written by Dean Gardiner

Which way is the wind blowing?

There are many factors that influence the success or failure of an event. We have control over most of these but the weather is the one thing that will always be a thorn in the side of the organizers and has the potential to completely destroy what the particular event and its managers had set out to achieve.

Downwind ski paddling is a hot potato when it comes to making the right decision. It’s a gutsy call for organizers to say that we are going to have a downwind ski race. We have seen the whole thing turn to custard in recent Molokai’s and various other events around the globe.

Waiting periods and reversal of courses take the pressure of the organizer if they have the ability and flexibility to be able to pull either or both of those off. But even these can’t help the organizer if the weather is simply not playing ball.

Saturday January 16 Perth Western Australia saw something like the 56th straight day of no rain and a predicted 39 degrees Celsius with little to no chance of an afternoon sea breeze.

The regular readers of surf ski paddling sites will know that the reason we hold the biggest offshore paddling event in Australia in Perth is that we can “almost” guarantee that we will see a sea breeze by lunchtime in January, but not just a breeze, a wind that kicks in and within minutes there is rideable chop on water that was flat glass only a few moments before.

This wind is what locals call “The Doctor”. Some say it’s because it brings relief on the hot days and there are other reasons. For those that follow cricket (which is played in the summer months in Australia) you will know that this wind plays a part in the captains decision when winning the toss on whether his team is going to bat or bowl at Perth’s WACA Cricket Ground. These decisions are usually made when the Aussie cricket team is delivering their usual thumping to the visiting “Yarpies”.

Perth is based on the west coast of Australia and like all west coasts on every major continent its dryer than the east coast. This is what influences the local weather in this region, to put it simply hot air rises through the day creating a vacuum and sucking in the cooler air from the ocean which makes the sea breeze.

But not on this day. Other metrological influences can sometimes override the wind in wind out scenario. Fortunately the wind out (offshore) wind was going to blow all day so to make the world’s purest downwind race a downwind we decided to race in the morning and go to Rottnest Island.

Rottnest sits about 20 kilometres off the mainland. It is one of those places you go to and never forget. For me growing up in Perth it was our playground. Far enough away from your parents to create a little mischief but close enough when you got into trouble (like running out of money).

The island is alive with fish life, phenomenal waves and has a unique local inhabitant called a Quokka which looks like a miniature kangaroo.

Leading into the race all eyes were on weather charts to see if we were going to get the usual conditions. I was on the phone constantly to my guru ( shall remain unnamed) who sits in his plush BHP office dishing out orders in his baritone voice and “I’m gunna thump ya” attitude, to work out what to do.

On the Thursday before the race the charts were looking very unfavourable so a call was placed to my guru for advice. After listening to the wise man talk about himself for an hour then telling me we had to reverse it, I reflected back on a race that I had done with Ash Nesbit a few years before.

The race was held in conjunction with a swimming event from the mainland to Rottnest. I was in Perth at the time so Ash and I decided to do it. The wind that day was screaming offshore (not dissimilar to what was predicted for our race). The race started and within minutes we were linking runs going away from the coast. I was amazed at how quick it jacked up and produced nice steep long swells that barely required taking a stroke. After just over an hour I was on the beach at Rottnest 20 ks offshore.

After consulting with all involved the course and start time were changed. We were going to race out to sea.
As you can imagine this was quite a big call everything we had planned now had to be brought forward and reversed. This is where I have to commend all involved. From our safety through to the TV crews the whole process of changing the event was made easy by everyone’s willingness to make it happen.

Race morning

Early Saturday morning and we are standing on the beach at Fremantle. Much to the dismay of the local early morning swimming fraternity, 200 paddle craft took over the usually peaceful beach. Looking out to sea and where there was no visible chop, with Rottnest in the distance, could easily dishearten even the most optimistic of the competitors that day.
I looked to my guru for advice and for the first time in as long as I have known him, he didn’t say anything just a nod and a wink, so I knew it was on.

The briefing was my chance to convince the non-believers that they were going to get runs. This was a hard task as the flat sea in front of us gave no indication of the “fun time to be had by all “that I had promised.

ASN Hot Spot

As the field lined up all eyes were on Olympic Gold Medallist Kenny Wallace to see if he would be going for the ASN Hotspot. With the likes of Murray Stewart, Dave Smith and numerous other sprint kayak stars along with the faster sprint surf skiers this was going to be no easy task for the jovial Gold Coaster.

Two minutes after the start Wallace smashed the ASN buoy with his paddle shattering the sprint aspirations of the rest of the field and easily taking out the ASN Hot spot.

The battle is on..

With the sprint out of the way the field settled into the race. Up-front the usuals Cotter, Mocke x 2, Tim Jacobs, Hank, Murray Stewart, Dave Smith and a bunch of others were battling it out. Among that group a few new faces.
Before the race the ‘the man who blocks the sun” (Kurt Tutt) had told me to watch out for Bruce Taylor “He is on fire” The Blocker said.

Bruce had only competed in a couple of races this season so to most a total unknown. Another was Brad Rogers who has been out of the paddling scene for a few years and was keen to let the field know he was back. Both these guys are former champs in SLSA events with Taylor having a distance background with a couple of Molokai Paddleboard Races under his belt.

As Dawid and Jezza battled it out for the lead, just meters behind another ten paddlers were racing for third.

As previously reported Dawid put the Aussie flame out which for the last few events has been burning brightly. To dampen things further little brother Jasper came hurtling in behind the surprise packet Bruce Taylor for fourth. Dave Smith and Brad Rogers rounded out the top 6. See the results for all the other places. ocean.tikcha.com

It’s been a long time since I’ve been in a race where so many paddlers have converged within spitting distance of the finish in such a tight cluster. Two and a half minutes separated 1 to 13. That’s 1 guy every 11 seconds. I personally hit the last flat section alongside Stewart, Jacobs and Brendan Sarson so my goose was cooked right there and I had to be happy with a tenth.

The girls race

Up front in the girls Lauren Bartlett was out to avenge her narrow loss to Kirsty Holmes in the recent 20 Beaches event. A tight race developed between the two arch rivals with Bartlett making the trip worthwhile by taking out the ASN Hotspot and the race. Holmes finished close behind with local Ruth Highman taking third.

The right decision

Standing on the beach I watched as each competitor crossed the line with a massive smile on their face. What made the event a success was watching my guru cross the line. Guru also had a smile from ear to ear which meant we had lived up to what we had promised.

We had made the right decision to reverse the race all would agree. No amount of additional workload was too much when all the competitors enjoyed the ride. No amount of additional workload is too much when I don’t have to listen to my guru bagging me out about the race.

To quote Jasper after the race “ This place is amazing, its even downwind when there isn’t any wind” said the younger Mocke.

I guess that sums up racing in Perth there is a reason that thousands of Euro. sailboarders converge on this place each summer. Something for all of us aspiring big downwind ski paddlers. Go where the sail boarders go.

From the organizers of the event a big thanks to all that raced, helped out and sponsored this event. An extra huge thanks to the paddlers that travelled from OS. Stay tuned for airing dates of the TV production. We had 8 cameras on the course catching every moment which should make for some great TV.

Results The Doctor

Open Men

Women

The Think Kayak Team Challenge was won by NSW – Jeremy Cotter, David Smith and Hayden White (under 20) from QLD and South Africa.

Full results click here.