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!”
Read more...

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Surfski.info Review: V10L

Tuesday, 12 September 2006 20:45 | Written by  Dale Lippstreu
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Finish and appearance

Epic lifted the bar by introducing computer aided design and a CNC machined plug for the first V10.  The new Ultra skis have lifted it further.  The vacuum moulding process and nomex/honeycomb laminate totally eliminates the waviness or "oil canning" which is usually present in GRP products laid up by hand.  There is a small amount of waviness remaining in the seams but no doubt somebody will solve this as well in the not too distant future.

 

At 9.8kg the ski feels absurdly light.  People picking it up generally burst into laugher which attracts others to try the same and the mirth continues.  If nothing else the ultra ski makes for good entertainment.  Carrying the ski to and from the beach is also a real pleasure.

Epic delivers its Ultra skis with a handy cover bag which is a good idea because I am told that Nomex does tend to "print through" after a while if exposed to the sun for extended periods.  I cannot however understand why the bag has a Velcro closure as it is way less efficient than a zip.

 

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For a larger image, click here

Changes

The V10L was introduced as a low volume version of the V10 aimed at the lighter paddler.  The volume reduction is however limited to a lowered foredeck with the hull and aft deck unchanged.  Other noteworthy changes include:

  1. The seating position has been moved 5cm further forward.  I understand that the underlying logic was a lighter paddler = a smaller paddler = a paddler with shorter legs.  Whatever the reason I think that this is an improvement even for paddlers who might be a little larger than intended for the ski.
  2. The rudder has been moved 6cm forward and a new elliptical rudder with 25% more area has been introduced. 

 

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The new rudder has an elliptical shape and is mounted some 6cm further forward

 

 

 

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New rudder (L) compared with the old
 

Paddling the ski

There is no question that the Ultra ski is more twitchy than the standard version.  I put this down to a stiffer hull (less flex makes for a higher centre of buoyancy) and less inertia due to less weight.  The twitchiness however affects only the primary stability and the reassuring secondary stability of the standard V10 is largely unchanged.  On balance the ski is still noticeably more stable than the "pre V10" generation of skis.

Downwind

In my view the greatest strength of the V10 is running downwind particularly when the runs are small.  The V10L surprisingly extends this advantage and I put this down to both the stiffer hull (less rocker) and the more forward seating position.  No doubt the lighter weight of the ski helps acceleration as well.  If conditions got quite big I think I would be inclined to pull out my standard V10 as I think it would be less prone to burying it's nose.  I do however need to point out that at 94kg (207lbs) I am most probably at the upper end of the recommended weight range for the low volume ski.

In reviewing the V10 one of my few criticisms was that I battled to keep the ski running true in big downwind conditions.  I put this down to the large tail volume.  The V10L is definitely more manoeuvrable and controllable on runs and I suspect that both the new rudder shape and location are the cause of this.   I plan to fit the new rudder to my standard ski as soon as I can get my hands on one and it will be interesting to see the difference.

Into wind and chop

The more forward seating position is quite noticeable into wind in that the ski tends to penetrate into the chop better.  It is however wetter when conditions are big enough for the nose to bury.  During a race last weekend I was quite surprised how I managed to catch and overtake my usual markers into wind and the difference was so great that I can only assume that the ski had quite a bit to do with it.

Cross wind

The V10L tracks exceptionally well and does not wallow or wash around.  I find it a bit wetter than for example the Millennium or Mako6 and put this down to lower cockpit sides.  The more forward location of the seat position has however resulted in reduced footwell volume ahead of the footplate which means that cockpit holds a lot less water when flooded. 

Manoeuvrability

One of the things I enjoy most about the V10 is its directional stability - it tracks as if on railway lines. This is probably due to the fact that it has much less rocker than most comparable skis.   Directional stability is of course closely correlated to manoeuvrability and some people have criticised the V10 on this ground.  The changes in the rudder configuration of the V10L have moved the new ski more in the direction of manoeuvrability but is still tracks well. 

Are ultra skis worth the money?

When I first considered buying an ultra ski my friends suggested that I would do better to loose 7 kg rather than try throw money at the problem.  There seemed to be some logic in this argument but I was persuaded by Oscar Chalupsky that the dead weight of the ski is far more difficult to overcome than ‘live" body weight.  I am not sure of the science behind this but the results of the two races I have done in the ski to date seem to bear the argument out.  In fact the difference seems so marked that I would prefer to evaluate the results over a longer period before I make definitive claims.

Should you by a V10L in preference to the larger volume version?  I would say the answer should be "yes" unless you weigh more than 95kg and plan to paddle regularly in big downwind conditions.

 

 

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Paddler's view of the low volume foredeck

Should you go for an ultra ski?  There is no question in my mind that the Ultra is faster but I am told Nomex is quite fragile and difficult to repair once damaged.  Some of the paddlers I know who have carbon sandwich skis keep a standard GRP ski for training purposes and you may wish to consider this option if you are thinking of going the ultra ski route.  I have opted to keep my standard V10 for regular use but have to say that having given the Ultra a few light knocks I am quite impressed with its durability    

What I like about the ski

  • Astounding finish & weight
  • The new rudder location, seating position and lower fore deck
  • Very good all round performance with truly exceptional into and downwind performance.

What I don't like about the ski

  • The cover bag which should be zipped and made of a lighter material.  Patting down 6.5m of Velcro is a hassle and the bag is feels nearly as heavy as the ski (good for UV protection but very bulky)
  • The new decals are of poor quality and are delaminating and falling apart.  This may seem trivial but in the absence of material issues to complain of I might as well raise this one.