2023 was my first year of racing internationally, and I wasn’t going to go to World Championships. I was training for the Nelo Summer Challenge in Portugal (when really, I SO wanted to go to Australia, but thought it would be unreasonable). And while it’s sad that the Summer Challenge didn’t take place, for me, it was the perfect excuse to go on the paddling trip of a lifetime.

THe West Coast Downwinder

o stay within the word count, I’ll jump right into my first race: the Westcoast Downwinder. It was exhilarating to arrive at the Race Week village in Sorrento to check in, complete the first safety check and pick up my number, race t-shirt and hat (those were colour-coded so you could see who was in your race).

There were so many paddlers around, boats and paddles for decoration, stalls with all the kit you could possibly need. This was by far the biggest event I had ever done, and I definitely felt a little intimidated. Fast forward to getting to the start line, and I’d forgotten about all that.

Conditions were beautiful, great for a downwind race, even though it was slightly too hot for me at the beginning of the Australian summer. I wish I had a better tale to tell, but about twenty minutes into the race I started feeling pretty lousy with something I had picked up on the plane. It was all I could do to finish the race somehow, and to cross my fingers for the Doctor the weekend after.

The Doctor

The Doctor, named after the South-West wind that usually picks up reliably around noon is summer, is a race from Rottnest Island back to Perth, about 27km long. Logistics involve transporting your craft to Rottnest (only taking what you can throw away or transport back on your ski) and then waiting for the wind to pick up. Loading my ski onto the boat and then waiting with the quokkas who seemed increasingly interested in everybody’s kit gave me a distinct once in a lifetime feeling.

I’d had to see an actual doctor during the week and wasn’t fully recovered, so I was not going to go all out. Just happy to be there, I stayed fairly relaxed when we received instructions from the organisers to make our way to the briefing. The wind was starting to pick up. From the island, the race goes to the right of a cardinal marker and then west.

I must have been a little too relaxed, because when I got to the start line, all the other women had already taken off (easy to spot because we were given colour-coded t-shirts: blue for the open female category, orange for the open male category, yellow for the twenty fastest paddlers in each of these). Looking back, it doesn’t matter all that much because I wasn’t up to racing properly anyway, but at the time, I felt extremely ashamed. I didn’t really understand how it had happened, and can still only guess (I had my watch and thought I’d been timing my warm-up right for the allocated start time - spoke ot another paddler afterwards who’d had the same issue and felt slightly better). I felt like I had let everybody who supported me to get there down, and myself: I had specifically looked forward to a bigger female field to start in. I started catching people up after a while and was able to just enjoy being out on the water again a little later. My tracking shows I started just under ten minutes late. There was a boat playing music between the cardinal marker and the finish, which made me a little emotional. And weirdly, receiving the finisher medal felt important this time round: I hadn’t expected one, and it made it sink in that it is a challenge to just do the race (especially in this heat - navigation had been easier than other years, though), and that just getting there to race was importand. It’s all part of learning to compete well.

We were slightly unlucky with the conditions: above 40° heat and a very weak Doctor wind. But it was enough to create some bumps to catch, and all in all, the Doctor is definitely one of the coolest paddles I’ve done. Because everybody asks me this: I did not see any sharks during the race (although I did see some very calm and friendly ones while snorkelling), but was fascinated by the flying fish!

It was great to be able to get to and from races on public transport. I did sometimes wish for a car - it was really, really hot walking between stations sometimes, and the journeys took at least twice as long - plus only being able to pay in cash, and with the exact correct amount (when even the drivers weren’t usually able to tell you what that correct amount was but somehow expected you to) but I got everywhere I needed to be : )

For Worlds, we moved to a different race village at Scarborough Beach. It is an amazing location, a long, sandy beach with an amphitheatre and an outdoor swimming pool competitors had access to. I loved showing up to the boat storage area for early morning paddles!

World Championships

Early in the week, the committee made the decision to use the race window to get the best possible conditions. Worlds was moved to Thursday. This gave me less time to recover, but I do love a downwind, and it was definitely worth it for the strong, mainly westerly wind! There was a bit of Southerly (on shore) in it, just to keep things technical and interesting as we raced from Freemantle to Scarborough Beach. I definitely had that feeling of time speeding up as I was getting ready for the start, but the familiarity of the race briefing calmed me right down: it was like any other race, there were just more people there.

I had a good position and was really happy with my start, but got sandwiched between two boats shortly after and fell in. Luckily, my remount is quick, but I had lost the group. This turned out to be for the best, though, as I had picked my line beforehand, and the group headed in further in towards the shore. Being no longer with them made it easy for me to stick to my plan: the most direct line back to Scarborough, which I thought would give me the best tailwind and waves. I started catching up with the group fairly soon, overtaking quite a few of them again. I had made the right decision. I stuck to my line and lost sight of the others, who went still further in towards the shore. Conditions were challenging, and I did flood my boat a couple of times, which slowed me down considerably. Apart from that, I had such a great time downwinding that I had to remind myself I was in my first ever world championships a few times.

When I turned towards the beach for the running finish, things got pretty hectic. The shore break was strong, and there were lots of boats coming in at once. I managed to time it well and avoid all collisions, undid my leash as quickly as I could and pushed my boat towards one of the volunteers before sprinting up the sand. It was all starting to sink in while I was being shoved from one volunteer to the next, having the tracker and timing chip taken off me and trying to catch my breath. I had spent months working for this, and now it was done. A lot of things could have gone better, but so much went right, and I can’t wait to do it all again.

My results at World Championships: 13th in my age group (23-35) and 57th woman overall. It was the most amazing experience to race in a field of 113 female paddlers.

https://paddleuk.org.uk/strong-british-performances-at-2023-ocean-racing-world-championships/

Because the race had been run on the very first day of the race window, we didn’t have an opening ceremony for worlds. Instead, there was a ‘parade of nations’ before the prize-giving, where we walked into the amphi-theatre as teams and put our flags into the stands at the front (which kept blowing over during the ceremony : D) .

Some snapshots from my socials

28 November

Before we go into world championships, here's a quick update: I've not had the best of times, unfortunately -- During my first race here, the Westcoast Downwinder, I got really ill with a super lingering cold (during an intense heatwave with temperatures up to 45°). I've still managed to have a fantastic time getting used to Australia and racing in the Doctor (a race from Rottnest Island back to the mainland). I'll post about that in more detail at some point. It's been amazing to discover the race hub and get a couple of paddles in locally. Worlds have been moved forward to Thursday, so just one more day to go now. I have mixed feelings about the lead-up, but I'm stoked to race here, with so many others who love surfski racing. And about experiencing my first ever world championships. I would not have got here without Jonnie and Rachel Schofield -- so grateful for the training plan, all the guidance, the technique sessions and for hitting the gym together. All of it has kept me sane throughout the year. It's been a long season -- now it's almost go-time.

29 November

Last paddle before Worlds done!

Let's do this.

Big shout out and THANKS to Alyssa, Louise, Derek, Dot, Stien, Connie, Ileana, Lou, Mia, Katja, Chris, Rae, Martin, Olivia, Helen, Morna, Sam, Suze, Claire, Patti, Ruth, Godi and Oma for supporting my fundraiser for renting the boat!

18 December

This year, I took myself places I never thought I'd go. It was amazing to paddle at Worlds in Western Australia. Especially with how the lead-up went, I'm very happy with how I paddled, and with my 13th position in my age group and 57th female paddler overall. Still absolutely stoked about the downwind conditions on race day, and paddling amongst such a fantastic field! I can pin down so many places where I lost time (not just the remount after getting sandwiched just before the first turn), and equally, I was able to show myself what it could be like at times.

I'm really proud of the line I picked.

Two moments made it all sink in properly: receiving my team kit beforehand, and seeing my race photos afterwards. It's been an honour to paddle for a country that has helped me grow so much, as a paddler and as a person.

For now, I'm very much looking forward to sleeping in a cold room again, cuddling the dog and not eating a single banana for as long as I can help it. I also definitely have logistics, timings and finances to figure out. But I'm not done : )

Huge THANKS to everybody who supported me, especially Jonnie for his coaching.

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19 December

The photo I didn't know I needed : )

This is a travel-friendship appreciation post!

One of the things I worried about when planning this trip was that I would be doing it by myself.

I don't mean organisation-wise: I'm usually good at handling things when it's just me, and I like my own company. But I would have definitely been sad if I hadn't been able to share some of these moments. @ezgitezgelen was staying in the same accommodation as me, starting a new job in Perth. We didn't know each other well yet, but she decided to come to the finish of my race and watch the 'parade of nations' (the opening ceremony we had after the race because race day was brought forward) and prize giving. She was adamant that I should take a photo in front of the flags. It always takes me a while to figure out how I feel about it after a race, so at this stage, I was still unsure. Ezgi told me to 'be more proud!' -- and I'm now so glad I have this smiley photo of myself, from just after the race.

I also went on the most awesome roadtrip with @kathi_andtheworld (separate post to follow) and was buddied up with @inge for our Ningaloo reef dive -- I needn't have worried about being alone.

Ezgi and her friend even picked me up and dropped me off at the airport for my way back.

I had the most amazing time, and enough social moments to allow me to thoroughly enjoy the times I did have just to myself.

20 December

Shaw and Partners WA Race Week.

I had a great time, ultimately, but I also really struggled. These were the biggest races I had ever taken part in, and it was a much steeper learning curve than I had expected. I found the logistics hard, being at the right place at the right time with the right kit, making sure my boat was where it needed to be. I missed my start for the Doctor (still don't know how I managed that) then spent the first half of the race beating myself up about it. It didn't help that I was so ill between the Westcoast Downwinder and the Doctor -- who knows, maybe I would have been perfectly fine if that hadn't thrown me off. Navigating the medical system in a country you're not used to is never easy, even though I felt in very good hands in Australia. Looking back, it already all seems very minor and I'm just happy I got to be part of it all. How awesome is a week of racing with so many other paddlers! At the time, it really knocked my confidence. All the more important to have these races before Worlds. I was so relieved when I was at the start line and nothing had gone wrong. I'm taking it all as part of learning and getting better at racing.

The Westcoast Downwinder was amazing, really cool conditions. The Doctor is definitely one of the coolest races I've done -- paddling back to the mainland from an island just feels special, and waiting on the island with all the quokkas for the wind to pick up. It didn't pick up that much on race day and it stayed pretty flat -- it was also extremely hot. All so worth it to get to the finish with so many others. This raceweek alone would have been easily worth the travels.