Tues 27th July 2008 12:56pm and an email from Rob ‘The Human Helmet-cam' Mousley flashes onto my screen and wakes me from the monitor-staring-trance that had taken hold of me as a result of failing dismally to maintain the caffeine induced euphoric state I had so successfully slipped into earlier.

His email was fairly short and to the point:

Is there any chance we could rope you in to do a "DWASOPE Southern Shamaal Training Blog" for us?

PE2EL Challenge 2006 - The DWASOPE Team at the finish (Pic: Michael de Villiers)

Now I must confess that my understanding of IT terminology is pretty limited - to my knowledge a hard drive is the drive along the dirt road to and from Hamburg for the end of the 3rd and start of the 4th day of The Challenge .... so when The Human Helmet-cam asked if we could do a southern shamaal blog my initial reaction was one of disgust ..... 'ag no sis man Rob!!!!, isn't that something you only do in the privacy of your home' - the fact that I was not yet aware that the Southern Shamaal was the new name for the Port Elizabeth to East London surfski challenge did not help my interpretation of what he actually meant.

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Having calmed myself with a dose of Ethiopia's finest...... coffee that is, and having satisfied myself that this was all above board my next reaction was to question the sanity of The Human Helmet-cam. Had the effect of too many NSRI practice rescue missions in the frigid Cape waters finally started to numb his perception of newsworthy Surfski.info content, had he fastened the strap of his helmet-cam soo tightly that it was now slowing the flow of blood to his brain, for who in their right mind would be interested in following the trials and tribulations of a motley bunch of paddling wannabees embarking on their surfski pilgrimage up the Sunshine Coast of South Africa.

After giving it some thought and thanks to The Helmet-Cam's persuasion we agreed that if ‘The Vagina Monologues' could make it to Broadway and if ‘The Red Shoe Diaries' could make it to late night television in South Africa then surely there is place on Surfski.info for ‘The DWASOPE Diaries' ...... and so it was agreed that we would attempt to keep the solitary other reader suffering from the same cold water affliction as The Helmet-Cam, informed on a weekly basis as to the progress of our group as we attempt to get ourselves in shape for The Southern Shamaal 2008.

Since most of the group have yet to lift a paddle in anger, a brief introductory note may be appropriate.

The Dave Williams Ashman School of Paddling Excellence (DWASOPE) was formed as a means of providing some kind of direction to a group of extremely gifted athletes who, left on their own, would have ended up on the sports scrap heap of wasted talent - it was intended to provide a stabilising influence in the otherwise glamorous lives of these uber-athletes where access to the high life is all too easy - such has been the commitment of the group to remain focused and untainted by the material trappings presented to them that they have chosen to give up the lucrative endorsement and sponsorship deals that have come their way. 

After a long day at sea a distressed Dave Williams-Ashman can be seen still attached to his juice-pipe while his seconds carry his ski to shore - luckily for him the NSRI were soon on hand to surgically remove the offending instrument. (Pic: Michael de Villiers)

Coming together as a group with the same objective does not in itself mean success - a group needs a leader, a leader that inspires members to go beyond what they believed was possible - for us we found that leader in Dave Williams-Ashman ...... a bit of a recluse who secretly yearns to spend his days walking barefoot through a herd of grazing Nguni cattle while smoking a Camel held only in his thumb and forefinger ..... a little eccentric but an inspiration nevertheless and the rock around which the group is built.

To add to this we are privileged to have amongst us Mr Peter Cole who, as coach, provides the much needed expertise when it comes time to actually put a blade in the water - such is Mr Cole's dedication to the cause that he is known to be up at 4am every morning checking the weather forecasts to enable him to plan the day's training effectively ...... there is in fact a rumour that he doesn't sleep at all but this is still pure speculation.

The rest of the group is made up of an assortment of characters who have been brought together by a mutual desire to have a good time while trying to achieve something memorable - most are from the southern suburbs of Cape Town... with the exception being Wojtek Orzechowski....., a polish refugee who, after being driven from Warsaw for wanting to start an underground surfski movement in the summer of 1983, made his way to South Africa and settled in the Knysna/Plettenberg Bay area - he adds an international flavour to a decidedly Cape based crew.

In 2006 the 13 members of the group that started The Challenge completed it, albeit in vastly different times - this year there are about 10 paddlers who have committed to the 2008 Southern Shamaal - most have completed the challenge at least once so have an idea of what to expect but for 2 members it will be their first foray into this paddling abyss.

Sean 'Hold-the-Feta' Walker is no stranger to a surfski and a paddler who we believe is possibly the fastest man in the world over 5km - a stalwart of the Llandudno Lifesaving Club, he will be attempting The Challenge for the first time. Joining 'Hold-the-Feta' as a challenge first timer will be the only member of the group who's kids are taller than he his (his kids are 5yrs and 3yrs old respectively). Since this member is still flying below the radar as he has yet to have his participation signed off by his better half we will, for now, just refer to him as 'The Greek'.  

Special mention must also be made of Andrew 'Father Tour' Torr who, after having completed a couple of challenges in a double ski, has not been able to find anyone prepared to paddle with him again and has now been forced into going it alone - he has to be admired for this as men at his advanced age could have been forgiven for throwing in the towel.

'Father Tour' exhibiting awsome style in front of a concerned audience of NSRI crewmembers (what IS it with those juice pipes?)

With 4 months to go and with most members still struggling to fit into their paddling gear it was only a matter of time before Re-Pete Cole instilled some structure into our preparations - this came sooner than expected in the form of the email below which was sent out at 4:50am.

From: Peter Cole

Sent: Monday, August 04, 2008 04:51 AM

Subject: RE: Re: Re: PE-EL

Morning

I have been instructed by our FATHER TOUR that his training for his SINGLE SKI attempt on the PEEL would be starting from the 1st of Aug true to form he was still touring on Friday while I was waiting for him at the swamp.

Anyway I said I would put out a rough time table of when I am doing what.I know wings would know that it is exactly 17 weeks to kick off(5300 laps of Oceana Harbour) but thought I would share that little bit of trivia with the rest of you.

I will be doing beach muscle training with the Fastest White Man in Knysna on Mon,Wed,Thur mornings at constantia VA meet at 6.Paddling on the vlei on Tues and Fri mornings at 7 for the month of Aug then changing to 5.45 from Sept onwards.Paddling also on the Vlei at 5 15pm Mon-Thur and then thought Fridays compulsory paddle at Fish Hoek followed by an Ale (Dom to organise supply of Zulu Blondes so we have the right equipment to also train for the after party)The weekends I think at this stage are just word of mouth most of the time I will be doing the river races,some nice Breede weekends coming up.

So father I will see you at 7am tomorrow morning 10 x 2000 with a bungi and no slip riding.

Pete

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