Speculation was rife before the race – what tactics would the top paddlers employ in the tricky currents of San Francisco Bay? South Africans Hank McGregor and Dawid Mocke, the race favorites, both have a reputation for charging off the start line.
US Surfski Championships women's champion Nikki Mocke (Pic: Robin Graham)
20 Sep 2008 San Francisco: "It was a tight tactical race, right from the beginning," said an exhausted Dawid Mocke. He'd just finished the 2008 edition of the US Surfski Championships... coming second to a rampant Hank McGregor.
Hank McGregor on his way to win the 2008 US Champs (Pic: Judy Barker)
Our contact Judy Barker is down at the start area right now - and she's sending us pics & video clips from her mobile phone.Over the next hour or so we'll be collecting and editing them.Then we'll upload them to blip.tv and you'll be able to watch them - near real time.Cool, hey?
Live commentary from the US Surfski Champs will begin at about 11h30 local time on http://live.surfski.info (to find the time in San Francisco, fire up google and type time now "San Francisco"). The race will begin sometime between 12h00 and 13h00 depending on ship traffic in the bay.
(Click on the image below to get to the Live Coverage site!)
Heading into the sixth edition of the US Surf Ski Champs, just three men have won the coveted title in the City by the Bay: Greg Barton, Dawid Mocke, and Lewis Laughlin.
The gate (Lewis Laughlin on right) (Pic: John Gunter)
