downwind

“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.

Darryl’s ski flew down the wave, spray flying… “How good is this, mate?!” he yelled. I could only laugh in reply – the runs were so clean, the water so clear, so warm, this truly is paddling paradise.

I’m here as a guest of Shaw and Partners, the sponsors of the $100,000 Shaw and Partners WA Race Week in Perth. Monday was an “off-day” in the weeklong racing series – and that meant an opportunity to sample one of the local downwind paddling routes.

“Oh, dear me,” I thought. Or words to that effect. Rumbly Bay (encouragingly named for the way the boulders crash together when big swells hit the shoreline) hardly ever closes out – but the wave that was roaring towards me looked as though it just might break across the entire mouth of the bay...

Yeeeeeha! A couple of strokes and the ski started accelerating, 16kph, 20kph, 26kph… Whooomph! The spray deflector threw a mass of water arcing into air… Blinded, unbalanced, keep it going, paddle, paddle…!

There are quite a few how-to-remount videos on YouTube - but once again Oscar shows us the best technique for remounting and he makes it look easy (it is easy, you just need to practise!).  Remounting is one of the core skills in surfski paddling - along with the brace stroke.  Best you don't come out of your ski at all, but if you do, this is the best and easiest way to get in again.

Durban – With their sights firmly set on the upcoming World Marathon Champs K2 title, the crew of Hank McGregor and Andy Birkett delivered a masterclass to claim the two-day 43km Gara Dolphin Coast Challenge title on Sunday.

The Miller's Run in Cape Town is deservedly one of the best known downind routes in the world...  But it's on the "Reverse Buffels" run where we get to play in 40-50kt howling blasts of wind and spray.  On Saturday, 23 June, 2018, we had everything - wildlife, rainbows, endless 20kph runs, gale-force blasts in "Hurricane Alley"... and even a cameo appearance by the Kenny Rice!

"Wow!"  "That's incredible!"

So we were paddling the "Reverse Miller's Run" in Cape Town; that's just like the summer Miller's Run that we do in the southeaster in summer, only we do the reverse in winter when the prevailing northwester blows!  We'd been enjoying the clean offshore runs for a km or two when suddenly the sky lit up with a complete rainbow...  breathtakingly beautiful.

The wave reared up, curling over and dumping over the ski, stopping me dead in my tracks; the other two surged past and I thought, “will that bloody buoy EVER get any closer?!”

When the wind blows, Sharon goes!

The waves in this video are ridiculous; the conditions (aside from the luxurious warm water) are very different to what we get here in Cape Town and I'm utterly envious.  

Of course the 29kt breeze helps too!