downwind

Darryl Khng (DAZ) lives in Perth, Western Australia and is a prolific downwinder as his YouTube account testifies.

This video was shot in Perth on a run from Point Peron to South Beach, south of Fremantle, WA.  The runs are crazy clean - the water is crystal clear and warm.  What's not to like?!   

Click here to see more of DAZ's downwind vids.

Durban resident Sharon Armstrong  paddles a Carbonology Sport Zest surfski (and owns two of them, a full-carbon and a hybrid version).  "Due to the fact that my passion lies in downwinding in winds that exceed 30 knots and I do very little to no flat paddling, I chose an intermediate boat as I feel in 30-40 knot winds it is better suited," she said. "It is also a bit shorter so I can manoeuvre on the wave easily to maximise the runs. It catches and handles runs amazingly and is very reactive."

The route she was following on the day of this video was from Marine Surf Club (Addington Beach) in Durban and to Umhlanga (Durban View Beach). The route is +- 16km beach to beach.

When not on the ski, she does pilates, gym and swimming...

Go Sharon!  More of these videos, please!

The Miller's Run may be the best known of the downwind runs in Cape Town, South Africa, but there are plenty of others...  This video was shot just to the north of Cape Town's city centre, on another popular route that runs from Milnerton to Big Bay, Blouberg.  The sea on this part of the coast offers very different conditions to the Miller's Run, which often has confused seas with several sets of waves running at different angles.  The Milnerton to Big Bay run, in contrast, usually has "clean" runs, lining up perfectly along the coast.

On the day this video was shot, the wind was gusting 47kt and there was very little ground swell.  Richard Kohler was in the front of the Carbonology Zest Double; Timothy Venn Fey was in the back with the camera.

As he fell off his ski yet again, Tim Wightman felt panic starting to well up.  If he didn’t get back on and paddling in the next few moments, the gale-force wind and breaking waves would drive him onto the jagged rocks of Miller’s Point.  “Calm down!” he yelled to himself.  “Take it slowly!”  “This time, stay in the f%#$ing boat!”

I missed out on a cracking Miller’s Run on Sunday.  It wasn’t a total loss – I had fun photographing the paddlers who did go – but it made me reflect on how we make decisions, especially when there’s ego or peer pressure involved.

More from Durban-based downwind enthusiast Sharon Armstrong...  Conditions were unbelieveable a few days ago in Durban...  Sharon did the Durban to Umhlanga run in a 30kt breeze.  

The really impressive bit is the 16.4kph (10.1mph) average...  With all the respect in the world, Sharon's not an elite paddler and she was on an intermediate boat (Carbonology Zest)...  and she was flying!  

When WindGuru forecast a 40kt NNW, we leapt at the opportunity to do a "Reverse Buffels" run, downwind from Fish Hoek to Buffels Bay in the Cape Point Nature Reserve.

I planned to film the others so I started off first so as to film them overtaking me. When I arrived at Millers Point, no-one else was in sight.

After waiting briefly, I carried on, unaware that one of the guys had suffered rudder failure and the group, having rescued him, stopped at Millers Point. While it wasn't a spectacularly fast paddle - I did the 20.5km in 1:30 - it was bloody good fun.

An oldie, but a goody...  Paddling the Miller's Run in the back of a V10 Double with Oscar Chalupsky.  I've had the pleasure of doing several of these with the big O and each time it's been a combination of revelation and inspiration.

More from Mackenzie Hynard from this year's Gorge Downwind Festival...

The Perth Doctor almost always has great downwind conditions, but the 2017 edition was something special.  Days out, the forecast was for 25kt of southerly wind and sure enough the forecast was spot on...

Brett MacDonald posted this fun video on Youtube - they had a cracking run, complete with a swim (and swift remount!)