RELENTLESS BOARDMASTERS FESTIVAL ROCKS!
Another amazing year for Boardmasters Festival this year as they celebrated thirty years of surfing at Newquay, Cornwall. 247 Magazine was there in full effect with our band and artist signing tent at the music part of the festival. An action packed week of pro surfing competition at Fistral Beach and two days of music and good times at the clifftop site of Watergate Bay saw over 15,000 people party hard all weekend! The two days included performances from Fat Boy Slim bringing the crowd to a frenzy as he unveiled some exclusive new visuals and pyrotechnic tricks in his superb two hour set, whilst Bombay Bicycle Club entertained the crowds with their eclectic signature sounds. Klaxons worked the chanting crowd into an energetic mosh pit and Eliza Doolittle brought her beachside bags of charm to Newquay, as did Willy Mason and Ben Howard with Lethal Bizzle, Zane Lowe, DJ Yoda, Breakage, Qemists and Gentlemen’s Dub Club keeping the party going into the early hours. The understated but hugely popular and undoubted success of the festival was the Tuaca Point Arena which kicked off nightly with great sets from Krafty Kuts, Crazy P and Stanton Warriors and many more. With a beach party vibe and rammed all weekend, this was home to some of the best performances of the festival – Breakage and Jaguar Skills totally smashed it and it surely needs to be bigger for next year.
Back over at Fistral, Boardmasters famously intimate Beach Sessions gigs were ignited this year by glowing seaside performances from headliners Newton Faulkner – with support from Charlie Simpson who showcased his new solo album, alongside We Are The Ocean and party starters The Dub Pistols. Fistral Beach also played host to Radio 1 and 1Xtra who both broadcast live from the beach, and Channel 4 got amongst the action with interviews and gossip from all of the festival’s top artists and daily surf side action. Look out for the show due to be aired on 5th and 6th September.
It’s not all about music though, on the surf side of things, the final on Sunday kicked off with great waves while the sun was shining for the Men’s 6 star World Tour surf final. The top international surfers, who were whittled down from 144 to the top 8 over the week, had a huge crowd on the beach to witness the quarter and semi finals. Frenchman Romain Cloitre ended up taking the glory, and the $20,000 prize money, in the epic surf final.
We caught up with Romain Cloitre for a quick interview:
Winner’s Story – Relentless Energy Drink Boardmasters in association with Vans 2011 from Boardmasters TV on Vimeo.
The Vans Summer Session skate competition was fierce in the late afternoon, with top athletes from around the world competing on the huge 12 foot Vert Ramp. The final heats had competitors ranging in age from their teens to their 40’s, with some big tricks being cheered on from the sidelines. English-born Paul-Luc Ronchetti took the top honours in the Vert and took home a handy £3,500 prize money.
Skate Highlights – Relentless Energy Drink Boardmasters 2011 from Boardmasters TV on Vimeo.
The BMX midi ramp had a huge crowd to watch the finals take place up on the hill in the new Headland Village area. Top UK athletes battled it out in the final heats, stepping up the level of riding and pulling out never-seen-before tricks for the cheering crowd. Jersey athlete Alex Colebourn had a phenomenal session and took the winning place, along with £1,000 prize money.
BMX Highlights – Relentless Energy Drink Boardmasters 2011 from Boardmasters TV on Vimeo.
Andrew Topham, Relentless Energy Drink Boardmasters in association with Vans event director said: “We are absolutely delighted with the festival this year. The 15,000 music festival tickets sold out and we were treated to amazing headline shows from the Klaxons and Fatboy Slim. Down at Fistral Beach we crowned two European surf champions with two locals Ben Skinner and Adam Griffiths qualifying for the world championship tour. The beach was always packed and the final yesterday was really well attended in sunny weather and good surf conditions, a great end to the thirtieth anniversary events. Roll on 2012 – see you next year!”
