Less than 2 weeks to go until Round 1 of this Summer's RPS Starboard Series at Elwood. It's planned for Sunday 19th December. Should be lots of fun and I've heard a whisper that the Starboard reps might be in town with a truck load of demo boards.
Thanks PT , that looks like a good fun setup! I will try to venture to the big smoke for that one!!
Yes Warwick's usual modus operandi is unique in that he sets a 400 metre circuit course and then has everyone do laps for the set time - either 45 or 60 minutes. In most races, the leaders disappear over the horizon and you never see them again. In this set up, depending on how quick you are, the leaders will come past you once, twice, three times or whatever, so you get a really good idea of where everyone is at. Being a slower paddler is the best seat in the house. The race is also very close to the beach so spectators can see the entire event from one vantage point.
PT,
You are right about the demo boards, we are now on day 19 of our 6 month demo tour, so have heaps of demos right through to May.
We will be in Melbourne on the 18-19th of December and again a couple of times in the new year.
Checkout where we will be (only organising most demos a month in advance) and what gear we have on board www.SUP.net.au .
Fill in your details and suggestions of where we should be demoing to be in the running to win a Starboard SUP.
See you in a week and a bit,
Ian
Www.SUP.net.au
The Starboard Toy Bus is on it's way!
Hopefully at this stage the wind on Sunday will be light to moderate w/nw, but there is a possibility [hate to state the obvious] that the conditions could be ripe for a down-winder.
Keep an eye on this thread as we get closer to the day.
Saturday we'll be conducting demo's and again, wind - wise, may force a possible move to either Mentone or Port Melbourne.
Stay Tuned
Looking forward to it Warwick,
hopefully I can complete the coarse and get a finish at this one 
.
Ha!
Hey Cam, every marker buoy on the course will be numbered from 1 - 300 in a join the dots format! The person who completes the course first and correctly guesses the secret picture wins!
You may have to bring the 12'6" Pin out of retirement for this race.
With a 20 knot nor-west forcast it might be a good option to do a St Kilda to Green Point down wind paddle.. That would take about 45 minutes.. 
DJ
Forecast for Sunday
Winds: Northeasterly 10 to 15 knots tending north to northwesterly 15 to 20 knots during the morning then tending west to southwesterly during the afternoon. Seas: 0.5 to 1 metres increasing to 1 to 1.5 metres during the evening. The chance of thunderstorms from midday.
Revised programme for this weekend.
Forecast for Saturday
Winds: Westerly 15 to 25 knots tending west to southwesterly 10 to 15 knots around midday then tending south to southwesterly about 10 knots by early evening. Winds tending south to southeasterly about 10 knots later in the evening. Seas: 1 to 1.5 metres increasing to 2 metres around dawn then decreasing to 1 metre during the afternoon. The chance of thunderstorms in the morning.
Forecast for Sunday
Winds: Northeasterly 10 to 15 knots tending north to northwesterly 15 to 20 knots during the morning then tending west to southwesterly during the afternoon. Seas: 0.5 to 1 metres increasing to 1 to 1.5 metres during the evening. The chance of thunderstorms from midday.
The wind on Sat morning is going to make it virtually impossible to demo any sup's in the bay. The SUP Tour bus will still be at Elwood Foreshore carpark with it's full compliment of demo boards for people to try if keen and there will be staff to chat to about the various new models. Hopefully the wind will moderate during the day to allow sup demo. Also, for those of you who windsurf, there will be a range of new 2011 Starboard and Severne toys to play with.
Sunday / Race day will see a shift of venue to Mentone Beach. The photo's above are from a race held there earlier this year when the wind was a strong North Westerly. Mentone offers great protection from the wind and there's very little chop to contend with.
Parking is located at either the carpark adjacent to the Lifesaving Club or in side streets off Beach Rd. Unfortunately there is a parking curfew on Beach rd on Sat and Sun between the hours of 6am and 10am due to the number of cyclists that frequent the area. It's probably easiest to unload your boards in the carpark and then re-park your car. The Melways ref for Mentone is 86 J7. There is also stair access opposite Plummer st. Racing will start at 9.30am Sharp, as there's a cahnce the wind may swing early. If you're not a Sup Vic Member, then perhaps join online beforehand, as entry to the entire RPS/Starboard 3 race series is absolutely FREE!
How's that for value? Sup Vic representatives will be there on the day if you wish join then.
The Sup Tour Demo bus will also be there on Sunday for anyone that would like to try any of the 2011 Starboard Sup's. Come and Play. See you all there.
Full race report coming from Warwick tomorrow and video from DJ uploading as we speak. As for the winners, suffice to say, normal service was restored in both Men's and Women's.
