Nicky & Paul Dowson tell a Tale of two EuroTour 2023 Cities…
RACE NAME: EuroTour - Battle of Hercules
LOCATION & DATE: Ceuta, Spain, April 2023
A tale of two cities, EuroTour 2023
First stop battle of Hercules Ceuta (pronounced thay oo ta)
This was our first taste of a EuroTour SUP Race located in tiny part of Spain that’s actually in Morocco!
We entered on a whim whilst touring Spain with our Paddle Boards.
Entry included ferry crossing, boards and bodies, two nights B&B in 4* hotel, welcome four course dinner with wine, Goodie bag, t shirts, free tapas and beer with a DJ on the beach post Race - it was a bargain!
The elite Race was to be an ocean down winder, it was very windy! So we signed up for the amateur race, approximately 5k in more, sheltered waters.
Ceuta is a moated city. The race, started in the harbour on one side of the city, raced through the moat with its right angled bend, and the tide flowing from both directions. Plenty of paddlers were caught out by the swirling waters at the first corner, including Paul!
Through the moat and out to the open sea with Morocco in our sights, this is when the swell hit us… bit tricky but not too bad to begin with but as we progressed, so did the swell, bouncing off the rocks on the beach and catching us unawares from both sides. It was almost impossible to stay upright on the board which resulted in an embarrassing amount of knee paddling!
The course took us out to a massive rock in the sea almost touching distance to Morocco, where police patrol boats kept a beady eye on us!
Then back to finish on a sunny sandy beach where a DJ played cool vibes, we had free Tapas and beer and were able to watch the elite paddlers return from their epic downwind Race.
We weren’t last but very nearly so, we felt humbled by the sea and our lack of experience paddling in those conditions.
It was great to see so many really capable and confident youngsters racing and cool to meet some of the sup ‘elite’ paddlers.
The race was laid back and sometimes lacking in information but this was a first at this location and a great success.
RACE NAME: EuroTour - Sevilla SUP Festival
LOCATION & DATE: La Ribera, Spain - April 2023
…Oh look, there’s another Eurotour SUP race, sort of on our way back home…!
Sevilla SUP festival, this was a hot one! In the heart of Seville on the Guadalquiver river.
Stealth camping in the middle of the city, a sweaty night in the (o)van with mosquitoes and the smell of the streets was not great pre race prep but we had a bagged a parking spot close to the start and were not going to lose it!
The race was about 5k one lap for the amateurs, less for juniors and 3 laps for the elite.
All the categories started together from the historic Triana bridge, females then males.
Seated start, my first ever and not one to be proud of! and we’re off with no idea who I’m racing against apart from some of the elite that were already way ahead!
The out and back laps of the course were ideal for drafting, and great to be in the midst of (dodging) some serious draft trains from the elites.
Paul was not so lucky in dodging a junior who stopped dead in front of him and sent him flying off his board… again, and ultimately lost him a podium place too!
Giant pigeon - not in the actual race… ;-)
After a closely fought race I was surprised to discover that I was first amateur lady!
Last (ish) to first in one week!!
Again, a really laid back cool race vibe with free beer and food afterwards!
Our first taste of Eurotour SUP races, we really enjoyed the experience, the people, the racing, the food and the weather! We’ll be back!
Nicky taking 1st place - amateur lady…!
If you fancy upping your game, improving your fitness and learning the technicalities of SUP racing then I thoroughly recommend you give it a try..!
NSRT train on Monday evenings in the summer and Saturday mornings through the winter - check here for all details and training times: Norfolk SUP Racing