ORGANISERS of this weekend’s Ascot Park Mouth to Mouth Outrigger Regatta will wait until Friday to confirm the course for the 40km ocean challenge.
More than 150 paddlers from throughout NSW and Queensland are set to descend on the Hastings for the event, being hosted by the Port Macquarie Maroro Outrigger Club this Saturday.
The race will take competitors on a gruelling course between the Camden Haven River mouth at Pilot Beach and the Hastings River entrance at Port Macquarie.
But race director Mick Wilson said a final decision on the direction for the race would not be made until closer to the weekend.
“The direction of the course is entirely dependent on the best and safest conditions for paddlers, which takes into consideration factors like tide, swell and wind direction,” Wilson said.
“Paddlers will race one way and by Friday we should be in a position to make a call on whether they start from Pilot Beach at Dunbogan or in the Hastings River mouth at Port Macquarie.”
Wilson said this year’s event had attracted a wider variety of entries, with the fleet of larger canoes set to be joined by at least half a dozen single OC1 craft and ocean racing skis.
“The natural features of our coastline mean we can offer paddlers a great racing experience and this has been reflected in the strong response we’ve had from the visiting clubs,” Wilson said.
“Last time we ran this event, the first two crews across the line were separated by less than a minute at the end of 40km, and we are expecting another highly competitive race.”
Wilson said the regatta would follow a changes format, whereby each team had a six-person canoe and a group of up to four reserve paddlers who follow in a support boat and change in and out of the moving canoe at regular intervals during the race.
“Tactics play a major part in the race, with teams having to decide when and how often they introduce their rested paddlers into the crew,” he said.
“Changes racing also demands extra skills associated with getting in and out of the canoe without losing too much speed, making it one of the most popular formats in the sport.”
The race is expected to start at 11am on Saturday.
