just seen race description for king of coast, on sunshine coast and only sup class is 12'6 and under, or you race in open class against craft that go twice as fast like surf club ski's and outriggers. after having a coversation with someone else yesterday he also mentioned at coffs they were talking about only really having races with sup at 12'6 and under in the future. does any one have any input or info on this subject and after just buying a 14' naish and 2 others i know have just bought the same whats the point of racing them in full open class against something we can not compete against, or have i misenterpreted the race guides
I dont think you need to worry my gut feeling is 14ft class will be the main event in all races soon. Doing the coffs race on 12'6 boards only is stupid and at this years event there was 1 or maybe 2 12'6 boards there all the rest were 14 or unlimited.
The perth race i'm guessing there are not too many 14's and unlimited boards there which is why they went for the safe bet. Once those guys get some of these bigger boards there with the wind they get they wont touch the 12'6 boards.
To me 14 is the best of both world as its good in the runners and theres enough
board that the big guys are at no disadvantage in the flat water as well..
12'6 should be manily Amature division.
Jacko
I have just asked the same question in the "king of the coast" thread.
It looks like they are also adopting the same policy for "the doctor" race in WA.
Using an unlimited board in open sea conditions is the way to go for me and I won't be getting a 12'6" for any of these races. I would like to do as many of these races as I can but am a little less enthusiastic about them with this current policy.
The sport is still growing , just look at the commitment from Surftech and Naish they have invested big money into 14 & 17 ft boards , those big boards are here to stay.
Organisers may struggle to feild all 3 race classes here in Aus but as the numbers swell so will the prizemoney.
Rob
I believe that all sizes can contest the Doctor race and legitimately win. Auswind/Starboard have just added a further prize open to anyone on a board less than 12' or 12'6"( I'm not certain which). Good way to encourage the average dude who perhaps has this size or smaller but may have felt undergunned and less likely to compete.
Having just purchasing a 17ft i feel the same. The sport is still young we need some structure. Do we start our own organisation,or chime in with AOCRA. There are many kinks we have to iron out. But a start might be 12'6 for short races and 14 and 17s for long downwinders or even both categories in the same race different distances
The 12'6" sup class seems to be getting strong in the US ,and going by what happens in a lot of sports the manufacturers will cater to the biggest market and the size classes then tend to follow.
May be different over here though if the numbers are right,guess we'll wait and see,
Cheers.
With about 20 Naish 17 boards out there and who knows how many 14's and that's just Naish by the time you put all the bigger penetrator's, DC's, starboards and the few others, there are already enough to get some good racing. You can understand why Starboard put the money in the 12'6 class with them not having larger race boards at the moment, and fair enough it's there money.
Jacko
,
Funny you should say that Lacey - did a run from Sandy Point to Walkerville (Waratah Bay near Wilson Prom) and back yesterday on my 12'6 Starboard Pin as a bit of a Doctor warm-up. Supposed to be 23k but ended up further on the GPS because of the wind I guess. Last hour on the way over was full on headwind (laughing away thinking how much fun this will be on the way back) then wouldn't you know it swung true south west and it was side on all the way back. Took me 4 hours! Hopefully if we get any sort of breeze it will make the doctor seem easy. But you are right, 24k on a 12'6 is a long way! Interesting, I drank heaps before I left and was fine with just my waist Camel Bak which is 1.2l I think, just ate a tiny pack of sultanas at Walkerville. Not quite sure how much water to take for the Doctor run though, it could be really hot so dehydration will be a real factor if it turns into a slog. Does anyone have any experience with the little Gel energy packs?
Yellow arrow was the wind on the way back, was supposed to have much more west in it...
Walkerville South
Sandy Point - somewhere out there
Fortunately I took a compass reading so I knew which bump on the horizon to head to
Had to come home and have a nanna nap after that one!
Its one of the waterproofed ones Scotty, only trouble is I was too stingy to get waterproof headphones! I put it into my waterproof phone pack going in and out through the surf at Sandy Point. I have actually fallen in with regular cheapie headphones and they were fine, just didn't want to risk the ipod ones.
They are great things, my wife has had one for ages for doing laps with, we haven't had any problems with either of them. You can get them locally with warranty, not cheap but I use it heaps and really love having it.http://www.swimman.com.au/home/
i've pulled the pin on the doctor, it's a shame.up here i have been finishing 3l over ten k's or so(mainly the paddle runs/ not dw/ers and still running short and it's not good not to have any fluids. the only time i've been to perth i couldn't believe the dry heat, i felt thirsty the whole time. never though i would miss sweating. if the race become a pure paddle, i was thinking about how i could carry more than 3l
cheers
Does anyone have any experience with the little Gel energy packs?
i talked to a guy in tri shop and he told me you need to drink fluids with them. also don't have too many or you will get a case of the s###s. told me about a poor lady who had 5 too quickly. i brought one to try, but haven't used it yet. hope that helps a bit
cheers
Nice pictures Jonathan.. It looks great.
Have you decided yet if you will bring your SIC F14 back from Hawaii after the Molokai.. That would be a great board for that run.
I've used the Gel packs Mt biking and they are easier to get down quick rather than having to chew on a power bar.. plus the chewing effects your breathing.
DJ
camo hosk is right on the money there the sport is being backed by sales and thats what is happening in the US and the biggest SUP race is the BOP race of which there is possibly going to be 2 this year coming .The Doctor race is backed by Star board who makes 5 model 12'6 race boards so do the maths on that guys .Distance paddle is just that and its not for everyone ,regardless what length board your on just train harder to manage the distance you wish to compete in .Try paddling Catalina or Molokai on a 12 foot board because thats where this all started .I think its not the board its the paddlers and there preparations for such distance events so find what you can manage and work from there ,if it was easy more people would be doing it so take your time and build yourself a good base and get the right advice before you waste your time and money .Just a small bit of advice i use before jumping into anything .Good luck with the distance paddling ,its good see the growing interest in something that isnt new
3 litres of weak lemon cordial does the trick for me.
Back to topic - I can't see how you wouldn''t want a 16 or 17 footer over a 12'6" unless your focus is solely on meeting length criteria for particular race events. If you like to treat it like recreational surfing or SUPing and just to head out to sea and head downwind, get a few runners going, those big unlimited boards are the bomb. Definitely not a waste of money.
Agree 100% on the big board thing too. It's like a different sport doing open water paddles on a 16' or longer board, actually prefer it to surfing unless waves are really good.
As a suggestion to solve the sponsorship problem, perhaps Kellogs Nutri Grain could give SLSA and sponsor sup. They could start putting Stand Up Paddle Collector Cards in the bottom of Nutri Grain packets, am sure there a plety of kids out there who want to put a Dogman, Piros, Jacko and DJ in the spokes of their dragsters and start swapping them ... "give ya a Dogmans, a Secret Agent and a Casso for one DJ?"
<<<<<<<......lol........lol........
Hopped of my 9'2 today and rode a 17'er.
Hmmm, I think I'm getting it.....
Summer fun is a 12'Gun, but howling, on shore-crap is where its at with the BIG fella!!
