Hayley Nixon

Cape Town's Table Mountain, viewed from the sea, is one the world's most spectacular landmarks...  and will be the backdrop to what is certain to become an iconic event in South Africa's surfski calendar.  The race, scheduled for South Africa's Freedom Day public holiday, is aimed at highlighting the serious environmental challenges facing the oceans.

"The Europeans have caught on," laughed Jasper Mocke. "We used to be much quicker than them at the start, but we had six or seven boats dicing in a sprint to the first turn buoy!"

Durban - Following two freak weeks of uncontrollable weather, the 2018 FNB Surfski Series got underway at Addington Beach on Friday with the Funky Pants Surfski Challenge which saw Durban's surfski community come out in support of the popular series.

As he followed Jasper Mocke inside the rocks at Cape Point, 22-year-old Kenny Rice glanced back, looking for race favourite and defending champion Hank McGregor.  He was nowhere to be seen.  “Game on!” Rice thought to himself.  “Hurt the guys NOW!”

Two days out from the race, the weather forecast seems to have settled on a moderate southeaster for Saturday morning, which is good news for the paddlers!

The World Surfski Series rankings have (finally) been updated.  With just one (title) race to go, it seems certain that Hank McGregor will have successfully defended his title, while Rachel Clarke, if she competes in the Palm to Pines will win her first Women’s title.

Men’s Rankings

(Click here for the full rankings)

Women’s Rankings

(Click here for the full rankings)

A feature of this year's ICF Ocean Racing World Championships in Hong Kong was the radically improved live coverage - the streaming video feed combined with TracTrac live tracking kept a worldwide audience enthralled.  Canoe Planet posted a bunch of great post-race interviews on their Facebook page, which give fascinating insights from the athletes' point of view...  

Cory Hill - Overall Men's Champion

He's not known as Cory "Chill" Hill for nothing!  This cool customer lead the race from start to finish, never looking anything but commanding.

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After a week of monsoon winds and rough seas, race day arrived with the worst possible conditions for the 3^rd ICF Ocean Racing World Championships – windless, flat and muggy… Capricious Mother Nature!  But in racing, you work with what you get, and at least the flat seas offered some reassurance to the less experienced among the competitors.

Durban - Another dose of crystal clear, flat conditions greeted paddlers on an unusual Tuesday evening for the Lettie Paddle Surfski Challenge, Race 7 of the 2017 FNB Surfski Series which saw another polished performance from Hank McGregor to take his sixth win of the series and the overall series spoils.

Durban - Hundreds of paddlers turned out on Addington Beach once again at the Borland Surfski Challenge, presented by Marriot. Race 6 of the 2017 FNB Surfski Series with all the participants revelling in the fine conditions and warm surf that the event has become known for.