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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v10

Sunday, 14 May 2006 12:43 | Category : Surfski Manufacturers

ImageAnyone who's had the sales pitch from the Big O, knows that "the plug for the V10 was CNC machined - that's why the hull has such accurate lines."

Oscar always goes on to point out the myriad of other features - the computer design, the venturi drain, the cockpit design, and so on.  One thing's for sure: the guys at Epic are not shy about their achievements - and when I asked, I was presented with a range of fascinating photographs and information about the development of the V10 ski.

Wednesday, 26 April 2006 22:44 | Category : Product Reviews

ImageWhat's the fastest ski on the market?

Ask any six paddlers and you’ll likely get six different answers… And you can bet that the answer will likely be: “the ski that I own”!

A group of Cape paddlers got together on Sunday to try to answer the question objectively. This article describes the method used, the results and conclusions…

Sunday, 16 April 2006 15:09 | Category : Product Reviews

ImageHear Oscar talk about the Epic surf skis and the message is clear: "The V10 is the fastest, most stable, best designed, best built ski in the world and the V10 Sport comes a close second!" It’s more stable and slightly slower but, “On the V10 Sport, I could still win the Molokai against anyone on any ski (except the V10)”!

 

But there is only one Oscar – what do lesser mortals think of the ski? Said lesser mortals had the opportunity to try out the V10 Sport this weekend here in Cape Town...

 

Wednesday, 12 April 2006 14:21 | Category : Product Reviews

ImageEarly in 2005 an outspoken manufacturer told me, “90% of paddlers can’t cope with top-end skis and shouldn’t be on them.” He was referring to the then current crop of tippy high-end surf skis.

Then the Epic V10 burst onto the scene – and here was a fast, fun, top-end ski that could be handled by paddlers with less than perfect balance.  (Click here for our review.)

And last week a demo Fenn Mako 6 arrived in Cape Town. Reports from Durban and East London spoke of its speed and stability.

How would it compare with the other new skis? Would it be as stable; as fast; as comfortable? Could it be even better?

To my delight, I got hold of it last Saturday, and this review is the result…

 

Wednesday, 05 April 2006 18:24 | Category : Surfski Manufacturers

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Kayak Centre has entered into a license agreement with Epic Kayaks to build V10 skis for the South African market.

 

Oscar Chalupsky, Epic’s Vice President Sales, said he was delighted when Kayak Centre approached him with their proposal to build the V10 and V10 Sport skis for the South African market. Kayak Centre have a long history of building kayaks and surf skis. “People forget,” Oscar said, “Kayak Centre used to build skis for me 20 years ago – remember the original ‘Chalupsky’ skis? And they used make product for my father before that.”  

 

Saturday, 01 April 2006 16:15 | Category : Product Reviews

ImageTowards the end of 2005 a distinctly different ski made its appearance in Hout Bay in the hands of Tom Thring, and it made an immediate positive difference to his race results… Knysna Kayaks, the ski’s manufacturer, is known more for their river craft, but they seem to have scored a hit with this design.

It’s been a long time in the making. The design was started in the late 1980’s by the late Daniel Conradie but was shelved when he died. Hubby Sandberg took it on and the final result is the culmination of years of iterative prototyping and testing.

 

Thursday, 30 March 2006 15:13 | Category : Surfski Manufacturers

ImageThe new Epic V10 Sport has arrived in South Africa… But wait, it’s just one copy, brought back from the factory by Oscar Chalupsky who has spent the last three weeks in China.

 

(I’m told that the factory is in full production – with a current capacity of 100 boats per month. The first batches of production skis are destined for the US to fulfil a huge backlog of orders.)

 

Friday, 10 March 2006 18:15 | Category : Surfski Manufacturers

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V10 Sport
Through the magic of Skype I caught up with Oscar Chalupsky a few days ago. He’s in China at the new factory where the Epic V10 is manufactured and has been inspecting and testing the first production skis.

 

Oscar is combining the testing with training for the Molokai Challenge – surely the first time an athlete has trained for this event on a tidal river (the Fuchun River) in South East China!

Friday, 10 March 2006 17:05 | Category : Latest Surfski News

Exciting times are with us...

 

I've been talking to a number of manufacturers (Epic, Fenn, Red 7, Knysna Kayaks) and it seems that there's a wave of new model skis just around the corner.

 

Look out for articles on each of these manufacturers in the coming weeks, here's a snippet on each of them...

 

Thursday, 12 January 2006 17:13 | Category : Surfski Manufacturers

(By Dale Lippstreu)

Rumours have been circulating in the surfski paddling community for some time that Epic Kayaks was shutting down its operations in SA and moving production to another country. 

Oscar Chalupsky on the Epic V10
Oscar Chalupsky paddling the V10 in Hawaii

 As an interested party (V10 owner) I thought I would approach Oscar Chalupsky and get the information first hand.  Oscar was as communicative as ever and this is what I learned. 

 

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