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It's not often that the first three places
in a 25km race are separated by a mere 15 seconds, but it certainly did make
for an exciting end to the Ocean Series in Sydney last Saturday.
After playing second fiddle to Tim Jacobs
earlier in the series, Jeremy Cotter showed his true strength to take out his
first 20 Beaches victory.
 Jeremy Cotter - winner of 2007 Twenty Beaches (Pic: Hanson Media)
Awesome
Course; 125 skis
The 20 Beaches is set on an awesome course
between Palm Beach and Manly, and epitomises the challenge that surfski racing
represents. Over 125 skis lined up to
take on the 25km course, with representation by the top paddlers from all over
New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia (as well as a few Kiwis).
It seems that the surfski gods have been
smiling on Australian racing the last two weeks as we've had two fantastic downwind
races in a row. First the Rottnest
Crossing in Perth then the 20 Beaches in Sydney, both of which had conditions
that most paddlers only dream about. Big
runs, wind from right behind you, sunshine, and beer at the finish!
After copping a bit of a hiding from the
South Africans in Perth, the top Aussie guys were all set for a solid race in
the 20 Beaches, where Tim Jacobs, Jeremy Cotter, Dave Kissane and Dane Sloss
were fighting for the three tickets to Durban 2008. As well as this, the coveted Steve Wood
memorial trophy was on the line. Notably,
this was the first year that the trophy went to the first unrestricted single
ski across the line. In the past the
trophy, and thus the honour associated with it, has gone to the first
specification (spec) ski.
 The paddlers leave the beach - Twenty Beaches 2007 (Pic: Hanson Media)
Controversy
at the start
Unfortunately the start of this year's 20
Beaches was marred with controversy, as is becoming unfortunately common in
surfski races in 2007. A number of
paddlers, including some of the top ranked guys, missed the deep water
start. Jeremy Cotter, Dave Kissane and
Dane Sloss, however, managed to get away cleanly. As expected, as soon as the starter's whistle
blew, Jeremy Cotter sprinted away, trying to get a lead on the field. The only guys in place to keep up with him
were Dave Kissane and Dane Sloss. Unfortunately,
Dane opted for a wide line, which would eventually take him too far out to sea
and have him overshoot the finish by about 10km (yes, that's right, 10km - it
took him 50 minutes to paddle back into the wind).
So from the get-go, the race was on between
Jeremy and Dave. Having learned his
lesson in the Narrabeen Beach Challenge earlier this year, Jeremy was careful
not to expend all of his energy too early.
Dave Kissane is probably the most experienced paddler along this stretch
of water, especially between Palm Beach and Long Reef. Jeremy was wise enough to keep Dave close at
hand to ensure that he was on the correct line.
Where's
Tim Jacobs?
By the time the pair were close to Long
Reef (8km to go), they were miles in front of the field. The only problem was that at the back of
their minds, they both knew that somewhere behind them was Tim Jacobs, on his
super-light V10 Super Elite, hunting them down like a rabid dog. According to Dave, when he eventually did see
Tim, somewhere off Long Reef, he kept slipping in and out of sight - "the black
ski, combined with Tim's Epic outfit" [yes Oscar, he wore the outfit] "made him
look like he was in camouflage". So it
was that with 7km or so to the finish, and now on home turf for all three
paddlers the race was seriously on for first place.
For a betting man, from that position Tim
would have been the odds-on favourite; having won all four of the previous
races in the series and winning the spec ski category of the 20 Beaches in each
of the previous three years. However on
Saturday, the experience of Kissane and determination of Cotter paid off. After going run-for-run for 7km, and with
less than 300m to go, the three rounded Fairy Bower, a surf break just before
Shelley Beach. Right at the death Tim
missed a run and Jeremy powered home for the win with Dave on his tail. What a way to end the premier race on
Sydney's racing calendar!
Further
back
Further back in the field, I have to say
that the runs were as good as any I've ever raced in (including Perth last
weekend). Matty Rees managed to pull an
incredible paddle from the back of the pack to get 4th spot, and
Nick Holt finished off a solid season in 5th. Jono Chalmers also deserves a mention for
getting a top 10 overall placing on his spec ski! Katie Pocock from NZ took out the women's
division in style and will hopefully be back next year.
So now the Ocean Series is over for 2007
and Sydney's paddling community can put their feet up for a few weeks. I know that many of us started our relaxing
pretty soon after the race at Manly Surf Club with free beers and barbecue for
all. Fortunately, the 2008 year kicks
off early, with races in Wollongong in January, as well as the Bridge to Beach
in Sydney in March. Many of the guys
will also now focus on the surf lifesaving season, which kicks in early
January.
Australia is also set to be sending a
strong team to Durban for the World Cup 2008.
The official team will be made up of Tim Jacobs (as the Ocean Series
winner), Jeremy Cotter and Dave Kissane.
However there are certain to be a number of other Aussies making the
trip. We learned a few lessons in Perth
and will aim to be better prepared to put on a good show in Durban.
[Editor: a whole hearted "thank you" to Jamie for this & all the other reports that he's sent us on the Ocean Series races. We hope to hear much more about the races in NSW and elsewhere in Australia in the New Year!]
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Picture this... 150 paddlers take to the water to paddle out to the deep water start of the East Coast's most prestigious and historical race. Many have travelled from interstate and a few overseas (Katie Pockock being one), being told "paddle out about a km and you will see an IRB (zodiac) that will start you . A whistle will indicate the race start."
As paddlers start paddling out to sea, the field spreads across a 1km span as no one really knows where to go. The majority head towards the horizon expecting to see something that resembles a race start (buoys maybe, a few IRB's..something). Whilst most paddlers were just leaving the beach, a few people apparently heard a faint whistle). Most however, just kept heading out looking for the start. After 5 minutes, you could hear people asking "where do we start from?".. followed by "have we started yet".
Yes, the race had started, and a very long time ago. Most paddlers were between 1 minute and 10 minutes (for those who never heard the whistle) off the start.
The truth is that the idiots organising this race had f*cked it up yet again. After watching Ash and Deano put on a superb event in Perth with very little resources, we get to the Northern Beaches SLS Branch organised event only to see a class field and awesome conditions sacrificed by trademark basic incompetence.
Even race favourite Tim Jacobs missed the start by a minute and finished 3rd. There was never a line established and the majority of the field never heard any whistle.
All that was heard on the beach some 22kms later was "What a shocker, great conditions but why can't these d*ckheads get anything right.'
The reality of today was that people sacrifice work commitments, family and money to train for and participate in the inaugural 20 beaches downwind event - the only downwind event in NSW. People juggle children, their work schedule and make significant sacrifices. The sponsors: Bennetts Surfboards, Lifestyle financial planning and Manly Surf Life Saving were seriously let down today. Ironically Barry and Greg Bennett are the most competent, hard working operators, as is Dave Kissane and his financial planning firm.
The organisers should be offering apologies to the sponsors and all involved along with refunds to all competitors though their disgraceful display incompetence. Hopeless. Again illustrating that Surf LIfe Saving - Northern Beaches Inc should stick to running surf carnivals and leave distance paddling events to people who know what they are doing. Most of us are very angry about this amazing waste of time and money.
Karl Treacher