I haven’t given a report on the Tahiti races so I am going to tell you about Tahiti and the build up to the Cape Point Challenge which is a 56km race around the Cape Point.
I left before the prize giving so I didn’t get the results and therefore I couldn’t give you an accurate report. You can now see the results on www.federation-kayak.pf. For me Tahiti was as always a very beautiful place to paddle and the organization is also one of the best in the world. I arrived in Tahiti in the middle of the night and the customs officer new that we were coming for the surf ski race. The organizer had done such a good job on the marketing of the World Cup that I felt like Tiger Woods signing autographs when ever somebody realized we were the South African paddling brother. The races in Tahiti turned out to be very hot and with no wind. I never saw a white cap in any of the races. The 1st race was along the coast and a lot of people hit the wall. In fact Herman hit the wall with 1km to go. He lost nearly 1.5 minutes in the last kilometer.
The second race was also a hot affair and this time I blew with about 3 km to go. I went from about 3or 4th to 13th. I think the reason I did so badly is that I didn’t arrive in Tahiti in time to get over the jetlag. Also I need time to get used to the very hot conditions.
Now that Tahiti is behind me it is time to move on and try and win the Cape Point Challenge which is a 56km surf ski race around the Cape Point. This is going to be a very tough race as it is normally about 2 hours against the wind then about 2 hours with the wind. The race takes place on the 17th of December and starts at 6.00am. You can look at the website www.surfski.co.za for more info on the race.
It is one week away so it is time to do a slight taper. I don’t do such a big taper as I am not always at 100% fitness as I travel too much. I will paddle another 4 times before the race.
One of the training sessions was race today in Durban Harbour. After the race there was a 200 meter ski race where the V10 came 1st 2nd and 3rd.
In Closing look at this new website www.surfski.info
