Paddle the Impossible

Chloe, Alexis, Luca, Niamh, Will and Izzy prepare for the Impossible Ocean Paddle. (Ivan Kemp) 518773_01

Paddlers will battle the tides during the 10th Impossible Ocean Paddle from Torquay to Barwon Heads.

The 18km event will see people paddle out from Torquay’s Fishermans Beach to Barwon Heads Bluff in surf skis, sea kayaks, outrigger canoes, stand-up paddle boards and prone boards.

Chief organiser Peter Currie said the race was a chance to explore the region from the water and that he looked forward to seeing people participating.

“We paddle between Barwon Heads and Torquay, but we go through Point Impossible, hence the name of the Impossible Ocean Paddle,” he said.

“You just get to paddle past the wonderful beaches of Torquay, Bancoora, Point Impossible and 13th Beach before you get to Barwon Heads.”

Mr Currie said it was “terrific to reach 10 years” with the event and hoped to see it continue for another decade.

“It’s great that we’re building numbers, and people are getting these skis and starting to learn to paddle them well,” he said.

“We would love to have south-westerly winds, as these vessels are designed to paddle with the wind…and we only put 10 people in each wave, which is based on their potential speed.

“People who are fairly new to the sport, we’ll send them off early, and those more experienced, we’ll send them off last, so they should all finish roughly about the same time.”

South West Race Management will host the event from 9.30am on Saturday 22 November, with people encouraged to watch the race in Torquay and Barwon Heads.