It was just a Friday arvo twilight social race but the excitement and anticipation was prevalent none-the-less. I'd left work early to rush home and get my board and brand new Quick Blade Race Elite paddle on the way to the beach. I'd only cut and glued the handle the day before and was very keen to see how this much hyped paddle performed under some good race and downwind conditions. After an eventful beginning the new Quick Blade came through with the goods.
One word: Power.
Time for a quick warm up and equipment test before the race. I jump on my board, sink the new blade into the briny and give it a mighty pull - nice. Smooth, solid and powerful.
Let's go again. Reach, dip, pull ... crack. What? Crack? I suddenly had visions of that guy in the Quick Blade ad where he is jacking the back of his troop carrier up with a paddle in order to change his flat tyre. The ad says something about the strongest paddle in the world? I'm only 84kgs, my name's Casso not Danny Sheard!
I glance over the paddle. All looks intact with no signs of any damage let alone breakage. Hmmmm. I paddle on. Swap hands. Another crack. I paddle on. Then the blade starts doing some weird stuff - whoosh, it whips out to the side as I'm pulling back. Then it cuts through the water with no resistance - nearly toppling me arse over tit. Then it ricochets back the other way slamming into the rail of my new board - ahhhh. Yeah, this paddle is great - I love it!
Then it dawns on me - the handle and blade are not aligned so it's not travelling through the water correctly. It's trying to find its own path of least resistance through the water when I wanted it to (and was expecting it to) take the path of most resistance. I'm sure I glued the handle on straight. I check it out. Yep, a loose handle, wobbling all over the shop inside the shaft.
The cracks I was hearing must have been the Super Clear Araldite failing under the pressure of the Casso power stroke. I decided to use the Super Clear stuff this time to avoid that yellowy residual gunk you get from the 5 Minute Araldite. I didn't want to mess up the look of this beautiful piece of art. I remember DJ saying something about 5 Minute Araldite staying slightly flexible as opposed to this Super Clear stuff which obviously is very brittle. The minute movements in the components of a paddle need a little absorption - else failure will occur. Lesson learned - do what DJ does.
What now? I only bought one paddle with me to the beach today - I never do that (Dan usually forgets his - so it is good to have a spare). I glance at my watch - it is 5:36pm. The race is scheduled to start at 5:30pm - oh crap. I do a few more paddles to see if I can hang onto the handle really tight and keep the blade travelling correctly. Nup, no deal. It's all over the shop. It's got a mind of its own. I look like a first timer - no speed and over balancing with each stroke. That won't do. I return to shore and race up the beach. Everyone is already out in the water so there is nobody to ask for a loaner. I run to my car - why is there always an un-overtakable old digger walking up the steps after his afternoon laps in the pool when you are in a mad hurry? Ah-ha - some old duct tape in the boot of my car. That'll do. Round and round - gotta be strong. Teeth scissors to finish. I run back down the beach literally seconds before the race starts.
It's on. I'm away. An unfortunate position on the start line due to my delayed arrival means I have play catch up for the first leg. I get to Diamond Dave, the leader of the SUPs at the first buoy, I take it tight and sneak in front as we go around. Yes. This is it, it could be my day today.
The paddle feels awesome - so much power and beautifully smooth through the water. It is so light which makes it effortless to move around between strokes and when swapping hands. The EVA covered handle is a pleasure to hold and its ergonomic design fits beautifully into your palm. At 8.7 inches wide and 100 square inches in area, this medium sized Quick Blade is still nimble enough to put in those high cadence strokes which are needed in short distance sprints like this first leg.
After rounding that first buoy in the lead with one twelfth of the race behind me I was feeling ... well crap actually. Man, I am unfit. Those sprints to the car, the panicked start, the frantic catch up race to the first buoy - I was wasted. The second leg was spent watching Diamond Dave casually cruise up alongside, overtake then disappear off towards the horizon as I was left gasping for breath and considering a better training regime.
The last bit of the second leg was into a solid headwind. This is where I find a shorter paddle generally has better performance as it allows you to get down lower and keep out of the wind a bit. I'd cut the Race Elite at 82" - that's 11" overhead for me. My next longest paddle is only 8" overhead. When I was measuring it, I had Lacey in my head telling me how much he likes a longer paddle for racing and that I needed more forward reach in my stroke. So I went with Lacey - and now I was suffering. It was a little tricky getting that long shaft up and over the mini-mountains of chop and I ended up smacking the tops off a couple on the way to the next buoy.
Water was splashing everywhere. My now wet hands had an odd effect on the Race Elite's shaft. It suddenly became extremely slippery - but only in the upwards direction. Trying to slide my hand down the shaft still had a really solid, locked in feel but dragging a wet hand up the shaft was really easy. This is actually really cool, maybe Jim Terrell has designed it like this, it allows for a sturdy grip as you are pulling down during the stroke yet an easy slide up to change hands during a transition. With a wet hand, it feels just like shark skin - smooth and slippery one way, rough and grippy the other. Only the super light shaft of the Race Elite has this construction and therefore this feature/effect - but it's a beauty.
Round the second buoy and Dave is miles ahead - his decades of elite ski paddling have paid off and are too much for me. I resign myself to the race for second. This third leg is a nice downwinder and it is great to finally get a bit of a breather as I start to connect a couple of runners. With wind, swell and chop all going in the same direction it is a truly pleasant run back to the beach. The extra length of my new Quick Blade feels fantastic - I can keep my body nice and upright to catch the maximum sail area yet still dig deep to hop onto the runners - thanks Lacey. Crossing the bombie, the 8.7 inches of blade width helps me latch onto a great little wave which gives me 50 metres of R and R.
I decide to head over to the right hander, running along the rock ledge near the shore - it's one of my favourite surf breaks and even though it is a bit off course I'm sure it can help me out with a free run to the inside buoy. As I near the takeoff zone one of my mates who is surfing the break on his longboard yells out to paddle hard, there is a set coming. I turn, see it rearing up out the back and put everything into it even though I'm sure I won't be able to get it. The Race Elite is going strong - short, sharp stokes with plenty of power. Direct control with no wasted energy from a cavertating blade. I get on the wave - wow, that's cool. I ride it all the way to the shorey and flick out just before the buoy. I swing the board around and begin the turn just as the next wave of the set starts reforming on the shore - right when I am directly side on to it. Oh oh - this could get ugly. I try and hang on, legropeless as the wave passes through. It whips my board out from under me with the greatest of ease and sends it to shore, leaving me treading water at the buoy - that's not cool.
The Quick Blade Race Elite goes pretty good as a hand surfer.
A couple of people pass me while I'm having a little play in the shallows. Luckily one is a prone paddler and the other is on an unlimited class SUP (which, for the sake of my own race statistics and ego, I'm calling a different class to my 12'6" - even in this single division race).
The other three laps were less eventful with my position in the field not changing again. The Quick Blade Race Elite performed beautifully in the different conditions thrown at us on each leg. It's definitely my new paddle of choice for racing, flatwater and downwinders. I've just got to buy some 5 Minute Araldite.
Highs:
- Heaps of controlled power.
- Super light weight.
- Extremely smooth through the water.
- Beautifully comfortable handle.
- Cool, shark skin textured shaft (one way slide).
- Quality construction.
Lows:
- Upper scale price tag.
- Doesn't come with a cover.
Its always such a fiddly job to get the handle exactly aligned with the shaft when you're sticking it on. Paddle manufacturers should paint a stripe down the direct center of the shaft then also a stripe or something on the handle so its easier to line them up.
to funny Casso , man and just think last time i was glueing in my blade handle i went around to your place for advise ? what was i thinking?
