A great location. A burgeoning community. Weekly races throughout moored boats. A heart warming welcome and great banter throughout....
And the views! My gosh, the views!
We all sauntered down there under ominous skies above. The clouds were threatening to open on us at any minute and the winds were picking up. But that didn't stop Belly and the brave souls from attending the 97th Oz SUP Rose Bay Blast. The talk of the town was of the 100th blast and how BIG it was going to be! Shame I won't be here. Work always gets in the way...
Each Oz SUP Blast is a different course and a different length. Belly takes into account conditions and paddlers' experience to assess the right course. With the wind, the short 4km course for the all round boards was out towards the harbour with a tail wind and back into the wind before hugging the shoreline for another out and back. The race board completed two triangles with some tail, head and side wind included and the loop was approx 5km total.
Paddling with Oz SUP Centre is super fun and easy. Check out their community on facebook, the founder Belly, or their website online Oz SUP Centre.
And the views! My gosh, the views!
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| The Race Briefing |
We all sauntered down there under ominous skies above. The clouds were threatening to open on us at any minute and the winds were picking up. But that didn't stop Belly and the brave souls from attending the 97th Oz SUP Rose Bay Blast. The talk of the town was of the 100th blast and how BIG it was going to be! Shame I won't be here. Work always gets in the way...
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| Belly and me |
Each Oz SUP Blast is a different course and a different length. Belly takes into account conditions and paddlers' experience to assess the right course. With the wind, the short 4km course for the all round boards was out towards the harbour with a tail wind and back into the wind before hugging the shoreline for another out and back. The race board completed two triangles with some tail, head and side wind included and the loop was approx 5km total.
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| Just mind the boats... |
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| All clear for the start! |
And the views...... We started at sunset, or at least when the sun was going down. The grey skies weren't providing us with the iconic Sydney sunset that we all come for. The start was clean and no argy-bargy to be seen. A lead group headed out through the boats and made their way down wind to the first turn. I was on a 10 foot board and struggled to keep up with the race boards and longer 12 foot all rounders. But as I was stroking and as I was making it out into the bay, I noticed the harbour bridge skyline. I would have given up in the race just to stop and take some photos. The skies were a vivid colour and the city's skyscraper skyline was lit up in the foreground. It was absolutely beautiful!!!
All participants rounded their turns, struggled into the strong wind, navigated the chop and made it through the moored boats. With that all said and done, all paddlers finished in under 40mins and a few paddled their PBs.
Paddling with Oz SUP Centre is super fun and easy. Check out their community on facebook, the founder Belly, or their website online Oz SUP Centre.
