The Single Craft Games
Scroll down for all the action from last Friday’s Single Craft Games

Santa Fails to Deliver at the Twenty Beaches
It wasn’t the downwind screamer that Santa brought us last year but as always the 20 Beaches ski race from Plam Beach to Manly was a lot of fun and a season highlight.

You would think that a 10kt easterly wind would make for horror conditions but not so. The interaction of that and a SE swell with the numerous headlands meant surfing skills were rewarded from start to finish.

Congrats especially to Nick Valentine who set himself the season goal of doing the race for the first time on a ski and achieved just that in fine form.

Xmas Eve Downhill
There’s no better way to kick off the Christmas festivites than with a downwind paddle between Watsons Bay and Coogee! To be kept informed of final plans please email Billy your earliest start time.

Calling All OC2 Paddlers
The Manly to Bayview Coastal Relay is scheduled for Feb 1. Exact details are not yet available but it is expected to consist of 4 x 10km open water downwind legs with crews changing from sheltered beaches. To put it simply, a great team event and a lot of fun!

We are planning to form a PD OC2 team consisting of 4 to 8 people. For those that have been doing some OC1 paddling this is a great opportunity to try your hand at an open water race.

If you want join the PD OC2 team you need to:
– Commit to doing a min of 4 ocean sessions in January. These will be scheduled around those in the team but some compromise will be required.
– Email Billy by Jan 2 to register you interest in joining the team

What sessions would you like for the off-season?
Please see or email Billy your thoughts on what kind of sessions you’d like to be doing during the single craft off-season and when.

It’s a Wrap!

Congrats to everyone that stepped out of their comfort zone to take on single craft paddling in the 2008 season. It’s never an easy step to suddenly find yourself the stroke, engine room and steerer all at once. Once you do though there’s no turning back!

Congrats in particular to everyone that set themselves a single craft goal. Regardless of whether you achieved it or not the next step is the same…

Take out 10 mins to think about the season just past. Make a note of two things you learnt and two things you’d like to do differently next season. Use these to make your next single craft plans or to nail the goal that got away on you.

The Off-Season

The single craft off-season is here and the focus now moves to dragon boat and OC6. For those still doing some single craft sessions this is a great time to review the things we covered over the season.

Before you do a session logon and check out one of the tips below:

Sep 14 – Setting Goals
Sep 21 – What is Free Speed?
Sep 28 – How to Build Paddling Base
Oct 05 – Free Speed Tip No. 1: Getting Focussed
Oct 12 – Difference between building and maintaining base
Oct 19 – Free Speed Tip 2: Improving Balance; Not-So-Free Speed Defined
Oct 26 – Why PWEP; Speed Builds
Nov 02 – How to never have a bad race; Free Speed Tip 3: Being in Sync
Nov 09 – Long Distance Race Prep; Free Speed Tip 4: El Guapo’s Third Law
Nov 16 – Free Speed Tip 5: Blade Acceleration
Nov 23 – Setting Benchmarks; Free Speed Tip 6: The Fulcrum
Nov 30 – Free Speed Race Warm-up Routine
Dec 07 – Pre Race Recovery; Race Speed Development
Dec 14 – The Three Maxs of Race Week Prep
Dec 21 – Twas the Night Before the Twenty Beaches