By Stuart Howells, our new contributor in the UK – in partnership with Curve Board Sports, RRD UK and ION.
Ollie Shilston (Starboard) dominates the ‘Battle of the Thames’ to claim victory in the 14ft class whilst unknown newcomer Alex Mullaney emerges victorious in the 12’6” class as the first UK SUP event of 2016 got underway in the UK. In the female division Team GB athlete Marie Buchanan (Starboard) looked odds on favourite to take the 12’6” class win but for a lapse in concentration missed the turning for lap two which gave Ginnie Odetayo the victory alongside Christine Anderson who won the 14ft class
In its sixth year the ‘BOTT’ organised by the guys at Blue Chip SUP (www.windsurfer.co.uk) has become one of biggest events on the UK scene, the Aussie legend and Big Wave paddler Jamie Mitchell has even done this event winning a few years back in 2013.
This year it was Team GB paddler Ollie Shilston, from Carbis Bay in Cornwall, who really found fifth gear in the 14ft class. In a pretty stacked line-up of British heavyweights including Pete Holliday, Ryan James (Mistral) and Andy Joyce (Fanatic) amongst others, everybody wanted to start the season with a bang and put a marker down for the season. Nobody did that better than Ollie, who lead by example and catapulted off the start line and never looked back to take the win and cross the finish line with a time of 1h40mins43secs. “There was a bit of chop as we went up river and I managed to get a little break, kept my head down and worked hard to make the gap bigger and managed to hang on to it” Ollie who stepped up from his usual 12’6” class in preparation for the 14ft Euro Tour ‘Lost Mills’ Event in a few weeks’ time.
The rest of the field were left to fight for second place and it came down to an error by Ryan James (Mistral) who missed the turning for the start of lap two which left the door open for Pete Holliday to take second on the podium. Sonny Zoltan Erdelyi finished in third as Ryan couldn’t make up for his mistake and finished seventh.
In the 12’6” class all eyes were on teenage sensation Peter Kosinski (Starboard) who had just stepped off a plane 12 hours before the race, after competing in the OluKai Ho’olaule’a on Maui. The Irish teenager had his paddle snapped on the flight from Hawaii and was on borrowed kit but stormed out of the blocks to take an early lead. Pete set the pace high and it was Glen Eldridge and Alex Mullaney who worked together to claw back the gap over the second half of lap one and turn it into a three horse race for first place. Cunningness and tactics then came into play as the top three jostled over the second half of the grueling 10 mile course and like a delicate game of chess the three made move and counter-move. Over the last mile it was Alex who out smarted the other two to finish with a time of 1hour50mins10seconds in first with Pete clinching second 9 seconds ahead of Glen in third. “Im really pleased I haven’t been paddling very long. I started with St Ives Bay Sup club last summer training with Glen (Eldridge) and got the bug from there. I think I need to work on my starts Pete’s so quick…I was just hanging on at the end.”
Marie Buchanan in the women’s division shared the same fate as Ryan James, missing the mark at the start of Lap 2 giving away her considerable lead to Ginnie Odetayo “Unfortunately I was too much in the zone and missed the mark for the last turn. I went a good distance past the mark and had some clawing back to do. I managed to catch Tarryn but couldn’t catch Ginnie”
Ginnie was able to remain strong and focused as she went tore through the miles and went under the inflatable arch that towers across the finish line in first place.
In 27c degree sunshine and stunning conditions (for the spectators…conditions were more familiar to a typical British holiday destination in Europe than our usual cold, wet training conditions) Kingston Sailing Club provided a beautiful location on the banks of the river Thames in South West London for over 140 paddlers to compete both competitively and recreationally. With the second race of the UK Sup season just a few weeks away this energy sapping hot, sticky, sweaty ‘BOTT’ was a great leveler and certainly has made a great start to the UK Season.
Check out the post-race interviews with winners Ollie Shilston & Alex Mullaney and make sure to stay tuned to Total Sup for all things racing in the UK
And if you’re interested as for my race I entered the 12’6” class and was up in the mix for the top 5 for all of 30 meters……before falling in! Having to dig deep and try and regain my focus I eventually crossed the line in 11th place. With a lot learnt ahead of the next one I will be practicing my race starts and let’s see where that gets me…… Big thanks to RRD UK, Curve Board Sports & ION for their great support!
Photo credit: Dave White Photography
Today, we delve into Jamie Harman‘s remarkable experience of the 2023 Great Glen Challenge, Scotland’s grueling 90K – two-day paddle race across some of the most notorious Scottish Lochs. From his roots in water sports to his role as UK Sales Manager at Red Paddle Co, Jamie’s passion for adventure shines through. Seeking to break […]
As an industrial engineer with a passionate love for the ocean, Mark Travers the current owner of Honu paddle boards believes that the lifestyle of stand up paddling creates something magical that everyone should be able to experience. Every product is designed from the ground up, carefully considering every detail, component and construction method. Each […]
The long anticipated wait for Starboard’s 2024 new race SUP line up is finally over! We welcome back Starboard’s SUP Brand Manager Ollie O’Reilly to reveal the new and improved race board models – the beloved All Star and Sprint boards. The Tiki brand continues to thrive going into the 2024 season especially with these […]
Meet Cassie Salter, the visionary organizer behind Nottingham’s groundbreaking SUP event, Race to the Castle. With registrations soaring to over 200 participants within a few weeks, this inaugural event promises to be the largest of its kind in the UK. Set against the backdrop of the scenic River Trent, paddlers will embark on a 40km […]
Presenting the formidable lineup of the Starboard Dream Team for the 2024 SUP season, where champions collide and new talents emerge. Anchored by seasoned SUP Race and SUP Surf World Champions Esperanza Barreras, Fiona Wylde, Connor Baxter, Michael Booth, Noic Garioud, Benoit Carpentier, and Zane Schweitzer this powerhouse ensemble promises thrilling competition and unparalleled skill […]
Using a GPS device to track our Stand Up Paddling activity is second nature for many paddlers and there are many different ways to do this. One of the most popular and well-regarded apps for SUP, and many other water sports is Paddle Logger. This app was designed from the ground up for paddlers and […]
Paddle Logger is an award winning GPS tracking app for your iPhone or Apple watch that helps you keep track of all of your paddling activities. The app is free to use with a subscription option for Pro features and has been designed to help you get the most from your time on the water. […]
At the ICF world championships in Gdynia SUP race fans might have noticed an unfamiliar name at the sharp end of the Elite men’s field, Blue Ewer. If you had also followed the European Championships in Denmark then it would be less of a surprise to see the young man from Team England pushing more […]
That’s a wrap on Stop#2 of the APP SUP Racing World Tour and the London SUP Open 2022 did not fail to deliver a spectacular weekend of racing! Clément Colmas and Esperanza Barreras become distance champions on their APP World Tour debut, Rai Taguchi turns it on for the Young Guns and Connor Baxter and […]
Use of cookies
This website uses cookies in order to make it easier to use and to support the provision of relevant information and functionality to you.
Necessary Cookies
Necessary cookies enable core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility. You may disable these by changing your browser settings, but this may affect how the website functions.
3rd Party Cookies
We use a set of third party tools to provide information on how our users engage with our website so that we can improve the experience of the website for our users. For example, we collect information about which of our pages are most frequently visited, and by which types of users. Keeping this cookie enabled helps us to improve our website.
Please enable Strictly Necessary Cookies first so that we can save your preferences!