Subtitled: The Flying Fish Edition

Paddling the oceans is always a privilege, no matter where you are. And paddling down the west coast of Ile Maurice is just inspiring. As hard as I try to drop the cliches and superlatives, I just can’t. This little paradise secret is nothing short of spectacular. But we came here to race and race we did.

The wind finally came up today but out of the North so the route was changed to a 22km downwind from a town called Flic en Flac to our usual destination, Le Morne.

The start went off smoothly, even if the bumps and runs were a bit hard to get onto but soon enough we were chasing down some wind swell. Along the way I encountered some more Indian Ocean sea life, this time in the form of schools (plural) of flying fish gliding across the bow. Definitely a highlight. It was almost “ice-cold sushi for breakfast, boys” they were that close but there was still 15km to go.

The paddle continued under the super warm winter sun. But the runs died off a little along the tighter line I had chosen and the push into the finish across the pass into Le Morne offered some smaller runs into the channel. The welcome sight of the finish line was also accompanied by a heavy heart that this was it for Island Shamaal Mauritius Ocean Classic 2011.

A great week of paddling, an awesome family getaway and all round superb mid-winter escape. If there’s one race you’re looking to do 2012, it’s this one. More or less the same time and definitely the same place. And if you’re not doing any races but busy compiling your bucket list, make sure this is on there somewhere. Preferably near the top.

Quick tips: go for the all-inclusive packages offered by Naiade. Stay 10 days if you can and/or if you got a troop with you. Get your entries in early and oh, train a little bit before hand. It helps.

Some more photos available here

If there’s one thing I’ve come to learn about the folk around here is that nothing seems to be much of mission. Maybe it’s just Tamassa staff and the organising crew for The Island Shamaal, but I am tres impressed by their work ethic. And this is still Africa, on top of being an island in the tropics- yet there’s no such thing as idle. There’s certainly no frantic panic or rushing around, heaven’s forbid, but at the same time, there’s almost nothing that cannot be done, accommodated or achieved. Going to try taking some more of that home with me…

Today was a postcard-typical day on the island. Hot. Windless. B.E.A. Youtiful. A little too hot for this paddler who melted under the sun, but that at least gave me ample opportunity to stop and look into the depths of the blue, blue sea and what do you know: I could see the bottom! Torquoise blue; and this at about 1-2kms other side the outside reef!

The race, like everything else here, was well organised and went off perfectly. A couple folk paddled all the way inside the reef to Le Morne, the rest, in the deep blue, negotiating the reefs going out at Tamassa and in at Le Morne. A couple of war stories and swimmers amongst us, but all in all, safe and sound. When you have close to 100 paddlers stretched over miles across the Indian Ocean, and they all get home in one piece, you’ve had a great race!

And don’t be fooled by all the paddling stories from the Island Shamaal. This place is the quintessential family getaway. Of course, the ocean paddling bit is a major drawcard for some of the more athletic (and I use that term very liberally) dads and moms out there. Not all of us will paddle every day, let alone once a week, but we can paddle and if we get the chance to, we’ll jump on any excuse to spend time in the sun on a downwind. And there’s no place like Mauritius. And if you’re South African, you can proudly come and visit our own piece of tropical paradise here in Africa.

So, pre-race done, and tomorrow’s a rest day (for most) with the main race on Saturday, it’s time to go and explore the island a little with the family. Should have booked 10 days…

Oh and don’t forget, a small sample of photos here and a GPS track of the paddle here

Day 2 in paradise and we’re settling in (too) nicely. The quote to extend our stay until the end of September was a little steep so we’re just going to make the most of our time here. And so, today, we set off to do almost nothing. And it worked; mostly.

There was a repeat downwind paddle to Le Morne just after breakfast which a bunch of guys jumped onto. Some of the more tummy-full opted for the afternoon session and settled into the age old island tradition of not doing much if you can help it at all. Activities included, resting, swimming, eating, resting, lunch, resting- and then one glass-bottom boat trip for the kids (and bigger kids too).

The water really is crystal blue around these parts- superbly crystal and brilliantly blue: no photoshop required. The coral is rich and teeming with fish, urchins, anemones (which is just as hard to spell as it is to say), more fish and of course, coral. Only counted one half brick (artificial coral?).

The pictures below are of the reef break about 1km from the Tamassa shoreline. It’s been breaking like this consistently for 2 days now. And yes, that’s where we paddle out and through down to Le Morne for tomorrow’s warm-up race. There’s not much wind so it looks set to be a hot slugfest but the deep swell is still big so the runs may well still be there.

The afternoon session was either a repeat downwind to Le Morne (for one guy, the second 17km paddle of the day) or a technique and sprint session with Dawid Mocke. I opted for the latter; always keen to pick up a tip, a pointer and learn something new. And yes, by that stage of the afternoon, the “do as little as possible” syndrome was kicking in. But it was good to go over some basics, experiment with stroke and boat setup a little and get back just in time for coffee and pancakes. The espresso is pretty decent.

Kids are out. A tough day of swimming, sun, beach, boating, swimming, sun and more beach topped off with an all-you-can-eat Chinese and Sushi buffet. As the saying goes: “tummy full… ”

More photos from day 2 here