Gul Bude Competition Winner

A big thankyou to everyone who entered our Gul photo competition. It was tough. Sweat-inducing, sleepless pondering plagued not just us but also our colleagues in Gul shops across the UK as we tried to deduce a clear winner. But we love them all, and in their honour, we'll print the top 3. However, we had to decide upon a winner, and by a narrow but concrete margin, the winner is the dapper Mr Chris Hartop from Bude, seen above.

Well done Chris, the free t-shirt is yours!!

Below are the 2 runners up, submissions from Lucy and Martin, both in equal 2nd place. With the bottom picture, we also received a very elaborate story from the submitter, MrMartin Dorey, who runs the Beach Clean Network. We've edited the language slightly for family consumption, but we think it's hilarious, so we had to add it.

Thanks all.

"Our first (rather glamorous and waif-like) appearance takes place at Fistral (or is it Aggie?) in Summer 1986. Check out the Zuma with the deep, deep channels and the Madchester hairdo. Next, we take a trip to North Wales, where you’ll see the hair has grown and so has the board, an old Chapter popout from the early eighties. It later graced the album cover of Factory Record’s last signing, Manchester band, The Adventure Babies, before being consigned to Spout’s patio for ever. Four of us paid £10 for the 10’ beast, which was half filled with concrete.

Finally we go exotica. The same suit, this time with the arms chopped off for a trip to Tenerife winter 1988. We got attacked by locals at Spanish Left so spent the whole time surfing up at K16. This wave was the left in the middle of the bay. We looked at it (thinking it was unmakeable) for a few days then finally got the courage to surf it. On that trip we hung out with Mike Raven, who was on a shoot with Pete Cade for another surf brand (Alder I think it was) for Surf Scene. Mike Raven’s immortal words: “He’s got a f*****’ bob!”

Incidentally, Pete Cade’s shot of K16 that appeared in the first Stormrider Guide to Tenerife included a picture of the Renault 5 hire car we used for that trip. On the roof, the old Zuma Jay board. If you look clearly you can just about make out Nick’s ‘D*** Fin’ a centre fin he shaped (a little too carefully) into the shape of a b*** end and painted bright red.

A little history in the making."

Martin Dorey