Weymouth to Lulworth Cove, Race Report

By Philip Nye

Sprinting from the whistle certainly gets the heart rate up quickly and £50 hot-spot prize for first to the buoy at 800m ensured more than ordinary determination among competitors. This is not however, a sprint competition but the 15km one-way Weymouth to Lulworth Cove surfski race, so after the buoy there was to be no let-up for the next hour and a bit.

With the very best of the country's surfski paddlers gathering, and hundreds of pounds in cash prizes, this race had been keenly anticipated. The helicopter-borne race photographer hovering overhead and teeming tourist venue on a glorious sunny morning stoked the buzz among competitors as they changed and prepared their skis at the start. Last year, some of the lead paddlers had gone wide and needed to turn in sharply for the finish, allowing Mark Ressel who had taken a tighter line to cut into the Cove and gain first place. What tactics would this year's conditions favour?

	Tidy looking bus bearing down on the £50 hotspot.
	Ivan takes the Hot Spot.

In the race, the position of that hot-spot buoy just metres off the ferry terminal's jetty made great viewing for spectators gathered there, as the leaders jostled for the money while tactical master Ivan Lawler picked a perfect line to claim the bonus. Round the turn we settled into our strokes for the 15km pull through to Lulworth.

A great thing about this course is the potential for mixed conditions; flat calm in Weymouth bay gives no clue to conditions further out. A straight line to Lulworth entrance takes you directly out from Weymouth bay and within a few minutes we were 2km to 3km offshore and working our way gradually out of the shelter of Portland. With visibility slightly hazy, most racers picked a line which would bring them in close to the shore in good time for Lulworth entrance. I chose a deeper line than most and was pleased to be rewarded with some small runners helping me along now and again for much of the middle section. However, conditions were remarkably flat and the combination of a small westerly groundswell, a slight south-easterly breeze throwing up a tiny opposing chop, and the occasional power boat made what movement there was confusing at best so most competitors simply concentrated on wash-hanging or just pacing themselves. Around 4km from Lulworth, the S.E. breeze became steadier and any hope of wave assistance ended. Along the spectacular cliffs from Durdle Door to Lulworth entrance, reflections can make for unsettling chop, but today this was too slight to disturb anyone. The final 300m round the head and across the still, deep blue of Lulworth cove again provide great spectating - particularly from the headland - but sprinting all out for the finish, we racers must save our appreciation till a post-finish warm-down paddle!

	Jurasic Coast, looking back over the course.
	Ariel shots of the start

The lead group all kept the same line - nobody was going to make the mistake of last year and nearly miss the cove entrance - and in a head to head sprint finish, Ivan Lawler was able to power home in a total time of 1:08:09, adding the race crown to his earlier hotspot bonus - and getting even with Glen Eldridge, just 1 second behind him, who had narrowly beaten Ivan in the bigger seas at St Ives just a week earlier. Mark Ressel came in third at +1m25s.

The women's contest saw only three entries, but despite this Chloe Bunnet who has been in spectacular form this year, paddled a stonking race to win the class in 1:21:38 and finish ahead of many excellent male paddlers.

Organisers Branksome Chine Surf Life Saving Club with Race Director Ian Robinson have deliberately aimed to set this one-way race apart from others that they run, as a premium race for more advanced paddlers, and they require entrants to complete qualifying races to satisfy the organisers that they can cope should the exposed conditions prove difficult. The top-class entry list and winning time, at two minutes faster than last year despite the slightly longer course, attests to their success in making this one of the premiere races in the British calendar.

Res and Biggles’s reccy a new race course for next year.

After a summer of much talk and coffee drinking (at our regular meeting place Poppies Cafe, Woolacombe), we finally got our back sides into gear and paddled from Woolacombe to Combe Martin. The conditions were ideal: light SW wind, 1 to 2 foot swell, incoming tide and most important of all, Biggles’s wife Lyn was happy to pick us up at Combe Martin!

To give the course real time trial conditions I gave Biggles a 3 minute head start (which I nearly lived to regret!). We set off from Barricane Beach (idyllic cove on Woolacombe sea front) and headed towards our first headland of Morte Point.

This headland never fails to impress with its rugged formation of Morte Slate which runs for a further mile out to sea under water. It is this further out crop of rock that has lead to the name Morte Point, meaning Death Point! Don’t panic it’s from way back in the pirate wrecking days! If you fancy gemming up on your history it’s a good read. What I would say is, don’t paddle round this point without prior advice. It is safe in the right conditions but disrespect it at your peril!

As we had set off 3 hours before high tide there was a good flow (race) round the point, but this was more fun than concern as we play out there regularly (in an event we would navigate it on a slack tide). Within a few minutes I was spat out of the race and pulling onto some decent clean runners, and now choosing my best line across the bay. I’d also noticed that I hadn’t made any time up on Biggles. Having seen that he had taken a line closer to shore I opted to head out into the bay and try and take advantage of the pushing tide. I had set my sights on the next headland of Bull Point and wanted to stay about half a mile wide of it. I’m afraid I don’t know why it is called Bull Point, but I do know that it's lighthouse had the first concrete foghorns in the British Isles.

Whilst paddling across this bay you will pass Rockham Beach which is very untouched and a very peaceful place to enjoy a flask of tea if it takes your fancy. You may even spot the odd grey seal chilling out in the coves. Anyway, back to the pursuit of Biggles. I’ve taken a bit of a gamble going wide of Bull Point as there are some great runners closer in where a deep water ledge sticks out. On occasions I’ve sat on a swell / runner for up to 30m without taking a stroke, but this time I’m hoping the incoming tide will provide the greater advantage.

As I pass Bull Point, I can see that I still haven't gained on Biggles’s, but stick to my guns and stay wide. Getting into a good rhythm and now heading for Ilfracombe I start to pull onto some great runners and at last I’m making ground. I remember thinking how awesome it would have been to be on my light weight ocean ski as these conditions were made for it!

As you head for Ilfracombe you pass Lee Bay which is a very quaint little village and ideal for launching if things get too rough round Morte Point. If there are any romantic paddlers out there, you might want to launch from here so your other half can enjoy a nice walk or ice cream.

On reaching Ilfracombe, I’m now level with Biggles but still 200m wide of him and making my way towards the final headland before heading into Combe Martin. At this point the water gets a bit choppy again as it flows over another flat bed rock, but the experienced paddler can have some fun pulling onto the runners. It’s by no means dangerous; it just highlights the subtle differences in ocean skills. Thinking I’m pretty much home and dry I paddle round the final headland to see I’ve got at least a mile and half to go! It did look like a bit of a slog! However, much to my delight, I look over to my left and see there are great runners heading into the bay and for the next three quarters of a mile I’m chuckling and forget how knackered I was. I finally reach the beach in a time of 1 hour 15 mins and 39 seconds with Biggles close behind in a time of 1 hour 19 mins and 30 seconds.

With perfect timing, Lyn is also on the beach (30 min drive) with hot chocolate and warm pasties (not really, but maybe next time if we speak to her nicely!) Res and Biggles’s summary

• Amazing coastline to paddle on
• This stretch of coastline provides everything an ocean paddler could dream of
• Perfect race distance for an open event
• At least 4 headlands with easy access for spotters
• Plenty of spots to pull out of the race if need be
• Combe Martin is a great venue to finish at or even start if need be
• Don’t paddle round Morte Point without the right advice. Safe and fun in the right conditions, but disrespect at your peril!

If anyone is keen to paddle this course or do any other session just drop us a line. We certainly plan to run this as an open downwind race next year probably in June.