Summer Series Race 3 - Botany Bay, Sydney Australia
On a wet, cloudy summer’s day (!!) Team Fat Paddler and a bunch of other paddlers arrived at Sydney’s Botany Bay for the third race of the Summer Series. For many, it was a fast affair in relatively benign conditions, but for a few of us (myself included) it was simply about trying to race a surf ski for the first time. Only four weeks ago I started trying to paddle a ski, and for fellow Team Fat paddler member Mogo, he had even less experience still. Regardless, with the brilliant support of Slipstream Surf who lent us both a couple of Stellar SR surf skis, we hit the water with three other TFP mates and “raced” through the chop and boat wake that had cut up the bay. Bigger story to come, but here’s my video highlights (and yes, I know my forward stroke is rubbish and needs help!!). Cheers, FP
Tags: Slipstream Surf, Stellar Kayaks, Stellar SR, Summer Series, surf ski
What better place to celebrate Australia Day than by getting on Sydney Harbour
Australia Day represents many different things for Australians, and we all have our own way of celebrating living in this beautiful country. Whether it’s a picnic in the park, a concert in the city or a BBQ on the beach with family. Sun, good food, family and friends are important! Sydneysiders especially know that the Harbour and our beaches go hand in hand with Sydney life. This Australia Day the lads at Benefit Active would like you to enjoy all that Manly has to offer by inviting you to join them.
Benefit Active - kayaking and Fitness, based at the beautiful Manly
Kayaks will launch from Manly OceanWorld at 9am this Thursday 26th. You can look forward to a leisurely paddle around Sydney Harbour passing Fairlight Beach, North Harbour Reserve, 40 Baskets Beach and then onto Reef Beach where we will have a swim. Following a swim at Reef everyone will paddle onto Grotto Point to take in the best view of the historic Crater Cove Huts that date back to the early 1930′s.
The team from Benefit Active ready to hit Sydney Harbour for exercise and site-seeing
From the huts you’ll paddle back to OceanWorld passing the dramatic Heads that lead into Sydney Harbour. Back at Manly you will enjoy a breakfast of fresh fruit salad, home made muesli (Mumsli) and muffins freshly baked in the wee hours of Australia Day morning! If all of this wasn’t enough, Benefit Active will provide Australia Day tattoos and bucket hats to help everyone get into the spirit of the day.
To book your spot, call ben on 0402 190 400 or drop him an email: ben@benstephens.com.au
Tags: Australia Day, Australia Day Paddle, Ben Stephens, Benefit Active, Kayak Manly
5.45am training start. Beautiful but ominous sunrise ahead of a storm.
I am currently training harder than I have ever trained before – multiple workouts a day, lots of cardio, full body exercises with kettle bells and as much time on the water as possible. I’ve trained hard before of course – trained hard for rugby, trained hard for competitive Judo, and of course trained hard to overcome significant physical injuries. What makes this training so different, and perhaps more intense, is that it’s driven by fear.
6.20am. Training alone in 15knt winds and chop, watching the storm build.
At the end of June this year I will be flying with a couple of friends to Mauritius, a little tropical island in the Indian Ocean somewhere near Africa. Once a year they hold a paddling race there - a 28km ocean race for surf skis – a race than I am attempting to enter. A race that is included as an official event on the Surfski World Series calendar. A race for professional, if not very serious, ski paddlers.
Of course I’ve taken part in lots of races – the 18km Lifestart Kayak for Kids, the 11km Bridge to Beach, a few 10km Summer Series races, and of course the 111km Haweksbury Canoe Classic. But I’ve never taken on a race that is truly at sea, a race that has had 20 foot surf breaks to get out and back in through, or a race that is entirely professional ski paddlers. In fact, I’ve never really paddled a surf ski – a pencil thin super-tippy boat for fit slim-hipped athletes.
7.30am. The skies open with a deluge, but at least it flattens out the water!
So with less than 6 months to go, and the help of a few people and local businesses, I’ve started to train. The crew at Slipstream Surf and Stellar Kayaks kindly organised the delivery of a loan Stellar SR surf ski to help me kick off my surf ski experience. Nat from SydneySurfski.com and Malcolm from Carbonology Australia lent me a number of wing paddles to experiment with. Ben from Benefit Active built out my training programs and worked with me on nutritional structures to support my goals. All that is left is…. to actually train!
8.30am. Despite the rain, TFP beginners play with different surf skis. And swim a lot!
So with the footage of the Island Shamaal fresh in my mind, my training has begun. The goals are simple – lose 20kgs, build up lots of core strength, learn to stay on a surf ski on the ocean and get fit enough to race in Mauritius. And of course don’t die whilst I’m out there, the fear of which is giving me all the motivation I need to train my guts out! Cheers, FP
The journey to Mauritius is being documented on our new site, Mauritius Paddlers. You can also follow us on Twitter (@PaddleOrDrown) and Facebook (Facebook.com/MauritusPaddlers).
Tags: Island Shamaal, Mauritius, Mauritius Ocean Classic, Mauritius Paddlers, Stellar Kayaks, Stellar SR, surf ski
James heading out into the rough stuff - Deer Group, West Coast Canada
Every now and then you come across a paddler that you see enormous potential in. I watch a lot of content streaming through social media and a certain paddler has been catching my eye for a while, a young Greenland paddler from British Columbia, James Manke. What’s even more surprising is how new to paddling James is, having only taken it up 18 months ago despite an overwhelming fear of the ocean.
For this British Columbia based Canadian, the surf is his playground
Like many new kayakers, James quickly became addicted to paddling and in particular, the Greenland styles. Living by a lake on Vancouver Island certainly helps – he spends time on the water every day (and sometimes at night) practicing different Greenland-style rolls, a key reason for his rapid skills development. Living in BC has also brought him into contact with those crazed ocean white water lovers, The Hurricane Riders, with whom he draws inspiration from and has been lucky enough to paddle with.
James surfing the standing wave, Skookumchuck Narrows, British Columbia.
Whilst originally a chef (favourite dish is a bacon cheese burger with poutine, hold the onions!) and more recently a web designer, James is aiming to apply his skills as a professional paddler, instructing Greenland skills such as boat and paddle building as well as Greenland-style rolling. He has just been announced as the Canadian ambassador for Northern Light Paddles which is positioning him well for his career switch from coder to professional paddler later this year.
But enough of the talk, the best way to see James’ skills is to watch some of the video content he is now producing of his paddles. His latest, a Greenland surfing session, is enough to get any surf lover jealous. Hope you enjoy it. Cheers, FP
Stellar SEL and Stellar SR surfskis ready to go exploring
Surfski training continued this weekend with a 22km paddle on the mostly-calm waters of Middle Harbour here in Sydney. With a 6am start, I was joined by Dez Blanchfield (BlastPaddlers.com) on a Stellar SEL surfski, Nat (SydneySurfski.com) on his Think Evo II and the Riddler (Team Fat Paddler) in his sea kayak.
Dez getting his glide on, upper reaches of Middle Harbour Creek
For me this paddle was still very much an orientation to using a wing paddle and a surfski, and I’ve struggled a bit widening my paddle grip from the Greenland-style to the wing style. I’m also still coming to terms with the stability required for lumpy water, and ended up swimming later that morning after taking on some boat chop from a passing pleasure cruiser. But regardless, time in the boat is critical with Mauritius now only 5.5 months away, so its all good. Thanks to Dez for the paddling tips and Slipstream Surf for the loan of the Stellar SR. Cheers, FP
Tags: ocean ski, Stellar Kayaks, Stellar SEL, Stellar SR, surf ski, surfski
