Australia Day Surfboard Challenge

[rock]

I just registered for the Australia Day Surfboard Challenge. Be interested to know if anyone else is doing it.

I'm going to use my old 8' minimal (don't have anything bigger) and I'm thinking of taking out the outside fins to reduce drag. I wondered if anyone has any experience/thoughts on whether this will be any better for paddling?

[Be interesting to see how it rides on a wave with just one fin too.]

[Dingus]

Saw the poster while wasting some time and spare cash in a TAB last week. Dunno about you guys, but the squeezers on the poster sitting on the edges of their surfboards gave me the shits.

[still here]

Do it every year ....... 8 ft is big ...whats your girth ? drop any excess fins if you wish ... and hey it's all fun ....so drop your daks too if it's your thang !!

[WANDERER]

I did it the first year it was on, pretty sure Nick Carroll did too.

I did it on a 9'8" 1963 Gordon Woods D-Fin log, I came 9th in the old mal division that year, pretty piss poor really but I didnt have any idea about how long the course was (as in I didnt know how hard to go out) i ended up finishing with heaps left in the tank so i probably could have done better.... hmm, got nothin on this Australia day so I may give it a crack again.

[rock]

I tried out the 8' this morning with one fin and it worked pretty well. [If anything it rode a bit better with 2 fins taken out!]

Yeh, it's a pretty big board but I weigh 85kg and I'm about 185cm. I normally ride a 6'6" shortboard or a 6'10" hybrid depending on conditions.

I've never done anything like this before, which is why I'm using a big board and messing about with fins because I want to make sure I can go the distance.

Tried paddling 2km this morning. It wasn't hard to paddle 2km but it's pretty hard on the lower back to do it without stopping and sitting up!

I reckon it's going to be a real experience.

[rock]

PS.

Dae: didn't see the poster but I'll look out for it.

Wanderer: I think registrations close tomorrow (Wednesday).

[marcelo]

It's not everyday that you can paddle under the Habour Bridge.

I'm going with my hollow timber 9' single fin. The bigger the better, I reckon (as long as it's shorter than the 10' maximum).

It will be my first time, so I'm going for the 2k shortcut. I have absolutely no idea of how far 2k is to paddle or how long it takes to finish! Hopefully I'll be able to make it through the end.

Cheers!

[channels]

I did the paddle last year and it wasn't too bad. Mainly the pressure on the lower back and neck was more troubling than the distance was. I did a couple of practice paddles from Freshwater to Shelley beach and back and that had me pretty much sorted. Clubbies normally compete on a mal and dominate it.

[rock]

I'm going to try to get a couple of practice paddles in between now and the middle of next week. Hopefully that'll help with the lower back. I'd love to have a go at Freshie to Shelley sometime but I live the other side of the harbour so.... I reckon I'd easily paddle a couple of km in a surf but never in one go.

I'm doing the 2k shortcut too. From what I saw of the start last year, anyone who surfs regularly would have a pretty good chance of finishing. I saw lots of people resting so I think it's okay to take some time over it. Being able to paddle under the Harbour Bridge is pretty special!