Event 9 -
The last event for the series finished with a great race from Kirra to
Southport a 30km changes race. Leading up to the race the weather was all
over the place with strong winds and a bit of swell on the open beaches.
But come race day the surf had dropped enough for everyone to get out
safely and the wind was only 5 - 10 knots from the east.
With the swell being SE all week there was still some small runners to
catch all the way along the coast. Right from the start the pace was on
with as many as 10 teams in close by at the first change. Chris Maynard
had pulled a small lead of the start from new comers to OC1 racing Aaron
Bitmead, Heath Brown and Rob Pomie all up near the lead just after the start.
As the race progressed up the coast it was clear that the team of Chris
Maynard and Rob Dorrough were going to try and hold on to the small lead
they had over new comers Aaron Bitmead and Jay Gilbert. The team of Mick
Wade and Matt Carter were next with Greg Long and Matt Forrest just behind
them. The team of Lee Wilson and Mike Millsthom were up there after the
first 10 kms when they were unlucky to have rudder problems and paddled the
rest of the way rudderless.
After battling each other all the way along the coast the first 3 teams turned into
the seaway all with 50 meters of each other. Chris Maynard did well on his last
change to pull away and take the overall win. Mick Wade and Jay Gilbert were
fighting it out for second when Jay hit a rock giving Mick second place but good
effort by Jay Gilbert and Aaron Bitmead in the first race as it could have went
either way in those final stages.
The Womens Division started well with the team of Lisa Curry and Robyn Saultry
having a good contest with Danielle Lindsay whose support had troubles
forcing her to paddle for over an hour without doing a change.
Lisa and Robyn had a good lead coming up to the seaway when there
rudder came loose forcing them to paddle the last 2km rudderless also.
They still managed to win the Open Womens and Overall by a good distance but
2nd was a lot closer. Carolyn Mood and Casandra Segmen finished within 20
seconds of Masters Women Pam Prescott and Nancy Esse. I,d say they had each
other in their sights the whole way. Tania Moohin and Alison Green were just
behind them.
Tania and Alison travelled down from Mackay with Darren Moohin and Wendel Brebner,
Darren Humberstone and Adam Stafford came down from up north too and thanks to
the Cronulla guys Greg Long, Matt Forrest , Stever Wippy , Rod Wyse and Lee Wilson from
Ikaika for making the trip up from Sydney.
Big thanks to the Major Sponsors of the Series:
Kanu Culture
And
Zulu Surf Spears
Steve and Tania from Kanu Culture have been big supporters of the OC1 Series
for several years now. Its been great for them to be a big part in the growth of
the sport.
Mark from Zulu played a big part this year with not only the OC1 draw that was won
by Tracey Horan but also sponsoring one of his Zulu skis which was won by a
very please Ian Vivian.
Thank-you to everyone who has supported Wendy and I thoughout the series this
year. We are pleased with how the series has turned out this year and how well the
sport has grown. A few different things are planned for an OC1 series next year
but one thing is for sure is that this OC1 / OC2 Relay will continue to be an
annual event.
Matt
