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.