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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Surfski.info Book Review: SURFSKI with the Pros

Sunday, 27 November 2011 18:49 | Written by 
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Surfski.info Book Review: SURFSKI with the Pros

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.

Words and Images

The book is written by Kevin Brunette in association with Dawid and Nikki Mocke.  Kevin describes himself as a “serious recreational paddler” and has been paddling with the Surfski School training groups longer than almost anyone else.  He’s a technical author and his writing style reflects his engineering background: the concepts are described clearly and simply, with little embellishment.

The book is worth buying for the photos alone.  It’s packed with stunning full color images taken by Jean Tresfon, himself a keen paddler.  (For more of his work, check out http://www.flickr.com/photos/jtresfon/sets/)

Surfski with the Pros

Dawid Mocke, showing how it's done in fabulous downwind conditions

Surfski with the Pros

Dawid and Nikki paddle past the Roman Rock lighthouse in False Bay, Cape Town.  Roman Rock is the half way point on the infamous Miller's Run

Mocke Magic

The book is essentially a distillation of the Mocke approach to teaching surfski paddling.

Dawid and Nikki Mocke have been running their Surfski School for 8 years and have introduced over four thousand people to the sport in Cape Town alone*.  Dawid has been the de-facto Surfski World Champion for the last three years, while Nikki has extensive sprint experience (culminating in a 7th place at the Beijing Olympics in the South African women’s 1000m K4 team) to add to her own surfski achievements (among them World Champion in 2006 and 2010).

Most importantly though, the Mocke’s have an absolute passion for paddling and for passing on their knowledge – and this shines through, throughout the book.

Audience

While SURFSKI with the Pros is aimed at the beginner to intermediate level paddler, more advanced paddlers will also find useful tidbits.

The first half of the book covers the basics: choosing and handling your gear; getting onto the water for the first time; paddling technique and safety considerations.

SURFSKI with the Pros...

The text then goes on to more advanced topics: navigating the surf line; group paddling and downwind paddling; training and competing and finally some of the theory behind ski and paddle shapes.  Finally the FAQ section condenses the most commonly asked questions from the Mocke’s many years of teaching.

SURFSKI with the Pros...

Using the Book

While you could sit down and read it from cover to cover, this is the kind of book that’s perfect for dipping into, simply because the information is so neatly packaged into logical chunks.  The chapters on group paddling and downwind paddling are cases in point!

SURFSKI with the Pros...

What I liked about the book

  • The breadth of information – from selecting your first ski to planning your training regime.
  • The clear and simple presentation of the information
  • The fantastic illustrations

What I didn’t like so much

  • I felt that the language was a little too staid in places – but heck, it’s a how-to, not a thriller!

Overall

This is an excellent book, long overdue.

Surfski paddling is a complex business and takes years to master – and even then you can always find ways to improve.  This book is both a means of accelerating the learning curve and an inspiration to get out on the water; read the chapter on downwind paddling and the first thing you want to do is go out and practice the concepts!

Surfski with the Pros

*The Surfski School concept has been franchised and operations based on the concept are running in Durban and East London.  Contact the Mockes if you’re interested in opening your own school.