Steve Vegh and Gavin Godfrey taking out the OC2 National
Title
Coffs Harbour was the home in 2011 of the OC-1 and OC-2
Marathon National Championships.
The Coffs Harbour Canoe Club has put plenty of time and
money into the event and invited about 20 international paddlers,
including a string of Hawaiian champions like Kai
Bartlett and Karell Tresnak , as well as 300 of Australia's top
outrigger and ocean kayak paddlers.
The course was set on Saturday morning and involved a 25
kilometre downwind race from Woolgoolga to Coffs Harbour. The
weather was overcast and wet, but enthusiastic competitors threw
everything into the big iron downwind race and they steered
their craft through some treacherous surf at the southern
part of Woolgoolga Beach just to get to the start
line.
Todd Cohan, who has dominated the OC-1 racing season, chalked up
his first National Title, proving too strong for the other paddlers
.
Steve Vegh, from Patterson Lakes Outrigger Club, finished second
in a strong Golden Masters field in the 25 kilometre
Iron race.
On Sunday, in the OC-2 short course 12
kilometre race from Coffs Harbour to Sawtell,
Steve and his much younger team mate, Gavin Godfrey from
NSW.l ead the whole way to finish that 2011 Australian
Champions. Well done Steve!
For full results go to http://aocra.com.au/
For all your OC needs, including the full range of Brasca
paddles and custom-designed outriggers, visit Steve Vegh at Canoe
Innovations, www.canoeinnovations.com.au