UK rider PJ Simmons just made a winning return to the endurance racing scene at the SUP Twelve event at Broadsands in Torbay, England. The event features constant laps over twelve hours from 7am to 7pm, with a mandatory beach transition each lap where athletes are permitted to fuel themselves and rest. Expedition paddler Brendon Prince (of “The Long Paddle” fame) is the brainchild behind the event and for this second edition entries more than doubled compared to last year. The event supports his worthy charity Above Water, helping prevent drowning by educating youngsters about water safety.
PAUL SIMMONS:
“I learnt a lot from Bruce Smith’s winning performance last year where his transitions were consistently faster than mine, so I made it an objective to not linger onshore for much more than a minute (slightly more when eating). The “hamster” proved a successful technique, where I crammed as much food in my cheeks as possible in the pit area, enabling consumption on the run through the transition.
Each lap involved a downwind run out to the left of Broadsands to the first buoy, then crosswind across the bay parallel to the beach to the second, finishing with semi-sheltered paddling close to the rocks and a short upwind leg in to the beach. Transitions comprised of a beach run, up a few steps and along the pit area, then back down onto the beach running to the board, which the hard-working “board butlers” kindly repositioned ready to launch into the next lap. Through afternoon the running part became more challenging, lengthening as the tide dropped, but relief came on the later laps as it came in again, reducing the beach.
With so many laps and nearly 80 paddlers, we were crossing paths frequently on the course, providing many opportunities to give and receive encouragement. It was great to watch a lot of paddlers battling the conditions who clearly aren’t elite racers, making it all the more impressive that they were churning out lap after lap, often without resting much in between.
The lightness of my featherweight Prepreg Carbon Lima L paddle was a godsend, making every stroke effortless, even deep into the 12-hour event. The 14’0” x 23” All Star fared perfectly in the small chop, flying downwind and riding over the cross-bumps. Starboard offer three race models these days and in the small chop I could have been competitive on All Star, Sprint or Gen-R. On reflection I’m sure the 14’0” x 23” All Star was best for the conditions on the day.
My preparation involved more running than paddling, with legwork a huge part of SUP Twelve balancing on a narrow board in side chop, plus the added exertion of the beach runs. While they were tiring on the last few laps in particular, for most of the way I felt capable of running through the transitions, helping keep me in the lead. The same goes for running beach starts, although I caught the fin on one launch, crashing hard, almost face-planting into the board. Entertaining for the crowd, if not myself!
Timing by an electronic chip system gave interesting and accurate splits for both water laps and beach transitions but GPS data from paddler watches showed the lap distance was shorter than the stated 3.5km. Each lap was around 2.8km so total distances on the website overstate the distances achieved; only a minor gripe with an otherwise superb event. Thanks again to everyone who made SUP Twelve an astounding success: Lucy for amazing support, Brendon, all his event crew, the many supporters plus the media team SUPJunkie and SUPFM covering the whole day with their usual passion for SUP. Kudos to the paddlers too: inspirational to see so many confronting the gruelling marathon with such determination. Hopefully, we’ll return next year with lighter winds giving us the chance to crack the 100km barrier!”
