Well I can’t believe we have been here for almost a week already. A bit of a stressed week for me as I had a bit of boat admin to deal with. Over here we don’t have a car and you can’t just put a 6.5m surfski on the roof and take it down the motorway, the police don’t like it at all!! So thanks to Domingo, Pepe and Laurence who were able to sort out a van(see the photo’s!) to take my boat from one storage unit to my daily access storage unit – it took almost the week to arrange but it’s there now and training from there is so easy only a bus(gua gua) ride away. Besides that I have still had a good week of training, better than I would get back in the UK, as the weather is perfect out here! Now this would make a great training camp venue….just need surf ski’s!
So for a change on my rest day I landed up out on the water…..this time in a fishing boat with engines bigger than mine, so it was quite relaxing. I caught a decent size Lizard fish but they are not good to eat, so it didn’t count….good fun though, mine was one of the biggest we caught. Pete only got a small flat fish!!
Check out how we transported my Ski, note its Spanish Colours!
Well this summer season has flown by. It was a great one with some great races in Europe this season. It is brilliant to see surfski paddling growing in the UK and Europe and I look forward to next season…..but first let’s get some travelling in!!
So now our winter travelling starts. First stop Tenerife……sitting on the train to Gatwick now!! I will be in Tenerife until we fly out to the Dubai Shamaal at the end of November. It is such a great feeling to know that I don’t have to train in any cold weather until next year. After the cold snap we had here about a week ago I really respect the guys who tough it out here in the winter…..me…..well I’m too soft for the UK winters!!
Will keep you updated on my paddling experiences in Tenerife, I love training out there as dolphins and whales are a regular sighting….so I will post some pictures!!
I had a great paddle with Bernie the other day. I paddled from home to meet him on the water near the entrance to Saltern’s Marina. It was so great to just step out of the flat and onto the water….going to love this flat!!
It’s a really great training paddle over the harbour and up the river to Wareham, the tide was very low so a few slogs to get through the shallow bits, but otherwise it was good.
I have seen Bernie on a few occasions out on the water, but this summer he has joined us for a couple of sessions which is great as we got talking and he has an awesome gym at The Haven Hotel in Sandbanks. Top range equipment with everything you need from free weights, kettle balls, medicine balls, exercise balls to state of the art equipment from MATRIX. So I feel very privileged to be able to have use of his gym, especially now that the weather is turning and it’s not always possible to get out on the water.
Bernie is a former member of the Royal Marine’s elite Special Boat Service (SBS); a world class athlete; a specialist coach on the international stage, and most recently the man credited with shaping up James Cracknell, Ben Fogle and Ed Coats for their race to the Antarctic. A man with 30 years experience, knowledge and wisdom in the extreme sports arena. Please have a look at his website to get a taste of what Bernie can offer.
Now not only will I be able to use his gym, but I get to feed off his knowledge as well. I have now been to a couple of training sessions in the gym with Bernie and his two children…..wow what a great family, very helpful and boy do they take me through my paces!!! I do get my own back out on the water though 🙂
I’ve not done much gym in the past and from the couple of sessions I have had with Bernie I have realized that I have not done any effective gym work in the past. Even though I still have one more race this season, which is the biggest race on the calender-Dubai Shamaal, I am already looking forward to next season to see how I improve.
Last night saw the last chance for anyone to post a time to claim their t-shirt for the Race The Light Series 2010, unfortunately the weather was awful and the waves were big(ish)! So besides myself and Ian no one else came for a paddle, so we decided just to have some fun in the waves….and boy was it fun. I took a big swim as we were going out, it was the last wave I needed to break through, so a long swim back to beach. Back on the ski for some more fun…..good training though!!
The Race the Light Series is held every September on Fridays instead of our local weekly Time Trial. The event gives any paddler the opportunity to record their best time over the 4 Friday evenings in September.
The route is the 8.4km route to Poole harbour mouth and back to Branksome Chine Beach. The paddlers will start at 18:30 sharp.
Event entry is £5 in order to receive a T-shirt, if you can make the qualifying times – you can enter as many of the series races as you like in order to post your best time.
The course record stands at 38:20 and is held by Peter Molnar
The current break points to receive a t-shirt are: Singles Sub 50, 45, 42, 40, 38
Doubles Sub 45, 40, 38, 35
3 SEPT
Andy Blow & David Blow 40:30
Ian Robinson 43:53
Nick Carter 47:02
17 SEPT
Paul Kingman 38:34
Brendan Reese 38:35
Chloe Bunnett 40:35
Ian Robinson 42:43
Unfortunately due to bad weather those were the only two Fridays that anyone posted a time. Hopefully next year there will be some more interest, but it is at the end of the season and difficult to get some paddlers out on the water!!
Well the 2010 UK Surfski Racing season has been great. The amount of interest from paddlers and spectators has increased and the sport is growing so fast here it is amazing.
On Saturday Surfski GB held the British Champs, sponsored by Ultimate Kayaks. Unfortunately the wind was offshore for the race but at least it was warm and sunny!! What it did provide was calm conditions for a few inexperienced Surfski paddlers to give it go and finish, which will make them come back for more!! Also great conditions for spectators, with about 60 paddlers lining up on the beach and running to pick up their skis to make a dash for the water to get a good start, the spectators must have enjoyed it. It really draws attention to anyone walking on the beach when a “herd” of surfski paddlers run towards the sea. As the wind was of no help to us because we were sheltered by the cliffs, it was a good opportunity to make the course shorter and do a few laps, then people on the beach can also see what’s going on. So the Open men/ladies and Master Men did 3 laps while the Master ladies U19 boys/girls did 2 laps and the u/16 boys/girls did 1 lap.
Ivan Lawler was on top form and took the Men’s title, with Mark Ressel 2nd and Glenn Eldridge 3rd. A very impressive 4th by Jack Staddon, he has improved so much on the ski this season – watch out for him next year!! I won the Ladies title, with Anita Bennet 2nd and Susan Fridd 3rd. We do really need more women in the sport, so come on girls get your feet wet and give it go!!
After the champs we also had the prize giving for the British Series which took part over the summer. The following category winners all went into a hat for a draw for a Surfski sponsored by Icon Surfcraft.
Glenn Eldridge (Open Men’s)
Chloe Bunnett (Open Ladies)
Paul Kingman (Master’s men)
Karen O’Donghue Harris (Master’s Ladies)
Josh Newing (u/19 boys)
Eloise Neighbour (u/19 girls)
Tom Bolt (u/16 boys)
Ellie Parker (u/16 girls)
To my surprise I won the ICON surfski!! Very lucky indeed, I did then go and put the lottery on but unfortunately I was not that lucky!!
2010 was a great season for UK Surfski racing, we had some races with over 80 paddlers!!! Not to forget the ICON Downwind Classic. There are a lot of new faces that have come into the sport this year and next year there will be more.
Racing is not over for the season though…..there are still a few International races this year. Next up is the Hong Kong Dragon Run followed by the Dubai Shamaal.
Here is a copy of the update on the British Surfski Champs, sponsored by Ultimate Kayaks, from the SURFSKI GB website;
Three days to go…
There have been a few questions so thought it would be worth letting everyone know.
First thing is that this is the British Championships so it doesn’t matter if you haven’t paddled in any of the series races, this is a one off race and the slate has been wiped clean.
There have been some people asking whether or not there will be youth age groups, there will be! There is an under 19s, under 16s and also a double ski category (open age group), so no excuses.
There has been a bit of confusion with some of the distances too. The open men, women and masters men will be paddling 14km (well as near to 14km that we can judge in the ocean, it could be a bit less!); the masters women, double skis and under 19 boys and girls will be paddling 10km; and the under 16 boys and girls will be paddling 5km.
The event is sponsored by Ultimate Kayaks and there will be some goodies to be won.
We are sorry but we have been told that there is a change to the start time, it will now be an hour later at 2pm, we hope this doesn’t cause any of you any problems.
Don’t forget to register online if you want to race as if you leave it to the day it will be £5 more expensive!
Well there is less than one week to go before the British Championships, sponsored by Ultimate Kayaks. The race will be on Saturday 25th September starting at 1pm and take place at Bournemouth Pier. There are sign posts to direct you to the pier and there is parking (ticket needed) nearby.
This is the best chance to come and see how you have improved over the season! You can enter online now, just click here. So come on get you entries in, this event is not to be missed as it will see all the UK’s top Surfski paddlers going head to head. Championship medals will be awarded in the following categories:
Open Men/Women
Master Men (40+)
Master Women (35+)
Boy’s & Girl’s U/19
Boy’s & Girl’s U/16
Doubles (open)
Following the British Championships presentations, the final standings of the Icon British Surfski Series 2010 will be announced and medals will be presented along with the draw for the Icon ski, this will all take place in the rowing club. Then at about 5pm you will be able to see the premier of the Icon Downwind Classic SurfSki race film.
Look forward to seeing all of you there, participants and spectators!!
Chloe Bunnett 