Dawid Mocke’s 3 race saga: Deep, Shallow, Perfect
[Editor: Dawid Mocke is known for going out hard from the start... and sometimes choosing the wrong line. Here's the story of his last three big races...]
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Too Deep....
The Investec Mauritius Ocean Classic was an inaugural race on the idyllic island of Mauritius. The place is certainly worth multiple visits and is a natural haven begging to be explored. And if you're a waterman then this really is paradise.
The race was along the southern coast of Mauritius between Souilac and Le Morne. This is the section of coast most exposed to wind and swell, which, for the entire week that we were, never subsided. For the race organisers the dilemma wasn't whether there would be wind and swell; it was whether it would be too big to hold the event! This race has the unique element of having to navigate your way in and out of reef passes at the start and finish. The reef pass at the finish has breaking waves all over so it's very important that you get it right. Needless to say, "excitement" is not lacking in this race.
Race day arrived and presented perfect conditions to hold the race.
Staying true to racing from the front I got to the lead as early as I could and put the hammer down. Because of the way the coast goes your line into the finish is critical. I relinquished my lead with about 4kms to go by being a bit too deep and ended up coming third behind Hank McGregor and Clint Pretorius. While not too happy about losing the lead, I was so stoked with my line through the reef pass. I caught two classic waves which almost had me back in contention. It was a great race, perfectly organised and I will definitely be back there next year.
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Too Shallow...
The Dunlop Durban World Cup has become one of the world's biggest races. It always delivers top downwind conditions and always has a quality competitive field. This year was no exception...no actually, there was a major exception. I can say unequivocally that it was the best organised race I've ever attended in my life. To the guys organising the event - you know who you are - Well done!
I've never been able to win this event, with my best result being a second place 5 years ago. Last year I came close by taking a deep line from Durban to Westbrook, 30kms up the North Coast. However I was apparently too deep then, so this year I decided to take a shallow line right behind the breakers. This is a great line on a true south westerly wind and swell direction but not so good with little swell and a more southerly wind direction. Sound confusing? Well that's because it is! I really think that the "home ground advantage" factor is at play on this coast when it's downwind. But I can't use that as an excuse because I've raced there often enough over the last 15 years so it's my home ground too. Anyway, to put it plainly, I got "schooled" properly by the Durban lads. I had a fantastic first 20kms but lost 5 places and ended up 5th. Clint "Watch your Back" Pretorius (because he always comes from behind) won the race, Matt Bouman second and (can you believe it) Oscar Chalupsky third. It's not easy with that old bloke (Oscar); another 2 or 3km and he probably would've won! I got passed just before the finish by Brett "The underdog" Bartho who's not afraid of a dice and raced me all the way. The title sponsors, DUNLOP, seemed happy with the event so all indications are that it should be more of the same next year. Until then I'll go and work on some of my own "home ground advantage".
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Perfect...
The Discovery Men's Health Scottburgh to Brighton is the oldest marathon surfski race in the world. For me, this race has always held a certain enigma to it. The reason is two-fold: firstly the waves on the coast south of Durban show little mercy even when it's flat; secondly, this race is tough and should only be done by those with grit and determination. You will hardly ever have an easy paddle in this race because the chances are it will be flat going into a headwind, and you'll generally have to paddle in and out of sizeable surf. Finishing is an achievement, and because of this, I wear my S2B T-shirts with pride.
This year was a fantastic race with me and "kleinboet" Jasper coming in first and second. There was a big group for the first 30kms. Then Japs and I turned on the pace going into Amanzamtoti, a compulsory checkpoint on the beach (at 30kms). We caught a wave together and broke away from the pack along with Clint Pretorius (who won the Durban World Cup the week before). Sensing that Clint was a bit tired; as he had pulled most of the way for the first 30kms to Toti ( rookie error), Japs and I bullied him off with some pace and then worked together to the finish. Right near the end Japs got a bit fatigued and came in 30secs behind me for a second spot. A perfect race.
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The next 2 races coming up are the USA Surfski Nationals and the Chicago Shoreline Marathon.