The UK Dog Surfing Championships, organised by Shaka Surf and due to take place at Branksome Dene Chine Beach this weekend, has been cancelled due to high winds.
The sixth annual event was expected to attract more than 30 canine surfing competitors, around 4,000 spectators and hundreds of dogs for a day of surfing, beach activities, food stalls and live music.
Mark Reeves, owner and founder of Shaka Surf, said in a Facebook post: “After spending this afternoon assessing the conditions on Branksome Dene Beach ourselves, Carl and I have made the extremely difficult decision to cancel tomorrow’s Dog Masters Festival.
“Today we had to cancel paddleboard hire because of the strong cross to offshore winds, with paddlers being pushed further out to sea.
"Seeing the conditions first hand, together with tomorrow’s forecast of 18–20 mph WNW offshore winds with gusts of up to 30 mph, we simply cannot run a safe event for the dogs, their owners, our volunteers or spectators.
“Safety will always come before everything else.
“We know how disappointing this is. We were just as excited as you to celebrate another incredible day of dog surfing, but these conditions leave us with no safe alternative.”
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