Eurochallenge Surfski: first race to be followed live by GPS in Spain

A new small step will happen tomorrow in following races live in Elite Kayak's homeland, Spain. It is well known that, unless a helicopter or good bunch of motorboats is taken, it is very difficult to broadcast a race in open sea. But technology comes to the rescue with a very valid method to fill the gap left by the lack of images. Starting tomorrow, the Eurochallenge of Surfski held in Villajoyosa (Alicante, Spain) can be followed live through the movements of each paddler on their onboard GPS. If it work properly, hopefully we can enjoy some great days of surfski. In the frame below should be visible the coloured lines live. About the schedule, we must be vigilant, because the races are subject to wait for the best possible weather conditions for a downwind, which can happen at any time over the weekend.

On the other hand, the race is Spanish National trial to set the team to wear the ESP colors at the World Champs to be held in October in Tahiti (French Polynesia). Along with the best national paddlers, they will be top stars at the starting line like the current world champion Sean Rice (RSA).

Sean Rice wins the New Balance Miller's Run of the CT Series under superb conditions

The seventh race of the Cape Town Vodacom surfski series, New Balance prize, was again ruled by the current world champion Sean Rice, over the course of the classic Miller's Run. It was the delight of all participants, as the South East wind appeared in all its strength on False Bay and the 12 kilometer run turned into a manual of what should always be a race surfski : big swells, wind, sun and fun.

In the absence of Jasper Mocke (which was competing in Durban the 50 Miler with McGregor) and Dawid Mocke, who paddled doubles with Lewis Pugh, Sean Rice made ​​valid his favorite role, not missing the lead until the finish line at the beach in Fish Hoek. After him. Tom Schilperoort and Kenny Rice completed the podium. Kenny was also first junior and arrived fourth overall after the SS2 of Mocke and Pugh. It's not low level synptom to see a junior in the top three. Behind him were very good paddlers like Flanagan, van der Walt or Notten. A couple of months ago someone who knows a lot about this told me to "watch out Kenny if it's windy, he's as good as his brother in downwind conditions".

In women, new victory for Nikki Mocke, this time over Kim van Gysen and Bianca Beavitt, who pushed this time out of the podium Kirsten Flanagan, first junior and fourth overall.

You can see all the results at this link and the spectacular new video:

Sean Rice brings home victory at Camps Bay, sixth race of the Vodacom Cape Town Surfski Series

Last Sunday it was held a classic Spring surfski race in Cape Town, the Natural Camps Bay Clash, on the Atlantic side of the city.

The field was rather strong. After coming back from Hong Kong, the big stars attempt to fine tune their form for the big upcoming event of the Cape Point Challenge. This time, Jasper Mocke and Sean Rice had a nice neck to neck race, while Dawid Mocke and Brandon van der Walt fell back from the lead on a course with little wind and quite bumpy. Under these conditions, the physical strength of Sean Rice was finally decisive, opening in the last stretch a gap wide enough to enter the finish line alone and to be the only paddler under 50 minutes. Behind him, Jasper and Dawid Mocke completed the podium.

Brandon van der Walt, fourth overall, was the winner U21 (age division of the races), followed by Dom Notten and Craig Flanagan. In junior, victory for Kenny Rice, while Graeme Solomon won the veterans category and was fifth overall. Look in the video at his surfski, developed by Carbonology Sport in collaboration with Graeme's company in Cape Town, Bamboo Warehouse. Indeed, it is built in carbon and bamboo, giving it that classic (and classy) wooden aspect and weighing only 11.5 kg. Beautiful prototype. We do not know if it will continue to be produced, since its maintenance must be very careful, as it was always with wooden kayaks, but the truth is that we love it.

In women, victory for Nikki Mocke, with a big gap over Bianca Beavitt, second, and the junior Kirsten Flanagan, third, who entered sprinting to decide the two remaining podium positions.

You can check the results at this link and see the always colorful race video below ( by the way, it goes an Olympic champion , see if you find it):

Vodacom Cape Town Surfski Series: Big names on the podium

As summer season comes slowly to Cape Town, the canoeing scene turns its gaze to the ocean. The Lifesavers Club of Fish Hoek is responsible for organizing the Cape Town surfski series, sponsored by Vodacom, with races almost every two weeks in different spots around the area in both the Atlantic and Indic side. These races are a good prelude to the big event coming at the end of December, the Cape Point Challenge. Gradually, the best surfski paddlers will test themselves and the opponents getting ready for the big event .

In this occasion, the fourth race of the series (Seaforth Restaurant prix) was a nice fight between world champion Sean Rice, Dawid Mocke and Tom Schilperoort, but after the turn, in the downwind section (perfect conditions for it, in the video you can clearly see the great scenario with winds of about 25 knots), Rice showed his quality and claimed the win. Mocke and Schilperoort followed him in that order. 4th and 5th ​​were two young values as Kenny Rice and Craig Flanagan..

In women, very young participation, with victory for Kim van Gysen followed by Bianca Haw and Kirsten Flanagan, three names to keep in mind in the future of this discipline.

South Africans rule at the Eurochallenge

Left to right: Sean Rice, Dawid Mocke and Jasper Mocke

This past weekend was held at Villajoyosa (Spain) the Eurochallenge 2013 of surfski. Crowded field, but it was missed some more foreign participation, which in previous years had been abundant. Anyway, that foreign participation was of very high quality, as evidenced by the podium conquered by South African stars, all of them from Fish Hoek, Sean Rice, Dawid Mocke and Jasper Mocke.

That was the order in both races, the downwind North course on Saturday, of the two prepared depending on weather conditions. 20 kilometer run in line along the coast heading Southwest and finishing in Villajoyosa. And the classical race on Sunday.

Sean Rice, recent winner of the South African trials, both in 1,000 meters and surfski, stood alone doing much of the race at the downwind. As recognized after by Dawid Mocke, trying to follow him was a ticket to get sore muscles. Rice got a three minutes advantage over Dawid Mocke and five over Jasper. Walter Bouzán came in fourth place very closed to Jasper Mocke and heading the European field, where the Dutchman Joep van Bakel was fifth and Daniel Sanchez Viloria, who arrived as second Spanish, added himself to Walter in the list of our representatives in the Surfski World Championships to be held this coming July in Portugal.

Sean Rice and Michelle Eder Burn, new South African Surfski Champions

It was held last weekend the South African Surfski Championships, this time in the town of East London, where the warm waters of the Indic Ocean didn't show the downwind all the competitors usually love to paddle. Sean Rice, just two weeks after winning the K1 1,000 of the South African sprint trials, was the winner of the event and then he becomes South African surfski champion, something that, in his words, had been dreaming for a long time.

Good weather with weak wind made the race hard and very tactical, disputed parallel to the coast along 19 km. The virtual absence of large swells made a matter of vital importance seeking the more favorable currents. The fact of the recent floods in the area made the race even more difficult, since in the search for the good current, many of them were caused by big water rivers and dragged branches and lots of stuff that could become a serious obstacle.

After the start, marked by the absence of the Mocke brothers, who were disputing the Defis Kayak Race in the French Caribbean ($7,000 prize for the winner had something to do with it), the leading group was formed by several strong men of the scene South Africa, including Hank McGregor, Grant van der Walt, his brother Brandon, Matt Bouman, Tom Schilperoort and Sean Rice.

McGregor and Eray claim again a hard Cape Point Challenge

On December 22nd finished the Cape Town Surfski Festival with the celebration of the classic Cape Point Challenge, one of the toughest races on the international scene, where paddlers go around the Cape from the Atlantic side to finish in False Bay, on the Indic Ocean, at the beach at Fish Hoek.And victory went to two of the favorites, Hank McGregor in men (for the third time individually, fifth overall) and Michele Eray in women, who got her fourth title in this exigent race.

McGregor enters the finish line with Rice (left) and van vdWalt (right) behind. Photo: Owen Middleton / Gameplan Media

The main character was the wind, which, contrary to what happened during the World Series the week before, turned this time to blow from Northwest, which made the whole second half of the race a hard headwind. If the test is long and this made for some factor should become almost endless. Not surprisingly, the winner was a time of 4h02'27 ".At the start, paddlers already knew the upwind conditions they were going to find after turning around Cape point, something that didn't encourage too many adventures during the first half of the race.

Graeme Solomon and Sean Rice, new South African K2 River champions thanks to their victory at the Breede Marathon

Solomon and Rice negotiating one of the rapids at the Breede

Graeme Solomon and Sean Rice are the new South African K2 River Champions after their win last week at the Breede River Marathon.

Solomon, one of the South African river classics, joined this year with surfski specialist Sean Rice to try for a win at this competition (75 km. in two days)that last year, paddling with Ant Stott, faded away after a bad choice taking a slower path during the race.

From the first stage, three couples showed their strength and made a leading group that set the pace for almost the whole course: Solomon/Rice, former World Champions Stott/Schoeman and Schloms/White. But Heinrich Schloms and Gavin White had some trouble on Day 2 when Schloms arrived to compulsory portage at Drew Bridge with a dead leg due to a ciatic nerve problem.

Simon van Gysen wins the closest Eurochallenge ever

As it's usual at the surfski races around the world, South Africans and Australians were clear dominators at the Eurochallenge 2012, race included in the World Surfski Series, held this weekend at Vilajoiosa (Spain). Big names at the start line to go into a Mediterranean Sea quite more calmed than the conditions many of them would have preferred, most of all for Sunday, to paddle the downwind race.

On Saturday, the first race consisted on a triangular course of 20 km. heading North along the coast and coming back to Vilajoiosa's port. Almost 200 paddlers took the start to make a small lap into the dock before going out to open sea. From the very first strokes, the southern hemisphere contestants were already setting the pace, while only a bunch of the top first line Spanish paddlers were able to keep that rythm, like Kiko Vega, Daniel Sánchez Viloria or Walter Bouzán. But the leading bunch was not in the mood to let the guests in, so the consagrated Sean Rice, Hank McGregor, Dawid Mocke, Jeremy Cotter, etc... started planning the race on their own.