Central Coast Ocean Ski World Champion, Jemma Smith, will be one of the competitors when ocean ski racing returns to the Barrington Coast this weekend, April 22-23.
Shaw and Partners Forster Race Weekend will feature two big paddling races – the Nine Mile and the Forster Ocean Classic – and a bumper field headed by Australia’s paddling elite.
In its third year, Forster’s two-day paddle fest will see more than 200 competitors converge on the Barrington Coast for round two of the national Shaw and Partners Australian Ocean Racing Series.
While some will be Olympians and the leading names of the kayaking and surf lifesaving ranks, ironmen of the past and even master chefs, most of the field will be men and women aged from 15 through to 70-plus with a few things in common – a love of paddling, of training hard and the thrill of competition.
They’ll race on ocean skis, paddleboards, canoes and stand-up paddleboards to tackle the seas off Forster in two challenging battles, all vying for their slice of the sizeable $25 000 prize pool.
Racing on the Barrington Coast kicks off Saturday, April 22, at about 1pm, with the field facing the Nine Mile, a 13km course from Black Head to Forster Beach.
The competitors back up on Sunday for the big one in the open ocean – the 20km enduro, the Forster Ocean Classic.
With a planned start time of 1pm, the field will leave from Elizabeth Beach to confront the challenges of the open ocean in a 12km journey north up the coast to round Cape Hawke, before entering calmer waters for the final 8km paddle to the Forster Beach finish line.
Smith took out last year’s Ocean Classic and has since made her name on the world stage, winning the 2022 ICF Ocean Ski Racing World Championship in Portugal last September and backing it up with a series of victories at WA Race Week last November against a world-class field.
“I’m super happy to be returning to the Barrington Coast,” she said.
“It’s such a beautiful part of the Australian coastline and I have some special memories there from childhood holidays in the region.
“Last year’s Ocean Classic victory laid the foundation for a great year for me.
“The world title win in Portugal was obviously the highlight of my paddling career.
“I’ve had a good start for the year – a second place in the Open Ski at Nationals and at the Australian Kayaking Champs I took second in the K1 1000m, so I’m hyped for Forster and ready to race hard.”
Terry Collins