caribbean

"Fortunately the camera died for the last 5km, because I was cursing..." said Oscar Chalupsky. "It was flat, hot, headwind… and I was blown!"

A few days after winning "Ze Caribbean Race", here's Oscar coaching a couple of paddlers (including his boss) on downwind technique.

I've had the enormous pleasure of paddling a number of times with Oscar in doubles on our beloved Miller's Run downwind route here in Cape Town, and I can say with all honesty that it's been a revelation and inspirational every time.

As you can see (and hear, as he barks at his pupils!), Oscar's basic mantra is to paddle early and stop paddling early and work with the energy of the waves.  On many other occasions (although he doesn't mention it in this video) he's described taking a couple of "explosive" power-strokes to get onto the run.  

Don't try to catch every run

When I paddled doubles with him, I was astonished at how many waves he didn't take: he has an uncanny ability to feel whether the wave is the right one or not.  If not, he lets it roll under him, taking the next one (or the one after that).  But more often then not, he then pops back over the one or two that he discarded, making up the distance and more.  This kind of skill takes time in the boat to acquire - at the beginning of a downwind career, the novice tries too hard, fails to get over too many runs, using too much energy - but you learn over time how to use the least amount of power to catch the run and then to milk it for all the energy it contains.

Scanning

Another of Oscar's mantras is too keep scanning 45 degrees either side of your course, looking for the next dip in the water, or the next shoulder of the wave in front.  Frequently he'll steer a kind of S-curve, turning left or right, keeping the speed up, before turning back onto the wave.  

If you ever get the chance to ride doubles with Oscar (or any of the other top downwind elites), don't hesitate!  You'll learn more in five minutes than you can imagine - and you'll be inspired to get straight back out to try it for yourself.

Basse-Terre in Guadeloupe saw the finish of the final leg of the 2010 Caribbean surfski Tour on Sunday 24 October. Tommy Karls (Sweden) powered away from Nuno Santos to win the final race and the Tour.

The Caribbean Surfski Tour will be a much smaller, more humble event than we had hoped for this year.  Unfortunately the fund raising abilities of the organisers were not up to the new challenges of finding cash during these perceived hard economic times and the cash prizes we had hoped to offer never materialised.

Following rave reviews of the 2009 tour, the series is back, bigger and better than ever...  A new race in Antigua joins the established events in St. Maarten and Guadeloupe.

The Soualiga Challenge proved to be exactly that this year. At the finish line, winner Dawid Mocke said that was the hardest race he had ever done. Instead of the light easterly winds predicted, the weather dished up an early taste of the well known "Christmas Winds", 15 to 20 kts from the Northeast. This meant that instead of the expected downwind conditions, the paddlers were faced with strong gusts and 1.5m breaking seas from the side. Not and easy way to travel 25km across open water.

Time flies and the Caribbean Mini Tour is 2/3 over.  Dawid Mocke has shown he means business in no uncertain terms, with two solid wins behind him. 

US surfski Champs and Chicago Shoreline Marathon are over so that means it must be only a month left until the Caribbean Mini Tour starts. Entries have been coming in fast ahead of the mid September cut off date.

{mosimage} 

The 2009 Blue Waters and Monster Energy Trinidad North Coast Challenge was full of excitement. The surfski race was the first race in the 2009 Caribbean Ocean Racing Series.

{mosimage} 

What could be better than sandy tropical beaches, warm Caribbean Sea, friendly smiles and Dollar beers?  Answer ... all that plus surfski racing.  This year the Caribbean mini tour brings you not just two, but three top-notch races in an action-packed week.  Slotted in at the end of September / beginning of October, the Mini Tour is in its third year now and is becoming more than just a race.

{mosimage}