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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Surfski.info Review – Honcho Guru

Saturday, 07 November 2009 12:35 | Written by 
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Honcho Guru Honcho Guru Credits: www.surfski.info

We frequently receive emails from readers asking about beginner's surfskis, and until recently we haven't been able to reply with the benefit of personal experience...  but in the last couple of weeks I've had the opportunity to paddle some new skis aimed directly at the beginner's end of the market.

(All photos by Rob Mousley, www.surfski.info, unless otherwise indicated)

Honcho Guru - First Looks

Andrew Fyfe, owner of Honcho, has a long history in fiberglass manufacture - and it shows in the construction quality of his products.

Honcho Guru side view

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Honcho Guru top view

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Honcho Guru rocker

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Cockpit

I paddled an early version of the Guru some months ago and found the cockpit uncomfortably wide.  I knew that Honcho had modified the cockpit and I was interested to see what difference it had made...  well, the new cockpit is much more comfortable and it's made a huge difference to the feel of the ski.

Touring

The Guru has an optional 20l dry storage compartment in front of the cockpit - this is the closest thing to a touring ski that I've seen so far.

Honcho Guru

Paddler's view

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Set up

The footplate in the single footwell has horizontal tracks - and is very easy to adjust.  The rudder pedals self adjust and I was ready to go in a few moments.

Honcho Guru Footplate

The Honcho's footplate assembly 

Paddling the Guru

My original intention was to get a bunch of complete beginners together and have a shoot-out, comparing a couple of beginner's skis... but weather and other commitments meant that the plan didn't come together so I ended up paddling the ski in Dawid Mocke's Seadog Races in Fish Hoek...  The motto of the series is "never cancelled" and I paddled the ski in a variety of conditions.

Honcho Guru

Racing the Guru (Pic: Meds Martin)

Cockpit drain

The drain comprises a single massive scupper that sticks out of the bottom of the cockpit a couple of cm...  As we started the first race I went out through a wave that broke over the front of the ski and filled the cockpit to the brim. The water disappeared at an acceptable rate.

Flat water paddling

A short, wide ski is never going to have the same hull speed as a 21ft racing snake - but the Guru seemed to have a reasonable hull speed on flat water.

Honcho Guru

Rounded hull forward of the cockpit

Honcho Guru

Flat bottom behind the cockpit

The rudder seemed to be a little ineffective - but ski manufacturers often put smaller rudders onto beginner skis to reduce the roll moment induced when turning.  Andrew Fyfe confirmed that this was his reasoning too and said that there were bigger rudders available that could be substituted for the one supplied with the ski.

Honcho Guru rudder

Small rudder

Honcho Guru rear deck

Rear deck bungies

Downwind Paddling

One of the Seadog races that I paddled in the Guru was held in a stiff Southeaster.  The longest leg of the lap course was aligned with wind and waves.   I found it quite hard work to accelerate the ski onto the runs but it behaved well once it was up to speed.  Again I found the runner somewhat ineffective and I'd recommend that anyone working on their downwind paddling should upgrade the rudder to something with a little more bite.

Stability

This ski is extremely stable.  A couple of older (even older than me) paddlers were at the club one afternoon, saw the ski and asked if they could have a go.  None of them came close to falling out.

And that's probably the single most important feature in a beginner's ski. 

Things I like

  • The cockpit: while it's still fairly wide, the shape centers the paddler and enhances the feeling of stability.
  • The footplate adjustment: Really easy to use, set up in seconds.
  • The stability: I think this surfski would give first-timers a gentle introduction to the sport.

Things I don't like

  • The drain/scupper: The scupper sticks out the bottom of the boat like an inverted periscope.  It works reasonably well and that's what's important, but jeez it looks ugly! 
  • The steering: Arguably unimportant for a total beginner - but I'd recommend putting a bigger rudder on the boat, especially when you start experimenting with downwind paddling!

Summary

The Honcho Guru is definitely worthy of consideration for beginner paddlers - it's an easy to use, gentle entry to the sport and with its storage capacity can be used as a touring boat. 

I'd hazard that it would be a good boat for sea kayakers to cut their teeth on as a first surfski.

More Info

Honcho's website is at http://www.honchosurfskis.co.za

Layup Choices

LayupWeightNotes
Glass/polyester 17kg/37.5lb Sprayed Gelcoat, 200g plain weave glass cloth, 1mm soric core hand laminated, closed with another layer of 200g plain weave glass cloth
Vacuum bagged glass/polyester 15kg/33lb Stronger core material, only needs 100g glass cloth to close.
Carbon 12kg/26.5lb Carbon, Airex core, 100g glass cloth.

A smaller storage compartment can be installed that will hold essential safety gear only.