RPS/Starboard Half Moon Bay Race Series

Great way to start the series guys, top job organizing.

I don't think I've ever been in the drink quite so many times in an hour... must have clocked up about 30 times I reckon!

To give people an idea about the weather that day we thought this photo summed it up pretty well...

Ugg boots and all!

Glad you enjoyed the outing!

I like the little set, peeling left in the background.

Here's the race wrap-up and a few photos.

Ahhh, the weather!
Need we say more? Spring can turn on some diverse weather and last Sunday's race was held in very challenging conditions.
A reconnaissance of the proposed course the day before saw the Nippers from HMB having a pseudo surf training session on reasonable size rollers sweeping into the bay.
Sunday dawned to grey skies and a stubborn 20—25 knot SW wind and rain squalls.
The mindset of many sup crew now , is that paddling is no longer just a fair-weather pastime, but a sport that can offer tough, but also fun conditions. Just look at the dedicated DW crew doing runs right through mid-winter!
Given that there's usually no racing in Melbourne before November, always meant that only the more serious paddlers were going to show for Rd 1.
The course and race was shared with a keen crew paddling Surf Skis as well as Rescue Mals.
A fleet of 26 paddlers hit the water at 8am for the hour long race.
The start was an unusually orderly affair. Even despite the shorebreak!
The long, loping strides of Hock saw him get a great start and a small buffer from the usual front runners. As usual, the race was tightly bunched for the first lap or two and then the washing machine conditions started to take their toll.
Paddling into a 20 + knot headwind and balancing with an equally confused cross-tailwind meant staying upright was always going to be a blessing and advantage.
There was a huge variety of boards being used, ranging 12'6”, 14's as well as 17's. Hock and Rupert pulled out an impressive lead, with PT actually not that far behind. PT looked like he'd been putting in some serious training kms, maintaining a smooth, high paddling cadence for the entire hour.
Further back, Chris Sal, BW Dave and Wooz were waging a 12'6” battle, whilst big Mark Bradtke and Christian were lapping well on their 17's.
Emma had her head down and was paddling hard, despite being the only woman on a sup, she more than matched a lot of the guys and finished the full hour still paddling strongly.
The top marker was interesting, as it was only a few metres from the Cerberus and the backwash was very tricky to negotiate, with a few paddlers having to round it kneeling.
It was interesting watching how fast the top guys and girls were on their skis. One cool thing was how courteous they all were whenever there was ever a log jam at a turn. No collisions in these conditions made for an impressive record.
Honourable mentions –
- All of the guys in the OF Division [ Old Farts]. Over 45's are now an elite part of the competition and make up almost half of the men's fleet.
- Scott Newman, for making the trip from Phillip Is
- Tony Bond, for making the trip from Echuca to race and taking the photos accompanying this report.
- Tim Patterson for scoring and tabulating the results.

In Finishing Order, regardless of class:

1. Andrew Hocking - 12'6" Starboard (14 laps)
2. Rupert Lancashire - OPEN Naish (14 laps)
3. Paul Harrington - 12'6" Starboard (13 laps) - O.F.
4. Chris Sal - 12'6" Fanatic (13 laps)
5. Warwick Lee - 12'6" Fanatic (13 laps) - O.F.
6. Dave Hunt - 12'6" Coreban (12 laps) - O.F.
7. Christian Parsons - OPEN Naish (12 laps)
8. Mark Bradke - OPEN Naish (12 laps)
9. Alan Fairlie - 12'6"Fanatic (11 laps) - O.F.
10. Emma Morris - 12'6" Hobie (10 laps)
11. Con Toronis - 12'6 Starboard (9 laps)
12. Michael Jenkins - OPEN (7 laps - DNF) - O.F.
13. Ben Owzinsky - PRONE (5 laps - DNF)
14. Scott Newman - OPEN (1 lap - DNF)

By Class:

OPEN:
1. Rupert Lancashire
2. Christian Parsons
3. Mark Bradke

12'6":
1. Andrew Hocking
2. Paul Harrington
3. Chris Sal

O.F. (Old F@rts - 45+)
1. Paul Harrington
2. Warwick Lee
3. Dave Hunt


Well done to Andrew Hocking for the overall win as well as taking the 12'6” category.
And also to Paul Harrington for a gutsy paddle for 3rd overall and 1st in the OF 12'6” category.

For the HMB SLSC, the results were
Open Men
1. Billy Curry
2. Brad Mitchell
3. Tom Hurst
Open Women
1. Emma Armstrong
2. Mel Driscoll
Under 19 Men
1. Charlie Allinson
Under 17 Men
1. Richard Young
2. Callum Morris
A huge effort by Richard and Callum who both travelled all the way from Seaspray to race. Awesome!
Thanks also to Ant Orwin/HMB SLSC and RPS.
Look forward to seeing you all at Rd 2.

good picks, looks as fun as it was.