For the record, I meant "Rogue Queenslander" in a very complimentary way. Because there's some really fast paddlers in Queensland! Male & Female.
The GMP registration is open from 7.30am.
There will breakfast available, $3.00 Bacon and egg rolls, Freshly brewed coffee from Anthony/Combi Coffee, fresh pastries from Penny and Kapai Puku cereal from Graeme.
There will be plenty of time to fuel up before the race. So come down early to register and have breakfast with us!
Starboard the main sponsor of the GMP will be down at Green Point on Saturday the the 3rd with Annabel Anderson runniing a race clinic at 7.00am and a ladies clinic at 9,30am followed by demos till 2.00pm.
So get the competitive advantage for the big race or just tune your skills, see you down there.
On Sunday we will be down at Greepoint all day again for the big race and will have demo boards available from 7.30am.
For further demos check out SUP.net.au
Ian
Well, it is going to be a little breezy tomorrow but we are all GO GO.
Just wanted to let those from the West Coast know that there is a Tri-athalon on Beach road in the morning so going down Kings Way then Nepean Hwy will be the best way then hop off at either New st or North Rd. Mel map 67.
Dave
Thanks heaps Dave. I would have jumped off after the West Gate through Port Melbourne, past my old old pad in Albert Park, down Beach Rd / Esplanade the whole way.
Just cracked a Carb Loader (Beer - Boags Premium! Race Prep for the Professionals! 
)
Good to see you're keeping it real Simondo.
I'm doing the same!
See you in the morning
Hey guys
The triathlon tomorrow is at Mordialloc so shouldn't be a problem unless you are heading up Beach Road from the Mornington Penisula. On second thoughts though there is also a fun run at Catani gardens in St Kilda so yeah Beaconsfield Parade will be buggered too. Another busy morning in the sports capital!!
Great Melbourne Paddle is going ahead but is moving to Sandringham Marina. Come to Sandringham Football Club carpark opposite Triangle Park and just north of Safeway petrol station and SHQ.
What a great day.. Congrats to Jacko taking out men's and overall and Annabell for coming second overall and taking out the womens.. I have a few pictures.. 
DJ
Great fun race guys. Well run and awesome turn out considering the wind. Look forward to coming down again maybe. Well done to everyone that placed in the hard race conditions today & great effort by all that raced. Xx Angie
Big congrats to all at SUPVIC/Starboard etc for such a well run event today.
To have to change venue and still very much keep things running smoothly was very well done, especially given the brutal conditions.
Bloody well done!
Special thanks to the guys in the rescue boats, I tried to keep you entertained by regularly falling off
The event was very professionally run and was a credit to the SUP Vic Crew.
To have to shift the event at the last moment and still have it run like clock work is no mean feat.
Dave Hunt did a wonderful job on the mic keeping people informed and the ability to hear what was going on from the waters edge was a great help.
The conditions were easily met by the elite paddlers, however the rest of the field did it tough and it became a mission to just get the 3 laps done.
Through the binoculars it was interesting to see the boards disappear in the troughs which was a true indication of how choppy it was at the bottom mark.
Watching Jacko and Annabelle power home like it was a warm up was simply amazing they hardly broke a sweat.
Congrats to all those that completed the course and also to those who gave it thier best!
Phill
Hey Phill.. Kristi did a great job braving those conditions and winning her class.
DJ
Thanks to everyone who obviously put a lot of effort into organising and running the event so successfully in less than perfect conditions. This was just my second race since joining the sport. I certainly got value for money at the back end of the field, taking 1 1/2 hrs to complete the course. Rather than feeling beaten, it was a great challenge and the variety of conditions certainly sped up the learning curve. It was tough but now I just want to get back out and do it again (once the body recovers!).
Great effort guys (Dave, JC, Wooz, Paul, Tim) for organising a "Great" event!
Thanks Ian from Starboard for supporting the event and congrats to Simon Morris who won the new Starboard.
Thanks Rob and Ross for helping out at registration.
Congratulations to all paddlers who completed the races yesterday in trying conditions. Well done Jacko and Annabelle for powering away from the field. The last paddlers in the 8 km race took 1 hour 51 and are quite sore this morning.
The back markers in the field would like to add to my thanks to the support boats. Thanks to Jonathan, Charlie and especially to Mike Key who stuck with the very determained tail end of the fleet and managed to multi task the jobs of operating his boat in the swell, keeping paddlers out of danger and also taking some fantastic photos which I hope to see up here soon.
Dave
Well done all the competitors, to see the effort going into the race from the water was just fantastic. Let me tell you that even in a 5m RIB some of those waves were huge down at the business end of the course. Amazing achievement from Annabel and Jacko but I think the people that pushed themselves in probably tougher conditions than they had ever paddled in should really be congratulated. To battle away out there for almost two hours was absolutely incredible.
Thank you Ian Grose, Starboard and all the other sponsors. And thanks to SUP VIC members and friends for all the hard work on the day.
Congrats to Sup Vic for putting on such a great event ounce again. Well done to all who participated and made it through rather trying conditions. It was great to see so many young competitors and us old farts giving it a good crack. It will be interesting to see all the results. Is there any one out there who has them and can post them up?
Cheers,
Leon.
There was a surprise waiting for paddlers as they finished The Starboard Great Melbourne Paddle race yesterday.
DJ
well done Sup Vic on organizing such a effyn fantastic event, the amount of volunteered hours that you blokes put in was evident by the seamless manner in which the event was run. I know it would have been ideal to have no winds but I kinda liked the change of venue and the harshness of conditions as it was such a great physical workout....... but I am pretty sore
Here are the overall results for the 8km race. There were a number of DNFs who are not included here. Also, a couple of missing details and one or two times that I am seeking clarification over.
