Thurso: Scottish Team Training

I've just got back from a weekend at Thurso....another long drive! I've had a lot of fun with Scottish team who are spending a week training together. Sampling the waves has wetted my appetite to go back for more than a weekend and get some nice footage. Thanks to Tracey and all the guys for inviting me...see you soon :)

HP Finals: Gold

Last week i travelled to Newquay (looooong drive!) for the UK HP Series Finals. After 10hrs driving i wasn't feeling great but managed to pull through in difficult conditions to take the Gold...feels sweet!

Buff Headwear

Thanks to my latest sponsor; Buffheadwear who supplied the Peru Team with headwear which i'll be fashioning at forthcoming events :)

Autumn Update: World Cup Finals

Hello world! I apologise to those of you who've been looking for updates recently...lots of time on the water and lots of working are to blame! I'm currently sat in a French cafe following a nice early morning surf :) Life is tough! I figured with a few hours to kill before heading back to the bleak North of England i'd catch up on my blog...

Peru: Awesome....awesome....awesome! What an adventure! Looking back on the trip still makes me tingle. I have to say the country was very different from what i expected and we spent the best part of the trip shell shocked and in sensory overload. Picture this....100s of miles of desert, extreme poverty & desperation, remains of civilizations 1000s of years old and far superior to any in the West, cultural traditions and practices that have surived for 1000s of years and some incredible waves with rides on Chicama of just over 1km! Unfortunately we also experienced the full wrath of Peruvian fog which made filming a bit tricky! The trip was as much a spiritual journey to the roots of our sport as it was about surfing and sitting on the beach in Huanchaco watching the fisherman paddle out in their reed kayaks, realising that this was the birthplace of our sport was an emotional moment. The fisherman were equally interestd in our kayaks as we were of theirs. Giving my Reflex to a local to try out was scary and exciting. Straight out back and down the line...if these guys had a chance they'd certinly be the best in the world!

I'm currently sifting through the footage and Steve's busy processing photos. The next step for us is sorting out the Kayak Session Articles. Meantime i'm trying to get more surfing footage and we're hoping to build a Cabillito de Totora in the UK to round things off...then use the footage to make a documentary film...watch this space!

World Cup: So A week ago i arrived here on Ile D'Oleron on the west cpast of France for the World Cup finals. My opening round was great, with nice air in about 6inches of water and the highest score of the day. After that it went flat.....very flat! And stayed flat! Fortunately we held out all week until Saturday when a new swell arrived, providing 3ft surf. I progressed through to the quarter finals ok but with closeout conditions it was very much a wave lottery and very tough to compete in. Once again i progressed to the Semis but failed to find any decent peaks within the 14 min heat and finished 3rd...AGAIN! 3rd in the world's not a bad result at all and 3 years in a row demonstrates that i'm consistantly at the top of the sport. I'd be lieing if i said i wasn't a bit disappointed as i was definatley aiming for the Gold. It was frustrating that the wave didn't allow me to perform any of the moves i've been working on this year. Training on fast clean waves has made me technically better and i feel like i'm riding smoother and more dynamically than ever but it wasn't to be this time.

Adam Harvey: It was really exciting for me to surf with my youngest brother in France and watch him compete. He's progressing at an amazing rate and is right up there with the big boys! I was stoked that he was able to get a wildcard for the Junior World Cup and finishing 3rd (as well!) is a top result and great experience for him to build on the future...the pressures on now...which Harvey will be World Champion first!?

Home Internationals: This year Guernsey (big cheer!) managed to put a team into the Homes. We finished 3rd, just behind our rival island, Jersey, but with everyone exceeding all my expectations we got some real promise for the future. As well as Adam, David Duport showed real skill and is also progressing fast. Well done to the whole team and a big thanks to Richard Agnelli (manager) for all the hard work he's put in.

Looking Ahead: In the next month i've got the finals for the 2008 UK Series in Cornwall and the British Championships in Norther Ireland so keep watching for updates, news etc.

Projects:
Film: I'm currently filming as much as possible trying to accumulate footage to use for the Peru documentary and future video projects.
Magazine: I've got a few more articles to complete my series for Canoe Kayak UK and should wrap it early in the new year. check out www.canoekayak.co.uk
I'm also writing competition and travel articles so keep your eyes on the glossy pages for those.
Looking ahead I plan on editing and combining my technique articles into a booklet and hope to publish towards the end of 2009.


I think that's it...everyone's up to date...i'll try and be more regular over the Autumn/Winter. Thanks for bearing with me...if there's no updates it's probably because i'm out surfing somewhere!

Take it easy. Chris

Kayak Chicama: Peru Expedition

Next month I will join a team travelling to Peru to re-trace the roots of kayak surfing. During our 2 week expedition we will be gathering photography and video footage to produce magazine and film documentaries, re-telling the story of the ancient Peruvian fisherman and surfing Chicama, the longest left on the planet. For more information check out: www.kayakchicama.com

RunandJump Clothing

RunandJump Clothing is a small company of really sound people passionate about kayaking. They are my latest sponsor and i'm pleased to say that I really like the clothes. Very comfortable and some nice designs...check out the Signature series :) The Harvey...yes I am sad enough to wear myself! The hoody's are my favourite...nice and warm in the colder climes of the north. Thanks to Zach at RunandJump for his support.

Hola :)

Hola from Spain! Last night I arrived in Bilbao with boat in tow ready for the Mundaka World Cup event. A nice low swell provided some waves today but Mundaka definately wasn't working very well. I managed to make the most of what there was to score the highest of the day (75pts) and progress to quarter finals tomorrow. The best session of the day however was after the comp..inshore of the main peak with some really punchy lefts and rights, barrels to be had and sections to hit...oooh....and 27 degrees!! .....happy days!

Widemouth...Adam Harvey's first comp

Last weekend I loaded up again for the loooong drive to Cornwall. But well worth it to meet up with my younger brother Adam (14) for his first comp. Rain, strong onshores and 6ft waves...classic competition surf made me wish I was back at home...until Adam's first heat. I was stoked to see him paddle straight out the rip, keep a cool head, get 3 solid rides and take 2nd place. In his second heat he was against Darren Bason...so settled for second again. The second wave was awesome though nice drop...cutback, dropping again and up to the lip for a massive slash on the closeout (nice one!) 2 seconds...surfing well...confidence up...unfortunately the 3rd heat didnt work out as hoped, getting nailed inside, loosing his paddle and deciding to have a good look at the fish instead! never mind...With the handicap Adam finished 4th and showed us that he's got real potential for the future...Big smile :) I was there mainly to support Adam, but making the final was another good result, although with back-back heats and a narly shore pound I was knackered and my plan to go for only 3 waves didn't really pay off...I managed 2 nice rides but couldn't find a third...still 3rd place is another nice result :) Thanks to Simon Hammond for another slick event.

Guernsey Press Article

Check out today's Guernsey Press for a round up of the Santa Cruz competition:
http://www.thisisguernsey.com/2008/03/28/current-world-champion-beaten-by-golden-harvey/

Photos from Santa Cruz

Starting to collect the photos from Santa Cruz..keep an eye on the Gallery for latest shots.
Here's a nice one by Jordan Deltscheff

Happy Easter :)

Happy Easter to everyone.
With the HP event cancelled this weekend i've headed north with Sarah to the Cairngorm's and full on winter conditions. Yesterday we had a full day sking in some really nice conditions. With more snow overnight and a blizzard as i type, it looks like Monday could see some nice powdery conditions :) awesome! Hope you're all having a good bank holiday!

Gold at Santa Cruz

So i'm recovering from jet lag slowly but really excited to have won the Gold at Santa Cruz. The conditions were changing from heat to heat on Sunday. Strong wind made the quarter finals particularly tough but i managed to remain unbeaten throughout and pulling off a nice air in the final, scoring a max 30pts for that wave secured the title...for the 2nd year in a row :) awesome!
Big congrats to Matt Radis (silver), Rusty Sage (Bronze) and Dave Johnston (4th) who helped make a spectacular final. Also cheers to Devon and family who put up with me for a week...Also seen a couple of cracking shots of Devon from his 2nd round heat...nice job!

Well done to everyone else in the Mega Flying Squad who put in excellent performances (full magazine report coming soon...watch this space). Great to see Malcolm out there too...still ripping!

Check out the Santa Cruz newspaper report: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ci_8601270
(nice quote by Rusty!) Unfortunately the photographer missed the final but i'm slowly collecting shots and putting them in my gallery: http://picasaweb.google.com/chrisharveyonline/SantaCruz2008

If anyone has any photos please email me at: chrisharveyonline@gmail.com
Watch this space for more pics!

Santa Cruz: Day 2

A nice 10ft swell was producing some good surf at the Lane this morning and I was fired for up for a good heat. Hoping for a slot wave i went really deep to begin with but was unlucky and got caught on the inside, taking a good beating. With 5 mins gone and no waves, the pressure was really on. I secured a couple of solid rides with some nice smooth roundhouses, but struggled to find a 3rd good ride. However, the points I had were enough to secure another 1st and I progress through to the quarter finals tomorrow, ranked in 2nd place, behind world champion Rusty Sage.

Santa Cruz: Day 1

Another hot day in California :) My opening round was late this afternoon, so I spent most of today saving energy and getting ready for the heat. With a good swell kicking in and a pushing tide, conditions were getting pretty good. With moderate winds and a good 150m, the paddle out was hard work and the heat was set to be pretty physical. My main rival was former Scottish champion, Neil Baxter, but I was feeling fairly confident going into the heat. The heat started really well, with a nice 10ft set after 30 secs, solid surfing secured a good start. Right through the heat the waves just kept coming and every time i got out back another nice set shaped up. (The surf Gods were certainly favouring me today!) Another 3 solid waves, including a small aerial on the inside (I think the only one of today), secured a 1st place and tied highest score of the day in World Cup Class. So a really good day and the perfect start to the event. My next round is an earlier start in the morning at 9.20, and the forecast is mixed but feeling confident for another good heat.

nice morning at the lane

A bit of light rain seemed to put off the locals today and i had 3hrs of glassy head high surf with only a few people out....very nice :) Just chilling out now for the rest of the day, ad until the competition starts tomorrow.

Santa Cruz 08

I arrived in Santa Cruz on Sunday and have had a few days of nice surf to get used to going right after a winter full of lefts. A big swell started kicking in yesterday afternoon and i spent 4hrs at the lane this morning...it's tough to surf a great big peak with no wall though...argh! Still the next few days is looking good, with about 6ft clean swell. Saturday is going to be interesting though with possible 20ft faces coming...it wont be a contest of surfing, but more who's bravest!...watch this space!

Brits 07 (re-run)

A couple of weeks ago was the first big comp of the season. A very cold weekend in Northumberland, with a couple of feet of surf was pretty nice. I was pleased to progress through to the fials. I had a great semi and felt on top form going into the final, but just couldn't find the waves..everywhere i moved, the waves dissapeared!...very frustrating, however, another final and a 4th place isn't a bad start to the season :)

Photo f8: the latest shots

http://www.photof8.co.uk/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=374

Thanks to Tim for all the photography work!

London Boatshow News...

Check out the News page for the London Boatshow...it's near the bottom and it's small but...a good thing for the sport :-) http://www.londonboatshow.com/news/81/69/

Happy New Year..surf's up!

Spent 5 hrs on the water today :) ...some really nice clean conditions. Been working on some shots for magazines so thanks for Tim for standing in the cold...good job. Check out a few of the photos in my gallery (click here)