First Paddle

What better way to test a new ski than to take it on a Millers run? This exhilarating, well-loved Cape Town route takes you out to sea from the launching ramp at an angle to the swell and the wind for just under a kilometre to Bakoven Rock where you turn downwind and paddle for about 12 kilometres across False Bay past the Roman Rock lighthouse to Fish Hoek. The ski’s performance would be tested in both cross-swell and downwind conditions.

Click here to see the GPS trace on MotionBased. 

Firstly, the ski is incredibly comfortable. Everyone I’ve spoken to raves about the V10 cockpit – but while I do find it comfortable, I had to install a bum pad to prevent it from rubbing my coccyx raw. The Mako 6 bucket suits my apparently abnormal backside perfectly and I found it snug without being too tight. It’s narrow enough to stop me from sliding about, but doesn’t interfere with my rotation. An hour’s hard paddle resulted in no sign of chafing whatsoever.

However, the foot strap is designed in such a way that there is very little room for your feet, which are forced tightly together. After a few minutes I got used to it and forgot about it; but my paddling buddy Dale Lippstreu, who is equipped with broad spade-like appendages, found it painful – to the extent that his feet cramped and he was still in pain the day after he paddled the ski.

The ski is extremely stable – I shot out to the rock without bracing once on the way. I then paddled as hard as I could in a circle, in order to experience the waves and wind at all angles. On my old ski, I would simply be unable to do this – even if I didn’t actually brace, my rhythm would have been upset by the ski tipping over at some point. Not on this ski. The Mako 6 is as stable as the V10 – if not more so.

And how did it go downwind? The run from Bakoven Rock to Fish Hoek took me 51:15, beating my previous personal best by two or three minutes. The stability of the ski has not translated into sluggishness – it feels fast and responsive. When it broaches – which it did a couple of times due no doubt to my own incompetence - it doesn’t do so viciously. When it happened, I found that the ski would turn firmly but uncontrollably until it was parallel to the waves whereupon the rudder would bite and it would turn easily back on course.

The cutaway at the back of the seat makes it easy and comfortable to lean back – I’ve noticed at least three new skis with this feature and it makes a lot of sense.

On other skis I’ve found the power of my stroke compromised by my feeling of instability – especially at the critical point where you should be applying all your strength to accelerating onto the wave. On the Mako 6 (as on the V10), the stability of the ski allowed me to catch waves that I would normally have fallen off.

Someone commented that they thought the footplate below the pedals flimsy. I found that I was pushing against the bar to which the pedals are attached – the force was directed under the arches of my feet so the “flimsy” footplate doesn’t worry me – but it might worry some users.

A ski that I’ve paddled recently (another two Millers runs in the last week) is the old Fenn Mako – the model before the Millennium. How does it compare with the Mako 6? Before I paddled the ‘6 I found the old Mako great fun – also responsive and lively in the waves. But on trying it again minutes after I reached Fish Hoek on the ‘6 I found it both unstable and uncomfortable by comparison. I felt as if my feet were above my head and that I was paddling uphill.

Several eager paddlers tried the ‘6 when we got to Fish Hoek, going in and out through the surf. It was immediately apparent that a) the cockpit holds an enormous volume of water and b) the drainage is inadequate.

But they all commented on the stability and the comfort of the ski.