Surfski world title on the line in Durban
25 June 2008
A powerful international contingent is jetting into KwaZulu-Natal for this weekend's Durban Surf Ski World Cup, which will decide the outcome of the Surf Ski World Series.
The Australian contingent arrived last week and used Sunday's Discovery Men's Health Surf Ski Series race in Durban Bay to shake off their jetlag, and to confirm to the locals that they mean business in the Durban World Cup.
McGregor pushed hard
The least known of the Australians Jeremy "Jezza" Cotter provided the principle shock as he placed series pacesetter Hank McGregor under considerable pressure throughout the 15 kilometre race before settling for second place behind the Durbanite.
Just behind him, the highly experienced Aussies, Tim Jacobs and Tommy Woodriff, raced well and showed their good form coming into the World Cup showdown. They both finished well inside the top-10 and just a few minutes behind the furious scrap at the front.
Another jolt for Durbanites was the return of one of their most famous ski paddling sons, Matthew Bouman. He is representing Australia after recently moving Down Under.
The big-framed lifesaving icon also showed that he has been training hard and will be keen to stamp his authority on the race.
Legends
Australian ski racing legend Dean Gardiner jets into Durban midweek, while the Tahitian Lewis Laughlan, who has won the last two editions of the gruelling Epic Molokai Challenge is struggling with flights and is expected to arrive in Durban on Friday afternoon only.
Laughlan is the only paddler capable of displacing Oscar Chalupsky from the top of the intriguing World Series, which has been driven by the website surfski.info, and has harnessed the 10 biggest surf ski races worldwide, grading each of them according to each the event's importance, participation levels, and prizemoney.
The Durban Surf Ski World Cup forms the last leg of the 10-event series, and 45-year-old Durbanite Oscar Chalupsky heads the rankings going into the weekend's decider.
Chalupsky's lead
While he hasn't won any of the world series events, the 11-time Molokai champ has been rewarded for the tenacity, and his four top-five finishes have helped him to a handy 10-point lead over Laughlan in second, with Capetonian ace Dawid Mocke in third, a further 25 points back.
The Durban World Cup, as a four-star event, will carry 200 points for the winner, 196 for second place, and every further place down the field earns four fewer World Series points.
"So if Lewis Laughlan wins and Oscar Chalupsky comes fourth or worse, Lewis will move to the top of the leaderboard and will be the World Series champion for the 2007/2008 season," said series co-ordinator Rob Mousley.
"If Dawid Mocke wins the Durban World Cup, then Oscar Chalupsky must come eighth and Lewis Laughlan would have to come fifth or worse for Dawid Mocke to claim the world series," Mousley added.
An exciting new dimension
Chalupsky, who won last year's Durban World Cup in a dramatic tussle with Hank McGregor on stormy seas from Amanzimtoti to Vetches Beach that ended with both controversially racing in front of a ship entering Durban harbour, says the World Series will provide an exciting new dimension to the weekend's racing.
"I definitely don't want Lewis or Dawid to beat me," said Chalupsky. "I'd love to be world champion once again at 45.
"A lot of people told me I couldn't do it and it will mean a lot to win the World Series title again. "It is a double-edged sword," he added. "I really want to win the World Cup title that I won here last year, and at the same time I want to make sure that I win the World Series."The birth of global surf ski paddling
"The World Series is the birth of global surf ski paddling," Chalupsky added, saying that it was far bigger than winning the Molokai, which for decades was touted as the de-facto world championships.
The Durban Surf Ski World Cup will be staged either on Saturday, 28 June, or Sunday, 29 June, depending on which day presents the better weather conditions.
It will take the form of a 25 kilometre-to-30 kilometre downwind race based around Durban.
SURFSKI.INFO WORLD SERIES RANKINGS
- Oscar Chalupsky (RSA) 838
- Lewis Laughlan (TAH) 828
- Dawid Mocke (RSA) 803
- Dean Gardiner (AUS) 669
- Dean Gray (RSA) 625
- Tim Jacobs (AUS) 614
- Barry Lewin (RSA) 587
- Herman Chalupsky (RSA) 572
- Darryl Bartho (RSA) 518
- Steve Woods (RSA) 494
SAinfo reporter
Would you like to use this article in your publication
or on your website?
See: Using SAinfo material
