It’s Mocke and Mocke in Mauritius

Dawid Mocke makes 3/3 at the 2013 Mauritius Ocean Classic Credits: Rob Mousley/surfski.info

Dawid Mocke showed once more why he’s the reigning Surfski World Series Champion, by winning the Mauritius Ocean Classic for the third time running in a time of 1:19:05.  Hank McGregor finished just over a minute later (1:20:14) having outsprinted Jasper Mocke (1:20:20) for second place.  Nikki Mocke took control of the women's race, winning in 1:31:59.

Some wind, some waves, fun was had by all

The flags fluttering at the start told the story: instead of the flat calm conditions of last year, a cool breeze was kicking up just enough in the way of waves to make it a downwind race – and the paddlers reveled in the conditions.

Fair Start

For the technically minded, the race was started on the water, between boat and buoy set only about 50m apart.  Race director Dean Gardiner explained that the field is far easier to control that way.  The top twenty seeds in the race were named beforehand and lined up in the front row, with everyone else filling in behind.  The precise start time was flexible, and the horn sounded when front row was lined up.

Lining up for the start

Hot pace

Right from the start, the leaders set a cracking pace and very quickly the lead group broke up with Hank McGregor and Dawid Mocke pulling ahead with Matt Bouman close behind.

Just after the start, McGregor moves to the front, the Mocke brothers close behind

McGregor stayed in the lead for the first 10-15min, but Mocke fought back, veering off to take his own line some 50m seawards.  Matt Bouman wasn’t far off the pace, while Jasper Mocke and Barry Lewin were dueling some way back.

And then there were three - McGregor and Mocke neck and neck with Bouman close behind

Grant van der Walt meanwhile took a line far out to sea, with Herman Chalupsky in hot pursuit.

Conditions improved steadily, and although it was never a case of paddles-down and surf, it was clear that the paddlers were working the runs to maximum advantage.

“You had to concentrate,” said Dawid Mocke.  “You could back off and ride the runs, but to drop off the back of even one would have been fatal.”

Game over

Some 5km out from the turn at Le Morne, we saw Mocke surge ahead, creating a 50m gap on McGregor.  For a while the gap stayed at 50m but suddenly McGregor slowed perceptibly.  The gap widened dramatically and a minute or two later we saw him slip off his ski and remove a large piece of seaweed from his rudder.

Mocke slips into the lead

Remounting quickly, he set off in pursuit, still in second position, but it was game over; he was just too far back to catch a rampant Mocke who was already heading into the Le Morne reef channel.

Le Morne

The notorious channel was benign today, but still caught a number of paddlers who ventured too near the reef.

The first victim was Grant van der Walt who found himself too far on the inside of a breaker.  He did no damage but lost time (and 3 places) while a rescue boat reunited him with his ski.  Others were not so fortunate and while there were no broken boats, there were a number of smashed or bent rudders.

Grant van der Walt - about to take a swim

Sprint Finish – for second

For the front runners, Le Morne was a mixed bag – Mocke caught a small wave, but didn’t get much help through the pass.  McGregor and Jasper Mocke on the other hand both rode the shoulders of waves in and made up ground on Dawid Mocke.  

McGregor takes a wave through Le Morne

As usual, the channel had rafts of weed, that couldn’t always be avoided; Matt Bouman was victim to a “tree” and had to dismount to clear his rudder.

Dawid Mocke finished just over a minute clear, leaving his brother to challenge McGregor for second place.  That wasn’t go to happen and Jasper Mocke backed off and took third 6 seconds behind McGregor.

Jasper Mocke and Hank McGregor sprint for the finish

“I’m absolutely delighted to take this one,” said Dawid Mocke.  “My dad always said, a win is good, but the real test is defending your title.

“It was an intense race,” he went on.  “You had to really focus on the conditions.  Miss one wave and you were gone.  I just concentrated on catching each little wave, and then converting it to a second and third when it was possible.”

Barry Lewin's Video Blog

South African paddler Barry Lewin scored fifth place - and made a great video that gives a flavour of the race conditions - look for the two runs he caught through Le Morne!

Click here for Barry's Youtube channel - he made a video every day of the event - check out the awesome footage of snorkeling with dolphins

Women’s race

Nikki Mocke dominated the women’s race, moving into the lead at the start and paddling away from the rest of the 11-strong field.  She finished just over 12 minutes behind her husband (in 1:31:59) to make it Mocke and Mocke for the titles.  (“Mocke Ocean Classic”, anyone?!)

Someone definitely doesn't want to be beaten by a chick!  Nikki Mocke wins the women's race.

Aussie Ruth Highman came in second in 1:39:43, with Capetonian Samantha Murray making it onto the podium in 1:45:00.

And as for the event as whole…

...the most common refrain was: “we’ll be back!”.

The top ten women

Top Ten Men

Photos

Click here for more photos

Full Results