Witterings Charity Paddle Event 2011 Results

Sunday 24th July saw 56 entrants to the Wittering Charity Paddle Event (organized by the Shore Surf Club & 2xs/Xtrain).
Entrants had to paddle against 20 knots of wind from East To West Wittering. The course is just over a mile from East To West Wittering which would normally take (on average) around 20 to 45 mins. However, the windy conditions made it much harder and it took the last competitor just under 2 hours to compete (the fastest time was 24 minutes 39). Even though the conditions were hard, nearly everyone fought on through and there were smiling, happy faces all over the beach at the finish line.

We want to thank everybody who participated in the paddle event and helped to raise money for "Snowdrop".

BUT a very big thank you to those who raised the most :
Shore Pub, Lucy Howell and Matt Rowe.

Here is a letter from Joanne Rule:

Hi There to all of you

A very big THANK YOU once again for the tremendous effort that was put into

Sunday afternoon's event.

I believe the day was a great success and everyone appeared to thoroughly

enjoy themselves.

Snowdrop sends thanks to everyone who helped organise the Race - the hard

work was much appreciated.

Thank you for choosing our charity to benefit from the proceeds.

I collected the monies raised yesterday from Simon and a formal letter of

thanks will be on its way to you very shortly.

Very Best Wishes.

Joanne Rule

Office Manager

The Sussex Snowdrop Trust

Providing Care at Home for children with

life-threatening and terminal illnesses.

Tel : 01243 572433

email : sussexsnowdrop@btconnect.com

website : www.thesussexsnowdroptrust.com

Here is an account of the day:

"What a fantastic event! It wasn’t looking too hopeful at the start – as the paddlers gathered at the end of Shore Road, the wind was gusting 20 knots Westerly and it was choppy. Those of us who had paddled down from the West as a warm up knew that going the other way, heading into the wind, was going to be really tough, and there was some discussion amongst the organisers as to whether the event would run. But the wind eased a tiny bit over the waiting period, and we were off.

It was amazing to see so many water disciplines together, each having their own battles within their group. For me, as a SUP surfer, it was also great to see the expansion in number of SUPs over the last year, and a couple of the UK’s top SUP racers turned up like Charlie Grey (sponsored rider, one of the UK’s top racers, 1st in Amateur Sprint Jever World Cup, Hamburg, 2010). And then of course there was Matt Argyle & Simon Basset of 2xs/X-Train, who had blitzed the SUP division last year. So it looked like the battle was on for the Shore Club amateur SUPers.In other divisions too, there was a mix of semi-pro or dedicated amateur and the purely recreational, all taking part on equal footing.

This is one of the many ways in which this event is so special.

The actual race was TOUGH! I was wearing a GPS monitor and it showed, in the chop and into the strong headwind, that I was averaging about half the speed you would expect with flat windless conditions. There were minor spills and incidents all along the way (btw sorry to the prone paddler who wiped out in front of me, and I struck with my paddle whilst trying to avoid him – he was a real gent about it). But there was huge camaraderie too. I remember Adriano taking the time amongst all the race mayhem to cheer people on (including me), even whiledoing very well himself in his division. And there was the kindness of a kayaker towards the end taking the time to point out the race finish buoy to the SUPers. The spectators at the finish line really made it too, patiently waiting, and cheering encouragingly as the often beaten and bedraggled paddlers made it to shore.

For those of us who paddle often and are experienced, and were doing it in crafts that are designed to travel distances this year’s race was quite enough of a challenge. So it is mind-boggling to me that so many from these disciplines who don’t paddle often, or were paddling e.g. surfboards managed to put in very respectable times under the circumstances.Amazing perseverance from Roger Wilson to finish the race, well done Roger! But the story of this year is all about the Ladies Surf Prones, Mary & Mimi Roterman, beating the men surf prone ! Also well done to Graham for a solid result on he's Velzy Prone Paddleboard!

Fortunately, the water safety crew were excellent, and kept a very watchful eye on us all.

A further memory of the day was the huge range of ages who took part. The youngsters had an experience they will never forget, and some of the oldest were, err...how shall I put it?...well, the phrase “carbon dating” comes to mind… Yet in many (indeed, perhaps most) cases, the more experienced showed many of their juniors how it should be done.

The day ended with an excellent BBQ on the beach, and Graham, Adriano and Simon’s entertaining awards presentation: not only did the top three in each category get a medal, there were also goodies and t-shirts galore, and then there was a chance to swap war stories. Then some of the “more experienced” Shore Club members retired to the Shore Pub to, ahem, replace the expended calories. A great event, for a worthy cause, and we are already looking forward to next year." Dr Paul Burgess (SUP'er & Shore surf club member)

Here are the Results and Times:

Prone Surfboard Men:

1. Henry Churchill 43:14
2. Adriano Roldan 54:00
3. Gary McGuiness 1:10:46
4. Antony Defrates 1:18:28
5. Matt Rowe 1:18:55
6. Paddy Hancock 1:24:20

Prone Surfboard Ladies:

1. Mimi Roterman 42:44 (fastest Surfboard time)
2. Mary Roterman 44:40
3. Frith Roche 1:01:57

SUP Men:

1. Charly Grey 30:30 (race board)
   
2. Matt Argyle 34:15 (race board)
3. Paul Burgess 34:48 (race board)
4. Emile Knots 36:15
5. Simon Bassett 36:47 (race board)
6. Michael Roterman 37:40
7. Ken Harmer 41:16
8. Will Barnet 46:10
9. Chris Dixon 46:24
10. Stuart Douser 50:02

SUP Ladies:

1. Julia Toms 49:50
2. Sharon Taplin 59:24
3. Lesley Wilson 1:04:55
4. Lamia Belyamna 1:13:30

SUP Junior:

1. Alex McKirgan 43:12
2. Lucy Howell 49:30

Kayak:

1. Toby Watts 24:39
2. John Watts 24:40
3. Oliver Chipperfield 30:50
4. Keith/Emma/Milly 33:20
5. Paul Barnet 38:26
6. Whittaker 40:20
7. Frank McKirgan 49:49
8. Harry Medd 54:52
9. C. Fraoley 1:02:13
10. L. Shape 1:10:49
11. P.Patterson 1:11:44

Kayak Junior:

1. Georgia McKirgan 49:20
2. Joseph Watts 49:22
3. Myles Piper 52:20
4. B. Medd 1:9:10

Prone Paddleboards:

1. James Randall (31:10)
2. Graham Taplin (38:44)
   
3. Roger Wilson (1:24:40)
   

Check out the event photos on our gallery:

https://picasaweb.google.com/shoresurfcub/CharityPaddle2011