THE WHALE COAST PADDLE MARATHON
Saturday 28th November 2020
entrY open
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NOTE:
DUE TO COVID RESTRICTIONS ONLY SINGLE CLASSES CAN PARTICIPATE. SEE FILE BELOW FOR ALL COVID CONTROL MEASURES. 
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Welcome to the 2nd Whale Coast Marathon. The first was in November 1983 when 40 paddlers from throughout Victoria charged from Port Fairy to Warrnambool with a lovely 20knot south wester behind them.
First place for males back then went to Peter Rowarth. Unfortunately that was the era when surfski paddling was deemed too tough for females. That would come later. This area down on Victoria's south west coast has predominately SW winds at this time of year. Downwind here we come. |
Course –
The race is scheduled to commence from East Beach, Port Fairy. The exact location will be decided prior to the event based on wind and surf conditions. The most protected part of the beach will be selected to enable a safe departure of craft.
Start time is 10.30 am for proneboards, 10.50am for SUPs and 11.15am for the rest of the field. The seas at Port Fairy are not prone to large tidal flows and the selected course avoids breaking waves and bomboras.
Paddlers will progress along the coastline to Warrnambool, passing to the right of a buoy located offshore at and well clear of the reef near middle island. They will then enter Lady Bay and proceed to the finish in the vicinity of Warrnambool Surf Life Saving Club. The finish line may be moved further south west if the swell is deemed hazardous.
In the event of adverse winds, the course may be reversed or the venue changed as per the hazard management strategy
The race is scheduled to commence from East Beach, Port Fairy. The exact location will be decided prior to the event based on wind and surf conditions. The most protected part of the beach will be selected to enable a safe departure of craft.
Start time is 10.30 am for proneboards, 10.50am for SUPs and 11.15am for the rest of the field. The seas at Port Fairy are not prone to large tidal flows and the selected course avoids breaking waves and bomboras.
Paddlers will progress along the coastline to Warrnambool, passing to the right of a buoy located offshore at and well clear of the reef near middle island. They will then enter Lady Bay and proceed to the finish in the vicinity of Warrnambool Surf Life Saving Club. The finish line may be moved further south west if the swell is deemed hazardous.
In the event of adverse winds, the course may be reversed or the venue changed as per the hazard management strategy
Please note this part of the safety plan.
The intention is to have downwind conditions for the race. This means a south west wind or similar. If conditions are unfavourable for the Saturday, one of the following changes will take place.
1. If east or north-east winds are predicted, the race will be run in reverse.
2. If strong off-shore winds are predicted (north to north-west), the race will be delayed a day and conducted on the Sunday. This will occur if more favourable conditions are predicted.
3. If both days are predicted to be strong off-shore, the race will be contained in the Hopkins River, Warrnambool. For safety reasons, the race will not proceed in the ocean if the predicted winds are more than 20 knots off-shore.
The intention is to have downwind conditions for the race. This means a south west wind or similar. If conditions are unfavourable for the Saturday, one of the following changes will take place.
1. If east or north-east winds are predicted, the race will be run in reverse.
2. If strong off-shore winds are predicted (north to north-west), the race will be delayed a day and conducted on the Sunday. This will occur if more favourable conditions are predicted.
3. If both days are predicted to be strong off-shore, the race will be contained in the Hopkins River, Warrnambool. For safety reasons, the race will not proceed in the ocean if the predicted winds are more than 20 knots off-shore.
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It is a great pleasure to have the Warrnambool Coast Guard on board for the rebirth of this race. As part of this partnership, we will be using SafeTrx to track the location of every competitor. More information will be issued with the race instructions to be sent out Thursday.
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