I heard you were good when there's a bit of swell around so u must have been up there?? You are the poster boy after all!

Enough of DJ Doggies new career in surf commentary; I have been asked for a rundown on the BOP ...

The day started with much trepidation when Sean was told that Candice would not paddle, as she had won through to too many Sunday finals ... In the period running up to the Race the "C Bomb" was in the single fin final, the women's mal final, as well as the old mal final .. so the "Gods of the Open" changed the single fin to run soon after the BOP finish and foolishly thinking Candice would surf in the womens mal final, drop the Old Mal Final and take a 30 minute rest before she hopped on the 12'6 and belt out 8ks in the BOP race .. well that was not to be .. after paddling ashore in the Womens Mal she went straight to the rashie shead and changed into blue for the old mal final , now while this was happening we were already giving the race briefing .. But Padders being a kind lot it all worked out ... Candice did the Old Mal Final ran the 500 meters to the BOP line, strapped on a fluids pack and wasn't too far off the front of the field by the Bridge .. By the time the guys had paddled the 5k flat water the field was split into four main packs and out of the river into the washing machine saw Jake, Dylan, Travis and Lincoln about 45 seconds ahead .... The lead four cut the corner in an effort to "squeeze the line" to the offshore buoy, caught the reef and a huge side surge turned the Coral Sea into a mess of Starboards, C4s and Naish racers .... this gave the mums and dads on the river wall hope to cheer on following pack which included Anthony Vela, Paul Jones, Justin Holland and Ryan Keck; but out at sea the leashes all held and it was Jake and Travis who lead the charge to the Buoy as Candice pushed up behind the third pack and looked fine staying just behind the boys ... Meanwhile back at the Ocean Buoy Jake and Travis turned first, but Little Lincoln went wide and pulled in a huge all the way to the beach ride, overtaking Jake and making it difficult for the rest to catch up .. With a pair of broken knees but not a broken spirit the "Ali Girl" was not far off the pace as she plundered the washing machine about 90 seconds behind Dale and his group .. With the Dog barking and The beach erupting Lincoln turned the Beach mark first and lead all the way to the Offshore Buoy and after a good surf most of the way home, and with a split watermelon like smile managed a hip jiggler dance over the finish ... The rest of the field made this 8k course a spectators dream and a paddlers delight .. The field was swept by 68 year old Ron Eyre and newcomer Elyse Cummerford .. Lincoln Jake Travis and Dylan took home the big trophies and the big bucks with that old fella Dale Chapman and Candice taking home equally magnificent trophies and some spending money. Candice did not wait around for the finish line festivities as she dumped her paddle and suited up again for the single fin final which was on hold for the finish of the BOP ..

Once again a lot has been said about the Open as an expensive event ($75 expensive !) I think almost everyone took home more than the entry fee in prizes not to mention experience. Hopefully we can convince the sponsors and Sean to continue recognizing Stand UP Paddling as a part of mainstream Surfing and invite us back to the 2013 Australian Longboard Open ...

Apart from those winners in their finals; Two standouts were obvious in the paddlers field .. Well three if you include Candice, who apart from entering in almost every open event and sponsoring the over 50s Mal Final making her a great ambassador for Stand Up Padding and surfing in general .. But back to the two standouts, firstly The Dogman who, with troubles of his own manage to show up as "The Voice of the Paddle" in every SUP Heat, Semi, Race and Final. And secondly to that Fine American Lad Anthony Vela, who after winning a Surfboard as a spot prize, handed it onto the Kingy Surfriders as a raffle prize and make Much Aloha for using their break for 5 solid days ... Good one Anthony good one Sean and hopefully good news for next years event. As Doggie would say "Bye for now .. Im off for a beer" ..

Surely Geoff is going to win a surf event soon , ripping.

Thanks to Lyn and everyone else that made this such an awesome weekend!!

Impressed by the high level of surfing in the sup (amateur and pro), beau being a huge standout, how anyone can be that solid in such small waves is beyond me.

As for the entry fee, small price for a weekend of fun, plus two shirts in the competitors bag, whats there to complain about? if a uni student can afford/justify it than everyone can!

Hopefully the rest of the goldy crew will remember to bring their race boards along next time to support their local event!

I'll definitely be back next year, might see how i go in a few surf events too.

cheers to dogman, nothing beats a good slogging over the PA mid event to get you amped up!

green menace said...

Surely Geoff is going to win a surf event soon , ripping.

+1

Starlet gc said...

green menace said...

Surely Geoff is going to win a surf event soon , ripping.

I agree! Geoff has been training hard and ripping lately!

An soon he'll be flying on that new race board too!

Just got told how good Beau was suping for the entire event. According to Dogman it was one of the best performances hes ever seen for the conditions. Proper use of his paddle, no dish panning and linking his turns correctly. Congrats Beau (that's if he reads seabreeze) and hope he can continue his form on the pro tour.

Dogman has put his hands up for commentating at every event. From reports he didn't use the "f" word once. hahahahaha.

......With this display of Fine film crafts-personship .. Your not only a a quiver caddy legend ....Cecil B De Swan