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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A Paddle (and Conversation) with Keith Fenn

Thursday, 12 January 2006 18:49 | Written by 
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 (by Rob Mousley)

Keith Fenn (Photo: Rob Mousley) 
 Keith Fenn

I love my parents in law (really!) but the thought of spending my Christmas vacation with them was daunting. Why? They live in East London, 1100km from my home in Cape Town... and, having logged many, many hours training for the 2005 Cape Point Challenge I had agreed to play family man and leave my ski behind. Ten days with no paddling...? It couldn't be done.

 

A cunning plan occured to me however - the Fenn Kayaks factory is also located in East London. Could it possibly be that Keith Fenn might agree to lend me a ski so that I could write a review for surfski.info?


I called Keith at the factory three weeks ahead of time. "No," he said, "I don't have a ski available in your size... but would you like to paddle the prototype of my new model double?" Would I?! We agreed that I'd make contact once I'd arrived in East London.


Seconds after we pulled in at the in-laws' I called him on his wife's mobile (Keith doesn't have one)... "Let's get together after the Christmas weekend," he said, "wait for a nice westerly and we'll do a downwind run from Gonubie to Cefane."

The day finally arrived and I met him (for the first time) on the beach at Gonubie. He's a big friendly giant of a man and he grinned as he saw that I was all togged up, ready to go. I eagerly scanned the ski... Surfski.info proudly scoops the news - the imminent launch of the all new Fenn XT Double.

Fenn XT Double 
 Fenn XT Double - note the raised rails around the back seat...
Fenn XT Double
 Fenn XT Double - side view


The ski has the classic Fenn look with the same bow shape as Keith's other skis. The primary aim of the design is to make the ski more stable and easier to paddle than its predecessor.

XT Double Front Seat (Photo: Rob Mousley) 
 Fenn XT Double - Front Seat

Both the single foot well front cockpit and the standard rear seat have adjustable rudder pedals.

XT Double - rear seat (Photo: Rob Mousley) 
  Fenn XT Double - Rear Seat

 
The rear seat has raised rails, designed to reduce the dampness of the rear paddler. (As any doubles crew knows, the rear position is often flooded, especially when going upwind over waves.)

In summary: the ski looks great, seemed stable and caught waves well.

Keith hasn't been doing much paddling recently. At least he didn't in 2005 and the reasons included the pressures of the factory - he usually arrives home after dark - and the pressures of family life. He and his lovely wife Kerryn have three children, the youngest of whom is a toddler. He clearly loves paddling though (and has done all the big races in South Africa, coming 2nd in the 1993 Cape Point Challenge) and intends to get back onto the water in the future.

His entry into surf ski manufacturing came when he started making them to paddle himself. "Everyone built their own in those days," he said. The technologies used in surf skis come from the yacht building industry, but surf ski manufacturers are constantly innovating. "There aren't many people building 6-metre craft that are only 43cm wide!" he said, "so we have to develop our own techniques." The stringers in Keith's skis run vertically the length of the hull, while an additional horizontal stringer strengthens the bow section against the twisting action of big waves. He builds both in glass fibre and carbon fibre lay ups.

His carbon skis are mostly exported to the United States; he exports mostly glass fibre skis to Australia, New Zealand and Europe.

And does he have another new model ski waiting in the wings?

Yes, he does. He'll be unveiling a new top of the range single ski towards the end of the first quarter of 2006. It'll be narrower than the Millennium ski but will have the same cockpit. He doesn't believe that a single foot well offers any advantages. Will it be faster? Will it be more or less stable? Keith grins, "I'll tell you after I've paddled it!"