Clear skis; golden beaches; rocky cliffs; flat water criss-crossed by boat wakes; no wind. That was EuroChallenge 2009!
After Jeremy Cotter fell out, sick, Matt Bouman and Dawid diced most of the way around the 25km course. But Matt managed to surge ahead some 4km from the finish - game over.
Michele Eray is odds-on favourite to win EuroChallenge 2009 - and she's on a mission to boost participation by women in surf ski."I'll put your stickers on my boat," she said, "but only if you give the women more coverage!"
There is little doubt that when the race starts the front pack will include Jeremy Cotter (Aus), Dawid Mocke (SA) and Matt Bouman (SA).(Hank McGregor is focussing on Molokai and Grant vd Walt couldn't get a visa in time for the race.)And in the women's race, South African Michele Eray is likely to set the pace.
But the standard of European surfski paddling has improved radically in the last year - and the southern hemisphere paddlers would be well advised to keep an eye on some of the names listed in this article...
Grant van der Walt (SA surfski Champion as of 3 days ago), Dawid Mocke (winner of the 2-star Nelson Mandela Bay Classic on Friday), Matt Bouman (who so nearly beat both vd Walt AND Mocke), Jeremy Cotter (2nd at the Bridge to Beach in Sydney a few weeks ago)...
Hank McGregor (SA), Dawid Mocke (SA) and Jeremy Cotter (Aus) up against Europe's best - including a Manual Busto Fernandes out to reverse his humiliation at the 2008 Dubai Shamaal...This looks likely to be the biggest, most competitive and best attended European surfski race ever.
Spain’s K1 marathon superstar, Manuel Busto Fernandez confirmed this week that he’s coming back to Eurochallenge. He came fourth in last year’s race behind Dawid Mocke, Matt Bouman and Sean Rice – all of whom have confirmed their participation in the 2010 event.
[Editor: Dawid is spending some time in Spain as the guest of the Federacion de Piraguismo de Comunidad de Valencia.He's been giving paddling clinics and will be taking part in a championship race this weekend...He's been writing to tell us about his trip...]
Durban – Team Best 4 Kayak Centre captain Hank McGregor reclaimed his customary place at the top of the pile when he cruised to victory in the Stellar Kayaks surfski race, race two of the Discovery Best 4 Surfski Series, on Sunday morning.
A week of great paddling awaits those going to the fourth edition of the Mauritius Ocean Classic. Starting on Sunday, 24 June 2012 with ski issue and then into training sessions with Dawid Mocke and Barry Lewin. Everyday there will be scheduled downwind paddles, allowing all to get familiar with the conditions and ready for the races.
In another all-out heart-bursting sprint finish, Simon van Gysen managed to boost his ski's nose a few cm past Sean Rice to take the second EuroChallenge race along with the overall title.
“Van Gysen is pulling ahead of McGregor… it’s his race to lose. No! He’s heading for the harbor instead of the buoy… He’s realized; he’s turned. McGregor’s right up with him! He’s around, they’re sprinting for the finish…”
It’s only a few weeks until the 11th King of the Harbour Ocean ski race and excitement is building in the surf ski community. It’s a close-knit group and all agree that our race here in Auckland is unique in the world and one of the best.
Transcribe the accumulated wisdom of two of the best surfski paddlers in the world, add some truly stunning photographs, and in case that’s not enough, make things even more clear with beautifully executed diagrams. That’s SURFSKI with the Pros in a nutshell.
When Mario Graziani called to say that there was an Allwave CX surfski in Cape Town and would I like to try it, I leapt at the chance. At the same time I was a little apprehensive – what could Italians possibly know about making surfskis?!
“Ok, let’s sprint to the other side of the harbor,” I said. Issuing a challenge like that to my training partner Dale Lippstreu always results in a ball-bursting, neck and neck, 110% redline effort. This time though he just disappeared (behind me) and 200m later I looked back to see him paddling backwards. “I thought I had something on the rudder,” he said. Nah. We did it again and the same thing happened. I was on an Carbonology Sport Atom – and on flat water it made me look like a paddling super-hero.
Let’s start by clarifying that this is an independent product review. Secondly, I have won numerous national kayak titles in both sprint and marathon, and was selected to represent Australia at the World Cup and other International Events. I have also competed in surfski events at state and national levels in surf lifesaving. Summary – independent and qualified advice on craft.
A year ago, Kayakpro released an updated version of their Speedstroke kayak ergometer. In an effort to be on the leading edge of the indoor paddling world, I made the switch from their older model, the Speedstroke which was introduced in 2001, to their newer model, the GYM, one year ago. KayakPro is owned and operated by British ex-Olympian and World Champion Grayson Bourne.
Richard Kohler, attempting to circumnavigate the SA coastline for charity, has been hammered for the third time by the unforgiving KwaZulu-Natal conditions.
The email was brief: “Newsflash - Richard was attacked by a shark. He is safe, but his surfski is seriously damaged (entire rudder system trashed).” Later came an update: “Richard is safe, though he had to stop 3 times on his paddle today to empty his boat. “
A solo Cape Town paddler is braving the entire South African coastline on a kayak, a first-ever attempt, to raise awareness and funds for children born with cleft lips and palates.
Imagine taking ten days out of your life to paddle with (and be coached by) two of the best surfski exponents ever… In 2012, you have three opportunities to take a spectacular trip to some of the most remote and beautiful parts of the Western Australian coast with Dean Gardiner and Oscar Chalupsky.
Here’s a debate that pops up quite often: what length is optimum for surfskis? Ralph Baker, a student at the Newcastle University School of Marine Science and Technology (phew what a mouthful!) recently completed an eight month long project looking at this precise question.
[Editor: When Jean Mars Tavignot tried out his new Red7 Surf 70 Pro in downwind conditions, he was not pleased; his 10 year old Fenn Millenium handled the short steep Mediterranean waves better! Nothing daunted, he took out his toolbox…]
I have always wanted to fit an elliptical rudder to a Fenn, particularly a Mako 6 as it is my favourite ski. I can paddle an Elite but I prefer the 6 for all round stability and performance particularly in chop. Its main weakness is that the shark fin loses bite because of the ski's rocker and the fin's proximity to the tail causes the odd broach particularly in big swells.
"Life's too short to learn from our own experience, instead, learn from others and save the expense..."
I recently hurt my back and was forced to stop training in my kayak and ski for six weeks. In the process of repair I found some amazing things I’ve been doing wrong for at least eighteen months, and thought surfski.info readers might benefit from my mistakes.
Rudders are a critical part of any boat’s design – and in my opinion many of the rudders on surfskis are sub-optimal, to put it mildly. But at last a manufacturer has got off their butt to offer a wide range of rudders for different conditions.
Paddling Clinic in Valencia, Spain
Upwind Spanish Style! Dawid & host Jonathan Neill
