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Bye, Bye Sevys

Rob Howard / 23.01.2005

As the latest ACE Races newsletter pops into in-boxes there will be some cheers from the many who have suffered while trying to keep the dreaded inflatable Sevylor canoes going in a straight line.

Yes, this year there will be no Sevy’s at ACE Races, after 6 years of use the inflatable fleet is being replaced by Ocean Kayak Malibu 2s.

Race Director Phil Humphreys says the new sit-on-tops “are a significant improvement on the Sevylor K79s, they are much easier to steer and control, are far more comfortable to paddle … and of course are not prone to punctures! Furthermore, canoeing ability is more accurately reflected by the speed they travel – they don’t have the same drag factor the Sevys do.“

The Sevys may have been unpopular (one profile posted recently had a single word on it – ‘Sevylors’ – entered under AR bugbear), but as ACE Races grew in popularity they did make a mass canoeing stage practical and affordable. The Mailbu’s will be more difficult for ACE Races to store and transport, but the racer’s will be happier, and won’t have to resort to blowing the Sevy’s up as several did at the final ACE Race in 2004. However, a smaller canoe fleet mean a stricter entry limit, so early entry is advisable as all the 2 day races are expected to fill up.

Entry details and prices for 2005 are now on the revamped ACE Races website, and there are three one-day and three 2-day races to choose from, plus the Winter XXX (now postponed until March 5/6th) and of course the Wilderness ARC in August. There are already teams entered for this world and British Championship event, which will be the highlight of the racing year.

For those who want to prepare for all this action details of the training weekend in March have been announced as well, and if preparation in the sun in Spain is preferable to a weekend in Shropshire, there are still a couple of places on the ACE training holiday in Spain.

All the details are on www.aceraces.com.