Tough Job... but someone has to do it!

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Monday, 06 September 2010  |  Written by Rob Mousley

Boris Manzewski (Hong Kong) at the end of a practice run

The Races

The event comprises two races: the first originally scheduled for Tuesday; the second Saturday.  But it all depends on the weather – and after weeks of the steady trade winds usual for this time of year, Mother Nature has flung a bag of spanners into the works.  Somewhere to the south of us a cyclone is raging and the trades have been scattered as a result.

Today we had:

• No wind, followed by
• A brisk southeasterly breeze, followed by
• A westerly wind, followed by
• A southerly (accompanied by an intimidating black rain squall).
• And right now (19h00) the wind has died altogether.

I was lucky.  I set off from the host venue, Tamassa, just as the southeaster started, turned when 6km upwind at the peak of the wind and rode the beautiful little runners all the way back.  Just as I reached the gap in the reef I suddenly realised that I was paddling into wind again – the breeze had swung nearly 180 degrees in about 5 minutes.

So.  When will the races be run?  Race director Anton Erasmus has been scratching his head over the forecasts – which seem to change every day.  Right now it looks as though the 16km warm-up race will be on Thursday; the main 28km from Souillac to le Pavillon on Saturday.   But that could change.

What’s it like to paddle here?

Try: warm water (but not too warm: 20C); warm winds (24C); runners that line up beautifully and form even with a breeze (after all the fetch is several thousand km!); crystal clear water; adrenalin pumping moments when you come through the reef.

Add to that:

• The unspoilt, relatively undeveloped coastline populated with traditional fisherman’s villages.
• The extremely impressive organisation: regular ski shuttles that take your ski where you want it to be and fetch it at the other end.
• And the sheer friendliness of the locals.

Paddling Paradise?  It certainly comes close!

Check the leash-tan! (Nice legs!)

Sunset on Mauritius

Post-paddle discussion!

What else can you do in Mauritius?

The event is marketed as a family holiday – so what else can you do on Mauritius?  Well, I’m about to find out – at 06h15 tomorrow I’m heading off to go swim with dolphins in Black River with a couple of the other paddlers.  I have to confess that I’ve done this once before – and found it an almost spiritual experience.  Swimming inches away from wild dolphins is definitely my idea of connecting with nature.

On Tuesday it looks as though I’m going hiking in the spectacular Black River Gorges National Park...

And of course – I’ll be taking full advantage of the paddling.  Even if the conditions aren’t exactly the downwind we were expecting, it’s still a mind-blowing experience to paddle outside the reef in the spectacular crystal-blue water off this lovely tropical island!

Stay tuned!  As I said.... it’s a tough break, but hey, someone has to do it!

Monday morning - Dolphin Swim...

(We have a challenge at the moment connecting to various websites from the hotel – including surfski.info!  So I’m in a friend’s office using one of his computers to upload to the site...)

Early start this morning – the earlier the better to get to the dolphin swimming area...

There are two species of dolphins usually found when dolphin watching in Mauritius – bottlenose dolphins and the smaller spinner dolphins which were the ones we eventually found this morning.

You get really close to the dolphins...

The tour operators work to a strict code of conduct – they take swimmers reasonably close to the pod, but they are not allowed to go too close to the animals.  In any case, these are wild (“free-range”!) and simply swim away if harassed.

The dolphins swim in circles – sounding and popping up to the surface every few moments to breath.  They seem to be completely unconcerned with the clumsy humans in their environment; you can hear them whistling and clicking as they communicate.  Judging by the frisky behaviour there were some attractive females in the group and I could see one (male?) pulling at his neighbours flipper as if to say, “hey, how about it?”  An impatient flick of her tale was the answer as she shot off...

And from underwater...

A spectacular experience – what a way to start the day...  now for more paddling!

For more information and to make a booking, see: www.blackriver-mauritius.com

View from the beach

Tropical paradise...