Latest Surfski News

Tuesday, 17 October 2023 07:11
“What the bloody hell are you doing here?” I thought to myself a few moments after launching on the brand new V10 4G for the first time. It was getting dark; it was raining; the squalls were lifting sheets of spray off the water… directly offshore. What WAS I thinking? The answer is that I’m a sucker for new toys – and if I get my hands on one, I HAVE to play with it. Damn the weather, full speed ahead… Since then I’ve paddled the boat many more times, in much pleasanter weather. Here’s what I think of this,…
Thursday, 08 June 2023 12:42
East London, South Africa: Angus Warren watched helplessly as the shark’s teeth crunched through the hull of his surfski. “It seemed to go on and on,” he says, “pushing and chomping. I was thinking, why is it not working out that it isn’t food? “I can’t tell how long it took, but I had enough time to shout a couple of times to the others.” The next thing he knew, he was in the water…
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Thursday, 27 April 2023 18:42
CAPE TOWN - Hank McGregor and Josh Fenn convincingly claimed back their Prescient Freedom Paddle title on Thursday in a dramatic race marked by tough conditions and a rain-delayed start.  Conditions were extremely tough - a brisk northwester blowing spray from the big confused chop into the paddlers' faces as they headed out to the island.  Huge breaking surf on the far side of the island ensured a wide line but the wind dropped as the fleet started on the journey back to the finish, making it that much more difficult and energy sapping to catch the runs.  
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Tuesday, 25 April 2023 11:50
Last Friday, however, I paddled with Dawid on a windless autumn evening in Cape Town. Cruising from Fish Hoek to Muizenberg, we paddled together, stopping at all the coves to surf a few waves. In short, the operative word was "fun". This was a different Dawid - off duty - and, well, I've never paddled with anyone so noisy before. Whistling, singing, shouting to folks on shore - yahooing as he caught a wave. Heading home at dusk we crept up behind a group of seals lazing on the surface. Dawid began barking like a five-year-old paid by the bark...until…
Thursday, 09 February 2023 07:39
A look back - aaaaargh! A mountain. Let it go through... A smaller one, with a glimpse of something massive lurking further out to sea. Catch it, catch it! Sprint, sprint, you’re on it, here’s the break zone, keep going, keep going, the roar from behind and the sudden acceleration as a massive foamy caught up to me, keep it straight, keep it straight... Phew. Arrived. Panting. Stop the watch. ok. Made it. Empty the boat, pick it up to prevent it knocking you down. Done.
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Saturday, 26 November 2022 17:16
The South Africans cleaned up today at the most prestigious surfski race in Australia – arguably the most prestigious race in the world - taking five out of the top six places and the entire podium at the Shaw and Partners “The Doctor” in Perth. Defending women’s champion, Kiwi Danielle McKenzie won the women’s trophy.
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Saturday, 19 November 2022 13:01
Gold Coast paddler, Cory Hill, took first scalp in the five-event ocean ski racing series, the Shaw and Partners WA Race Week, winning the inaugural race today, the 24km Fenn West Coast Downwinder from Fremantle, just south of Perth, to Sorrento Beach. In fine conditions with a 16 knot SSW wind courtesy of the famed Fremantle Doctor, the start off Port Beach was intense with the top paddlers in a terse battle to make the first break.   But it was 33-year-old Hill – the 4-times DOCTOR champ who relishes the Perth conditions – who was able to shake the field…
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Tuesday, 16 March 2021 13:54
It’s not easy to catch a rolling, runaway single ski in 30kt of gusting wind – and as they attempted to grab it, Alex and his doubles partner lost their balance and fell into the water. By the time they’d remounted, the single ski was gone – blown away by the strengthening near-gale. They turned and paddled back upwind to find their buddy.
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Wednesday, 03 March 2021 12:08
Accident reports are easy to write when the story ends happily, but this one didn’t and it’s with a very heavy heart that I’m writing this, with a view to learning what we can from it.
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Wednesday, 15 July 2020 09:13
When the NSRI found Duncan MacDonald, he was approximately 6km off Smitswinkel Bay, drifting rapidly further offshore. Gale-force squalls whipped sheets of spray off the waves, reducing visibility almost to nothing. What Happened? Given the small size of the surfski community, there’s always intense interest whenever there’s a rescue. What happened? What did they do wrong? What can we learn from it? Clearly there are lessons to be learnt from any mishap – so here’s a description of what happened, shared with the permission and cooperation of the folks involved in the hope that we might all learn from this…
Friday, 24 April 2020 11:41
Durban – As the continued coronavirus lockdown grips the country, Canoeing South Africa will host a 24 hour Canoeing4COVID-19 event this weekend as a way to raise funds for members of the broader paddling community that have been badly affected by the lockdown.
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Wednesday, 11 March 2020 14:35
“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.
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Tuesday, 03 March 2020 14:43
Many paddlers use Personal Locator Beacons, or tracker apps like SafeTrx on their mobile phones. But handheld VHF radios are also a great choice to consider – especially when they’re DSC-capable like the Standard Horizon HX870E.
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Monday, 24 February 2020 12:01
I finally got my hands on a demo Fennix Swordfish S this weekend and did two Miller's Runs in succession to see if I could feel any difference in handling between the 2018 Swordfish S and the new Fennix model.  Conditions were challenging: False Bay was covered in whitecaps, whipped by a combination of a 25-30kt southeaster and small, confused seas.  The result?  I definitely want to spend more time in this boat.
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Thursday, 26 December 2019 10:30
The shark smashed like a freight train into Roger Swinney’s surfski in an explosion of noise and spray, knocking him off into the water.  “I managed to get back on the ski,” he said, “but I fell off again and as I remounted the second time, I saw the swirl and tips of the shark’s fins. “I didn’t see it clearly, but from the force of it and the movement in the water, it looked big!”
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Review: A Paddlers Opinion of the Vajda Orca

Thursday, 02 June 2011 06:43 | Written by  Jonathan Sanders
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Jonathan Sanders - on the Vajda Orca in Rose Bay Jonathan Sanders - on the Vajda Orca in Rose Bay

Let’s start by clarifying that this is an independent product review.  Secondly, I have won numerous national kayak titles in both sprint and marathon, and was selected to represent Australia at the World Cup and other International Events.  I have also competed in surfski events at state and national levels in surf lifesaving.  Summary – independent and qualified advice on craft.

After being absent from water and therefore paddle sports for a long time, I am finally living back near the water and am enjoying rekindling my enthusiasm for kayaking.  I had been following the rise of ocean paddling and was super keen to give it a go.  I still had my old surf lifesaving spec ski, but I wanted the thrill of speed on the waves that the new ocean racing skis could offer.

First Purchase

Before my first purchase, I surfed the web looking for product reviews, forums and for the actual race results of the different skis in the market place.  In the end, I went with the ski that I just simply saw the most of - a Fenn Elite.  The Fenn craft seemed to be everywhere and have had a great deal of success at ocean racing events.  I thought that if a majority of the paddlers I saw bought this boat, then it must be a good craft.

The Fenn Elite is a great craft, but to my dismay, it was not the best boat for me.  Everyone is different, and for me this ski was immediately the wrong purchase decision.  Whilst the ski handled and performed much to expectations, it was the paddling position that I could not tolerate.  The bucket is very low, almost following the cylindrical hull.  Thus, the bucket is extremely curved, forcing my hip bones to rotate in.  The low position did not allow for kayak like drive, and the hump between the bucket and the footwell was in the way.  I’m not sure why, but the bucket shape made me lean back, instead of forward like in a K1 and I just couldn’t get any power through my stroke.  I chocked up the bucket with inches of foam, trying to get more height and to flatten the seat out so my hips wouldn’t be rotated in, but this sacrificed stability and I just couldn’t get the right feel that I wanted from the boat.

At this time, it is important to qualify that I have a six foot (185cm) mesomorph body type.  A mesomorph has a large bone structure and large muscles.  When lean, I sit between 95kg and 100kg, so I am much larger than the average guy.  Obviously the problems I experienced with the Fenn’s bucket may well not be a problem for you, and this is obvious by the number of people happily paddling and racing on Fenn craft.

If at first you don't succeed...

In despair, I started searching for another craft – determined this time to try the boat before making a purchasing decision.  I tried a number of boats from brands that you would all well recognise, all of which were very good.  Though not the last boat on my list of boats to try, when I took the Vajda Orca for a paddle on Sydney Harbour, I knew straight away that this was the boat for me and that I did not need to try any others!

Vajda Orca

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Vajda Orca

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The build quality of Vajda Orca is superior to all the other ski manufacturers that I have seen.  It is light and strong, and has great looks to go with its beautiful design lines.  I don’t want to name any brands in particular, but this ski is miles ahead in build quality and aesthetics.  I’m sure that other manufacturers will be clamouring to catch up with Vajda’s build quality.  This ski has already been blown off my racks onto the concrete floor in my garage.  I watched the ski bounce a foot into the air after it slammed in the concrete.  I was convinced that I was going to witness total destruction, but to my amazement the ski did not even have a mark on it!

Vajda Orca    Vajda Orca 

Vajda Orca     Vajda Orca

Handling

Aside from the build quality, the Vajda Orca performs extremely well in all conditions.  I believe the Vajda Orca to be at least as fast as any ski on the market in both flat and in downwind conditions.  On my local training time trials, I am consistently covering more distance on the Vajda Orca then I was on my previous ski.  I believe this is mostly due to the fact that I am more comfortable on the ski, but obviously this ski must be fast as well.

The boat has a great trim and tracks very nicely but can turn on dime, thanks in part to the clever position of the rudder and the rounded tail section.  In flat conditions, the boat runs like a K1.  In small chop the boat is very settled and very quiet, with none of the slap that I felt on some other skis that I have paddled.  In the ocean, the rounded tail section allows the paddler to feel the runs early, and helps to accelerate the ski early so that catching runs is all too easy.  Both the front and rear decks seem to have the perfect volume and the giant scupper works a treat.

Vajda Orca

Vajda Orca

Stability and Comfort

The Vajda Orca Ski is easy to handle with great feedback from the rudder and has great primary and secondary stability.  But most importantly, in my opinion the Vajda Orca Ski has the most comfortable bucket on the market; because when you can’t sit comfortably in a craft, you can’t perform at your best!  The bucket is raised so that it is higher than the footwell, like in a K1.  This allows the paddler to sit upright or forward, rotate through the torso and drive with the legs to generate real power.  The higher seat also made it possible for Vajda to flatten the seat, so that the hip bones don’t get pushed in and up.  The hump between the bucket and the footwell is no problem on this ski.  I can sit comfortably on this ski for hours.

Vajda Orca bucket Vajda Orca

If you are in the market for a new ski, don’t make the same mistake I did.  Make sure you paddle the ski before you buy it.  What may be the best ski for someone else may not be the best ski for you.  But whatever you do, make sure you try the Vajda Orca before you buy any ski, it’s a ripper.