude Canoe Club were among 100 entrants from around the world, including the US, Japan, Canada and Argentina.

The contest was held over eight days in North Carolina, on the east coast of America.

Although conditions were generally good there were days when competitors had to tackle some challenging surf.

Chris Hobson, who is originally from Northern Ireland but now lives and works in Bude, surfed his way to the finals, beating last year's champion to become the Short Boat High Performance (HP) Champion of the World 2011.

It has been a successful year for Mr Hobson, who also won this year's European Championships.

Sam Davenport, another member of the Bude club and a former pupil of Budehaven School, finished in third place in the final of the Long Boat competition. He already has the British HP title under his belt.

The World Championships consist of both individual and team events. Sam Davenport and Jack Barker, also from Bude Canoe Club, had been selected to compete as part of the England team. Unfortunately Mr Barker was not able to make it to the competition this year.

The England team put in an impressive performance throughout the heats and were strong favourites. Sadly, in the final they were just beaten into a respectable second place by the team from the Basque country.

Mega, a Bude-based surf kayak manufacturer, also had a strong showing at the championships, providing kayaks for a number of the competitors.