Moray Firth Challenge and Scottish Ocean Racing Championships 2023

(This consists mostly of an article I wrote for the Scottish Paddler Magazine)

The 5th Moray Firth Challenge saw 49 paddlers racing from Arderseir to Nairn on 29 July.

After I’d heard the rain pattering on my tent for most of the night, it was a lovely surprise to wake up to brilliant sunshine. The area around Nairn Sea Kayak Club soon became busy with trailers, boats and paddlers preparing for their races and, most importantly, chatting to friends they hadn’t seen for a while. Shuttles were organised and participants made their way to Arderseir for the 12:00 start of sea kayaks, sups and prone paddle boards and the 12:30 start of the surfski race. I was in the surfski race, so the following will give you a bit of an insight into that.

It was lovely to see all the skis lined up on the bank as paddlers were making last minute tweaks to their equipment before getting on the water to warm up before it was three, two, one, go!, and everybody tried to avoid the seaweed and get a good position with a group of similar speed. It was pretty hot by then and the sea was completely flat, so people dusted off their marathon tactics and tried to get the best possible washes. I tried sticking with Kerry Christie, but she made it look all too easy to pull away – and firmly stay ahead for the rest of the race, even though I briefly thought I was gaining on her when I moved slightly further out into the firth to avoid the large fields of seaweed we all paddled through. The heat, the seaweed, and the lack of wind or current made for a tough 17km paddle around Whiteness, where some participants reported that seeing the seals made up for their efforts. This was my first time taking part in the challenge, and exploring a new stretch of water is always lovely, even if you’re working hard. The closer I got to the finish, the more sea kayaks, paddle boards and prone boards I saw, which shows that the two different starts were well-timed so we could cheer each other into the finish. Drew Howells crossed the line first, followed by the only triple in the race: Lizelle Kemp, Rob Pretorius, and Alan Hunter, then Jamie Christie in his ski taking second place in the men’s surfski race followed by Giles Heffer in third place. I ended up in second place in the women’s surfski race, just over a minute behind Kerry Christie, who took the win, with Libby Geddes in third place. Emma Christie and Mark Williams raced a double, Les Kirkpatrick came first in the performance sea kayak class, Donald Thomson in his touring sea kayak and Sandy Forbet in hers, Stuard Kingham in his ocean canoe, Andy Burrows and Cariad Findlater on their SUPS, and James Fletcher and Lindsay McNally on their prone boards. This was also the Scottish championship race, with Giles Heffer and myself claiming the respective male and female title. Sea Spirit Photography captured the whole spectacle brilliantly. De-salted and dry again, we all tucked into the lovely burgers the organisers had barbecued, and stayed chatting over food and coffees until the prize giving. The team trophy and spot prizes were a particularly lovely touch and showed the importance of this race an event where every participant is welcome and valued. The socialising continued on the beach, watching a spectacular sunset sitting sheltered from the wind by the dunes, and then with social paddles and boat demos the next day. There were demo boats available from Rogue, Stellar and Carbonology, in addition to people letting each other try their various craft. I loved the OC1 – it lulled me into a false sense of safety with its great primary stability and tipped me in faster than I could do anything about it whenever I got too confident. Great fun, all topped off by paddling with a pod of dolphins a little further from shore.

I came home from this race buzzing, ready for more training (after a rest day) and, most importantly, reminded of how important these races are as community events more than anything else: a chance to spend the weekend with other people who are passionate about the same thing. Huge thanks to the organisers and sponsors for making it all happen.