Organisers of the 2001 Newquay Women’s Championships were forced to make the difficult decision of calling off the event at 10:30 on the Sunday morning.
After waiting as long as possible to see if the weather would improve sufficiently, organisers informed the two Island crews that racing would not take place. There was obvious disappointment after having travelled so far and trained so hard for the county championships but the weather has always been a factor at the Newquay event. The last time the women’s event was cancelled due to bad weather was back in 1983.
The Newquay races take place just outside the harbour on the exposed north Cornish coast, made infamous by world re-nound surf. The seabed around the harbour appears as a staggered shelf which creates the unpredictable ground sea. This problem is not incurred during the world championships in Scilly as most of the racing takes place in the sheltered ‘pool’.
It will obviously prove difficult for the two Island crews to return for a second attempt as travel costs will build up and work may not permit a second weekend off. Another factor will be the Newquay calendar as it is already booked up with the men’s event, coming up soon.