(Editor: Don't even think about trying this unless you're very experienced in extreme conditions...) 

Three downwind records were broken in the last 24 hours as a gale-force southeaster blasted Cape Town. 

The Milnerton to Blouberg downwind route is well beloved here in Cape Town and has been paddled for 25 years or more.  The paddle was formalized 11 or 12 years ago and became known as the Downwind Dash - and Richard Kohler has been running it since 2000.

Cape Town's Downwind Dash Route

Each Wednesday evening paddlers congregate at Woodbridge Island and paddle 10.5km north to Blouberg Big Bay. 

Yesterday's race was held in truly exceptional conditions. 

Big Wednesday - 6 Feb 2008

Here's the story - as written by race organizer Rich Kohler, his record-breaking crewman Lance King and Fanta Gous, who didn't come out of it so well.

Oh No!

Oh Boy!

Oh YES!

Yes! We did do a DWD in those conditions.

RECORDS tumbled! Ski's snapped! Paddlers swam! But all was under some sort of control. I use the word, control, loosely ‘cause I am not sure if anyone of us were ever in full control.

Before I tell you about the BIGGEST Men's Health / New Balance DOWNWIND DASH EVER, let's look at the conditions and more importantly the wind. Here are some words taken from the Beaufort Wind Scale chart which goes from zero to number 12. Let's focus on the relevant ones. So skip the first ten!!!!

 Here are some of the facts between 6pm and 7pm last night.

• Port Captain had max gust reading of 137 km/hr
• Milnerton Aquatic club had reading of 87 km/hr
• My readings at Milnerton before start 76 km/hr

Ok so it's normally stronger in the Port Captains little tower; MAC is 1km inland and a little sheltered and the beach at Milnerton is sheltered by the houses on Woodbridge Island.

So what was the max wind strength? My feeling is we did experience the driving sea spray for some of the way so I would peg the max strength some were around 120 km/hr with the average being close to 85 km/hr!

The DWD is run north of Cape Town city centre

Standing at the start, looking out to sea, was very unsettling. From the harbour all the way past the ships was just white with sea spray. In front of the Lighthouse it did not look bad but further out it was a mess and that's where we were heading! With no rescue craft (way too windy for any type of inflatable craft to be on the water) (and sure for us as well) it was an easy call for many paddlers. Some only made the call just before the start. That all important call... I am out!  To those of you who made the call, I congratulate you.

Those who did paddle have many stories to tell. I have for two of these stories for you. One is Lance King who sat in the back of the double with me for the first time; the other from Fanta who snapped the nose off his double.

Lance King's Story

"I can only be thankful that I arrived alive," said Anton Trutor, with overly sized eyes.

With winds averaging at 85km/h, gusting at a mind blowing 135km/h, it was going to be a downwind to remember! (Wind readings by the Port Captain)

Being an absolute novice to over-sized runs and moderate swell I could only hope and pray that my partner, Richard Kohler, was also hearing his bones rattle from that terrible feeling called nervousness! What were the chances, yet he shouts to me "get a tie down and tie yourself to the boat!"

It took all of about a split second for me to actually realize what I was just about to do when I looked out to sea and all I could see was the spray coming off the top of the runs. You look around you only to see some opting for the wise decision and putting their boats back on their cars and leaving us outrageously courageous downwind junkies to take on the Cape Doctor!

At the pep talk I could just feel the tension amongst the remaining few, all paying so much attention to Richard - like a bunch of sub-A kids on their first day at school!  "This is the first time I've ever been in conditions like this," he said, "and the last", so it was a make or break situation...  Some looked at it as a challenge others were just hoping to get to the other side in one piece.

We approached the water braving the sand-blasting gusts and icy cold water of the mighty Atlantic ocean... And were off, ramping over the little waves that weren't blown flat by the hurricane winds! By the time we hit back line, the runs were already beginning to develop and we caught our first major run just over a minute into the paddle.  Within a second the boat accelerated to a cracking speed, we were all within range of each other in case something went wrong, but that lasted all of about 2 minutes... The runs looked like buses rolling towards you and you couldn't see a thing but you could hear guys shouting and screaming as they flew down the runs!

I looked back - once - to see what was happening behind us - I never looked back again, it felt as if Neptune had sent a freak wave to devour us whole, the boat accelerated to a point that If you put your paddle in the water you'd fall out, you start to hear that sweet sound of the drain plugs sucking under your feet and you can just feel the adrenaline pumping, WOW what a rush, I had never experienced anything of the sort!

The runs would develop in front of us and we had two choices, race after them and have the ride of our lives only to get buried when we hit the bottom OR we could back out and only hope that we were able to gather enough speed to accelerate and catch the smaller one behind otherwise we'd get dunked and spun out by the run when it broke over us!

We'd been on the water for all of about 15min and we were half way already... This was truly an unforgettable experience never to be repeated. The runs were so clean and well structured it was now not all about power and speed it came down to skill and knowledge, we would travel for 100m without taking a stroke and in some cases 300m with the odd  quick strokes here and there.

Then you meet up with the big puppy and you can just feel the boat wants to go, it takes off and you shout out for joy as you drop into the hole at the bottom. It was truly an unforgettable experience and when we turned into big bay there was this sudden relief that hits us and we knew we were home safe!

When we crossed the line we hadn't realized that we'd smashed the record by just over a minute, we were still in an absolute high about the conditions.  Then it was only a matter of time before the war stories from everyone started - always a highlight from every downwind!

There I was thinking to myself I'd never ever do this again and Stewart (brave heart) Rew walks in asking Richard if he can do it again, it's scary, guys that were shouting and screaming for joy at the start when we caught our first few runs were walking in the changing rooms with near hyperthermia, Fanta and Shaun had broken the nose of their boat of when flying down a run.

Luckily everyone made it in safely and there were no major casualties.

Fanta's Story

Ouch! (Pic: Jamii Hamlin)

Right from the start I was anticipating a huge downwind, record wind speed with luckily not much surf. By just looking around the familiar faces with nervous laughter I knew I was not alone in the way I felt. I was a bit nervous handling a double in those conditions ‘cause it's not just myself to worry about but also my partner, Sean.

We set off like any other downwind but obviously things were going to change very fast. I realized after 200 m that these were hectic conditions, ‘cause the boat would just plough through the wave in front without stopping or even us paddling for that matter. I spent much of the time under water, steering blindly. I needed to keep the boat as straight as possible cause a broach would be diabolical and could end in disaster.

I wasn't really looking around me much but was focusing on driving and steering the boat as best I can when I looked over and saw Richard and Lance to our left, maybe 30 meters away. I told Sean we should go a bit harder and not long after that, ploughing through a wave the nose of our boat just seemed to stay down and disappear. The nose of the boat must have broken off about 30 cm from the front and all that was left was a gaping hole. Within seconds the boat was under water permanently and we were paddling with the water up my chest and up to Sean's armpits. Sean was quick to untie himself from the sinking boat.

We were about 1 km from Dolphin Beach and maybe 1 km from the beach. We decided to head at an angle to the beach. Waves were breaking over our heads and we were getting washed out the boat by these side-on waves. Staying upright was a mission and we both took in a good deal of salt water. Jamii and Anton stopped to enquire but we said we ok, don't think that anyone could have actually done anything anyway, just asked them to notify the timekeepers we in trouble and heading to the beach. We eventually got back to the beach close to Monty's after 25 minutes in icy waters. Twice out there we both at one stage said out loud maybe we should ditch the boat and blades and swim for it. I knew Sean to be a good swimmer and sure I would handle as well. In hindsight, it was a good decision to stay with the boat ‘cause it was still floating, just.

I want to thank Sean for staying calm and relaxed throughout the whole episode. Couldn't have asked for a better person to be with out there.

The only real danger to us was the cold water and in what time we could get to the beach, anywhere else would have been ok but this is Cape Town and the water temperature plays a major role in your decision you take.

Lesson learned: make sure you know the limits of your craft and more importantly, know your own limits.

Fanta's ski with an important piece missing (Pic: Jamii Hamlin)

In Hindsight

"In hindsight we probably shouldn't have run it," said Rich. 

"I was surprised at how nice (and how big) the runs were," he added.  "It's all wind waves, no sea swell at all.  You'd come up to the back of a wave and normally you'd wait for the next one - but we were being blown over the top of the wave.

In those conditions, if you're doing it right, you're ok.  But make one mistake and you're in trouble.  Some of the legends were swimming - Stewart Rew and Boris both swam.

"The swells were breaking on the back of the ski every 3^rd or 4^th wave and you'd accelerate - it was like being hit by a foamy as you come in to the beach through the surf.  But this was a km out to sea!

"The whole ocean was covered with spray; it was over the top in more ways than one.

"The water was cold - probably around 9 degrees C.  It wasn't for the faint hearted."

Results

Records

Ian Black beat the previous singles record by just one second in a new Honcho Extreme ski, made by Honcho Performance Surfskis here in Cape Town.  The record had been held previously by Jasper Mocke (brother of Dawid) who'd set his time in 2006 on a Custom Kayaks Titan ski.

The previous singles record was held by Jasper Mocke in a time of 35:21, set on 8 Feb 2006.  The previous doubles record was a long standing 34:55, set by Graham Solomon and Ant Stott on 7 Feb 2001!

Comments (5)

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Eeesh guys
written by Alain Jaques, February 07, 2008

You guys are really pushing the envelope but there is a fine line between pushing it and ripping it completely. I just don't feel comfortable with people paddling in such conditions on that route. By all means paddle Millers in a gale - for sure, it is warmer and chances are you will blow ashore before you die.

Think about it... water 9 degrees centigrade, wind beyond gale force, night approaching, visibility very poor, wind offshore, chances of rescue... close to zero.

According to www.hypothermia.org/inwater.htm you have between one and four hours in that cold water before you die.

The last thing our sport needs is to lose a paddler.

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If you seek safety, stay ashore! - RichK
written by Dawid Mocke, February 08, 2008

Hey Rich and the boys, its about time you West Coast softies got some new camp fire stories! But seriously, hectic, hectic.

I can concur with Alain's comments completely, but also have a slightly different opinion. Rich is one of the most concientious race organisers around and I am sure that he made sure that anyone who lined up was experienced enough and totally capable of handling big downwind conditions. If there was any doubt he would've told them to stay ashore (hey Rich...?)

Al, you're right with everything you said, but I reckon I would've been out there too.

...water 9 degrees centigrade, wind beyond gale force, night approaching, visibility very poor, wind offshore, chances of rescue... close to zero.

Hmmmm, thats going to make a great t-shirt.

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Stay ashore
written by Rob Mousley, February 08, 2008

Yeah, Rich said he asked a couple of guys to reconsider.

Hmm... I reckon I'd have been out there too!

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...
written by Jasper Mocke, February 08, 2008

Oscar once told me Cape Town does not have long downwinds. But then again Dave Williams-Ashman told me that our longest downwind in Cape Town is Milnerton to Angola, anyone keen?

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Another T-shirt
written by Alain Jaques, February 14, 2008

Give a man a fish, and he'll eat for a day. Give a fish a man, and he'll eat for weeks!
- Takayuki Ikkaku, Arisa Hosaka and Toshihiro Kawabata

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