Surfski Knowledge Base

Bob Putnam
05/12/16 #19234

Hi Paddlers - I had an awesome time at this weeks Wednesday Night Race. I always enjoy hanging out with the friendly Bellingham crowd, PLUS I got to check out the new Think plastic ski prototype and got a free dermatological consultation from MG. Bonus! It had been a few years since the last time I was there. I wish I could have joined everybody for a post race beer.

Just like our Tuesday Night Race in Deep Cove, you could probably stop the race after 5 minutes and you'd have your results. The usual suspects were in the lead, honestly I was shocked to see Mike Medler blast off the start. He seems to be making up for lost time from recent surgeries and is paddling better than ever! He was on his own, stuck in “no-man's land”, with nothing but pain as company. I made a few half-hearted attempts to bridge the gap, trying to channel my inner Greg Barton, after reading about his Whatcom Classic race, but MM wasn't giving up any ground and nothing came of it except for a few complaints from Simon B that my erractic speed was ruining his paddling CHI.

After sitting at the point of a group of veterans for half the race course…in Canada we call them WRS¹⁾ (Wash Riding Scum)….I live in a glass house here and am a confirmed WRS. I decided to slow the pace and maybe somebody would come to the front. I wasn't born yesterday and didn't want to play the strong guy only to get outsprinted at the finish. Larry B, who seems to be really strong this year, answered the call and pulled up beside me. (do I sense a Canadian Surfski Champs Golden Master podium for LB?)

I drafted Larry for a bit and we were on the last leg before the final turn. I took another pull and Larry was stuck hard to my side wash. I figured if I made an effort Larry had enough jam to hang on. We were approaching a slower double and thought would be a good opportunity to make some gains on LB. I scraped LB off with the double on my left side and put in a bit of a sprint and made some ground which I held to the finish.

Last night's trip to from Vancouver to Bellingham return was relatively painless. Border line ups are almost non-existent these days

V12 vs V8 Pro

Different boat same finish. That's right, at the Dan Harris Challenge I paddled a V8 Pro and finished with Larry, last night I was in the, much faster “on paper” V12. So does this say, that I, as an non-elite paddler lack the skill, strength and stamina to take advantage of the faster hull speed of V12. And more importantly how would those results play out in a much longer downwind race where stability fatigue is more likely. Is the “faster” (21' x 17“) surfski really helping a non-elite level paddling in a longer downwind races like The Gorge Champs. Stability first?

Epic Kayaks in Bellingham

A few changes for Epic in the Bellingham community. Nicholas Cryder is now the “Epic Expert” for the area. Nicholas has a fleet of Epic demo surfskis available for testing, he is also available to provide paddling tips and advice to keen paddlers.

Deep Cove Outdoors is working together with Nicholas and will be servicing the Bellingham community for Epic Sales. We are now stocking Epic skis and paddles in Bellingham and they can be purchased on a pre-arranged basis. FYI all Epic pricing for Bellingham is regular US pricing. Check out www.EpicKayaks.com for this. Don't be confused by our DCO website which lists pricing in Canadian dollars.

We will have Epic's new rotomolded V5 and V7s arriving next week. $1500 USD

Regards to all. Thanks for a fun time.

Bob

Larry Bussinger
05/13/16 #19236

Good write up Bob. Couple of things to clear up though. At the Dirty Dan, I was using a new Huki S1-R (my phat boat) and Wed, I was using a Fenn Elite S. So it was phat vs. phat and fast vs. fast. At least as far as the boats were concerned. However, the V-8 Pro is still amazingly quick.

Larry B

saltspringken

05/13/16 #19237

Damn Larry, why did you have to get a faster boat!

Michael Gregory

05/13/16 #19238

Thus far, Prof Putnam has trialed the V8 Pro only in flat water races down here in Bham. I suspect the “Pro” will be increasingly quick as the wind builds. Might be just the ticket for many paddlers in the Gorge this summer. MG

Larry Bussinger

05/13/16 #19245

I bought Petes new S1-R, but haven't bought a “faster ” boat, just trying out the new models. And boy are they fast.

Larry Bussinger

dnjacobson79

05/13/16 #19246

LB is a player - the Elite-S is the new bling bling ride! Demo boat available….

Larry Bussinger
05/13/16 #19247

I'm finding that on these faster boats, as I get older, that when i paddle for more than 3 hours that my form starts to get ragged.
Larry B

Larry Bussinger

fennmako

05/13/16 #19250

Yeah I wasn't seeing that on Wed Larry