Tag: Beach racing

Photographing Race the Waves 

Race the Waves, a simple concept executed well. Hot Rods, custom cars, classic motorcycles racing down a short drag strip on a beach. It’s simple, effective, and definitely a crowd-pleaser. This was very evident last weekend when two of the PistonClick team went along to photograph the event.

Held in the East Riding of Yorkshire seaside town, Bridlington, it’s an ideal location for a beach racing event. A long, flat beach with an adjoining promenade on multiple levels, the view of the action is quite good. Only quite good? The view would have had an excellent rating from me except for the number of people. Holidaymakers, locals, and day trippers had turned out in their droves and were enjoying the free-to-view show from every vantage point.

A family-friendly event played into our hands. Just about every good viewing point had been taken by the other visitors, so we had to be patient. If you had children, you will understand their attention span isn’t long. When Jonny wants to look at the Hotwheels stall or Sally wants an ice cream, gaps in the crowd appear. 

Standing back and looking for these gaps to appear can pay dividends. It means as a photographer, you can move to a spot and slip in when a family moves. I had no problem going up the promenade and finding a slightly different viewpoint to take a few snaps.

Arrival at Race the Waves

Let’s take a step back and take a look at the logistics of getting to and arriving at this event. British coastal towns are renowned for difficult parking. Top tip number one, use the park and ride bus service. Race the Waves visitors coming from the south makes the park and ride very convenient. Race the Waves is held on Bridlington South Beach, next to the park and ride.

A few years ago I went to Race the Waves 2023 using this park and ride. Competitors cars were parked in this car park before moving off to the beach. This gave me a great opportunity to get close to the vehicles and take a few pictures. I expected the same but when were arrived they were not there. They could have moved on as the tide was moving out or could have been “staged” elsewhere. I never found out as we decided to head into town.

Bridlington Lions Auto Show

Hold on didn’t I just say that parking was difficult? Yes but a very nice steward noticing were on motorcycles lifted a barrier and waved us through. The Bridlington Lions were holding an Auto Show on the sea front with motorcycle parking. For a donation to their charity we parked in a great spot, they also had a trailer where you could leave your helmet and bike leathers.

The Lions are a global charity who support good causes and projects within its local community. I’m always happy to support people who are willing to help others so we donated to fill their bucket with a few quid, well more than a few.

To help promote their charity the Lions Club had organised a car and motorcycle show. It appeared to be pre-1970s custom and classic. Nothing to do with the Race the Waves event but it was a very pleasant distraction before the main event started.

Race the Waves was advertised as a 10 o’clock kick off. From our vantage point at the Lions Club, which was high over the beach we could see nothing was happening. We took this extra time to take a closer look at the show as there were some rather nice cars and bikes there.

Race the Waves main event

I have eluded that I have been to this event before so knew what to expect. Having exhausted the photo opportunities at the Lions show I headed for the beech. I bypassed the main promenade, I would head back there later in the day. 

My start location would be the far end of the track located at the northern end of the beach. From here I would be able to shoot the cars as they came down to the start point. No problems with getting a good view, most of the crowd had stayed on the promenade.

This was probably due to the sand still being wet for the most part. This was probably why the racing had been delayed as well but that is only my speculation. A PA system was being used but it was directed at the main crowd and I couldn’t quite hear what was being said.

No problem there were a few small cars sliding around a figure of 8 track to one side. This kept me occupied for a while as I waited for the main event to start.

The Drag Racing

A procession of vehicles started to assemble at the far end of the beach, heading for the start. Rolling slowly past the gathered crowds it was an eclectic bunch of cars that made their way towards me. 

Classic hot rods, custom cars and purpose built sand races there were a lot of them. Flying flags  with the drivers and passengers dressed for the occasion they all looked great. This was such a great photographic opportunity and also a sight that many of the family’s enjoying the sunshine would remember for years.

The bikes soon followed and if it were possible even more varied. There were lots more making their way towards me than I remembered from my last visit. This was going to take some organising to get them all away.

The start marshals soon got them lined up and ready to go. The flag ladies set them off down the beach with different acrobatic styles. All adding to the atmosphere and the nostalgic vibe of the event.

Promenade 

I waited for all of the vehicles to set off and then moved up onto the promenade to get a different view. As I’ve explained the promenade has three levels. Overlooking the beach is the main spectator area, behind is a raised area made up of steps. Way up high is the costal path which I would take in on my way out of the meeting as it was a a bit of a hike up from the beach. 

Moving down the promenade, as families moved off for a different view, I was able to move to the front quite easily. Spending a short time at each spot to watch the action and capture a few shots, it was a pleasant way to pass the afternoon.

There were some great looking machines and some quite inappropriate ones. The guy on the full on race bike was giving it some and rocketed down the track, once he had gained some traction.

Paddock 

At the southern end of the Race the Waves event was where the paddock was located. It’s a large area and not accessible to the public. Fortunately a few interesting trucks and cars were parked up waiting for their runs. I took the opportunity to snap a few before heading for the coastal path.

This path gives you great views of the whole beach and would lead us back to where the bikes were parked. As I kitted up for the ride home I contemplated my day at the seaside. This is the second time I have been to this event and will come back. Free to view with plenty going on Bridlington is a great location to spend the day, especially when the sun is out.

Photographic Post Script 

On my first visit I traveled up to Bridlington by car. I took with me a Nikon 200-400mm f4 lens which is heavy and long. I combined it with a Nikon D500. Riding motorcycles on this visit, I wanted something smaller and lighter but using the same camera.

For the long range shots I used a 300mm PF f4. To be honest it was too long but gave me a different set of shots compared to my shooting buddy. He had the Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 with a 1.4 teleconverter which was just about perfect for this event.

For the wide shots I used an ancient 17-55mm f2.8. No fancy tricks on this lens, no image stabilisation or different modes just auto focus, glass and an aperture. I do like this lens it is so sharp and easy to use. RPW used the slightly, but only just less sharp but more versatile 18-140mm.

Thanks to RPW Photography for accompanying me on the ride, the images and eating all my chips. He didn’t eat all my chips, he captured some great shots for the report, as a reward he got his own chips.