Seafood Restaurant Owners Battle on Paddleboards

The starting line - Ben is on the left and Mitch on the right. . Image by: ©SportEnvironment.com

Ben came out the 2013 winner, but both men were stoked! . Image by: ©SportEnvironment.com

PLYMOUTH, England - It was the battle of the seafood restaurants as Mitch Tonks of RockFish and Ben Squire of The Boathouse Cafe took part in the inaugural Ecover Blue Mile Fish SUPper Challenge in Plymouth to raise money for the Marine Conservation Society.

Ben and Mitch raced over a 100m sprint course in front of the Mayflower Steps in a best of three contest. And the Champion for 2013 is Ben, who came from behind to win 2-1!

Hundreds of people lined the waterfront to cheer on the restaurateurs, as the SUP race kicked off Plymouth’s Seafood Festival on the Barbican on September 20th.

Inevitably, both Mitch and Ben ended up in the water more than once!  Afterwards, they both admitted this was the first time they’d tried stand up paddle (SUP) boarding.

“It was absolutely fabulous,” said Ben, who also runs Plymouth Boat Trips. “Tonksy went off like a little tuna in the first race but I lost that one on a technicality because I didn’t cross the finish line in the right place.  We had a little incident in the last race because I lost my balance going around the final turn and I tried to hang on to Mitch but he was slippery as a conger eel and we both ended up in the drink!  It was great fun and I’ll definitely be defending my title next year.”

Mitch was gracious in defeat: “Ben was the best paddler on the day, so congratulations to him. A lot of people turned up to watch as well, which was great.  I really enjoyed it and it has brought people together. We’re usually so busy in our restaurants that we don’t get time to meet up like this.  I’ll be back next year to challenge for the title,” vowed Mitch.

Ben and Mitch were racing for the Ecover Blue Mile’s partner charity, the Marine Conservation Society who are currently fundraising.
 

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Website: thebluemile.org

Twitter: @thebluemile

Facebok: /thebluemile

Image Gallery: Flickr/thebluemile

About Ecover Blue Mile:

The Ecover Blue Mile is a mass-participation water sports event designed to encourage greater care of our blue environment. It was launched in 2010 as a flagship event and has expanded to over 200 grassroots events around the UK.This year a new schools event was added to the programme to enable schools to take part and link school sport with marine conservation. For more information about the Ecover Blue Mile visit our www.thebluemile.org

About Ecover:

Ecover is the world’s largest producer of ecological cleaning products, using sustainable plant and mineral-based ingredients to create highly effective cleaning products that achieve the lowest possible toxicity and the most rapid and complete biodegradability. Constantly innovating, Ecover continues to expand and improve its product range, including the development of a new Eco-Surfactant for use in its hard surface cleaners, meaning the range cleans as well as – or better than - the UK’s leading conventional brands. All of Ecover’s plastic bottles are made from Plant-astic – a 100 per cent renewable, reusable and recyclable plastic made from sugarcane. Ecover was the first cleaning brand in the UK to use Plant-astic and has used it across its product range since 2011. For more information on this pioneering brand, visit www.the-splash.co.uk

About the Marine Conservation Society:

The MCS is the UK charity dedicated to protecting our seas, shores and wildlife.  MCS is the official charity partner of the Ecover Blue Mile and Ecover Blue Mile participants are asked to fundraise for MCS alongside their participation to help protect the environment they enjoy so much.

MCS campaigns for clean seas and beaches, sustainable fisheries, and protection of marine life. Through education, community involvement and collaboration, MCS raises awareness of the many threats that face our seas and promotes individual, industry and government action to protect the marine environment. MCS provides information and guidance on many aspects of marine conservation and produces the annual Good Beach Guide, the Good Fish Guide and Fishonline on sustainable seafood, as well as involving thousands of volunteers in projects and surveys such as MCS Beachwatch. www.mcsuk.org.

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