Comments for Tahiti's Laughlin Wins Second Consecutive Epic Kayaks Molokai Title ** plus results ** at http://www.surfski.info , comment 0 to 15 out of 15 comments http://www.surfski.info Wed, 07 Jan 2009 18:38:45 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.surfski.info/content/view/718/147/#pc_2526 Did Damien Daley get to meet team epic? ;) - MFB Sat, 21 Jun 2008 06:56:25 +0100 http://www.surfski.info/content/view/718/147/#pc_2419 Congrats to everyone that finished. BTW I would've thought for a World Championship Team Epic might've worn the ugly bumble bee outfits ;D - superted Wed, 28 May 2008 10:31:28 +0100 http://www.surfski.info/content/view/718/147/#pc_2411 The Cuff's are one of East London's major watersport families. Mr & Mrs Cuff put me and most of my mates through Surf Lifesaving training & qualifying & both son's were stand out surfers, waterpolo players and just about anything else aquatic. SA's loss is Perth's gain 100% - can you get Brad to paddle again?? Good for you mate - great choice of in-laws. You are our guest in Dubai & I will try to get the President of DSKC Wayne 'Bob Mugabe' Randall to buy the beers. He is called 'Bob' as we have been trying to vote him out of office for 3 yrs with no luck. - Gavin Dickinson Sat, 24 May 2008 09:34:31 +0100 http://www.surfski.info/content/view/718/147/#pc_2410 There had to be an East London boy close. I married into the Cuffs from East London and have heard many legendary sories of Jonnie Woods so thats great news that Steve is carrying the torch for East London. If you get onto Peter Cuffs facebook you can see many of the early paddle skis from the 1950's including the stand up paddle boards which have come back into vouge. I will be in Dubai on the 5th July for 2 days to catch up with Ian Kingon and to have a look around. - Craig Fisher Sat, 24 May 2008 07:02:40 +0100 http://www.surfski.info/content/view/718/147/#pc_2408 Steve Woods youngest son of Mr John Woods (father of the PE to EL Challenge). Worth noting that Port Elizabeth (3hrs from East London down the coast)has produced some outstandng paddlers as well. East London is the manaufacturing home of Fenn & Port Elizabeth Red 7. On Dubai - you are right there is a large Eastern Cape base here, but there are Natal & Western Cape guys here as well & more & more strong Ozz guys. Dubai Surf Kayack Club is growing really fast, as is Dubai Paddling School. We have good weather (for 4 months it is a bit hot) & calm warm water. Dubai Shamaal is our race & we hope for ito to be bigger than ever this year.www.dskc.net is the Dubai club website. If anybody is ever coming to Dubai - you can make contact & meet us for a paddle. - Gavin Dickinson Fri, 23 May 2008 12:03:29 +0100 http://www.surfski.info/content/view/718/147/#pc_2404 Looking at the breakdown of the top ten gives you an idea of where ski paddling has developed and what age groups are doing well at the elite level. 1 tahiti 1 capetown 3 durban 2 West Ozzies 1 Qld 2 NSW. Most of these guys developed there skills in their 20's in there home towns usually with a solid paddle squad. There are none out of East London or Hawaii. East London is really the birth place of much of this type of paddling where the Fenn Ski comes from. Several East London boys are now in Dubai though which is why dubai is proably a hot spot for ski paddling. Age Breakdown 4 over 40 and 6 over 30 - No young guns because of the pain or the cost of competing. - Craig Fisher Fri, 23 May 2008 02:04:21 +0100 http://www.surfski.info/content/view/718/147/#pc_2402 Will Ski brand and type be in any updated results - superted Thu, 22 May 2008 11:00:48 +0100 http://www.surfski.info/content/view/718/147/#pc_2391 i was sad not to make it to this race this year, but kinda relieved that i missed out on yet another 'flat' one.... To all the paddlers, those who made, and even those who tried, congrats people... what an awesome adventure...... to Hayden & Dunnos from Dubai.... Very well done bro's, by keeping Dubai in the picture...... Please come and share the experience with us... - Christo Tromp Tue, 20 May 2008 07:02:58 +0100 http://www.surfski.info/content/view/718/147/#pc_2389 Well done Lewis.....legend effort!! Look forward to seeing you at some races later in the year!! Ash Nesbit ;D - Ash Nesbit Tue, 20 May 2008 05:24:35 +0100 http://www.surfski.info/content/view/718/147/#pc_2387 all i can say is well done to all of you, but especially to the females. It was so exciting to watch how you all went. Want to read all your stories. - teresa Tue, 20 May 2008 03:45:43 +0100 http://www.surfski.info/content/view/718/147/#pc_2386 Just to get the ball rolling on the interesting banter... Australia 5 in the top ten South Africa 4 in the top ten Tahiti 1 in the top ten. Tahiti claims victory (again!!)and well done Lewis!! Australia claims bragging rights. Lets see what the Saffas come up with............. - Ben Hines Tue, 20 May 2008 03:03:31 +0100 http://www.surfski.info/content/view/718/147/#pc_2384 Point taken Gavin. It is not only the sponsor who refers to it as the World Championship. And more importantly, one should NEVER knock a sponsor - so my apologies. World Championships tend to be defined when 6 federations from 3 continents enter an event. As far as I know, there has never been a surfski event that fills these criteria. Main problem being that there are not 6 NFs that have active surfski groups. So lets get organized with our NFs and build the sport. - Stuart Knaggs Mon, 19 May 2008 22:19:19 +0100 http://www.surfski.info/content/view/718/147/#pc_2381 For as long as I can remember reading about the Molo it has been called the World Championships' - and until the Surfski world series - it's champion the unofficial world champ for that year. This is not a 2008 initiative - just do some reading. Epic are the underwriters of the event & only push what has been built up by the media over the history of the race. The real story is that this great race has yet to find a big sponsor - and Epic Kayaks do a great job in reinvesting in the sport. Your point however is well made - proper regulation is needed, even 'world cup ' after 'world cup' event is wrong. We will get there!! - Gavin Dickinson Mon, 19 May 2008 16:55:23 +0100 http://www.surfski.info/content/view/718/147/#pc_2380 Well done to everyone for finishing this great race and especially to Lewis. I was surprised that he was left out of the pre-race hype - to such an extent that I thought he could not make it this year! Now another little point. I think there may be a touch of arrogance on the part of the sponsors. Molokai is a great race, with a long tradition, but who (apart from the sponsors) have decided to make this the "World Championship" of surfski. It is not even an ICF sanctioned event. C'mon guys, lets get our feet back on the ground. Maybe if race organizers from around the world work together, we can have a world championship event in a year or 2 - and it may even be in Hawaii, but lets not be premature about these things. - Stuart Knaggs Mon, 19 May 2008 15:48:52 +0100 http://www.surfski.info/content/view/718/147/#pc_2379 Well done Lewis, you are a true champion my friend. Cheers to all that finished, it's an achievement in itself to finish one of the iconic events in our wonderful sport. Great job Alain and the guys for keeping everyone in the loop with the racing. Hopefully see you all at the Durban WC in June! - Daryl Bartho Mon, 19 May 2008 12:40:25 +0100