Women's Race

After seeing her new husband power to a FNB Dusi Canoe Marathon title, Nikki Birkett (neé Russell) hopped back into a surfski to take home the ladies crown on Friday.

She beat off the challenge from Sabina Lawrie and Sharon Armstrong to take her first race win of the 2018 series in impressive fashion.

Tyron Maher and Trevor Maher were the second strongest doubles pair on the water while Trevor Verness and Skye Prato rounded out the doubles podium.

The all-ladies crew of Euro Steel’s Hayley Nixon and Carmel Bilson were once again the strongest ladies double and finished fourth overall in the doubles category.

The 4km short course saw Matt Maroun take his first win of 2018 ahead of Connor Botha in second and Dave Rees in third.

Experienced paddler Kyeta Purchase partners up with Joshua Simpkins to take home the doubles honours in the short course on Friday evening.

Race Eight, the Vaaka Cadence Surfski Challenge, of the 2018 FNB Surfski Series takes place at Marine Surf Lifesaving Club on Friday, 2 March.

SUMMARY OF RESULTS 

BORLAND SURFSKI CHALLENGE, PRESENTED BY MARRIOTT

Overall Singles

1.Matthew Bouman 29:39
2.Wade Krieger 31:12
3.Gene Prato 31:22
4.Zoog Haynes 32:25
5.Jordon Clauson 32:26
6.Michel De Rauville 34:12
7.Billy Harker 34:54
8.Matt Gunning 35:17
9.Colin Simpkins 36:08
10.Jasper Gaylard 36:31

Doubles

1.Luke Nisbet/Jenna Ward 32:48
2.Tyron Maher/Trevor Maher 34:20
3.Trevor Verness/Skye Prato 35:45
4.Hayley Nixon/Carmel Bilson 37:26
5.Tamryn McKie/Calvin McKie 39:25

Women

1.Nicole Birkett 37:43
2.Sabina Lawrie 38:35
3.Sharon Armstrong 44:02

Women Doubles

1.Hayley Nixon/Carmel Bilson 37:26

Mixed Double

1.Luke Nisbet/Jenna Ward 32:48

Short Course

Overall Singles

1.Matt Maroun 17:38
2.Connor Botha 18:41
3.Dave Rees 20:30

Doubles

1.Kyeta Purchase/Josh Simpkins 16:44

More information can be found at www.marineseries.co.za.

Women's Race

In the women's race, Hayley Nixon dominated from beginning to end. "Hayley is so strong," said Angie Le Roux. "She was in front from the start."

But the race for second place was neck-and-neck between the Frenchwoman and the two Spaniards.

"We started in sheltered water," said Le Roux, "and then there was a small, physical downwind, had to pull over it. Then a nice technical downwind - and the final few km were flat and physical!"

In the final sprint, Le Roux just managed to keep in front of Olaberri and Xifra, but a mere three seconds separated the women.

Le Roux was happy with the result. "This event is very early in the season for us," she explained. "So, it's quite difficult to train for it."

The event prize money was identical for both men and women.

2021 World Championships?

Rumour has it the organisers are bidding for the 2021 ICF Ocean Racing World Championships.

"They need to have a contingency plan for the weather," said Mocke, "but a combination of the second and third legs would give them an ideal course."

Summary Results

(Click here for the full results)

1. Jasper Mocke (RSA): 44:12
2. Sean Rice (RSA): 44:53
3. Esteban Medina Ojeda (ESP): 45:28
4. Valentin Henot (FRA): 45:52
5. Gordan Harbrecht (GER): 45:58

Women

1. Hayley Nixon (RSA): 50:48
2. Angie Le Roux (FRA): 53:55
3. Amaia Osaba Olaberri (ESP): 53:55
4. Judit Vergés Xifra (ESP): 53:56

Race seven of the 2018 FNB Surfski Series takes place on Friday, 23 February at the Borland Surfski Challenge presented by Marriott.

SUMMARY OF RESULTS - LETTIE SURFSKI CHALLENGE

Overall Singles

1.Matt Bouman 33:29
2.Wade Krieger 35:28
3.Luke Nisbet 35:50
4.Lee McGregor 35:50
5.Hamish Lovemore 36:31

Doubles

1.Dawid Mocké/Ian Black 33:29
2.Richard Lowe/Shaun Burgin 34:06
3.Brent Chiazzari/Travis Kruger 34:10
4.Dave Harker/Justin Swart 36:48
5.Hayley Nixon/Carmel Bilson 36:55

Women

1.Sabina Lawrie 41:15
2.Raquel Arcediano 45:37
3.Thea van der Westhuizen 47:40

Women Doubles

1.Hayley Nixon/Carmel Bilson 36:55
2.Jacqui Boyd/Lyn Bennett 42:04

Mixed Double

1.Louisa van Staden/Gavin Botha 39:51
2.Tamryn Mckie/Calvin Mckie 41:37
3.Sharon Armstrong/Carl Elkington 42:02

Short Course

Overall Singles
1.Peter Jacobs 19:55
2.Connor Botha 23:04
3.Keaton Riddle 23:31

Doubles

1.Kyeta Purchase/Josh Simpkins 19:57
2.Jody Taylor/Duane Taylor 20:00
3.Tyler Wilson/Garnett Wilson 21:41

SUP

Dylan Fick, SA SUP Champion

Overall

1.Dylan Fick 28:26
2.Brandon Read 28:59
3.Nick Park-Ross 29:22
4.Shayne Chipps 29:25
5.Charlotte Atherton 31:35

More information can be found at www.marineseries.co.za.

You often talk about changing the length of your paddle?

About 20min into the race, I realised my paddle was too long and went from 2.17 down to 2.15. As I got tired I changed it another two times, down to 2.13 and finally to 2.11.

You need to think of your paddle length like gears on a bike. As you get tired, you "change down".

I practise changing paddle length every day.

You can hear a voice in the background on the video?

Yes, I use Endomondo on my iPhone: it talks to me and it's great to get the splits after every kilometre so that I can judge how I'm doing.

I also use two Garmins:

• Garmin Fenix 3: I have speed, distance, time and HR displayed.
• Garmin Forerunner 920XT: Shows direction and distance to the finish.

Bucket List

Oscar was full of praise for the race organisation and the venue - it's relatively inexpensive to get there and to stay there, while the paddling conditions sound sublime.

Yet another race to add to the bucket list!

Click here for the event website
Click here for the event's Facebook page

Click here for Oscar's Garmin track.

Results 

Miller's Run

The BMD is a challenge - but Vinnie's current paddling goal is do a Miller's Run in a single ski.

He's working steadily towards that goal, but when Nelo Surfskis CEO (and all-round surfski paddling legend) Oscar Chalupsky was in Cape Town recently, he offered to take Vinnie on a double to do a Miller's Run; Vinnie leaped at the opportunity…

Oscar Chalupsky and Vinnie Cicatello - charging into Fish Hoek Bay

It was a "proper" Miller's Run day - 30kt of southeaster with some robust swell to catch.  

"It was definitely one of my highlights of paddling especially going past Roman Rock Lighthouse at speed," said Vinnie. "It was an adrenaline rush and I can't wait to do it again…"

Post-Miller's Stoke!

WhatsApp...

Vinnie uses WhatsApp to run the Miller's Taxi side of business; times are usually announced a day or two in advance - and, obviously, depend on the weather.  "In summer I sometimes do 3 or even 4 runs," he says.  The taxi operates in winter too, when the prevailing wind swings from SE to NW.  

To get on the WhatsApp group, contact Vinnie at +27 83 500 5194

Confirmation - Bum Pad Required

Having caught a cold, I wasn't at my best for the next paddle, which took me 5km out from Fish Hoek into a 15-20kt SE to the lighthouse and back. The outward-bound leg was a grind - but the stability of the ski meant that I could develop a steady rhythm, grinding it out into the waves. On the way back, the short, steep swells were a blast. I'd take a few strokes and then sit there, swooping down the runs, round the shoulders, back and forth - what a pleasure.

But I confirmed my developing suspicion that I wasn't going to get away without doing something about the bucket. The bottom, rear of the seat was definitely painful against my coccyx area and although I'd waterproofed my skin again with Vaseline to prevent chafing, it still felt rubbed and bruised - particularly because of the rotation and effort I was putting into paddling into wind.

So… the final pimping of the ski: I installed a bum pad, being sure to position it so that the notch was under my coccyx.

The final step - a bum pad (correctly installed with the notch to the rear).

And that was what I tested on Saturday and Sunday, on two more Miller's Runs…

Big, Sloppy Miller's

On Saturday (moderate wind, big swell) I found the conditions frustrating, requiring a lot of effort to get onto the big, sloppy runs and I found myself out of breath, heart racing and my arms feeling like spaghetti. Realising that I'm not in the peak of health right now I backed off and focussed on simply trying to paddle efficiently without letting my heart rate get too high.

In spite of throttling back, I still did a sub-48min run, a perfectly adequate time and one I'd have been thrilled with a few years ago.

Fast, Mellow, Miller's

On Sunday, although the wind was still moderate (20-26kt), the sea had a completely different character: small, clean, fast runs, with seemingly endless opportunities to link sequences. I had resolved to take it easy, given my cold, but two buddies were pushing it just in front, and the red mists came down… We ended up coming into Fish Hoek together and hit the beach within seconds of each other, glorious! Time: 46:06, excellent (for me) in the circumstances.

Best of all, the bum-pad made all the difference to my posterior comfort and I think the ski is now properly set up.

In Summary

My (current) feelings:

• It seems to me that the Swordfish S has the manoeuvrability of a short surfski (reminding me of the Nelo 520) but without a short ski's tendency to bury its nose.
• It's a slightly wetter ride than the Think Evo II, but it doesn't show any real propensity to nose-dive, and the wave deflector is extremely effective at keeping the cockpit dry.  
• I find it very stable, perceptibly more stable than the Evo II.  
• I can't wait to try it out in a race...  (other than the Miller's Run, which almost always turns into a race in any case!)

All I need now to is to kick this damn cold… hopefully by Tuesday so that I can test myself and the ski in our regular Tuesday Series race in Hout Bay. The forecast says that it's going to be flat. Not my favourite conditions, but ideal to get an idea of the flat-water speed compared to my regular marks.

Stay tuned!

The Nelo wave-deflector squirts the water off the deck efficiently

Likes and Dislikes

What I like about the ski:

• Superb finish
• Solid-feeling footplate
• Its inclination to surf
• The manoeuvrability, which helps when linking runs and which I'm sure is going to be an advantage in round-the-cans racing
• Its immunity to side-on wind/diagonal head winds.  
• The all-round stability.  Whereas big, windy conditions would give me pause on the Evo II, I feel rock-solid in the Swordfish and I'm looking forward to having a crack at my PB the next time we have a proper gale.

What I like less:

• The seat: other paddlers have reported the same issue with lower rear part of the seat impacting on their coccyx. A bum-pad sorts this out.
• The cutaway at the back of the bucket. It's not terrible, but one aspect of the Nelo bucket that I really like is the comfort when leaning back (e.g. on a big run to keep the nose up). 

Modifications

What I've done to the ski:

• Added footplate and pedal non-slip rubber pads (supplied by Orka).
• Added a lanyard to the bung so it doesn't get lost.
• Installed an Orka-made elliptical rudder.
• Installed an Orka-made weed deflector
• Added hi-viz neon orange stickers to nose, foredeck and aft-deck. (Highly recommended for safety reasons when paddling offshore.) Stickers supplied by Orka.
• Removed the cover over the tiller bar/rudder post so that I can see what's happening corrosion-wise to the rudder lines.
• Duct-taped a Nelo wave-deflector to the foredeck.
• Installed a bum-pad to cure the discomfort of the seat.

Lee McGregor

Despite claiming the Grand Masters age category prize, Lee McGregor showed many of the younger paddlers how strong he still is by finishing in an astounding fourth overall.

"What age is Lee? Well into his 60's? I've never ever seen anything like that before!

"To come fourth overall is incredible!" Bouman added.

The Durban surfski community continues to support the series despite the difficult conditions that have been experienced over the past few weeks, something that Bouman loves about their paddling group.

"The people that make up the Durban surfski community are awesome!

"It's great to see people still coming out and racing even though the conditions were tough."

Taking third in the singles showdown was Gene Prato with Lee McGregor and William Wood finishing fourth and fifth.

With a second in the doubles last week, the pair of Travis Kruger and Brent Chiazzari went one better to claim the doubles win with Tyron and Trevor Maher finishing just behind them in second and the mixed pair of Tamryn and Calvin Mckie in third.

Travis Kruger and Brent Chiazzari; strongest doubles crew again...

Women's Race

Lyn Bennett was the only lady to brave the long course and she finished in just over 42 minutes.

The mixed crew of Nic Horn and Sasha Corris-Nadangen were the winners of the short course ahead of the single of Siobhan Sharp and Kenny Beukes in third.

Race five of the 2018 FNB Surfski Series takes place on Friday, 9 February at the Gara Surfski Challenge.

SUMMARY OF RESULTS - THULE SURFSKI CHALLENGE

Overall Singles

1. Matt Bouman 30:08
2. Wade Krieger 31:12
3. Gene Prato 31:31
4. Lee McGregor 32:19
5. William Wood 32:31

Doubles

1. Travis Kruger/Brent Chiazzari 30:49
2. Tyron Maher/Trevor Maher 30:57
3. Tamryn Mckie/Calvin Mckie 35:25

Women

1. Lyn Bennett 42:13

SHORT COURSE

Overall

1. Nic Horn/Sasha Corris-Nadengen 22:58
2. Siobhan Sharp 23:46
3. Kenny Beukes 24:36

Women

1. Siobhan Sharp 23:46

More information can be found at www.marineseries.co.za.