Have you heard of the Reunion Islands? Located in the Indian Ocean between Magacascar and Mauritius, this is an island that you need to put on your surfski paddle list! The race is on the 17 – 19 Novembre 2023. Organised in partnership between the French Canoe Kayak Federation, the local committee and the Western base nautical club. Organiser Hugo Biso, a former canoe World and European champion, and organiser tells surfski life why we need to put this race on our bucket list!
Hi Hugo, can you tell us more about the “Run Ocean Race”
The route takes place on Reunion Island. A French and European Territory steeped in history in the middle of the Indian Ocean between Mauritius and Madagascar.
What is the concept behind the course?
The Ocean Run. is a play on the Réunion Islands and Ocean as our playground.
The are three races to chose from:
The beach race, this is an Australian concept race (one-design boat with 8 paddlers in each wave, the course is 200M in length and the winner is crowned by elimination).
A downwind race, the route is cconfirmed 4 days before the race. We have a large playing field as we can move all are all around the island to offer the best conditions, we will be offering a race from 17KM to 25KM.
The short race, a 3 to 6KM loop close to the club, is a promotional format accessible to all levels and very fun.
And the most important element is the evening festivities!
And if you need to rent a boat we have Carbonology and Fenn boats to choose from for €150 per week.
What is the race route? Is it a downwind
The morphology of Reunion Island is unique, its round shape and the height of the mountains create an acceleration of the wind. This Venturi effect of the trade winds gives downwind conditions all year round with around ten course scenarios to choose from, ranging from 8 to 50 KM. We therefore always have a downwind area for beginners and the youngest.
Can you describe the Reunion Islands?
The BNO Kayak Center offers all the equipment and logistics for paddlers. Reunion Island is super vacation destination. The wealth of the island means that people can enjoy kayaking, hiking, beaches and mountains. The Piton des Neiges at 3000m, the Mafate cirque and the Volcano are sensational natural attractions.
This is Europe where we only know reunions for the sharks, isn’t that true?
Reunion Island has experienced 10 years of shark crisis. This subject is always taken seriously by all those involved in the sea, it has been 5 years since there has been an attack on surfers. In surfskiing being far from the shore we are not directly subjected. We have implemented a safety approach which allows us to avoid encounters in the choice of equipment, motorboats, launching areas, departure procedures and navigation conditions!
What is the surfski community in Reunion?
The Downwind community is growing. Every day we have downwind conditions. In the Reunion Islands we have 1,500 canoe kayak paddlers registered with the FFCK and half of thempaddle in the sea.
Are you interested in paddling? All info is here on the race page!
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