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Day 4
I was pretty tired & depressed in the morning. My body really broken & my mind not with it over the results mix up. I got to the event site early & went to find Hans the race director who quickly reviewed all the timings & gps data and spotted the error. He put our times as they should & it was like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. My mood changed, the sun even made a short appearance & I got myself back in the game!
Another separate start gave me good clean water again but still the pace of the top guys was just a little too much to hold. Ricardo put in a huge effort to get on the tail of them but I let him go hoping they would slow and separate later. The usual suspects arranged themselves in a train & myself, Andre, Chris, Richard & Yuval worked our way through the day.
Day 4 featured a portage mid-way through the morning & a chance to make a break. Myself & Richard got away smashing it hard upwind, rounding the next bend then BANG Richard hit a submerged post sending him flying over the nose & his board flying backwards into mine! I thought our board were going to be wrecked, his tail was split a little but the nose of mine seemed ok which was a surprise as I’d fixed it up that morning!
Good sportsman like behaviour kicked in & all the group stopped to make sure Richard was ok & got him back on the train to recover.
We worked hard through the day closing the group ahead (sure enough Ricardo & a couple of others had fallen off the back and slowed up) With 6kms to go Richard pushed to the front to take over from me & starting absolutely smashing it. I looked at my GPS and we were hitting 9.5-10.5kph with a long way still to go. Surely he couldn’t hold this pace? Yes he could!!
It was brutal, but I help his tail as we closed in on the finish in Dokkum where there was a huge party on the river as part of a local celebration. There were boats and people everywhere, the water was crazy choppy. There are two low bridges right before the finish. The second bridge somehow I got a great entry & seemed to fly past Richard while crouched under the bridge. I popped up and paddled like mad, I heard a couple of shouts from behind (turns out Andre & Yuval both smashed their heads on the bridge) but I could see a chance to break so sorry lads I had to go!
I sprinted like crazy the last 500m to the finish, dodging boats, boards & buoys to finish in 10th place 4:57:30
Day 5
The last day, hurrah!! A recurring theme was another crazy start. Barely 150m to a bridge (max 1m high!) I got another good position but again after the ridge just struggled to hold the front guys. Ricardo pulled it out the bag again & got onto the back of them as he had done yesterday. Richard & myself both keen to keep him in check took turns at the front working hard for a couple of km’s and switching.
This last stage was a straight through 28km paddle with no rest stop. It seemed to change the dynamics as the top group all stayed together no-one looking to break early & separate the pack – this was really helping Ricardo who was currently in 11th overall, but meant Richard & I had to play it very carefully.
The miles ticked past, wind, drizzle and more wind. We got to the famous 11 cities bridge meaning 8kms to go. Richard shouted that we really needed to go now, I was already rinsed but I knew he was right. We persuaded Andre to take a turn at the front & give us a few minutes rest before we got back to work again.
Right towards the end there is a long straight section which was bang into the wind, I pushed on but it really took its toll, I had to hand over to Richard to try & get one last push to the finish. He gave it all he had but I think was pretty done too!
We turned into the city & the three of us got broken apart by a bit of boat wake I took the lead & charged with everything I had left all the way to the finish line in 14th 3:01:46.
The summary & results
Wow what a race this was. In the end I placed 10th in a total time of 22:39:20.
I still can’t believe less than 1 minute separated Andre, Myself & Richard after 220kms!
With a herculean effort on the last day Ricardo leap frogged us all to 8th place, truly well deserved. (Full results here.)
At the top Tahitian Steeve Teihotaata took 1st place (and every stage win) in what was his first major SUP race! Steeve is however one of the world’s top Outrigger / Va’a paddlers, paddling full time for current world number one team EDT. To put it in perspective he beat Danny Ching at Molokai solo OC1 J I think he has a pretty bright future in SUP!
Second place overall went to the French machine Florent Dode who was super-fast all week on Eric Terrien’s famous Lost Mills board.
This race is not for the faint hearted, there is a ‘tour’ version but you’re still doing the same course & it’s one hell of a paddle. My biggest respect is for those towards the back of the field some of whom were out for 8-9hours a day. Their guts and commitment is truly mind blowing. In particular I’d like to make a special mention of Wilma Zwikker-Killgallon, (despite the Dutch name she lives in Suffolk.) She put herself out there and gave everything every day. Although the windy conditions beat her on the afternoon of day 3 she kept on paddling despite it all for 30+ hours. It’s people like Wilma that really should get the recognition for the achievements, not the guys coming first so well done Wilma, I’m super impressed & proud of what you’ve achieved, you rock!
In my last article I didn’t say what I hoped to achieve results wise apart from completion, but now it’s all done I can tell you I was hoping for top 15 & If I had achieved top 10 I’d be super stoked… So there you are… I’m ‘super stoked maaaaaan!’ hah.
For me I think that race is ticked off the list. I’m not sure I’ll go back to compete again, but I’m really glad I’ve done it. Words can’t really express what it feels like to participate in it, you have to go and experience it for yourself. It certainly changes your perspective on paddling long distances. When it was 12km to go I’d find myself really excited it was nearly done!!! 12km used to be a long session!!
I think anyone of any age, sex or experience is capable of completing this race if you have a determined mind, and you get some basic tips on training and nutrition.
I’m 38 soon (well past it compared to most of the guys at the front), I’ve been paddling 5 years and previously had no experience in competitive sport at all. I’ve got no endurance background, no history of competition but still managed through hard work & determination to get through & get a great result at the same time!
There was a guy doing the tour for the 3rd year who turned 61 & there was a 13 year old girl paddling on the last day who’s only been paddling 1 year & she still completed the stage.
Some thank you’s
Huge thanks to Ali Periera & Jo Hamilton Vale who helped support the UK team all week long. Making sure we always had what we needed to make life easier. You ladies are amazing.
Also a huge thanks to Ryan James who’s spent the last few months with me smashing it up & down the river in training, and whom without I’d never have undertaken this race. Sadly Ryan wasn’t well the first couple of days so didn’t get to compete with us until the last day but when he came back, he smashed it out of the park placing 7th so super chuffed for you mate.
Big up the rest of the guys & girls from the UK who made it over & put in huge performances all round. (Crispin / Dan / Andre / Mark / Wilma / Neil). It was great to share that with all of you.
Well that rounds off my SUP season now. I’m really looking forward to some time off paddling the SUP, getting back in my Outrigger & doing some surfing. See you all in 2016!
Thanks to my sponsors who keep me paddling in the best kit!