12 Towers and what to expect!!
We are now Tuesday the 3rd of March and only 3 days away from Australia’s biggest ocean race the 12 Towers.
With 3 days of ocean fun this year, this is looking like one of the biggest years ever, between foiling , long distance ocean paddling and some OLD school tech racing there really is something for everyone!
Forecast is looking like lite winds for all 3 days so slight adjustments will be made to the weekend event scheduled foresure, so make sure as we get closer to the weekend you stay updated on what the program is and be ready for change if need be. You can find all this on the 12 Towers Facebook Page. Right now it looks like the Foiling with be on the Friday and if no wind i am sure the 12 towers crew will have some great back up plan so all the foilers can hit the water and carve up the small waves that will be on offer.
The Saturday and Sunday are for the SUP racing and we are sure they will pick the best day for the long distance race and then the other day will be used for the Tech race.
With the current forecast for the SUP racing it looks like some light winds from the south so this will mean the race will run from Snapper rocks to the finish just past Burleigh heads with a distance of around 13 to 14km.
Snapper rocks to 3rd Ave Burleigh Heads
For any anyone who has never done this paddle then this might give a few race insights if the conditions do stay light as forecast. This stretch of water can actually have so current and picking the right line on the day could be very important to how you finish. The area around Snapper rocks is just a big bay and the water can can be a big eddy at times so picking the right line from the start is very important and we suggest you have a paddle out and just check the Shark buoys for what way the current is going and if it is stronger on the inside or if it is stronger on the out side and then choose the path to the finish that suits.
You can see Currumbin Rock and Burleigh Headland as the 2 main noticeable landmarks along the race course.
If the wind comes up a little from the South or SSW then this can make this quite a tricky race. These winds blow side to side offshore and if you just go with the wind for to long you will find your self to far out to sea and you will have a very tough paddle to the finish for the last 4 or 5km. What we suggest if the wind is like this is to work your self in towards Currumbin Rock so that when you are passing the Currumbin rocks you are only about 500m to 1km offshore , this will give you a great line to the finish with the wind now at your back. Right now at the time of writing this Sunday is looking slightly better but the worrying part is the cloud and chance of showers and rain as for us here on the Goldy this can really hold the wind off and also makes the wind stay more offshore which is SW-SSW where as we really need SSE which is ok or SE which is perfect.
The surf is forecast to be only quite small so this should not come in to play to much on the long distance race.
Currumbin to Burleigh View
If anyone would like inside info on the course then please feel free to call in to ONE HQ during the week or hit up the ONE crew when you see them out and about as they will be more than happy to pass on any tips they have to help make this race as easy as possible!
Board choice if the wind stays like it is forecast to would be the EVO PRO 2.0 and the EDGE PRO 2.0 these two boards will handle the conditions perfect, the EVO PRO 2.0 will be nice and easy with good speed between the ocean swells and the EDGE PRO 2.0 for flat out speed.
Also be sure to Tune into SUP RACER Live webcast to follow the Race.
The Course 12 T
You can just see Snapper Rocks in the Far Back ground with the finish just this side of Burleigh Headland
