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 (...or some them, at any rate!) Current favorite in the surfskiworldcup.com polls, Tim Jacobs and fellow Australian Tommy Woodriff joined a 7km Tuesday night dice (informal race) with Oscar and Herman Chalupsky in Durban last night, showing the South Africans a glimpse of their form.
Pulled the whole time
"Tim pulled the whole time," said Oscar, "I overtook him at the end but it was only because he didn't know where the finish was."
Tommy Woodriff came in fourth - but was still suffering the effects of jetlag and was paddling an unfamiliar borrowed ski.
"We paddled to the dice from Wilson's Wharf," added Oscar, "and back, making it a good 16km training paddle."
Big Bugger
Gavin Searle was paddling a double. He confirmed that Tim Jacobs was looking strong: "He's a big bugger," Gavin said, "he's around 6 foot 4 or 5. And very strong. He has a beautiful, strong, slow stroke."
Tactics
Rumour has it that Tim Jacobs is most comfortable when he's controlling a race and that he doesn't like riding slip. One of the South Africans said, "It's a pleasure to paddle with Tim, because he never lets anyone else pull!"
 Tommy Woodriff
Last year, in flat conditions, Dawid Mocke made a solo break early on leaving four other paddlers in a diamond. With 45 minutes to go, Hank McGregor made his own break, catching and passing Dawid to win by nearly a minute.
Usually the top paddlers work together for at least the first half of a race, taking turns to "pull" (lead) the pack while the others use less energy by riding the wake of the ski in front. The critical moment in any race is when the leader accelerates away from the others, in an attempt to build up an unassailable lead.
Last year Tommy Woodriff came in 13th, first Australian home, some ten minutes behind the winner.
Hank McGregor on form
"Hank [McGregor] was paddling at the dice with his girlfriend in a double, making us look stupid," said Gavin. "Pippa's no slouch, but the two of them dropped everyone, it was a joke!"
McGregor took part in the SA Marathon Championships in the Western Cape this weekend - and won by nearly a minute, in a star-studded field.
This writer believes McGregor is the form racer to beat... (but head over to www.surfskiworldcup.com to check out the latest poll results...)
 Hank McGregor (with Clint Pretorius) winning the 2006 SA Double Surfski Champs
More info on the race at www.surfskiworldcup.com
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