Rob Mousley

29 year old Steve Kulcsar was knocked off his fishing kayak by a 5m Great White Shark near Long Reef, Sydney, Australia.  The shark circled him for a minute while he trod water and tried to get back on his craft. 

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Nordic Kayaks, based in Vaxholm, Sweden has announced the imminent arrival of a new surfski, the "Fusion" - designed by Björn Thomasson and to be built by Marström Composite.

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A year ago Steven Kelly sent us some pics of a ski that he built himself out of wood.  Well, he's been at it again. Check out the pics of his latest work of art...

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Ok, it's not surfski, but it is paddling and this story has definitely grabbed my imagination...  Freya Hoffmeister has started a 15,000km paddle - around Australia.  She hopes to be the first woman - and only the second person ever to do the trip.

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Erik Wallgren wanted some photos to illustrate the challenges of surfski paddling in Sweden and contacted his friend and fellow paddler Erik Wildenstam who was willing to use his ski as an ice breaker...

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Wesley Echols of Rhode Island, USA announced today the launch of a new US surfski website - http://www.surfskiracing.com/  Apart from the stories and info, Wesley has also launched a Getting Started Informational DVD which includes useful information on what to look for and consider when buying a new ski.

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"Meet at Kalk Bay Harbour, 12:30 - huge waves!" So read the text message from Owen Middleton.  An unusual storm swell had entered False Bay and we were going to film some paddlers surfing the resulting waves just outside Kalk Bay Harbour.

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Here's something completely different.  I walked into the Fish Hoek Surf Lifesaving Club a few weekends ago to find... paintings of paddling and lifesaving scenes.  "Who did these?" I asked.

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Yep, it's official - as from 1 November 2008, Hank McGregor is the latest member of Team Epic...

"I'm really chuffed," said Hank.  "River paddling is half my career and now I have a sponsor that can support me on the sea or on rivers - all over the world."

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[Editor: More indication that the sport is booming worldwide... Nigel Wall sent us this update on what's happening with Caribbean surfski paddling - this time in Trinidad & Tobago.]

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