Paddle battle

If you want to surf, you have to paddle. Every wave rider usually has to comply with Mother Nature’s educational measures. Red Bull Heli-Surf drilled its participants a little more rigorously. At the world’s first surfboard paddle race, the distance covered in this horizontally-driven prolog was a power-demanding 700 meters.

On a surfboard you feel life the way it should be: wild and intense, full of speed and adrenaline, with the wind in your hair and sun on your skin. Er, when you’re standing on a surfboard, that is – and riding on a magnificent wave towards the coast. Lying flat on a surfboard, however, trying to paddle a reasonable distance from the shore, the thing is onerous and unwieldy, much too voluminous, and impossible to steer.

700 meters against the waves

Which is what it was at Red Bull Heli-Surf, the world’s first paddle race on regular surfboards – that means on boards that weren’t allowed to be larger than what’s available at your local store: 6’6“(195 centimeters). Through light rain and under thick cloud coverage, a dense field of surfers and triathletes paddled their way 700 meters along the Australian coastline into the open sea – and did so in two separately assessed races. One was held at Elouera Beach, Cronulla, and the other at Manly Beach, Sydney.

Via Heli to an insider tip

The four fastest of each round were rewarded for their fight with an unusual surfing experience. By helicopter they were pulled from the water at the goal line via a cable winch to an insider surfing spot – kept under wraps until then: Boomerang Beach on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales. Awaiting them there was big wave legend Ross Clarke-Jones, and a mutual surfing day with perfect wave conditions.

Day of surf with World Champion

Additionally, Mark Simpson, winner of the Cronulla Red Bull Heli-Surf race, and Johnno Stock, victorious at Manly, are lucky enough to enjoy other amenities: Along with the six other prize winners, they’ll be spending a day surfing at the Rip Curl Pro on Bells Beach with ASP World Champion Mick Fanning in March – doing so on brand new boards especially made for them; on which even paddling will probably be enjoyable.