Boats have been loaded for transport over to Rottnest Island and all that needs to be done now is to get ourselves loaded onto the ferry for our ride to the start of this years ‘Doctor’.
Don’t remember much of the ferry ride as I slept for most of it, why not sleep and gain some more needed rest for the slog that was to be ahead of us.
‘The wind is swinging have a look at the flags!’ was the most common comment of the day, but was it really? I didn’t think so.
The race was held up until 2pm to gain as much favour as possible from the prevailing conditions but the late start did not ease the tension that was felt by so many of the starters. The Fremantle Doctor was not going to blow today.
What we had to work with was a very slight, if any cross tail with almost no swell, but as I say ‘you come prepared to race in any conditions’.
On the line this year we had 3 previous winners of this race, Clint Robinson (5 time Olympian), Dawid Mocke and myself (defending champion).
It was hot and flat. The best runs back across to Sorrento Beach were off the media boats that were following the race.
The pace was fast, Jeremy and Clint both going for the hot spot but it would be Clint that prevailed with too much speed and power.
From this point on Clint was never out of the top 4 until suffering cramps in his legs around the 22km mark.
After 4km I found myself out in front with a small lead but was suffering from the high pace and heat. Clint, Dawid and Jasper all came past and after watching Clint paddle and see how relaxed he was I decided to follow suit, I relaxed and used the wash from these three paddlers to conserve my energy.
From my position in the race, the only people I saw were these three other paddlers, each of us trading strokes up the front, not wanting to let the others escape out from this pack.
The race was shortened due to the unfavourable conditions but it would still be 26km that we covered to get to Sorrento.
The racing up the front was tight, if Dawid or Jasper went to pull away Clint was straight onto them, sometimes too close for their liking but that is how Clint races, hard! I kept my distance, always no further away than 15metres from the front paddler, watching, waiting and staying relaxed.
At the 16km mark all four of us caught a different run and for the briefest of moments we were all headed in a different direction, really this was the first time in the race where we didn’t cover each other, we each went a separate way.
That was all it took, one run, one push and then a continued effort to split the front bunch.
From the tight racing that we had had up until that point all four of us were now apart by a distance big enough to work with and try and make a break, and that is just what I did.
Nothing too drastic but now more of a concerted effort to keep a higher pace and rhythm. Clint and Dawid went for more of an inside line which in the end was the only way Clint could go due to cramps in his legs. Jasper stayed out with me as I worked hard to pick the best line to the finish.
Who had the most left to give it that last push to the line?
Jasper races hard and I knew that I couldn’t ease off for a stroke. Every bump that came along I pushed on, every stroke I made, had that little bit more effort to it.
With the finish line so close you don’t want to make any mistakes, because the guys that I am racing are good, they are better than good, they are some of the best ocean ski paddlers in the world and a mistake can make the difference between winning and coming second.
No mistakes.
Jasper was 100m back and with the beach only 50m away I knew that I had defended my title and allowed myself to celebrate.
The feeling of wining the ‘Doctor” world cup for a second year was great especially after such a close race last year with Bruce Taylor (sorry Bruce). I really felt that my paddling ability had improved to be able to win the race by a bigger margin this year. Yeeww!
The only decision now….………….What race to do next!
Thank you to Nelo surf ski for the XXL boat, Bracsa for my new paddle and to Oceanpaddler for putting on anther great event.

Report by Robin Mousley

It was anything but what the Doctor ordered…. but at least the 10kt side-wind kept the paddlers cool as they raced from Rottnest Island direct to Sorrento (taking about 2km off the usual course).

Conditions were fairly flat, although there were small bumps to work with for the elite paddlers out front.

Tim Jacobs was in the front bunch from the start and made a move about 16km into the 24km race, taking a 100m lead. 

In the end he proved too strong for South African Jasper Mocke who came second…

The top 5 were:
1. Tim Jacobs (Aus) 1:50:10
2. Jasper Mocke (SA) 1:50:44
3. Dawid Mocke (SA) 1:51:54
4. Michael Booth (Aus) 01:52:20
5. Bruce Taylor (Aus) 01:52:46

The women’s race was easily won by Ruth Highman in 02:15:36
2. Claire Duncan (Aus) 02:24:02
3. Kylie Broad 02:35:01
4. Tricia Gilbert

We had a great audience on surfski.info watching the text commentary live with nearly 1000 readers logging in.

Stories, pics and video will be up on surfski.info over the next few days… make sure to check in!

How long have you been in surf ski racing for?
I have been paddling Ocean Skis since the age of 18 when I did my first Molokai in 1996.

How long have you been paddling in a NELO ski?
I have been paddling a Nelo Ocean Ski for the last 2 seasons, 2010-...

In 3 words, describe your experience thus far in a NELO?
Fast, Comfortable, Fast

What do you think of the new 2011/2012 version of the NELO Ski? What do you think are the greatest improvements from its predecessors?
The new modifications that have been made to the Nelo ski’s make it a more user friendly craft, more comfortable without taking anything away from the performance and speed of the boat.
The strength and durability of the boat has also been improved.

Why would you recommend NELO to the other surf ski paddlers?
The Nelo Ocean Ski is the most comfortable ski on the market and the best all round ski for all conditions.
When your buy a Nelo you are also buying quality that no one else can deliver.

The latest versions of NELO’s Ocean Ski range aim to be more comfortable and easier to use.Main Improvements:

1. Shape -  small volume corrections in the front and stern, giving it a better sense of balance and even better surf abilities
2. New cockpit design with extra leg drive and heel room, including a more efficient drainage system.
3. Better seat with smoother and more comfortable position
4. New footrest and footrest rails system for easier and accurate adjustment (similar to the racing kayak system)
5. New rudders specially designed for big ocean conditions, guided by an easy adjustable stainless steel cable system.

The 2011 Steelcase Dragon Run, Hong Kong

One of the most talked about subjects before a race is the conditions, what are they going to do? What does the forecast say? How strong is the wind going to be on race day?
If you travel for a race or line up in a race be ready for anything, at home I train in all conditions. You can’t have a weakness whether being mental or physical if you want to race the best competitors from around the world.

The morning of the race was shrouded in low fog, with no breeze to blow it away and the sun taking its time to help burn it off.

All craft were loaded onto trucks for the journey up to Clearwater Bay, our start for the 2011 Dragon Run.

Team Nelo, were ushered away to their waiting limo while everyone else was herded onto buses for the ride to Clearwater Bay.

The race start was held up for an hour to gain more favorable conditions and the race organizers were rewarded, as the wind continually grew stronger with each passing minute.
Final briefings were said and competitors hit the water for their warm up and their 22km journey down the coast to Stanley and the finish line.

10 minutes to start warning.

5 minutes to start warning.

Competitors were crowding the start line but others lagged behind and before 5 minutes were up, the flag had dropped and the horn had sounded.

The race was on.

Andre Santos, team Nelo, had a flying start, quickly putting distance between himself and every other paddler. His reign of terror was short lived as the lead group of more than 20 paddlers swallowed him up. 

The wind and surf made for great race conditions as we headed out to the Nine Pins, a group of islands 6km off the coast where we would turn and head south for Stanley.

Tom Schilverport set the early pace gaining 40 meters on the chasing pack which included myself, Dawid, Hank, Shannon, Jeremy, Cory and others.

We had runs all the way out pushing us straight to the Nine Pins.

Tom rounded first followed by myself, Dawid and Hank.

Sorry I can’t add more names but I don’t look around during the race, peripheral vision only.

It was a ninety-degree turn around the Island to set our course for the finish, so that meant; crosswind for the downwind leg.
But it didn’t. The prevailing swell was a cross tail from the left and the wind was a cross tail from our right so the runs lined up beautifully to form nice V’s and allow for great surfing across the backs of them all the way down to our headland mark of the ‘Kissing Whales’ outside Stanley Bay.

Dawid and Tom took an outside line while Hank took a line tighter in than me.
Dawid was the only other competitor I saw, pushing hard on the outside line. I stayed inside knowing that the swell and wind would be more in my favor as we neared the ‘Kissing Whales’. I hit them straight on while Dawid had to work against the runs for longer to get to the mark from his line. There was a straight line across us both and it would come down to who hit the headland first as it is a 5km paddle into the bay with a strong cross head wind due to the prevailing wind direction.

4km before the bay Dawid put in a solid effort, coming more onto my line, while I worked further in again aiming for the straightest line to the headland with the swell behind me.
Still neck and neck between the two of us.

I know that Dawid leaves nothing out there on the course and I would have to do the same if I wanted a chance at the win.
2km before the bay I made my move, working that little bit harder to chase and pull over the top of every run that I could, if I missed one I knew that he wouldn’t. Most of these races come down to not who caught the most runs but who missed the least; it is the ones that you miss that make the difference. I wanted to make the difference by getting more and not missing any.

Last 6km of the race, “concentrate and don’t make mistakes is what I kept telling myself”.

My equipment was never going to fail. Nelo XXL ski and a Braca paddle.

Races are won and lost due to human error from being tired; I didn’t want to have it happen to me.

From my push I hit the entrance to the bay first with about 50m over Dawid and look out here comes the headwind.
5km of it get to the finish line. So much time for so much to go through your mind. Do I have enough left to hold on? Is the person behind me more tired than me? Is someone going to come over the top of both of us?

I tried not to look around too many times but it was necessary to give mysef a confidence boost as I was getting tireder. Keep working hard! My lead was slowly growing as the finish line got closer. No one wants a sprint finish after hard racing and I made sure that every stroke that I did was as efficient as I could make it for how tired I was feeling.

22.5km and an hour and a half after the start I crossed the finish line first with Dawid second and Hank in a fast finishing third with Kellogg’s Ironman Cory Hill having a great paddle to finish fourth. 

Well done to all that competed and fantastic work to all the organizers, volunteers and supporters who again put on one of the best races of the year.

Big congratulations to Clarence ‘Team Nelo’ who took out the shorter 10km Chicken Run.