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The Gorge Downwind Champs wrapped up today here at Hood River, Oregon, USA which saw some of the World's best paddlers battle it out on one of the World's best downwind courses.
Now in it's 2nd year, the 2016 Gorge Downwind Champs attracted an all star field of paddlers across SurfSki, Outrigger Canoe (OC) and Paddle Board (both SUP & Prone) who all arrived at this iconic Pacific NW venue to score a week of downwind runs.
The Gorge Downwind Champs is a unique event that includes 1 Race Day + 5 days of "Downwind Shuttles" where competitors are able to fit in as many downwind runs as they desire with a non stop shuttle bus (with trailer) service transporting competitors upwind 13km to Viento Park before screaming downwind back to Race HQ at Hood River.
It was not uncommon for competitors to fit in 3+ runs in a day when conditions were "on" and over 1200 paddle craft were shuttled during the week!
Downwind Conditions during the week were sensational!
Vaikobi Race Team- Gorge Downwind Champs 2016
A large part of the Vaikobi Race Team converged on The Gorge to battle for overall honour's in the championship race. Sean Rice (RSA), Mackenzie Hynard (AUS), Rachel Clarke (NZL), Jesse Lishchuk (USA), Sam Mayhew (NZL) and Ryan Paroz (AUS) were all backing up from a strong hit out in at the Canadian Surfski Champs in Squamish the weekend before.
USA's #1 SurfSki Paddler, Austin Kieffer had been honing his downwind skills at the Gorge in a quest to score an upset over the internationals in town which in addition to the above names included the Mocke Brothers- Jasper & Dawid from South Africa.
Austin Kieffer (USA)
Vaikobi in partnership with premium Vaikobi USA Dealer- Ocean Paddle Sports was stoked to get behind this fantastic event as major sponsors as well as providing competitors with access to the full range of Vaikobi performance gear at our Gorge Race HQ Store.
The 2016 Gorge Downwind Champs was this year part of the World Surfski Series (WSS) and Race Day was scheduled for Friday July 22nd with great anticipation for a cracking 23km Downwind Race.
Race Day eve saw significant thunderstorm activity hit the region around The Gorge which adjusted the weather pattern enjoyed over the previous week. Race day dawned with a mixed bag of conditions on the Hood River.
Race Conditions began with a fresh downwind section for the first 3rd of the race which petered out as competitors raced further down The Gorge. This decrease in wind and waves as the race went on, provided tough race conditions for competitors who had to use everything in the tank to keep on the pace.
In the OceanSki Women's event, it was always going to be a tough battle between the World's Top 3 Female SurfSki Paddlers. Teneale Hatton (NZL) the current World Champ, arrived fresh from winning the Canadian's the weekend before and was primed to rack up another victory, however former Molokai Champ Rachel Clarke (NZL) & Former World Champ Michele Eray (RSA) arrived pumped up and ready to take the Gorge Downwind Champs title.
Rachel Clarke (NZL)
Teneale was hot off the start and took out the Think Kayak Hotspot being first to the turning mark, 800 metres from the start. From there some great downwind conditions eventuated with Rachel Clarke relishing the runs to take the lead.
As the race went on, the runs became smaller and Teneale pulled away to claim a great victory over Rachel with Michele Eray finishing 3rd overall.
Rachel Clarke claiming 2nd Place in the Women's OceanSki
The Men's SurfSki Race saw Sean Rice scream out of the blocks to take the Think Kayak Hotspot and lead in the early part of the race.
Sean Rice (RSA)
With the Hood River being extremely tidal (running upwind), race strategy was critical with many competitors taking different sides of the river to minimise the amount of current they had to paddle against.
Jasper Mocke made the most of the conditions and took predominantly a middle line over the latter part of the race to score an emphatic victory over Sean Rice and Dawid Mocke in 3rd. Continuing a white wash for the South African's was Kenny Rice in 4th with Austin Kieffer (USA) in 5th place.
Jasper Mocke (RSA) moments from claiming victory in the Men's Surf Ski
Sean Rice on his way to taking 2nd place in the Men's Surf Ski
Austin Kieffer finishing in 5th place and 1st Place American in Men's Surf Ski
One of the fantastic features of the Gorge Downwind Champs this year was the growth of the OC division which saw 70+ OC1's & OC2's battle it out on the gorge.
In the OC Women's it was Lindsey Shank who took the win from Leanne Stanley and Anna Mathisen
In the OC Men's, Jimmy Austin claimed a strong victory over Aaron Napoleon with Brent Campbell in 3rd place.
For the first time this year, The Gorge Downwind Champs included a PaddleBoard division across both SUP and Prone which saw 22 competitors battle it out on the Gorge.
In the SUP Women's, it was Hanna Hill who scored a great win over Alison Fromm and Teresa Rogerson.
Jarkko Simonen held off Jan Boersma and Eric Starnes to take out the 2016 Gorge Downwind Champs SUP Men's title.
At this stage, due to a timing glitch for race organisers, full results are still not available, however stay tuned to event website www.gorgedownwindchamps.com for further details of the results as they come to hand.
Vaikobi would like to thank everyone involved with the 2016 Gorge Downwind Champs and we look forward to returning to an even bigger event next year, action packed with a full week of scorching downwinders!
At Vaikobi, we pride ourselves on the performance and functionality of our gear. We work hard to ensure that every item feels great and keeps your body at the right temperature for maximum performance on the water.
The Vaikobi team never get tired of receiving awesome feedback from paddlers around the world. Here are a few bits of recent feedback & reviews that are too good not to share:
"Just wanted you to know that I went straight out for a paddle wearing the VCOLD Storm pants, top (always cool on the NorCal coast) and the PFD. So stoked! And I’m here to tell you that I’ve never been more comfortable on the water. It’s just the best stuff for ski paddling bar none!"
- Kenny Howell- Epic Kayaks USA & Surfski Coach
Image of Kenny before he received his Vaikobi gear hooking into a nice run near Mavericks, CA!
" Just back from a paddle, The VCold Paddle Pants were awesome and I will be recommending them to all my friends. I have loved wearing the gear, It's light-weight, doesn't take on too much water when wet, easy to paddle in and also has very nice stretchy fabrication."
-Jimmy Walker- Surf Life Saving & Kayak Coach / Ex World Champion Sprint Kayaker & Australian Olympian
"Marie and I are really impressed, great work. We raced in near gale force conditions at the weekend and the VCold gear was amazing"
-Paul Simmons & Marie Buchanan- UKSUP Team, Cornwall, UK
"The VCOLD Paddle Pant are an absolute must in every paddlers kit. I've been using them from day 1 since Vaikobi brought them out and have never looked back.
Not only do they keep me warm in the very cold training months in the NZ winter whilst also allowing breathability during a hard workout which is the essential feature needed, but also right up into summer when its getting warmer but not quite enough to go in shorts I know i'll be warm but never over heat.
The seat pad of the pants are designed by paddlers for paddlers, and you will find the comfort of this unbeatable"
- Sam Mayhew- Auckland, NZL- World Surfski Series Contender
"Australian paddle sports apparel manufacturer Vaikobi has thoughtfully engineered a lightweight, vest style PFD to meet the growing market for performance oriented safety equipment in the stand up paddling community. Their Ocean Racing PFD was designed by paddlers for paddlers. It is intended to provide a high degree of comfort and performance while meeting Australia’s safety standards"
The Vaikobi Ocean racing PFD is truly a lightweight, comfortable, vest style PFD that affords paddlers a complete range of motion – something not commonly associated with stand up paddling in a vest style PFD. While this is unmistakably a vest style PFD, based on SUP Examiner’s experience testing the product, paddlers will quickly forget they are wearing it. In fact, if you are accustomed to wearing a backpack style hydration pack, the Ocean Racing PFD with its integrated compartment for a hydration bladder will be an unmistakable upgrade to your gear."
-Matt Chebatoris- SUPExaminer- California, USA www.supexaminer.com
"The first thing I noticed when taking the Vaikobi out for assessment was---nothing. I noticed absolutely nothing that grabbed my attention---I consider this a good indication that the jacket hit the mark in the low-profile arena. I did not feel any tightness or pinching in any areas requiring high mobility or anywhere else for that matter. In full disclosure, I forgot that my intention was to test and simply carried on with my session. Since this first outing, I have used the Vaikobi exclusively"
- Joseph DiChiacchio- Surfski News- GA, USA www.surfskinews.com
Sean Rice- Mid Channel 2015
The Molokai is known as the toughest ocean ski race in the world and once again the race lived up to it's reputation this year. The 2016 edition saw windless, flat and hot conditions for the 52km crossing from Molokai to Oahu referred to as "Channel of Bones"and delivered plenty of pain and a few casualties along the way.
In the Men's, it was a full South African podium with Hank McGregor emerging as the 2016 Molokai Champion for a third time, proving his absolute dominance of the International long distance paddling world. Vaikobi Race Team's Sean Rice paddled a super race to claim 2nd over Jasper Mocke in 3rd. To give an indication as to how hard and long this race was, the winning time of Hank this year of 3hrs.45 minutes was more than 23 minutes slower than the winning time of Cory Hill in 2015.
Mens Top 5 Molokai (With Horns)- 1st- Hank McGregor (RSA), 2nd- Sean Rice (RSA/Vaikobi), 3rd- Jasper Mocke (RSA), 4th- Clint Robinson (AUS), 5th-Joey Hall (AUS/Vaikobi)
Photo Credit: PaddleLife- Emily Mcgrath
Cory Hill (AUS) Mid Channel- photo credit Dean Gardiner
The hard luck story goes to defending Molokai Champ, Australian Cory Hill who appeared to have a 500M lead at China Wall however had a major issue in the last 2 km's when he hit a rock and seriously damaged his rudder and boat. Tough pill to swallow for sure but to win, one must finish and Cory would have been the first guy to congratulate Hank and use the disappointment as motivation to come back next year.
Cory was not the only person to suffer damage, with South African Veteran Mark Perrow having a bad stack near the finish resulting in a broken ski. The champion however managed to finish the race despite his Fenn Elite having a lot more rocker than it usually has! Pure determination right there....
There were reports of a few paddlers having trouble navigating around the reef near China Wall including legends Oscar Chalupsky & Greg Barton.
Photo Credit: Beata Cseke
In the Women's, Gold Coast's Liz Pluimer produced a massive performance to take the title from last year's champion, Vaikobi's Rachel Clarke from NZ who toiled away in the long hot conditions despite battling a virus over the past week. Tania Moohin (Australia) too 3rd. Congratulations to these champion athletes!
The Podium however is only one part of the Molokai race. Throughout the field were countless examples of people achieving their personal bests. Just finishing this race is a massive achievement.
There was a standout performance from Vaikobi's young charger from the Northern Beaches of Sydney, Joey Hall, who at 20 years old placed 5th overall in an impressive performance that signals his future potential. Under the watchful eye of Tim Jacobs at the NSW Institute of Sport, Joey's constant development has been astounding and makes him one to watch in future editions.
Another youngster on the rise, 21 year old Ryan Paroz in his third Molokai (yes 3 Molokai's at 21!) also produced a fantastic result in 14th place.
There were countless examples of race veterans such as Dane Sloss, Herman Chalupsky, Steve Dalton, Danny Topfer, Greg Barton et al, producing fantastic results at the top of the field.
In the Doubles, Andrew Wheeler from Sydney partnered with Hayden Folbigg to take out the Molokai Doubles titles whilst finishing 7th across the line overall.
Another fantastic development in the Molokai race has been evolution of the Molokai Relay where competitors can take on the race in either a 2 or 3 person relay across Surfski, SUP and OC.
Hawaiian's dominated the relays with the Dolan's- Patrick, Ryan & Tim producing a fantastic performance to take out the OC1 relay whilst Brendon Woods and Zsolt Szadovski emerged as the Surfski 2 person relay champions.
Congratulations to everyone who competed the Molokai 2016.
Rest up your tired bodies and we look forward to seeing you at the next event!
For full race results, visit:
http://live.pseresults.com/e/23#/results
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The Vaikobi range of VCOLD Performance ocean wear has been growing in popularity over the past three years with an increasing number of ocean athletes all discovering the performance benefits of this range when training and racing in cool to cold conditions. But what is VCOLD Performance all about and why it is so good?...Read on... What is VCOLD PERFORMANCE?
The VCOLD PERFORMANCE range is designed to provide optimal thermal regulation and comfort for the paddle athlete. As such, the VCOLD PERFORMANCE products are fitted and should be worn firm, but not tight or restrictive. If the user feels tight or restricted, they need to go one size up. The product however should never be baggy or loose on the body. |
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Where can I try it on? You can find your local Vaikobi Stockists through our Dealer link on www.vaikobi.com |
This weekend sees the start of the 2016 International Racing Season with two huge events being held in both Auckland, NZ and Clearwater, FL, USA.
As usual, Vaikobi will be in the thick of the action with our V-Team competing and lots of Vaikobi prizes and product on offer for competitors.
Here is Vaikobi’s preview of both of these fantastic events:
FLOW KING & QUEEN OF THE HARBOUR
Starting at 10am Saturday NZ Local Time, is the Annual FLOW King & Queen of the Harbour which has grown from strength to strength under the stewardship of NZ Ocean Ski Legend Garth Spencer. This year the King & Queen of the Harbour is Race # 1 of the World Surfski Series (WSS).
Garth knows exactly what paddlers want and has gone all out as usual to ensure a fantastic event for all competitors.
At this stage, the wind forecast is looking like a light Southerly, so the race will begin at Race HQ in Auckland and after a 23km on water battle will finish out on Waiheke Island.
With WSS points on the line, there is a strong International contingent from Australia, Tahiti and South Africa arriving in Auckland, all looking to draw early blood in what is going to be a long season of racing.
Heading up the Vaikobi Race Team in Auckland is local NZ Champion & Molokai Women’s Champ, Rachel Clarke, who is on the comeback trail after a short break following a cancer scare late in 2015. Rachel has been putting in the miles lately and is pumped for a big season.
Rachel will be going bow to bow with reigning World Champ and fellow Kiwi, Teneale Hatton who is in hot form.
In the Men’s, Aussie World Champ Cory Hill & best mate Michael “Boothy” Booth are arriving in Auckland as hot favorites. Boothy is coming off a string of victories across both Ocean Ski and SUP disciplines and is clearly in the groove right now. But never discount the smiling assassin, World & Molokai Champ, Cory Hill who knows when to apply the pressure to squeeze out a victory.
From Sydney, is Ocean Ski legend and professional Life Guard, Mark “Ando” Anderson who can never be discounted and will pushing hard for the King of the Harbour title.
The local Kiwi’s however will be looking to upstage their Trans Tasman rivals and expect to see the likes of Simon Longdill, Andrew Mowlem, Garth Spencer, Jeremy Kuggekeijn, Sam Clarke and Max Riley all pushing at some point of the race at the head of the field.
The hard luck story for this race is NZ Vaikobi Race Team member Sam Mayhew, who has spent the past week in hospital and will miss the race due to illness. Get well soon Sam!
In the 14’ SUP division, expect to see local Kiwi, Felipe Dos Santos push hard against the likes of Adam Fahey from Western Australia and Tahitian Niuhiti Buillard.
All competitors will be in the running for some fantastic Vaikobi prizes at the prize giving. Best of luck to everyone for a great run across the Hauraki Gulf.
Follow the action at https://www.facebook.com/KQOH2015/
THE SHARKBITE PADDLEFEST- CLEARWATER, FL, USA
Now in its 13th year, The Shark Bite Challenge has emerged as one of the largest paddle events in the USA providing racing for all Ocean Paddling disciplines- Ocean Ski, SUP & OC.
The lure of the famous Shark Bite Saturday night awards party and some warm weather racing has attracted a strong field of competitors flocking from all corners of the USA looking for a great weekend of racing.
Vaikobi is proud to be a “Bull Shark” sponsor of the 2016 Sharkbite Challenge and we are looking forward to giving out some fantastic Vaikobi prizes at the Awards Party!
This year also sees a strong International field from South Africa, Canada and Australia with Jasper Mocke & Vaikobi's Sean Rice from South Africa expected to battle for victory in the EPIC Kayaks 8 Mile Race.
Both Sean and Jasper will also be conducting coaching clinics throughout the weekend.
For Sean Rice’s Paddle Life Clinics and one on one coaching sessions (Powered by Think Kayaks, Vaikobi & Motionize) Please visit www.yourpaddlelife.com
For the Epic Kayaks Jasper Mocke Clinics Please visit http://sharkbitechallenge.com/clinics-demos/
Both these guys are fantastic athletes, coaches and people so don’t miss this opportunity to hear their secrets and learn from the best!
However don’t be tricked into thinking these two guys are here to take it easy and coach some clinics. These two are the ultimate competitors who love to race. When the start gun fires on Saturday morning, Jasper and Sean will be locking horns in a “Battle Royale” that will go the full 8 Miles!
Vaikobi will be on hand at The Shark Bite Challenge and will also have a full display of our Performance Products available through Ocean Paddle Company.
We look forward to seeing everyone there!
There are only 10 days left to the 2016 Shark Bite Challenge set to be held in Clearwater, FL and we can't wait to get there!
Vaikobi is stoked to be a "Bull Shark" Sponsor this year and we have ensured that there will be a stack of great Vaikobi prizes on offer across all the racing divisions- Standup, Surfski, Outrigger & Waterman's Challenge!
We will be on hand and racing during the event plus the full Vaikobi range will be available through our good friends at Ocean Paddle Company.
Please stop by and say G'day as we love meeting new paddlers as we continue on our Vaikobi Global Road Show this year!
It is the end of Summer Down Under so it is time to get rid of the discontinued lines to make way for new season stock!
We don't run big sales at Vaikobi very often so here is your chance to grab a bargain on any of our end of line items that are available in your size.
Prices Start at $9.99 with nothing over $50!
The Vaikobi End of Season Sale continues over the Easter Weekend so get in quick before it is gone!
