We are in the middle of summer and I love summer! One of the iconic things about my summer over the last few years has been competing in the Twenty Beaches Ocean Classic! It was on the 13th of December over a month ago though I have an urge to write about it.
It is the oldest downwind race in Australia and the course is about 25km from Freshwater to Palm Beach or vice versa depending on the downwind conditions. Unfortunately for paddlers that love a good downwind like myself, this year’s event had minimal downwind due to large and dangerous surf conditions causing a significant adjustment to the normal course. For the safety of over 300 paddlers the course was altered to a triangular course around the Barrenjoey headland, Lion Island and Station Beach (Pittwater).
In these extreme conditions it was a taxing and challenging 21km race, with a great downwind leg down to Lion Island! It was not exactly what everyone wanted, were training for or what people travelled a long way for though it was still fantastic and a reminder that nature rules in sports like this.
Check out some of the photos to see the conditions!
