The start...
Round the last corner - leading SUP...
(nb: this is order at the turn before entering the marina .. not sure of the official finish order just yet...)
2nd SUP...
3rd & 4th...
aaah... finished!
...
Post race discussion!
Thanks Laurie.. Looks like it's a 14' Starboard Surfrace that won.. Followed by a 12'6" Fanatic and then 17' Glide... Correct?
DJ
Thanks for the photos Laurie...great work!!
Great fun arvo and congrats Ian on your awesome 12'6 Coreban prize!!
Well done to Bart and all the Mandurah crew on a great event. 
Why not make it a contact sport, I'm all for it and I bet that guy sitting on the rocks having a laugh at us would agree. I think there were a few near incidents yesterday when ski's wanted to make it a contact sport with sups.
haha .. I heard it was captured on GoPro, so wondering if there will be footage? 
It was a fantastic event .. although SUP's represented on around 15 of the 150 paddle craft that entered, hats off to Colin for creating this event.
The interest was fantastic .. people all down the coast watching these guys going for it.
Incredible fitness - total respect .. the fella who finished first overall (in a kayak) was still powering like he had just started, with every stroke surging the boat forward under power.
Don't know where this guy below finished, but I'd guess if he moved to the SUP division, some folks may go down one finish position! 
Here's one of the OC-6's (outrigger cannoe - 6 man) with organiser Col in the back steering... there were four of the huge boats powering along..
Great pics Laurie.
That was my first duel and its a great event.
Well done to Ian for winning the Coreban 12'6". He's only just started sup so a worthy winner.
There are some strong paddlers coming through. One guy has only been paddling for a few weeks I think, he's a kick boxer from Scarborough and he'll be one to watch out for in the future.
Great shot of the oc6, they are a blast out in the ocean and heaps of fun picking up runs in something that size
Thanks Barts for putting on a great event.
And some more...
All the OC-6's in flight...
The start of the race through the heads...
Will it be a sea of SUP's next year?
The lead boat... 0:57 in front of nearest rival...
All finished...
yep got the collision, only just can see the noseof the ski, i'll post when i get a chance to edit out a few good runners, from the mostly falling off for an hour and 45.
Hi Laurie and thanks for posting the awesome photos, a man of many talents! Can I grab a copy of them and share them around?
All of us are a bit blown away by the support we got for the event, the final number was 246 competitors on the water which we think now make The Duel the second largest ocean paddling event in OZ after The Doctor, so thanks again everyone for the support.
The Line Honours winner was Greg Long on an OC1 (single outrigger) who is not too bad on a SUP either and gives Travis Grant a run for his money. Having 7 OC6 outriggers charging downwind was also an awesome sight.
The big dude in your photo you think should take up SUP is Adam Fahey, one of our members and the Think Kayak dealer for WA. I don't know whether to show him the photo because we're always giving him stick about taking his shirt off in public ;-)
Without the support of sponsor like Laurie and Adam McPhail of Coreban events like this would never happen. Here is a letter from Adam wrapping up the event from the SUP point of view.
Cheers Col
Hi Guys,
the Mandurah Duel was held yesterday in fair to reasonable conditions (12-18kts and 1.2m swell).
In short it was a great success.
The ocean course is an absolute true down wind run for 13 of the 14 k's. It is the last K (800m) up the to the line that is ever so slightly up wind and a test of fitness after a nice straight blast.
The estuary course is flat and fast - as long as you get the tides right!! 14 k's of fun either way.
The race numbers totalled around 250 of all paddlers across Ski, SUP and OC. The coastal run made for great viewing over the entire distance.
The "Duel" is now a stage of the World Down Wind Championships (ocean ski racing) drawing profile and attention to the event and it is a great lead in to the longer ocean race next weekend ("The Doctor" - SUP sponsorship by StarBoard).
The event was organised and managed in the typical seamless and professional fashion of Col Bartley and his Team at the Mandurah Ocean Club and an absolute credit to them.
This is only the second year for the event and it will continue to grow stronger every year. The local Council and business community are totally supportive and the finishing venue has great visibility and profile for the sport being in the middle of the Cafe strip in the heart of Mandurah.
The "Doctor" (21 Jan) is the big ticket item on the WA race calendar, but because of its length and open water nature, the average paddler is put off, so I can see the Duel becoming the "Peoples Choice" race for WA and future participation being high.
SUP racing in WA is in its infancy and we are keen to support the growth of the sport (and the industry) in all aspects - this being one with some big potential.
The 14 K race is not too daunting for the average paddler but even so the field was small this year.
With participation being the goal our major prize was given to be a random draw giving everyone a chance (credit to Col for this initiative).
It was great that the winner was dead last in the race and still walked away with the goods. Congratulations Ian.
Thanks to Jason and Sonya of WestOz Board Sports we had a display trailer with some of their stock to show and tell
The interest was good so I hope you all get some calls in the next weeks.
Also thanks to Guy for partnering in the sponsorship cost with us .
The "Doctor" is next week and a lot of the paddling crew are really glad they did the "Duel" and the current forecast does not look great - 28 k's of 10 kts from the open west.
Coreban and put its stamp on the "Duel" from the SUP perspective and with the interest generated from yesterday I think next year will be massive.
The word has spread that this is not only a great event, but the structure of the race means that it is completely 'doable' for everyone and there are prizes in reach for all.
I will send through some photos and more details on the race as soon as I have them
If anyone has any good GoPro SUP footage I'd like to get a copy please, I'm going to be putting together a promo video of the event to share online.
Drop me an email colin@bluedge.com.au
Cheers
Col
Barts dropped around my place & just grabbed hires photos of above & others... if anybody else needs hi-res of above, please do send me a PM.. happy to supply..
Thanks to everyone who took part and enjoyed the Duel, it was a great day and I hope you are enjoying the board Ian. I am sure we will look back one day and shake our heads at the pioneers of SUP racing in WA and how they got it going. It is a great vibe to be part of it and with the likes of Mike and Darren pushing the northern suburbs we are happy to try to do our bit down this way.
On the 18th of March the Mandurah Ocean Club is holding its next event.
This will be a flat water comp off the Rockingham Beachfront while the Blues festival rocks on in the background.
The current plan is to hold some M leg SUP races for 3 laps with a beach run in between.
looking to have an open class - >12'6", a 12'6" class and a surf (anything less than 12'6") class. The number of races will depend on how much interest we get on the event. We will also run a kids race for under 12's.
If the conditions suit and there is enough interest we will hold a 'distance race', maybe 8-10k's - but it will all be flat.
There is no brand, shop or other intent or affiliation with any of this, just trying to get some interest going. The Outriggers and Ski's will be holding some major races as well so there will be a lot going on. With the Blues festival as well is should be a good day out.
If anyone has any ideas or experience in running this sort of race - let me know. I'd appreciate any advice as this will be a first.
thanks to all again,
Hi, Thanks to Col for organizing the event and very big thanks to Adam for the new Coreban board! I do appreciate that I am a very lucky bugger! I am really enjoying the sport and look forward to improving (great help and support so far from everyone, thanks). Good luck to all the guys and girls for this weekend ;). Cheers, Ian.
