Nepean News photo/journalist Noel Rowsell was in Ulladulla over the weekend of the 8-9th February and took the opportunity to capture the sights and action of the 2025 Paddle Australia Ocean Racing Championships, which were held in conjunction with the 2025 Makai Cup.

Paddle Australia and the Makai Paddlers Society hosted the 2025 Paddle Australia Ocean Racing Championships at Ulladulla on Saturday 8th February, in conjunction with the 2025 Makai Cup.

The action commenced at 9am on Saturday morning, with 37 paddlers contesting the Mini Makai, a race for novice paddlers and those who were not qualified to compete in the main event.

The Mini Makai is a 10km event, designed for the not-so-adventurous, not-so-experienced, recovering from an injury, or the budding ocean paddler. This course is specifically designed to offer a safer and more protected view of the MAKAI Cup weekend and is held within a closer proximity to both the harbour and the safety of land. It begins and finishes in Ulladulla Harbour.

The main event, the Makai Cup, is a big, open-ocean event of approximately 22km, held this year along the very isolated stretch of coast between Bawley Point (start) and Ulladulla (finish).

The Makai Paddlers Society was founded in 2009 by two local paddling enthusiasts, Damian ‘Damo’ Staunton and Paul ‘Watto’ Watkins. Damo and Watto saw an opportunity in the local community for like-minded paddling enthusiasts to meet up regularly for training sessions, friendly competitions and social events. The club has grown to over 60 members in 2024, with ages spanning from 8 to 75, both competitive and social members.

Based on the South Coast of NSW, club members train on Burrill Lake and paddle downwind and offshore from Ulladulla Harbour every week of the year.

Full results of this year’s race can be found at www.webscorer.com/race?raceid=379756