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 One of the things we enjoy most about running Surfski.info
is that we get to talk to paddlers all over the world. And it's incredibly exciting to see how the sport is taking off, worldwide. There are races being started all over from Dubai
(in its second year now), to the Caribbean, Malaysia, you name it.
We've just had news of two new events being
staged in Europe: the Irish Sea Ski Challenge and the North Sea OC and Surfski Championships.
The Irish Sea
Challenge
"Mull of Kintyre, oh mist rolling in from the sea..." goes the
well known Paul McCartney song. I have
to say, I'm not sure about that "mist rolling in from the sea" bit. Ominously, when I checked out the route for
the Irish Sea Challenge on Google Earth, the start at Southend was obscured on
the satellite image by... mist rolling in from the sea.
Here's hoping that the weather is clear on 30th
June 2007 when the inaugural Irish Sea Ski Challenge gets under way.
 The Irish Sea Ski Challenge Route  '...Oh mist rolling in from the sea...'
The race is the brainchild of Geoff Caruth who lives in
South Africa, but whose cousins live on the Mull of Kintyre in Scotland.
"This year's event is largely exploratory with a small field
of 8 to 10 Surf Skis. If all goes well it is hoped to create an annual event
with up to 500 participants," said Geoff.
"The race will probably be held again towards the end of August next
year enabling paddlers to go on to the Liffey Descent in Dublin," he added.
The race starts at Southend on the Mull of Kintyre at 09h00
on Saturday 30th June 2007 and ends 35-odd km away at Cushendum Harbor
on the Antrim Coast.
This entry fees for this year's race are being donated to
cancer charities - an issue close to Geoff's heart as his family has lost
several members to it. Photographer Craig
Dutton is going with the crew - so look out for the story on surfski.info in a
few weeks time!
For more information, contact Geoff Caruth on +27 82 801
0438 or
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North Sea Outrigger
Canoe and Surf Ski Championships
The North Sea Outrigger Canoe and Surf Ski Championships
will be held on the 14th & 15th July 2007, at Knokke,
Belgium.
The event started in 2004 and has primarily been aimed at
outrigger canoes - until last year when six skis participated - Kurt Dierckx
(last seen at Molokai) came 4th in the ski division in the 2006 race... This year the event's name has been changed
to reflect support for surf ski.
Paddling in the North
Sea? What's it like?
But paddling in the North Sea? Isn't it cold and polluted and dangerous?
"Not at all," said race organiser Danny D'Hooghe, "in fact
it's probably the cleanest sea there is because of strong currents (up to 12
knots) and a lot of tide differences (up to 9 meters)."
"Temperature wise, we have the Gulf stream... in winter the
temp drops to 8 degrees, in the summer we reach 25C," he added. "It does get rough (which makes it perfect
for windsurfing and...paddling..)"
The event website is at: http://www.nocc.be
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