The Doctor once again lived up to its reputation providing a classy field with a nice downwind and a fun weekend of racing.
This year though the event was stretched out to incorporate over a week of paddling races and bring the very best from a range of different facets of paddle sports together in one location and race a variety of different paddling disciplines.
The week started with 200 meters sprints on some of the flat water venues around Perth. Some of the countries top exponents in the sprint events were on hand along with quite a few of the visiting ocean paddlers.
The events were a huge success and a great introduction to the upcoming week of ocean events.
The load out
Leading into the event the logistics of the event became the key concern for us. In the past we had had numbers of around 100 for the race with last years jumping to just shy of 200. In the last few days leading into the race we already had well over 200 entered so we were expecting very close to 300 on the line at Rottnest.
The big question was how were we going to get all these craft to Rotto.
In the previous years we had enlisted the help of my family members and used cray fishing boats to transport the ski’s. With the demise of this industry in WA, they have all moved on to other maritime work, so the boats were not available.
The Rottnest Barge which keeps the island supplied with everything was available for charter so we took the punt hoping that this would be big enough to take the whole field to the island. Having done a few of these events we just need to work out the dimensions of the boat and how many paddle craft would fit into those numbers. With me being based in Sydney and the barge in Perth it required a little bit of maths and a whole bunch of guess work.
Next we needed something to put all the craft into/onto. Fortunately for us we have quite a few of the frames made by Keith Fenn to ship ski’s into Australia. We needed at least 6 which basicly means 6 x 35 being the number that can fit on each frame. So we had space on the barge for 6 frames and space in each frame for 35 ski’s, well skinny ski’s. We had additional space at the side of each frame for what I thought would be another 20-30 craft. The rest would have to go by private boat or ferry.
Friday before the race at around 2pm we started loading and hoped that the guess work was right.
A big contingent turned up to lend a hand to load which helped us get this monumental task across the line. A big thanks from us especially to those that stayed on and helped even after their craft was loaded. It was hot dirty work but your contribution helped immensely.
I lost count at around 220 as it was hard to count the piles of craft that were stacked, strapped, slid under and attached to the frames we had on board.
Just as we called it a day another 4 rolled up I looked to my old mate Tom Simmatt (who is always helping us with these things) and ironman legend Ken Vidler who was also helping out and said “Where the f&*% are we going to fit these” I mean that ,every available space on that barge was used. Tom ‘”Macgiver” improvised some more racking and the boats fitted on.
We quickly got into our cars and bolted before anyone else turned up. The load was done.
The Doctor
The ride to Rotto is always an interesting one as you look for the angles that will give you the best run back to the mainland later that day. My mind was on the load and just how secure each frame was. We only need one to collapse to bring the whole lot down.
As we drew near we entered the lee of the island and my worries about the load lessened. We pulled up alongside and started the unload.
Once again a huge task made a lot easier by those that had taken an early ferry over to help out. They included some of the top runners like Marty Kenny, Zane and Kirsty Holmes along with numerous others.
The beach space immediately in front of the jetty quickly filled with an assortment of craft. A huge contingent of curious onlookers milled around as the unload continued.
Soon after the second ferry arrived with a sea of red spilling down the gangway.
Preparations began on beach.
Conditions were favourable with the light SW wind building prior to the first start the SUPs. While not as strong as originally predicted the wind was definitely creating movement that would eventually lead to some decent chop out on the course.
The races started about half an hour later than scheduled to catch as much of the wind as possible. My good mate Muz Hughes stood in for me as Race Director so I could get on the line.
My other good mate Ash Nesbit got the three waves off to nice clean starts and it was on The Doctor 2011 was on its way.
The details of the race are documented in other write ups about the race so I am not going into that.
One thing I will comment on though is that I have never been so far behind in race after the first kilometre. The depth of talent that the race attracted this year was unbelievable. Those going for the ASN hotspot and the other leaders were going that fast that many top line paddlers were falling by the wayside.
For me the race itself was the highlight of months of work and planning from a dedicated team and a bunch of good mates that are always there when we put these things together.
The real race started once out of the protected waters of the island and for me at least it was fun all the way to the finish.
The finish itself was a spectacle to behold. A large crowd had turned out to watch the competitors come rolling through. They were not disappointed.
The race for first was as close as it gets as was third and fourth. For the next fifty places competitors averaged fifteen seconds between them.
For such a large number of participants there were few pull outs. While conditions were not ideal for the SUPs the majority made it to the line.
The Over 50s
While the event was huge success the one thing that has played on my mind since the race was how we overlooked the Over 50s in our race presentations. Some might say these guys haven’t got long left anyway but they are the 3rd biggest category in the event so definitely worth mentioning.
All jokes aside my humbl lest apologies for not having you guys and ladies in our presentations agenda. In all honesty you actually were there but for some reason that part of the presentation didn’t make it to Simon.
The full results of the 50s are here.
http://results.racetectiming.com/LiveLB.aspx?CId=115&RId=14&EId=1
Nelo Teams Challenge 
A big thanks to Nelo for making this part of the event possible.
This event was extremely close and came down to some of the smaller categories in the end. With $5k up for grabs it was a handy bonus for those that had won prize money and pleasant surprise for those that hadn’t.
In the end NSW and WA drew for first with Qld in third place. The points were issued as follows
NSW
- Tim Jacobs 1st open men 1 point
- Krystyl Smith 2nd open women 2 points
- Lauren Smith 1st under 20 women 1 point
- Michael Booth 1st under 20 men 1 point
Total 5 points
WA
- Julie Jenkinson 1st O/40 Women 1 point
- Fernada Gray 1st SUP Women 1 point
- Brendan Rice 2nd U/20 men 2 points
- Dean Gardiner 1st O/40 Men 1 point
Total 5 points
QLD
- Bruce Taylor 2nd O/Men 2 points
- Paul Jackson 1st SUP 1 point
- Marty Kenny 2nd O/40 Men 2 points
- Bill Bain 3rd U/20 men 3 points
Total 8 points
I am sure that the prestige of the Nelo Teams Challenge will grow in future years.
In the end
The event was huge we were over the moon with the turn out and the number of participants. The competition was fierce but fun on and off the water (helped out greatly by copius amounts of Pure Blonde). The location is now set in stone. The Doctor will now always finish at Sorrento or nearby.
Having an accommodation sponsor like Sorrento Beach Resort makes things very easy when they are across the street from the finish. Pure Blonde as a beer sponsor makes the stuff off the water fun. The assistance from Sorrento SLSC made the race simple from a logistics point of view.
Who to thank
Obviously an event like this has some pretty big logistical and financial issues to overcome.
Eventscorp are the major contributor to this event. They have now been involved in the event for three years and to be quite honest it would be a lot lesser event without them. The contribution extends far from the actual days of the event. The TV component of the event is handled by Eventscorp as is large parts of the marketing and PR.
We are a pretty small team at Oceanpaddler. We are not an events company but feel our biggest contribution to the sport can be made through running these style of races. They are a huge drain on us both financially and in the time it takes to get each event off the ground. Yanda is the backbone of the company and spends hours dotting the Is and crossing the Ts in the background for the event as well as running the day to day operations of the business.
Sherene is responsible for organizing most of the nice fluffy stuff. Like the Pure Blonde, post event water, venues and various other components of the event. Along with looking after four very demanding boys, me being one them she is an integral part of the success of the event.
The beauty for me in going back to WA to organize a race is, firstly I get to go back to gods country, but more importantly and what has made this race become what it is today is the support we get from friends, family and just anyone associated with the sport in WA.
WA is unique in that it’s a place where everyone just has a go. The people don’t pigeon hole themselves into a certain sporting genres. They just do everything, yeah sure I will swim to Rottnest, yeah sure I will paddle down a river, no worries I will do a 3 hour adventure race.
There is an adventure spirit in WA that is rare to find in other parts of the country.
This flows over to the logistical side of an event also. For me I can ring up Muz, Ash, Dean Beament, Greg Mickle or Wade Kelly and ask a question can we do this?. The answer is don’t worry about it I will handle it for you. Sure enough it’s done and we don’t have to worry about it.
In most cases egos are left at the door and people are just people. You could be the Queen of England but you’re still going to help get the ski off the trailer.
Take for example Ken Vidler. This guy was my hero and a household name when I was growing up (until Greg Mickle came along), I wanted to be Ken Vidler. At the time he was the greatest ski paddler and Ironman in the country and if it was an international sport he would have been World Champ to.
Ken rings me and says “do you need any help for the race, I have my jet ski available”. For those that saw Rambo’s vision you can thank Ken for driving the jet ski and getting Rambo where he needed to be. Not only was Ken out on the water he was there at the massive load on the Friday and there to help out for the Aussie Day Challenge (The Nurse).
My old man is a classic. He has always been there at the events and is mostly in the background. Deaf as a door nail to the point where I have to yell at him to communicate, he is there from sun up to sundown helping out.
There are many more that help out with The Doctor and we thank all of you for making the event a great event.
Finn Kayaks Coastal Challenge
I love this race. It’s down the coast, easy to organize , it’s a team format and great downwind.
This year the FKCC lived up to its reputation as one of the best. Conditions were perfect everyone was coming of a high from the day before and we had an awesome line up of teams for the race.
The start at Fremantle was similar to the day before with Kenny Wallace leading the field out. Kens team was a line up paddling hotties Reece Baker, Ben Allan and David Smith. Close behind was Jeremy Cotter coming off a disappointing race the day before. Cotters line up was Caine and Shannon Eckstein this team using a strategic three man option.
The first change at Cottesloe saw Kenny’s team and Jezzas team almost neck and neck. Caine Eckstein took the lead to the halfway mark at City Beach. Close behind was the Saffa team consisting of Dawid and Jasper Mocke ,Matt Bouman and Tom Shillperort.
With Team Cotter opting for the three man option this meant that Shannon would be doing the entire second half of the race. Through the final change at Scarborough the current ironman champ held the lead with the Saffas now in second and Kennys team hanging on to third from the fast finishing team of Bruce Taylor and Nathan Smith.
Fifth across the line was Tim Bird and Brad Rogers. Further back in the field the battle for the mixed team was going on between Michelle Eray and Tim Jacobs V Kirsty and Zane Holmes. This came down to the wire with Jacobs and Eray backing up from their previous days wins.
Sorrento SLSC provided the venue for the weekend wrap up and warm up for The Session atthe OBH later that day.
Watch the Video of the FKCC. Click here.
Aussie Day Challenge (The Nurse)
Margaret River the very name conjures up images of sitting under a tree eating fresh crays and drinking some of the best red in the country. For the water person the South West is Disneyland. It has every ride and all the trimmings that anyone that has a liking for ocean activities would ever want.
So an obvious choice for our newest event on the program.
Earlier in the year big wave exponent Courtenay Gray had expressed interest in putting a race on in conjunction with The Doctor.
How good was this we have another reason to stay longer in WA and get to go south also. And further more someone that’s on deck in Margaret’s to get the event off the ground.
So there it was the foundation stones had been laid for what I think could become a monster on the race calendar in future years.
The day of the race saw a nice following swell of around two meters. 12-15 knots tailwinds and clear skies with crystal blue water.
The race itself was to start at Margaret River and run along the coast to Gracetown. Two iconic surf towns both of which would reveal their magic to the visitors the next day.
The field for the race was small but had some of the big guns taking part. In the SUPs NSWs Andy Davies, Mauis Bart De Zart and Qlds Travis Grant were on hand. On the skis Eray, Shillperort, Jasper Mocke, Bruce Taylor had all hung around to take part.
Mocke and Eray took out the ski race while Grant and Fernanda Gray took out the SUPs.
Once again a tonne local support got this race off the ground. The hard work done by Fernanda and Courtenay Gray has now cemented another great event into the program.
The post event celebrations were held back at the Fishers house and they did not disappoint. An awesome spread was laid out and once again everything that I envisage when I visit the SW was there in full.
Watch the Video of the Aussie day Challenge. Click here
Next year
2012 promises to be a big year for these events. With a solid foundation now laid for a week of racing keep this part of the year free. Thanks to everyone who made this happen.
