The Event was an Eliminator format, dropping contestants through out the day with the final 6 left to battle it out in the final.
The surf wasn’t as big as last year, but there was enough to make a difference, from the out set it was Clear Brodie was on a mission,
Ski was the opening leg in the 1st race and the girls knew they were up against it, Brodie hit the sand first on her Slipstream SurfX and Opened a massive
lead on the board before the pack jagged a wave to draw level at the beach, Brodie battled on in her weakest leg the swim and took the win.
The winner was rewarded with the option of choosing the format for the next races, Brodie continued to pick the Ski first and continued the winning
streak through to the final.
It was no surprise Brodie kept the format the same into the final race, she lined up against Olympian Naomi Flood, Glamour girls Candice Falzon and Courtney Hancock,
training partner Alyce Bennett and Maroubra’s Tara Coleman rounding out the red hot field.

All day Brodie was getting in and away in her ski, and it was no different in the opening ski leg, she turned in front, pulled a nice little runner and landed a wave in front of
the chasing pack. She headed onto her favoured Board leg and opened the gap with a great wave. She went into the swim with a commanding lead and looked to have it all but sewn up.
Alyce Bennett was the first to make a move and had swam away from the pack and was closing the gap, as the girls headed for home, Alyce Bennett had
pulled up onto Brodies feet as the girls hit the wave area, the wave Brodie had ” dialled” came and she was off to claim her second pro series win and her amazing winning streak continues.

The Series now heads to famous break of Portsea in Victoria, Brodie now has a commanding lead in the Series, but is well aware how the cruel the surf can be down there.

Brodie wrote in a blog for us some months ago a very bold statement, “She is training to Win the Gold”, this statement caused mixed reactions
and calls that she was a little arrogant in her approach. Yesterday Brodie swept aside the remarks, which was merely her goal, to over power
champion iron woman Courtney Hancock and her Sister Bonnie in the final run leg to Coolangatta to claim the prestigious Coolangatta Gold Title.

The day started with the ski leg, Brodie who is coached by former Australian Champion Nick Crilly out of the North Burleigh surf Club, was never
out of lead pack,she had her Slipstream SurfX on the sand 1st as she headed off on the run prior to the swim leg.
Brodie the weaker of the swimmers in the lead group, has been working overtime on her swimming in the winter months in preparation for this
years Gold and Nutri Grain Iron-woman series, let the lead slip to rival Courtney Hancock, but hit the beach knowing her board paddling prowess
would pull back little advantage Courtney had gained. The pair we inseparable at the final transition, Brodie and Courtney headed for the finish line
in Coolanagatta, like two prize fighters going into the final round of a title bout.
Brodie was to land the killer punch in the closing kilometers and opened up a 40 second gap and powered onto her first victory in any form of
iron-woman racing.

“Winners are Grinners”

Last year Brodie wanted a podium in the professional series, through winter it was the Gold Victory, Both has now become reality, The Slipstream
Surf Paddler will be a force and will go into the shorter format of the Nutri Grain series as a major chance.

We at Slipstream are very proud of Brodie’s achievements in the race along with the many paddlers we had there yesterday, it was great to get so many texts
and emails from clients, filling us in on there own achievements.

Keep up the good work and look forward to catching you guys on the water, don’t forget to get onto our Facebook Page and follow us on twitter
to keep up with all the latest.

This blog is being put together for all those that are struggling with there own weight loss demons and share a journey of weight loss sucess, that has been totally inspired by Paddling alone.This isnt about Tate Smith , Hugh Dougherty or Brodie Moir, but 4 everyday people, who decided it was time to get healthy for the better of them selves and there families.
The common factor is the growing bond between the Slipstream/Stellar fraternity in paddling to get fit.

Case 1

Michael Lieberman 41 Kgs Lighter- A Marine Surveyor by trade and is a big man by his own admission, he was like all of us, thought he was going alright.
Michael decided time had come to do something about it, being a waterman all his life and owning a fishing kayak, he decided to start paddling.
He started to get really enthused as time went on, then he made the phone call that accelerated the passion or what is now  an obsession.
I offered him my demo Stellar SR less than six months ago, he came down for a test paddle and i kid you not, he all but sank it.
he managed to stay upright and that was all he needed, i sorted him a paddle and his amazing journey was well on its way.
Michael is now a regular on the magic waterways of Pittwater, he paddles during the week at Narrabeen and i am bombarded by texts and the regular photos of
his paddling destinations on facebook.A Saturday will now be a fun filled paddle of over 15km and so big is the change in Michael’s life, his wife is now into paddling.

Michael on a Holiday  That sparked the transformation!

Michael after a paddle today! Amazing transformation.

Case 2

Sean Smith 25 kgs lighter – Sean or his more famous alias the “Fat Paddler” was living behind his brand name and just floating around on Sydney’s waterways,
bogged down in the work family cycle that we all get caught in. For Sean it was a proposition  and an adventure to do a race in Mauritius with his good friend Nat Bradford
that fueled the fire.
This all seams nothing out of the ordinary, well in my game fat and racing don’t go well unless its a pie eating competition.The next issue was Sean had never sat on a surf ski, it was just
something he always wanted too. A call went out on facebook for a ski to get him to the race and a journey began that is all but amazing in such a short period.Myself along with Stellar
Australia came to the party to get Sean on a Stellar SR for the journey, what happened next is well documented at fatpaddler.com, but from my side i saw a big man shrink,
his outlook on life grow and his family once again seeing a happy dad and husband. All of this generated by a man and his Surf ski and a desire to live a better life.

Case 3

Jamie Power 26 kgs lighter – Freight Powers director was caught in the viscous ways of setting up and running his own business, boozy lunches, lack of sleep making sure
world wide deliveries were met this as well as many more demons led Jamie to Balloon considerably. The former Randwick Grade footballer will confess to be being in a very un- healthy state.
About six months ago he contacted me after following my own journey on facebook, and living in Sydneys south with great paddling grounds only a down the road,
he enquired about a Stellar Surf Ski. Jamie ended up in the Stellar SE, and is now loving the new adventures paddling brings.Jamie like the boys above is now regular
turning the paddle over for a 15-20km paddle, this is from the humble beginnings of falling in at the start. Jamie is now looking further and is hoping to complete some
harbourseries races and Ocean Series racing in the future.

Case 4

Gavin Clark (me)- 15kgs Lighter – My journey came after a wake up call, i was surfing with with my 5 year old son at Christmas and struggled after about 10 minutes of
swimming along side him. Dad had to tell his son he was too tired to help his son surf. i was determined that this was going to be the low point in my life and i was going
to do everything to reverse it. i signed up to do the Michelle Bridges 12wbt, and about 8 weeks into that my great friend Jim Walker of Mykayakcoach started the paddling squad
named Jimsquad out of the St George rowing club that has change my life and lifestyle forever. As in common with the good folk above i opted for Stellar SEL,
and my journey began struggling to get out an 8km paddle in an hour, i am no Tate Smith or Hugh Dougherty but my paddling has improved and along the way my whole outlook on
life and family is better than its been for the last 20 years. The social side and mate ship that has been forged is also great and another great reason to get you into a surf ski.
I just turned 40, 2 weeks ago and i feel fitter and stronger than i could of imagined and i put it all down to the great sport of paddling.

One Day we just may end up paddling like this guy!

In short this is more than a promotion of the Stellar brand, it a showcase of what paddling can do, you don’t have to be an Olympian or and ironman/woman to enjoy our sport,
being on the water is the best relaxation mode available, once you have purchased your gear the best places a free to explore.
Many of our holiday destination’s are coastal, so there is really no excuses to not paddle.

You never know the winning goal, run or Olympic gold medal of your very own might just come your way if you get out and go for it.
Mine is being able to surf along side my son and him telling me he is tired!

We enter the water for our usual session warm up and the taunts continue, the coach making a reference to the Storage hatches,
not commonly found on a “Surf Ski”, another asking if i was doing a documentary for the Discovery Channel. All good banter and off we paddle.

The conditions are from the South with 1 meter plus swell running, which we are going to head straight into for the first 40 minutes,
this course takes us out of Malabar and left past the Golf course stretch of Randwick, The Coast and NSW and across the busy shipping channel that is Botany Bay.
For those that paddle this area now it is a tricky stretch of water, sheer rock faces and shallow reefs cause tricky rebound and moving  water that can
cause the best to use bracing strokes. Adding to this was a 1 foot westerly side chop, which made the conditions extremely tough.

3 position solid foot plate is common on all Stellar Surf Skis

The Stellar 18S was bought into the market to tackle the popularity of the Epic V8 head on, The V8 would be the highest selling Surf ski in Australia over the past few years.
Stellar’s entry level boat the SR was always above the V8 in stability, so we found new paddlers not comfortable on the SR swaying to a V8.
We also found a huge market for the cross over from touring kayakers, limited to the closed waterways. They can no longer miss out on the superior construction,
stability and performance across the Stellar Range with the introduction of the S18 and the limitless destinations reached in a surf ski.

Sleek lines make this Entry level ski perform!

On the first leg into the Southerly Swell, i was keeping a good speed around the 10.5km/hr mark, this was surprising, i wasn’t exerting too much effort,
I was concentrating on all my coach had been teaching me in the last 18 weeks with the Squad.Having paddled the Stellar SEL  for the all my time in an Ocean Ski,
I found I was able to concentrate on form not stability, this was resulting in keeping up with quality ocean men. A comment that never leaves me and i repeat it alot is from Jimmy Walker,”the fastest boat is an upright one”.

The bucket and foot well is very similar to the SR, The foot plate is the same that is across the entire range, the 3 point locking system is un matched and provides great structure to launch your leg drive.
Being a bit wider at the catch than the SEL i paddle, i knocked my blade quite a few times, but this would be natural, the deck as been raised in this area and a cut away effect made,
i would like to see this added to the entire range as it coped very well with the side chop and kept the bucket relatively dry in conditions that would of seen all boats take on water.

As we headed across the open channel of Botany Bay, we were greeted with the brunt of the 25 knot and 1 foot side chop, this made for interesting times, i even saw the more experienced paddlers to my side struggling and brace strokes taken.I was able to concentrate on all things paddling and keep consistent boat speed.
Check out my little video here

Our last leg of yesterdays paddle was down wind, i knew this is where i would  want the extra length and acceleration of the Stellar SEL, but in saying that,
this boat is for the entry market, i was left behind by the top end of the  mob in there high tech Carbon boats, but not far enough, the shorter fatter heavier boat was not embarrassed, it pulled runners well, the shorter waterline length in my opinion has an advantage on the runs at times in certain conditions, I could link runs and do all the things the bigger more glamorous boats could do.

added storage for the tourer at heart, or a packed lunch!

Check out Wesley Echols review from the other side of the globe

As we turned into Malabar Bay, its a long flat 1km stretch to test the mind at the end of any hard session, this is honestly the only time i wanted my longer, lighter boat and it was noticeable.
Yes i was tired, but i had to remind myself its an entry level boat and the boys were knocking me before the session. With all this Said and done i paddled the Advantage layup the build quality sheet has it at 16.4kgs,its 18 ft in length and 21 inches in width, i managed 12.3km in 1 hr:09 min in testing conditions, that’s an average speed of over 10.5km/hr. So on the data alone i would have been happy with those figures on any given session in my Stellar SEL.

This boat packs a few little features not available on any surf ski on the market, the fwd and aft storage areas will appeal to the touring kayaker looking for a little extra, or as yesterdays demo later in the day,an old salt looking for something to get in , get fit, throw his lunch and a six pack in and head to a remote beach, read the paper and just enjoy being on the water.The S18 also has the flexibility of the installation of a flip up tail hung rudder in seconds, for the tourer at heart. It has front and rear carry handles fitted also.

In addition to this it carries on the quality you have come to expect from Stellar in Manufacturing, and the 3 position foot plate locking system is just a comfort available only on the Stellar range.

In conclusion, this boat is exactly what the team at Stellar needed, its a little shorter, its stable, its comfortable, it performs, it is the STELLAR S18!

Yours on the water

Gavin

Who am I?

I’m a boat builder by trade who has designed and Built his own range of Australian Gold Medal winning Single and Double Surf Skis and Mako Surf Boat. I returned to Paddling with a group in Sydney called jimsquad run by mykayakcoach.com founder and Olympian Jimmy Walker. I was never a good paddler, i could sit on a ski thats about it, I and am just enjoying the benefits from returning to a better health through paddling, my journey started in February this year when i peaked at 97.5kgs, i am now hovering around the 82kg mark and loving the water and life again. I hope you get something from my posts and i can get you in the right surf ski or on the right track to a better life!

Brodie has resumed her hectic schedule of training and like last season has set her goals high, in addition to this she has been working on her own projects, below is a little from the STR Paddler herself.

Well my off-season is clearly over as my alarm has being getting a work out with the 5am buzzer. I am now back into training, it’s always a struggle at the start to get back into training and routine when its winter and your unfit!! (and not to mention very pasty from the lack of sunshine. My main focus right now is the Coolangatta Gold on the 14th October. It will be a good year this year as the whole Gold course has change location. My goal is to take out the Coolangatta Gold- it will be a massive challenge but I think it can be done!

Brodie in a recent Kozii Swimwear shoot.

Stay tuned friends……

Brodie, well just being Brodie!

The move to appoint the Paddle 2 Fitness team to sell and promote the Slipstream Surf X Surf Ski products in Queensland is the first in what is going to be a nationwide roll out of dealers in each State, with the vision of making the Slipstream Surf brand more visible and accessible to all.

The season ahead is a big one for surf lifesaving with Aussies being relocated and with Rescue 2012 being held in South Australia.

Slipstream Surf Director Gavin Clark “finds the timing right, we have made key decisions not to over distribute our products early. We have made our company sustainable and financially viable during a tough period for manufacturing in Australia”. It is only fitting that it happens as we launched or Join the Winning Team Campaign.

Slipstream Surf X surf ski range has been at the fore in recent times claiming many State and Australian Titles, and securing the services of a long list of champion paddlers including ironman Hugh Dougherty (Tugun), iron woman Brodie Moir (Nth Burleigh) and Duel Olympian Tate Smith (Northcliffe) to name a few.

Julian Norton Smith who is the founder of the Paddle 2 Fitness franchise, based on the Gold Coast and with his first off shoot now operating out of Coffs Harbour, has established a large paddling base from beginners right through to the elite. As well as teaching paddlers better technique, Julian also holds coaching clinics, runs events and is at the fore in promoting and selling gear. Paddle 2 Fitness is now ‘First Contact’ for a lot of new athletes wishing to enter the paddling world which has made the brand one of the most recognized in Australia.

This new partnership will not only have paddlers on the best surf skis but will also have you paddling at your best.

Julian Norton Smith on his way to Bronze in the Masters Competition.

Julian paddled the Slipstream Surf X Surf Ski at the Australian Masters and took out a bronze medal in his age group on the Adjustable Surf X as well as a silver at the Queensland Masters.

The Paddle 2 Fitness group will be the owners of a new Slipstream Surf X Double ski, which was paddled to victory in the Open Men’s Double surf ski event at the 2012 Aussies.

Queensland will now have access to the full range of surf skis including the new all round X-cite which is proving to be the most versatile surf ski on the market catering for the beginner to intermediate paddlers and with the easy adjustable foot plate a must for all surf clubs.

Dont forget our Join the Winning Team offer ends June 30, 2012

If you would like to know more, head to the Slipstream Surf website www.slipstreamsurf.com.au and to www.paddle2fitness.com.au

Don’t forget we are on Facebook and Twitter and be sure to sign up for our newsletter where you can take advantage of deals that will only be offered in this publication.

In this specific session we don’t cover the usual 10 -12 plus km in the hour,we are lucky if we strike up 5 km.Our coach believes this is the most
important session of the week. Why ? Well its pretty easy really, imagine you get the time to not worry how your performing
against others in your squad,imagine being able take the the important phases of the paddle stroke, and get them right individually.
At times you feel like your a one legged duck during some of the drills, but over time you start to think about these steps and implement
them into your stroke.
for me personally it has hit home in this being the 8th week, not only did i do my best ever average speed for a session, I felt myself
getting leg drive instinctively.This is with no doubt credited to the Thursday drill Session implemented by MyKayakcoach in our Jimsquad sessions.

Matt Goble and Luke Morrison of Moana, Open Double Ski Champion's

In a recent conversation with Olympic medalist Rower Ben Dodwell, He backed up Jimmy Walker by saying in there run into the Sydney Games
they did 2 drill sessions a week, he said in a team boat situation like a Surfboat , it is even more important, and he likens surfboat rowing to the four he rowed to a silver medal in the Sydney Olympics. Ben went on to describe a drill that he would  add to everyone’s weekly training sessions. It allowed his crew to have confidence in each other and knowing all there efforts and energy was sending the boat in a straight line.
He adapted this drill from his days and it goes like this. Ben has also rowed surf, and understands variable come into play, but the logic remains the same.

Naturally all drills are done in the flat water.

1.Have your sweep sit on the back deck with his oar out of the water
2.Begin rowing at an easy tempo
3.The boat will head in a direction with either a pull to Port(left) or right (starboard)
4.Try to build on from 30 seconds to 4 minutes ( in the run up to the Olympics they managed 3kms and ran out of a straight stretch of water)

from this your sweep will adjust either your bow person or Strokes catch or power to ensure the boat is pulling as straight as possible.

Getting this right ensures 100% of the energy you are putting into the oar is being transferred into making the boat go forward.

Ben also recommends this is done during different stroke ranges, so if you were to power on to get over a wave or onto a runner,
the same confidence is gained.Remember every time your sweep put pressure on the oar or corrects your direction, he is slowing you down!

for more on ski paddling drills, check out this video on the mykayakcoach , you believe you will find them very helpful.

I hope to hear from you guys doing drills, and reaping the rewards with improved results like me.

yours on the water.

Gavin

Slipstream Surf paddlers and Rowers did our craft proud, plenty on show on the beach and results were our best overall results todate and building every year.

We captured our first Open Men’s Double Ski title, with Luke Morrison and Matt Goble from Moana in Sth Australia claiming a great win, and Adding to there State titles Glory 2 weeks earlier.

Matt Goble and Luke Morrison of Moana, Open Double Ski Champion's

Olympian and Slipstream Surf X Ski Specialist, Tate Smith had the highs and lows all with in 24 hours, he anchored Northcliffe to victory in the single ski relay, in a epic final leg where Avoca’s Ben Hamilton tippified the spirit and importance of team events. Tate in the Open Single Ski was the form paddler of the carnival, and was taken out in the semi after being rammed from behind and had the nose of a competitors ski totally destroy his ski and any hope of claiming another open ski title. As with All Champions Tate rose again and took his Northcliffe team to Gold in the Blue ribboned Open Mens Taplin.

Tate Smith Takes Gold in the open ski relay

Sarah Knapman of Manly had a great paddle in the open women’s ski relay final and teamed with olympian Naomi Flood and Glamour Girl Candice Falzon to claim her gold medal and our first for a female on our Slipstream Surf X ski.

Ironman all round Good Guy, Hugh Dougherty Claimed Silver in the Open ironman, Hughie bouyed after winning the open men’s board and lifesaver relay for Tugun went into the final ski leg in forth and paddled his Surf X to the tail of eventual winner and champion Shannon Ecsteien.

North Burleigh’s glamour girl and Slipstream Surf Paddler Brodie Moir, Claimed a Bronze in the Open Womens Ski Relay and 5th in the open women’s ski, she was so close to claiming the open board race, but was edged out by winner Haley Bateup.

In the boats, once again our controversial Mako Surfboat claimed another medal. After riding the big swells of Wednesday the North Bondi Storm claimed a Bronze in the Reserve Grade Boat, the crew Swept by Glen Holland were in contention in the flat conditions all day and were ecstatic with there bronze, all 3 place getter’s were on the same wave and only separated by the run of the beach.

To all our supporters over the past seasons, we thank you for taking us to where we are, we are proud of all our customers and team riders all the time. The talk on the beach was very positive and we will build from this in the coming seasons ahead.

don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter on the home page of the website, due to privacy issues we cant just send them out, the news letter and our social media sites will be the only place to pick up great offers in the coming months, as well as great competitions to enter.

Thanks to My Kayak Coach for the images.

To the Barclay Family on behalf of the Slipstream Surf Family our sincere condolences and your unselfish act of letting the competition go on will never be forgotten.

The Slipstream Surf X Paddler was excited to back racing with his team mates from Northcliffe, and he was excited to be back in the surf, and the surf was on over the weekend.

This was Tate’s first hit out for the Slipstream Team and he did not disappoint, he collected  a swag of medals , including the Open Ski Relay, Taplin and the Blue Ribbon Open mens Single ski race, where he was joined by Tuguns Dave Monaghan in the final.

Tate was excited and we received updates over the week end from the Olympian, “The ski is flying mate, its the best ski i have ever paddled”. Tate also had joy in regaining his open single ski crown , which was held by Other Slipstream paddlers, Hugh Dougherty, Sam Hamilton and Dave Monaghan of Tugun, Tate said , “sorry mate had to get my ski relay crown back” for us we couldn’t be happier with Tate’s result.

Tate now turns his focus into Aussies, which starts in earnest next week, he will be looking to take out the open Single ski title and add plenty more medals to his huge collection already.

In other results, STR Paddler Brodie Moir took out 3rd in the open ironwoman, adding another podium to her last round of the ironwomanseries, the golden girl of North Burleigh is in good form and one of the girls to watch out for at nationals.

Brodie Moir will be looking to keep her good form going!

Others of mention include Dave Monaghan of Tugun made the final of the open ski and placed 15th, Jack Butler of Tugun ran 5th in the u/19 ski, and Hugh Dougherty 6th in the open ironman and former Sth Australian Matt Sharp figured in the u/19 ironman final.

We wish all our competitors all the best in there Aussies Assault next week and as Tate Smith says “i don’t paddle it because its free, i paddle it because its the best!”

Come along and say hello to the team on the beach at Aussies, got a question don’t be afraid to ask, the team or myself will be on hand to help.

GRIPNRIP!