Surfski Knowledge Base

Paul Gillard (facebook report online link gone)
September 16, 2024
·
My Race Experience

Thought I would reflect for a couple of days before posting as hopefully there are some learning points so here goes….

After bit of a break from regular paddling while living on Waiheke and only intermittent appearances over the summer I needed an event to focus on as motivation to do some regular paddling over the winter - Tim's Tawhiti Ocean Challenge fitted the bill perfectly having done several Poor Knights Crossings , a wild Bo Herbert plus lots of others this was right up my alley! Despite having a flu virus that never seemed to go away in July I had a good build up getting back into the mode and by race day felt ready given the flu break etc.

We launched from Helena Bay for a 6-ish km paddle in a 12-18 knot side Northerly to the Rimiriki Is where we started for the 22+ km paddle to Tutukaka. Swell was 1.6 to 1.9 according to Predictwind and we were set for a great but technical downwind as we had to keep veering left across the waves to keep out from the end of Elizabeth Reef and so we wouldn't end up too close to the coast later on where the backwash is .

I started slow but steady and by half way was happy with progress when I got thrown going down a wave when hit by side slop . Normally I am proficient at remounting however for some reason it took me approx 10 mins to get back in the boat in which time I consumed a bit of energy and decided from there on it was paddle to finish rather than try and go hard.

Unfortunately my paddle lock mechanism had slipped after doing so 2 weeks ago in Auck and was sitting on 90 degrees which made strokes tentative. I thought I had fixed the allen key tight enough with no sign of it slipping since the initial time but had no big downwind conditions since then which loads the paddle particularly with hard braces. With conditions being pretty twitchy I wasn't keen to try and re-fix while being in the boat and to jump in the water to do could have meant a repeat of my previous mounting effort which would have expended valuable energy so decided to keep going but it wasn't ideal.

Just off Matapouri where you get the back wash off the coast for the next 8 km to the finish I got thrown again at speed however when the leash took up the slack of the boat the Velcro gave way - watching the boat drift out of reach was sobering to say the least! I attempted to swim after it as it stopped momentarily but as I reached it the wind took it away again and it was gone - no paddlers or support boats in sight although I had heard the jet ski go North towards the backmarkers about 10 mins earlier . I swam back to the paddle and assessed the situation- 2 km off shore in choppy seas having spent time in the water there was no way I was going to make it swimming to shore with a buoyancy vest ( which was a rugged coast in an onshore surf) despite having done sea swims of over 4km during Ironman days. I had my cellphone in a waterproof pouch in my back pocket with a lead around my neck - but decided trying to pull it out and use it without a boat to hang onto for flotation would be too hard and may result in me expending energy and potentially taking water in which would result in panick which is the last thing I wanted.

The only thing was to stay put and try and stay calm - I knew sooner or later the safety craft would head back my way even though I was going to be a small target to spot in those conditions. The buoyancy vest was doing a great job and I found by tilting my head slightly back I wasn't taking water.
Not sure how long later as all sorts of thoughts go through your mind in a situation like this but I would guess about 10 mins later I heard the faint whine of the jet ski -music to my ears! I held up my paddle with my bright hat on the end however the Skipper saw my ski floating in the distance first and realised there was no paddler aboard so started scanning the sea up wind when he saw my paddle 🙂 Even getting aboard that in the sea was tricky and the Jet Ski nearly capsized with the skipper getting thrown into the water - it was close to the point of no return but eventually I got on and hauled him aboard and we went off and retrieved the ski .

At that stage it was going to be tricky doing much with the surf ski in regards to getting back to shore towing it behind so I hopped back in secured the leash and attempted to continue paddling . The skipper stayed with me while I tried to get back into some sort of flow when a safety runabout with Tim on board came by - I quickly decided that 6 km of crappy backwash in my compromised state was the last thing I needed plus it would have required a safety boat staying nearby when there were still others out there further back in the course so it was the right decision to pull the plug for the first time for me ever in an event. On the way in it soon became apparent how cold I was and the hot shower felt sooooo good.

Reflections to consider:

1. Training - although I was comfortable with what was a limited build up after a prolonged lay off I never actually practised remounts in choppy conditions (even though I hadn't needed to in the past) - think I would suggest to anyone to actually try this from time to time - even on the harbour because the more proficient you are the more energy you save when its needed. I am paddling a new Fenix Elite S which is obviously at the tippy end however my previous 2 boats were Elites - not sure if the cockpit in the new boat is slightly higher or my core strength has weakened after a few years of limited paddling but will do core specific work like Pilates to address this . (Ed. Amen to this, some of the best paddlers get the least remount practice and if they have gotten older, (er) heavier, etc. they may be in for a rude awakening when unexpectedly having to remount in rough conditions)
2. Injuries - when taking on a challenge like this you want to make sure you are injury free- I had a MTB accident in March and suspected ther might be a fracture in my wrist however by and large it settled . In the first swim the effort on your hand in remounting when you grab the side of the cockpit made me realise there still is an issue and my right hand strength wasn't right -that added with the paddle angle made life more difficult than it needed to be
3. Safety devices - firstly I would never rely on a leash with a Velcro attachment again even though it had a double over lap. Either get one with a carabiner or a loop that goes through your attachment point and back on it self-… Ask Marchand for expert advice but also don't think they will last forever either - always replace before they break. (Ed. Yes! velcro gets weaker with age just like everything else (and everybody) see safety leashes )
   1. Portable EPIRB I did not have one and although I will be buying one in this situation I don't think I would have activated it straight away as this would then be a National Search and Rescue with it probably being about 30 mins before a helicopter would appear from Whangarei plus this would totally over ride the support boats from the event . I considered my best chance of pickup being the support boats that would come past my way at some stage even though I was always going to be a small target . I think if I had an EPIRB in those conditions I would wait approx 15 mins before activating though that is something specific to each set of circumstances and certainly you need to know you can hang out that long . I may well ring up and find what time they consider it would have taken as that is critical information to have when assessing your options.
   2. Cell phone vs Portable VHF I believe if I had a floating waterproof VHF I would have been able to get a call out straight away (on the channel being monitored by the support boats)as opposed to not feeling the same way about the phone.Although it is a bulkier item to carry I am going to see if I can find one that stows in the back pocket of the vest with a lead attached so it can be pulled out when/if needed.
   3. Flare I had a flare in my back pocket however in this particular circumstance it would have required me to take off my buoyancy jacket to access it as it was lying right at the bottom of the back and I wouldn't have been able to reach. It would have been extremely risky to do this when you have no boat to hold to support you although if the Jet ski skipper hadn't seen my paddle that would have been my next step. (Ed. Yep, not much use if you can't safely get to it, but having it accessible and using it could easily have made the difference in being seen or not)

Finally I just want to say that the event is an awesome event and the vibe from the other paddlers make it special - I hope that despite the above anyone considering it for the future is not put off and hopefully can maybe get some pointers from above . I certainly intend doing another one of Tim's events in the future despite my family saying I am getting too old for this stuff! Ha

Feel free to ask any questions - I know this all will sound pretty scary and I certainly don't want to downplay it but if it gets us all thinking about what to do in certain situations then that is healthy .

Bring on the Cambridge to Hamilton next week !

Regards Paul