Latest Surfski News

Tuesday, 17 October 2023 07:11
“What the bloody hell are you doing here?” I thought to myself a few moments after launching on the brand new V10 4G for the first time. It was getting dark; it was raining; the squalls were lifting sheets of spray off the water… directly offshore. What WAS I thinking? The answer is that I’m a sucker for new toys – and if I get my hands on one, I HAVE to play with it. Damn the weather, full speed ahead… Since then I’ve paddled the boat many more times, in much pleasanter weather. Here’s what I think of this,…
Thursday, 08 June 2023 12:42
East London, South Africa: Angus Warren watched helplessly as the shark’s teeth crunched through the hull of his surfski. “It seemed to go on and on,” he says, “pushing and chomping. I was thinking, why is it not working out that it isn’t food? “I can’t tell how long it took, but I had enough time to shout a couple of times to the others.” The next thing he knew, he was in the water…
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Thursday, 27 April 2023 18:42
CAPE TOWN - Hank McGregor and Josh Fenn convincingly claimed back their Prescient Freedom Paddle title on Thursday in a dramatic race marked by tough conditions and a rain-delayed start.  Conditions were extremely tough - a brisk northwester blowing spray from the big confused chop into the paddlers' faces as they headed out to the island.  Huge breaking surf on the far side of the island ensured a wide line but the wind dropped as the fleet started on the journey back to the finish, making it that much more difficult and energy sapping to catch the runs.  
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Tuesday, 25 April 2023 11:50
Last Friday, however, I paddled with Dawid on a windless autumn evening in Cape Town. Cruising from Fish Hoek to Muizenberg, we paddled together, stopping at all the coves to surf a few waves. In short, the operative word was "fun". This was a different Dawid - off duty - and, well, I've never paddled with anyone so noisy before. Whistling, singing, shouting to folks on shore - yahooing as he caught a wave. Heading home at dusk we crept up behind a group of seals lazing on the surface. Dawid began barking like a five-year-old paid by the bark...until…
Thursday, 09 February 2023 07:39
A look back - aaaaargh! A mountain. Let it go through... A smaller one, with a glimpse of something massive lurking further out to sea. Catch it, catch it! Sprint, sprint, you’re on it, here’s the break zone, keep going, keep going, the roar from behind and the sudden acceleration as a massive foamy caught up to me, keep it straight, keep it straight... Phew. Arrived. Panting. Stop the watch. ok. Made it. Empty the boat, pick it up to prevent it knocking you down. Done.
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Saturday, 26 November 2022 17:16
The South Africans cleaned up today at the most prestigious surfski race in Australia – arguably the most prestigious race in the world - taking five out of the top six places and the entire podium at the Shaw and Partners “The Doctor” in Perth. Defending women’s champion, Kiwi Danielle McKenzie won the women’s trophy.
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Saturday, 19 November 2022 13:01
Gold Coast paddler, Cory Hill, took first scalp in the five-event ocean ski racing series, the Shaw and Partners WA Race Week, winning the inaugural race today, the 24km Fenn West Coast Downwinder from Fremantle, just south of Perth, to Sorrento Beach. In fine conditions with a 16 knot SSW wind courtesy of the famed Fremantle Doctor, the start off Port Beach was intense with the top paddlers in a terse battle to make the first break.   But it was 33-year-old Hill – the 4-times DOCTOR champ who relishes the Perth conditions – who was able to shake the field…
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Tuesday, 16 March 2021 13:54
It’s not easy to catch a rolling, runaway single ski in 30kt of gusting wind – and as they attempted to grab it, Alex and his doubles partner lost their balance and fell into the water. By the time they’d remounted, the single ski was gone – blown away by the strengthening near-gale. They turned and paddled back upwind to find their buddy.
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Wednesday, 03 March 2021 12:08
Accident reports are easy to write when the story ends happily, but this one didn’t and it’s with a very heavy heart that I’m writing this, with a view to learning what we can from it.
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Wednesday, 15 July 2020 09:13
When the NSRI found Duncan MacDonald, he was approximately 6km off Smitswinkel Bay, drifting rapidly further offshore. Gale-force squalls whipped sheets of spray off the waves, reducing visibility almost to nothing. What Happened? Given the small size of the surfski community, there’s always intense interest whenever there’s a rescue. What happened? What did they do wrong? What can we learn from it? Clearly there are lessons to be learnt from any mishap – so here’s a description of what happened, shared with the permission and cooperation of the folks involved in the hope that we might all learn from this…
Friday, 24 April 2020 11:41
Durban – As the continued coronavirus lockdown grips the country, Canoeing South Africa will host a 24 hour Canoeing4COVID-19 event this weekend as a way to raise funds for members of the broader paddling community that have been badly affected by the lockdown.
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Wednesday, 11 March 2020 14:35
“Hey, Rob! Help!” The shouts penetrated the sound of the howling wind and crashing waves – and even through the noise it was obvious from the tone of his voice that something was seriously wrong. I turned and headed back upwind.
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Tuesday, 03 March 2020 14:43
Many paddlers use Personal Locator Beacons, or tracker apps like SafeTrx on their mobile phones. But handheld VHF radios are also a great choice to consider – especially when they’re DSC-capable like the Standard Horizon HX870E.
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Monday, 24 February 2020 12:01
I finally got my hands on a demo Fennix Swordfish S this weekend and did two Miller's Runs in succession to see if I could feel any difference in handling between the 2018 Swordfish S and the new Fennix model.  Conditions were challenging: False Bay was covered in whitecaps, whipped by a combination of a 25-30kt southeaster and small, confused seas.  The result?  I definitely want to spend more time in this boat.
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Thursday, 26 December 2019 10:30
The shark smashed like a freight train into Roger Swinney’s surfski in an explosion of noise and spray, knocking him off into the water.  “I managed to get back on the ski,” he said, “but I fell off again and as I remounted the second time, I saw the swirl and tips of the shark’s fins. “I didn’t see it clearly, but from the force of it and the movement in the water, it looked big!”
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Review: Updated Robberg Express

Wednesday, 05 September 2007 17:07 | Written by 
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Surfski.info last reviewed the Knysna Kayaks Robberg Express in April 2006 and at the time we had a couple of reservations about the ski -in particular, in choppy water the cockpit filled with water.  I've spent the last few weekends paddling the updated model and found it much improved.

New Robberg Express Logo

 

Knysna Kayaks

Knysna Kayaks is based in Knysna, South Africa and are better known for their K1s and K2s.  Their reputation for high quality is such that they are the sole licenced manufacturers of Vajda racing kayaks in South Africa.

Robberg Express: First Impressions

The build quality is excellent: the gelcoat has scarcely a ripple (not surprising since they now vacuum bag all their skis) and the paint scheme on our demo boat looks smart. 

Robberg Express Surf Ski on the water
The Robberg Express on the water (Photo: Rob Mousley)

For a larger image, click here. 

The cockpit rails have been lifted in front of the sitting position and meet a raised deck - taking away the bulbous nose that gave the original ski a rather ugly look; although the ski still looks distinctive, I much prefer the new shape.

The adjustable rudder pedals have a very smooth and easy to use mechanism.  The footplate moves easily and the pedals are self adjusting.  The rudder lines are made from stainless steel cable - a section of line attaches to the cable and goes through the self adjusting mechanism on each pedal.  The lines come with plenty of spare - enough to make a jury rig in case of failure.  (This is a good thing: last season in the course of some 25 downwind runs we saw several rudder line failures including both steel cables and V10 rudder lines.)

Robberg Express Surf Ski cockpit
Robberg Express footwell - wooden footplate; storage compartment
 

Paddling the ski

I paddled the ski on several occasions in different conditions:

  • Downwind on our favourite Millers Run.
  • On flat calm conditions in a race
  • For a three hour training paddle around Robben Island during which we had some small runs on the way out and a cross-chop on the way back.
  • Downwind from Fish Hoek to Buffels Bay, the so-called "reverse Millers Run".
Robberg Express Surf Ski
Robberg Express under load (Photo: Rob Mousley; Load: Dale Lippstreu)

Comfort

The importance of getting the rudder pedal adjustment right was driven home to me on our first paddle - the downwind run.  I set the ski up on shore but once on the water realised that I'd set the leg length too long.  I was able to change it on the water - but inadvertently set it too short.  There were two consequences - the ski felt quite twitchy and my coccyx was rubbed raw. 

On subsequent paddles I had the adjustment just right (calves just touching the cockpit bottom when my leg was at full stretch) and this made a huge difference to my stability and also to the state of my backside.

In short - this is one of the most comfortable skis I've paddled. 

Stability/Seating Position

I find the Robberg Express very similar to the Mako6 - in which I spend most of my paddling time.  The seat position is higher than the Mako6 however; your feet are below your bum and I think this adds to the comfort of the ski.

Robberg Express Surf Ski aft deck
Robberg Express aft deck, showing cutaway (Photo: Rob Mousley)
 

Adjustable Footplate and Rudder Pedals

The footplate assembly is held in position by two spring-loaded pins that impinge rails mounted on either side of the single footwell.  A short cable is attached between the pins - you simply pull on the cable to move the rudder assembly.  This is the same mechanism used on the Epic, Fenn Mako6 and Honcho skis.  The pedals self adjust on the rudder lines making it extremely easy to change the set up - even while sitting in the ski on the water. 

The footplate on the demo ski is built of marine ply - and felt extremely solid.  "The footrest is available in carbon," Albert Wasserman, Knysna Kayak's factory manager confirmed, "but I prefer the wood."

Performance

As we all know, "it's not the hull, it's the engine".  My impressions were however that:

  • The ski catches waves very readily.  I found that it accelerated easily onto both large and small waves.  It was very controllable and did not have an undue tendency to broach.
  • I found the ski's stability such that I could focus on keeping my rhythm even on choppy water.
  • The position of the seat and the narrowness of the hull at the catch make the stroke comfortable and presumably efficient.

In the race that I paddled, I was beaten by my buddy Dale Lippstreu on a V10 Ultra while I beat my other regular training partner Damian Feuilherade who was on a glass Mako6.  Of course a sample of one race doesn't make for accurate conclusions but for me the point was that I didn't feel that the ski was the cause of Dale beating me!  I don't think there's anything wrong with the hull speed.  (The Robberg Express is about 30cm shorter than the V10/Mako6 and one would expect perhaps that this would have a consequence - longer hulls are, as we all know, faster.) 

Why "Robberg Express"?

I was on the beach stretching before setting out and total stranger walked up to me and said, "That's a cheeky name for a boat!"  I asked why and she said, "It's the name of a huge shark that lives up the coast near Knysna!"

Albert confirmed the story:  "The shark is a female of over 7 meters and is often seen off Robberg - from there its name - some tourist took a picture of the late Daniel Conradie and his partner - I think it was Jenette Walder on a double ski off Robberg - whilst the shark passed under them - it was larger than the ski!!"

Build Choices and Weights

Albert said that the normal weight of the ski is max 17kg - and without the storage compartment around 16kg.

"We also do epoxy lay-ups," he added.  "14 kg in glass and 12 in carbon."

What I liked

  • The build quality: the demo ski has an excellent finish.  I also prefer the look of the new deck shape.
  • The stability: more or less the same as a Mako6, I'd be happy to take the ski into any kind of chop
  • The seating position: with bum above heels, it's one of the most comfortable cockpits I've ever sat in.
  • Handling in waves: seemed to accelerate easily onto small and large waves, didn't dig the nose in, manoeuvred well and didn't broach excessively

What I didn't like

  • In spite of the ski being much drier than the old one (I think I flooded the cockpit just once during our 20km downwind paddle) I still felt wet because the rails at the back of the cockpit are low.  But this really is a minor issue and probably noticeable only because of the water temperature here in Cape Town!  (And in any case if they did raise the rails right there, it might make the ski more difficult to remount!)

Conclusion

I really like this ski and I'd be happy to take it out (and to race it) in any weather conditions. 

For more info:

See: http://www.knysnaracingkayaks.com/