Southern Paddlers

Great race today with awesome conditions providing thrills and spills as the field tackled the 19.6km out and back course. For some the spills started early with a clash of paddles at the start sending Disco Sargison into the drink and everyone else into fits of laughter as they attempted to get off the line. Matt Dalziel used his local knowledge to good effect powering the multi-sport boat he designed along the cliffs towards Blackmans Bay in search of some calmer water and some current assistance. Jim Stubbs, Sprotty and Lester took the opposite approach heading out wide into the river hoping to steal a march on the rest of the field that split the difference charging along the rhumb line, probably not entirely sure which path to take.

The crossing of the Channel on the way to Bruny Island caused the biggest headache with the combination of wind, current and swell proving a challenge for all but the most stable. Trying to find the turn at Bruny was where things became confusing with the majority of paddlers heading in towards a random flag at the jetty, paddling past the proper turn further down right on the Northern tip of Dennes Point. Matt Dalziel was first to turn and headed back towards the cliffs while Stubbsy, Lester and Sprotty went back out into the middle looking for the big runs. In the finish Matt took the win over Stubbsy whilst Lester put his downwind skills to use managing to catch and overhaul Sprotty to steal third. Everyone finished with smiles on their faces with many probably re-writing their defenition of rough water after today. In the end Ian and I decided not to DQ anyone for rounding the wrong mark, partly because so many made the mistake and they had to paddle further and partly because it had no bearing on the overall result. That said please ensure you are fully across all the race details and if you are unsure about anything raise it at the pre-race briefing. We do not want ocean paddling to go the same way as some other sports and be weighed down by restrictive rules and protests as we don't feel its in the spirit of ocean racing and definately isn't part of our vision for the future.

We will have a page devoted to the upcoming first ever down wind state title up in the next few days. We are also planing a skills day to be taken by Olympian Jim Walker of mykayakcoach.com. This will be open to all paddlers of all creeds with a beginner session planned for the morning followed by an advanced session in the arvo. Rumour has it that he is also lining up for the state title too so it should be an awesome event. Check out the pics in the gallery too!

Twilight Race 8

Another night of challenging but fun conditions tonight with a smaller than usual field lining up for a new course which featured a sheltered up wind leg around the casino and up to the first pontoon before a great technical down wind to the CSIRO followed by a tough and confused side on section to the finish. Div one completed the course twice with Sprotty relishing the down wind section to take bragging rights from Stewy Lawless with the Buckmeister third another 30 seconds back. The one lap Div 2 sprint was taken out by Ash Noble over an improving Stew Beltz with Jodie paddling well to take a strong third. Saturday sees the running of the Iron Pot Classic, conditions look great so come along and have a go.

Twilight Race 7

Great conditions greeted the record field for Twilight Race 7. The SE wind that we have been hoping would turn up all year finally did and produced probably the best down wind conditions so far. It was certainly an impressive site seeing 34 paddlers light it up as they powered out of the DSS on their way to the John Garrow Light. Stewy Lawless ripped it apart at the front of the field dragging wild water specialists Ben Oakley and Ben Maynard clear with Sprotty and Lester Nation close behind. Around the Garrow the field had splintered into smaller chase bunches with some revelling in the conditions and some just happy to still be in their boats. The runs opened up to provide some fun on the down wind leg to the CSIRO then it was a testing leg through pretty technical side chop back to the DSS. Stewy powered home for another victory ahead of Ben Manard and Ben Oakley with the later unfortunately having to be DQ'd for not wearing a PFD. Marjorie Morgan lead home the ladies followed by Mel Curry and Jodie Templar. Whilst the conditions were a little more challenging than some are used to everyone had a ball downwind and will benefit from it. The only way to improve in rough water is to paddle in it. Please remember PFD's are compulsory we don't want ot get into the situation where we are having to continually chase people to wear them - its a simple case of no pfd - no insurance - big risk to club and organisers - no more races. Please do the right thing and help us out.

Ocean Series 7 Frederick Henry Bay

Race 7 of the Southern Paddlers Ocean Series started in Pipe Clay Lagoon at Cremorne. Division One ended up taking a right turn as they exited the Lagoon heading South towards Clifton Beach before turning and heading North West to Seven Mile Beach. The course ended up being 18.5km and tossed up some interesting conditions. Early on it was basically windless, although the swell rolling into the bay did provide a bit of assistance if you could be lured in to chasing them. Division Two took the direct route to Seven Mile covering about 12km. Even though the forecast wind was slow to materialise it did fill in late providing some descent runs towards the finish. Some interesting choices of lines made Div 1 a bit of a mixed bag with one group heading out to sea whilst another stayed on the rhumb line which was propably the better choice at the end of the day although they did cop their fair share of current off the points. Stubbsy was too good once again taking out the win from Ben Maynard who relished the condition in the Time Bandit - wait till he gets a ski. Div two was taken out by Dave Russell-Green over Sean Menitz and Marlon Keys. Twilight kicks off again on Tuesday with a BBQ and DCC meeting to follow - see you there.

Australia Day Sandy Bay Regatta Race

Our biggest race yet! 33 paddlers and a big crowd enjoying the spectacle made up for the weather not playing the game again. The 6.5 km course was similar to our twilight course but went around the corner from Long Beach to a permanent marker some 200m further down the river towards Kingston. The Lone Ranger Jim Stubbs returned to take out the two lap Div 1 race from Ace Petrie and Stewy Lawless, whilst Div 2 was taken out by Peter Kay over Sam Ibbott and Andy Maver in a closely fought affair.

Twilight Series Race 6

21 paddlers lined up for the last twilight before Chrissy. Normally having a Euro world class paddler would have been exciting enough but that was eclipsed by the fact that we had our first female competitor ever!!! Big bustling Buzz Lawless is killing it at the moment and showed that there's still more to come after the weekends triumph taking out the win tonight around the new course which measured around 8.5km. Second was Ben Oakley from Old Blighty with The Bucksmeister 3rd.

Eastcoast Double Header

Southern Paddlers first trip away began on Saturday with the trip up to Orford on Tassies sunny Eastcoast. paddlers converged on the cafe strip for a caffine fix and final instructions for the weekends first race before heading off to the start at the Eastcoaster Resort.

Tuesday Night is the last Twilight race before the Xmas break so come along, have a race and a festive beer afterwards. The course is around 7kms a safety boat is provided and all are welcome as long as they wear a PFD.

Twlight Race 5

25 paddlers took part in the first time trial of the year around the regular 6.6km course. Ace was back on the road this week and showed that his bingle hasn't slowed him down managing to pip Stuey Lawless by just 1 second. Bucks continued his strong season in third place with Disco managing fourth followed by Cooka and the much improved Andy Palmer. In fact Cooka and Andy could only be seperated by hundredths of a second. Well down to all that turned up and thanks to our great support personel, Ringo Star in the safety boat and Anne and Rexy on timing.

Sandy Bay to Tinderbox

Well once again conditions deserted us at the start. The forecast NE winds were replace by an annoying drizzle that put paid to any wind. 17 paddlers took to the start which was impressive considering the distance, apparently a few thought it was only 12kms and were a bit supprised when we arrived at Blackmans's Bay and still had a long way to go.

Stubbsy wasn't the bushranger today but the Lone Ranger. Off the line the distictive cry of "High ho Silver" could be heard above the grunts and groans and the masked man was away dragging Todd Disco Sargison a boat length clear of the chase bunch. Matt Dalziel accelerated up to Stubbsy as did Stew Buzz Lawless leaving Lester, Bucks, Cooka and myself struggling to get on terms. Disco found the pace at the front a bit hot letting go around Taroona High destined for the chase group. Matt Dalziel must have thought it was a bit tough sitting up to wait for the group as well.

At the Kingston pontoon the Lone Ranger was well and truly alone and had opened a massive lead on the rest of the field. Buzz had been caught by the chasers so there were 6 paddlers in the group swapping turns in an attempt to pull Jim back. In between Blackmans Bay and Pearsons Point the sea became a massive washing machine with re-bounds bouncing off the cliffs and current combining to make just moving forward extremely tough.

The confused sea state was enough to split the chase group, by Pearson's Point with only 2km to go Dalziel put in an effort and pulled away from Lester and Buzz, but it was never going to be enough to catch Stubbsy who easily took the win to make it three from three. Matt finished second with Lester in third. But the Paddle of the day would have to go to Stew McKinlay who in only his third paddle for quite a few years rocked up on a Millenium thinking he was paddling 12kms and managed to finish the 19km race absolutely stuffed but with a smile on his face.

Eastcoast Double Header

We are really keen to make this event a success and would appreciate as many as possible turning up. Families etc... are most welcome.

Twilight Race Four

A balmy evening greeted paddlers for race four in the Twilight Series. Matt Dalziel fresh from his Wild Water World cup exploits showed just what he's capable of taking the win from the consistant Stewy Lawless and the rapidly improving Andrew Buckley. Matt set a new course record with a blistering time of 30.55, knocking more than a minute off Stewy Lawless' previous mark. Quite a few new faces tonight and with a few regulars otherwise indisposed hopes are high for cracking the 30 odd next race. Remember Ocean Series Three is on Saturday check the site Saturday morning for course details.

Ocean Series Race Two

Race two of this year's Ocean Series started from the Eastern end of Seven Mile Beach around a can 4 km's from the start then straightened up for a dash to the finish at Lauderdale Yacht Club. Numbers were a bit light on this week with the Tullah Challenge and the Extreme Wild Water Race at the Cataract Gorge keeping more than a few otherwise indisposed plus of course the lack of any Cliffy Boys, who obviously have better things to do than support the sport either that or the're scared of a touch up. The forecast beasterly seabreeze failed to materialise with the only small runs coming from the south east. Andrew Flakemores swish V12 finally turned up, but the flat conditions would have probably suited the time Traveller more. Off the line the Carlton bushrangers adopted their now familiar position at the front of affairs with Stewy (Buzz) Lawless towing the second group with Lester, Cooka and John Hitchens up towards the turn.

Around the turn the gaps started to appear with Lester surging ahead creating a small gap between himself and Stewy and another gap back to Cooka and Johno. Behind them Marty Stephenson, myself and Andy Palmer were trying desperately to get back on terms with Andy and I opting for a dubious line out wide that probably didn't work but it was worth a try.

Stubbsy took out another win eventually beating Ace by about 45 seconds with Lester another 75 seconds back rounding out the podium for third.

Eastcoast Double Header

Southern Paddlers first trip away began on Saturday with the trip up to Orford on Tassies sunny Eastcoast. Paddlers converged on the cafe strip for a caffine fix and final instructions for the weekends first race before heading off to the start at the Eastcoaster Resort.

Making up part of the Ocean Series the two race weekend could prove pivotal with many regular paddlers having Christmas engagements and work commitments they couldn't get out of. Race one began at the "resort" and headed into the strong Westerly (not my fault) to the mouth of the Prosser River before turning 180 degrees and heading downwind for about 10kms into the secluded Oakhampton Beach.

Big Stew Lawless put the hammer down off the line dragging a small group clear in the shelter of the headland before hitting the head wind. One after the other people dropped off until Stew was alone searching for the turning buoy with a group of five behind containing Ace, Cooka, Bucks, Sprotty and Lester then ones and twos behind them. Off Spring Bay Ace put in an interval drawing level with Stew but on a wider line whilst the rest of the chasers were well inside heading directly at the headland marking the left turn into Oakhampton. The glue holding Sprotty to the chase group failed just before the point under the pressure applied by Cooka as he drove the group to catch Ace and Stew. At the line Cooka had all but caught Ace but ran out of ground whilst Stew had managed to pull clear to take an emphatic victory, his first in this years Ocean Series.

Saturday night saw an informal gathering at the "resort" with a BBQ and a few drinks and many re-runs of the days race. Strangely whilst the timing girls were in the bar doing the nutbush with the locals a few of the boys took the opportunity to duck out and head back to Hobart or off to bed. In the morining at the pre arranged rendeavous race two's course was decided upon after much discussion. West Shelly Beack to Paines Place got the final nod after the forecast revealed the winds wouldn't go Southerly until the afternoon.

Off the line Cooka lit it up at one end with Sprotty going beserk at the other with the two ends eventually joining to form a phoenix like sprearhead with the pace increasing with the wind and waves gaining more fetch as we moved further away from land. The lead pack was tightly bunched with Stew back at the head of affairs whilst Sprotty, Cooka, Bucks, Lester and myself rode the bus all the way until the Oakhampton headland. Passing the headland the wind started to come more from the South prompting many to thing we should have started at Rehban i'm sure, that's what I was thinking anyway. Across the bay Lester opened a small advantage on Sprotty whilst Stewy Buck and myself were all roughly level but on different lines towards Lords Bluff.

The runs were there but they were quite technical. It was a matter of heading left to pick them up and then trying to maintain speed and work right before repeating the whole process again. Around Lords Bluff Lester had maintained his small advantage whilst Sprotty and I were trading run for run as we headed down the the bumpy section created by the Southerly wind and swell rebounding of the sheer cliffs. Behind Bucks had managed to shake Stew with Martin Stephenson revelling in the conditions holding down sixth. Lester held out the fast closing Sprotty to take his first win of the year with Myself another 27 seconds further back.

Many thanks to the timing girls and and our awesome safety boat crew in Ringo and Ronnie with out yous guys it wouldn't be possible, we luv yas.

Expected time to complete: fastest 45 mins (assumes average of 12 kms/hr), slower paddlers may take up to 1 hour 50 mins (assumes average of 5 kms/hr)

Registrations: via our web site* (1000kms4kids.blogspot.com) from December 1. Or on the day registrations open at Kingston Beach from 7:30 am

Entry: via donation to be paid on the day of the paddle, when signing your waiver forms.

Twilight Series Race Three

Well Huey is playing trick on us again, the beautiful weather that saw many reaching for a hat and sunscreen on the weekend disappeared replaced by some good old Westerlty snot! It did nothing to curb the enthusiasm of the brave band of regulars though with 17 paddlers lining up for the regular 2 lap lung buster. Stewy Lawless managed to upset the apple cart tonight, taking the win in a tight sprint from Sprotty with Pete Genders relegated to third in the sub. Many thanks to Anne and Rex for timing and Ringo and James in the safety boat.

Don't forget Saturday is the second Ocean Series race. The weather looks to be shaping up nicely so hopefully we will get some good down wind conditions. Race details will be sms'd and posted on the site by 9am Saturday morning, hope to see you there.

Ocean series Race One

Kingston to Bellerive

Tassie's biggest season of Ocean racing began in earnest today with the 12km down wind (sort of) dash from Kingston Beach to Bellerive. This years expanded Ocean Series will see competitors battle it out over nine races culminating in the first ever state championships. An overall series winner will be determined under a cumulative points systems with paddlers able to drop there worst result.

20 paddlers took the start line under threatening skies keen for the forecast cold front to materialise in time to provide some runs and a bit of fun along the way. As the siren sounded Angus Sprott took off like a scalded cat, setting a steady 15km/h as the field sorted itself out rounding Allum Cliffs. It didn't take long for the bushrangers from Carlton to appear at the head of proceedings with Sprotty's Fenn stuck in an Uno sandwich as the pressure was applied and the three found themselves clear of the chase group by about 30 metres at Crayfish Point.

A chase group containing Todd Sargison, Stew Lawless, Pete Genders, Cooka and Lester Nation tried to keep the leaders in sight but at the John Garrow Light Jim Stubbs broke the shackles, working the confused runs towards Bellerive. Behind the field was spread far and wide with the strong South Westerly pushing many paddlers east of the rhumb line as they searched for runs, eventually forcing them to head back into the wind to reach the finish.

Jim Stubbs won comfortably with an impressive average speed of 13.5km/h over Ace Petrie with Sprotty flying the Fenn flag for third.

In the interest of providing the best possible course for the conditions on race day a start location will be posted on this site as well as an sms sent to all current and past competitors. If you didn't receive an sms today please let us know at the next twilight or ocean series so that we can add you to the data base.

Twilight Series Race Two

Race two saw 23 paddlers take to the water to contest this weeks race. The conditions were much improved on race one with a solid westerly prompting a course change with paddlers completing the two laps in a clockwise direction. Peter Genders took line honours again this week with Lester and Sprotty filling the minor places. If you know anyone that paddles let them know about the Twilight Series, we want to get enough paddlers to have two divisions.

Ocean Series Race One - Saturday 1pm Kingston to Bellerive (Final course direction will be posted by 9am Saturday)

Twilight Series Race One

The first ever Sandy Bay Twilight Race kicked off with a two lap lung burner along sandy Bay Beach. The wintery conditions probably kept quite a few at home but 19 brave souls still turned up to have a go. Pete Genders took out the race in a close sprint finish from Ace Petrie and Stewy (Buzz Light Year) Lawless. The twilight races are on every Tuesday forthnight through Summer. There will be a brief at 6.15 on the grass before every race. Due to insurance purposes we can not allow people to race without a PFD, there are no exceptions, sorry! Thanks to Anne, Ian, Rex and Sonia for helping out on the night with the safety boat and timing.

2009 Carlton Park Grand Final Ski Race - Report and Results

The 2009 Carlton Park AFL Grand Final Race attracted a good number of paddlers and they were greeted with a fresh southerly breeze that provided some challenging conditions for the 10km race around Frederick Henry Bay. The start in the Carlton river mouth was clean and the pack soon spread out as they made their way along Carlton Beach. Sam Norton and Jamie Stubbs broke away from the field using their local knowledge to good effect paddling close to the beach just outside the surf line.

Ace Petrie started out wide but wisely chose to follow the front pack eventually ending up on the same line a couple of lengths behind. Approaching Spectacle Head, Jamie pushed out a couple of lengths lead on Sam Norton, before Sam surfed his way back, make it staus quo again for the tough upwind section out to Whale Rock.

Turning Whale Rock it was neck and neck as they tried to work the difficult runs to the finish.With about 1 km to go, Sam caught a run, giving him a 20m lead which he held to the finish. Jamie came 2^nd with Ace finishing 3^rd. Allie Britton paddled strongly to be the first female home from seasoned paddler Julie Howard. Don Marsh was the oldest paddler.

Fenn have come to the party once again this year offering not one but two fully adjustable carbon paddles as spot prizes for this years series. Australian distributor and paddling God Dean Gardner has also launched the Fenn Cup, a series of races in NSW. Perhaps we could get a crew together for the January races?? Click on the poster to find out more.

Tassie Fenn distributor Angus Sprott has put together some deals that would have Arthur Daley running for cover. These deals are just for this years series, not only that but he has a Fenn XT intermediate ski available for hire for any of the ocean series races. The hire fee is $20 for Ocean Races and $10 for Twilight Races - and if you buy a ski off him he will take the hire fee off the price of your new ski, can't be fairer than that. Hire is on a first come first serve basis so contact us at the site to put dibs on it for one of the races.

Think Uno

The first Think Uno has hit Tassies Shores. The boat belongs to Jim Stubbs with another arriving later in the week for Ace Petrie. If first impressions are anything to go by, the boat looks fast and well finished. Jims version is the carbon model and wouldn't weigh much more that 10kg. It comes with a longish rudder and all the usual Think additions like permanent leash anchor point, deck occy's and the Uno also has recessed carry handles at each end to comply with European safety requirements.

After observing the boat on the water it struck me as being a little like a K1. That may seem like a strange thing to say but it appears to have very little rocker and a vertical bow. Into the wind it appeared to slice through the oncoming chop nicely and also coped well with the runs on the return leg. I would say the speed would be comparable to the other top flite boats on the market, Jim reported stability to be about the same as his previous boat a Fenn Mako 6.

Memberships Are Now Due for 2009/10

All paddlers wishing to take part in any of the twilight races or the ocean series must be current Canoe Australia members. Membership is $40 for 6 months or $60 for 12 months. Membership entitles you to compete in races throughout the year and access free boat hire and many more perks, see the DCC site for more information. Membership forms can be downloaded through the DCC website. Simply click on the Canoe Club logo and navigate to the membership section to download the membership form. Please note 3 and 9 month membership options are no longer available.

Southern Paddlers set for a Massive Summer

Southern Paddlers is gearing up for a massive Summer of ocean paddling. We have been working on a completely new series that will include out and back style races as well as the favoured downwind speed fests. The pinnacle of the series will be the East Coast Double Header and the State Ocean Championships. The East Coast Double Header will give paddlers access to some of the States best paddling with the Mercury Passage often throwing up some magic runs that have to be experienced to be believed. With the enormous growth of ocean paddling in recent times we though it was the right time to introduce the State Ocean Championships. The Championships will for the first time offer paddlers from all disciplines and all clubs all over the State the opportunity to come together and race for the chance to become state champion. This event promises to be huge and should see a great race as the cream of Tassies paddlers fight it out to be crowned the inaugural champion.

We have also created a twilight series that will run out of the DCC facilities at the Derwent Sailing Squadron on Tuesday nights. This series will be a great way for paddlers to ease into ocean paddling and provide some quality racing on a regular basis. The DSS has wash down facilities, showers and a BAR!!! so it ticks all the boxes. Races will be between 5km and 8km and will be a mix of time trials, mass starts and the odd handicap to keep things interesting. Preliminary dates are on the new events page.

Slopen Slugfest

Results and Gallery are up now

Saturday saw the running of the final race of the Downwind Summer Series, unfortunately the forecast conditions didn't live up to expectations. The wind was still from the North but had fizzled from the healthy 20 knts earlier in the morning to a meager 5 or 10 on the water come race time. Instead of making the race boring it actually did the opposite and made for some great tactical racing.

Jamie Stubbs and Adrian Petrie made the much appreciated effort to come along and further bolstered the already strong field, making a few re-think their strategy. Off the start two groups quickly forged ahead ultimately coming together less than 500m later to form the lead group. Jamie Stubbs, Lester Nation, Stuey Lawless, Angus Sprott, Todd Sargison, Ian Cooksey, Adrian Petrie and myself. The pace was to quote Stuey Lawless "rude", the Garmin was sitting comfortably on 14km/h but I was not and was soon unceremoniously detached from the pack as was Cooka and then Sprotty not long after.

perfect wash riding technique

Passing Mays point the lead pack was reduced further to only three with Todd Sargison then Stuey Lawless finding the going too tough. Behind them Cooka had managed to catch and pass Sprotty and was in hot pursuit of Todd whilst Gordon Henry and Matty Watton were dicing it out further back.

The leaders were never in danger of being caught so a bit of cat and mouse ensued as no one was really keen on towing the others to the finish only to be pipped at the post. Jamie Stubbs took out the race over Adrian and Lester who were awarded equal second as it was impossible to seperate them on the line even with video footage. Stuey Lawless showed his flat water strength for fourth whilst Todd managed to hold off Cooka for fifth.

Jamie Stubbs taking the sprint to win race three

Lesters second placing saw him comfortably take out the series and take home the awesome carbon trophy. Sprotty finished second with Stuey Lawless in third. In the spot prizes Ben Maynard won the Fenn 4 paddle and Travis Woods won the Sharkskin Vest from Peak Fifthteen.

A big thanks to the series sponsors Fenn and Peak Fifteen, the girls, Jo and Anne for the timing, Rex and Angus for their help with the video and finish buoys, and all the safety boat crews that have selflessly given up their time to help out. Thanks to all competitiors for making the effort to support the series, we hope to see the fields get bigger and bigger in the future. Just a tip for those that haven't made the effort to support the races - if you want to see your sport grow and a strong race scene develop make the effort to come to races even if the conditions aren't perfect - ocean paddling events in Tasmania will only survive if they are well supported.

Derwent Doctor Report

Check out the slide show in the gallery.

Derwent Doctor Start

Race two of the Fenn Downwind Summer Series saw 24 paddlers line up to contest the 12km jaunt from Kingston to Bellerive. The weather was playing the game too, and increased from a meager 5 knts to a healthy 15 knts from the South. Off the start Lester Nation made it clear from the outset that he wasn't mucking around and quickly opened a gap dragging the versitile Matt Dalziel along for the ride. Once the field had negotiated Kingston Point the runs opened up and the paddlers accelerated along the Taroona foreshore working the runs that were coming down the river. A chase group formed behind containing Sprotty, Todd Sargison, Kris Clauson, Cooka, Stewy Lawless, Ben Maynard and me.

Lester's used the runs to full advantage as he continued to build his already insummountable lead. At John Garrow light Angus put the hammer down and went after Matt who was doing an amazing job handling the waves in his Time Machine. Unfortunately Todd and I could only watch him go as he quickly opened a sizeable gap that was not going to be easy to close.

Rounding Kingston Point

Cooka and Stew Lawless had managed to get free of Kris and Ben Maynard and were having another tussle similar to race one. Phil Murrell and Pete Genders were keeping each other honest in the Time Bandits while behind them the remainder of the field was spread far and wide as everyone searched for the fastest way home.

Lester on his way to taking out The Derwent Doctor

Lester took the win and now leads the series whilst Matt Dalziel finished second with Angus Sprott in third. There were very few incidents really, Stewart Corney broke his rudder cable and was in all sorts of trouble, but other than that and a few spills everyone came through unscathed. Special mention must be made of all the paddlers in enclosed boats - just getting there without a spill is a major achievement - and really puts into perspective how good Mr Dalziel is. Race three will test everyones endurance and may see a bit of a shake up in the series standing. And as they say in the movies "if you think it's too hard or too far toughen up!!" See you there.

Update: Derwent Doctor

The start position may be moved depending on the wind direction to ensure a downwind race. There are a number of options available to us, so if need be we will move the start line to make the best course possible. The start departure point will remain at Kingston unless the forecast changes and we are face with winds from a Northerly direction in which case the course will be reversed and we will start from Bellerive and finish in Kingston. Race registration will take place on the Eastern end of the Esplanade at Kingston Beach , look for the Peak Fifteen flags. Remember PFD's are compulsory and must be worn, you will not be allowed to start if you do not have one on. Please ensure that you check back here on Friday afternoon as a definate decision will have been made and posted by 5pm. There will be two boats providing support as well as taking photos and video.

Frederick Henry Buster

The first race of the series saw a small but elite field of Tassies paddling community line up for a twilight dash from Cremore to Seven Mile Beach. Inside the lagoon conditions were idilic with a light breeze and the temperature in the low twenties. Outside however was a different story. The sea breeze was well and truely blowing. Unfortunately it was coming more from the East than the South meaning that the field would be hit by the wind and chop on the beam instead of from behind. The direction of the wind might have put a few off as even though there was a healthy dose of ocean skis and a couple of multi sport boats only one spec ski turned up making that class a little light on. Hopefully there will be some more at the next race.

As the field hit the open water two distinct groups formed, well one distinct group on a wide line well out to sea and Greg Stubbs further inshore taking the direct line close to the cliffs. By Mays Point Stubbsy was in front by a nose over Chris Clauson with Lester Nation and Angus Sprott close behind. The temptation to go after Stubbsy proved too much for Lester so he made the decision to change from the deeper line and set off in pursuit. Chris Clauson was doing an incredible job in his Time Bandit leading the group containing Angus, Stuey Lawless and Ian Cooksey.

At the halfway point Stubbsy was holding down a 30 second lead over Lester with Angus and Chris in deeper water locked in battle for third. Stuey Lawless and Cooka were still within range but were on a Northerly course that would probably see them paddle further but also give them the benefit of a fast downwind finish. Behind them Gordon Henry and Alan Roddan were fighting on another 100m behind on the same line powering through the slop trying to make contact with the group in front.

As they got closer to Seven Mile, with the wind more on the quater the runs really started to open up. It was awesome to see the spray flying in the air as the skis belted down the swell. Greg managed to hold on putting his surf experience to good use to take out the win from Lester with Angus managing to get over Chris for third. All in all it was a great race with everyone going home with a smile on their face. If you are reading this thinking gees I should have gone, you are right you should have. Get off you arse and turn up to race two, the more the merrier.