I was glued to the internet all day – kaaping a constant eye on the Hurley level. It had dropped down to two gates yesterday and was expected for one gate to follow quickly after. I was hoping that this wasn’t going to occur until after we had made it down for a paddle. Unfortunately, as I was walking home from the station, the dreaded news came in. It was time for a change of plan – we were now to hit Hambledon instead.
The feature at Hambledon is very fast and surgey, making it tricky to surf. Martyn and had had quite a few attempts each, with varying degrees of success. Martyn seemed to perfect the art of shooting straight across the face of the wave and getting airborne as he shot out the other side. My best move of the evening was on my final ride. Whilst front surfing, as I landed a bounce the front of my boat caught the flow of the water, shooting me forwards and down. I had managed to completely submerge myself as well as the boat and reappear below the pile of the wave, still the right way up as if nothing untoward had just occured! Martyn, sat watching in the eddy, just saw me there one second, but completely disappeared the next, before reappearing a few metres downstream looking completely composed and ready to carry on paddling.

Martyn enjoying a brief surf