Hi, newbie racer here.
I was about to invest in a 17' race board, but looking at some stats from the Dr (oceanpaddler.com), it looks like I should reconsider. The 12'6 category was only 2 minutes slower on average than unlimited over 3 1/2 hours of racing:
Category SUP Open SUP 12'6
Total 15 13
Men 14 13
Women 1 0
Avg Time 03:29:30 03:27:15
Fastest Time 02:40:00 02:49:05
Slowest Time 03:58:56 04:05:42
Is this because:
(A) All the better paddlers were on 12'6 boards (seems unlikely, unless all the prize money was in this category)
(B) The course (mostly light downwind) suited the shorter boards, and unlimited boards aren't much faster downwind
(C) Race results are incorrect
(D) Something else
Thanks in advance...
I think the board you paddle iz about 50%. Traviz won lazt year on a 12'6. Dependz on your motor. But big boardz go well if you got the motor.
The average time doesn't really say anything as it says more about the spread of paddlers than the boards. In most, if not all races where you have elite paddlers, the longer boards will always be faster and in the example you showed this was also the case by 9minutes if I'm reading it correctly.
Here in SA we're debating whether we should nurture the 12'6 class or whether we should just do 14' - no-one is really using boards over 17' yet and we haven't got any races over 6-7km yet except for downwinders. In our downwinders the 14's are as quick as the 17's and on occasion the 12'6's can keep up (when over 40knot winds) as we're riding windswells and not oceanswells.
In SA I'd recommend anyone getting a race board to get a 14'
Correct Peter, the winning times were 9 minutes apart for unlimited vs 12'6, but this doesn't seem much to me over 2hrs 40 mins.
I imagine 17' is going to be popular around Sydney as the downwinders always have a strong onshore component (either SE or NE) making the steering system very useful. I paddled a 12km training downwinder last weekend on my 12' surfing sup, 95% on one side and now have a sore shoulder...
Presumably the 17s have a better advantage up wind and on flat water than on pure downwinders?
On a pure downwinder we don't use the steering system at all, but the minute you get cross-head-on winds then it makes a huge difference.
Our most popular downwind run is so downwind we can send beginners on it with the message: "Don't worry if you can't stay upright - sit or kneel and you'll end up at the finish in 10km's time - no paddling required" - no need for steering system.......
i would be so good at that place then. my dreams of being a champion is one step closer. thank you
