COTTER REVEALS HIS REMEDY TO CONQUER THE DOCTOR

January 17, 2012: Jeremy Cotter knows there will be no time to slacken off if he wants to add his name to the coveted list of champions who have won Australia’s premier ocean ski paddling race – “The Doctor” in Perth this Saturday.

Over 400 competitors will converge on WA this weekend for the most prestigious paddle race in the country – the 27.5km paddle from Rottnest Island to Sorrento but only one man will stand tall on Saturday afternoon.
 
For Cotter it will be a case of no looking back when the gun fires to signal the start of Australia’s biggest and most successful ocean paddling event.

Last year it was Freshwater’s Tim Jacobs who stormed home to beat the Gold Coast’s Bruce Taylor in a dramatic sprint to the line and they will form part of a who’s who lining up for the big race in 2012.
 
The Doctor is part of the International Canoe Federation Ocean Racing World Series and the Ocean Paddler World Series - the race that continues to attract the cream of the world’s Ocean Ski paddlers.
 
Cotter, at 32 and after a celebrated career as a surf lifesaving ironman, knows what he has to do to keep the world’s best at bay and go one better than he did in 2010 when beaten by South Africa’s world champion Dawid Mocke.
 
“To win The Doctor you have to go out hard, back yourself and try and hang on,” Cotter said after an impressive start-to-finish victory in last Saturday’s 16km Fenn Cup off Sydney’s Northern Beaches from Collaroy to Palm Beach.
 
“I will adopt similar tactics this week as I did in Sydney and try and get out from the start and dictate the race. I can’t see much point in sitting back, you have to try and break these guys.
 
“In ocean ski paddling you get what you deserve – if you train hard then you get the results and there are no conditions I’m scared of.”

And he knows there will be no time to relax.
 
Cotter has the utmost respect for Mocke, his brother Jasper and defending champion, Jacobs.
 
It was Jasper Mocke who edged out brother Dawid in Sunday’s 14-km Mandurah Duel in WA which saw Trigg Island’s Brendan Sarson third and the most experienced man on the ocean, Dean Gardiner fourth.
 
The Fenn Cup and the Mandurah Duel provided perfect warm ups for The Doctor and sets up what will be an enthralling battle between Cotter, Jacobs, the Mocke brothers and Australians Sarson, fellow WA paddler Reece Baker, the Sunshine Coast’s Ben Allen and Taylor.
 
Gardiner, who revels in any kind of surf conditions and reads the ocean like the back of his hand, showed the kind of remarkable endurance and skillful surf paddler he is, finishing fifth in the Fenn Cup on Saturday before flying straight to Perth to produce an extraordinary paddle at Mandurah. 

But for Cotter, it will be Jacobs who he knows is the man to beat.
 
“If Tim gets half a sniff then he will eat you up and spit you out,” says Cotter.
 
“Dawid may be the world champion but for mine Tim has been the man for so long. You can never discount him, he just grinds away and is never beaten.”
 
Saturday, January 21 - THE DOCTOR
 
When: Saturday, January 21, 2012.
Where: Rottnest Island, WA (start location); Sorrento Beach SLSC (finish location)
Distance: 27.5km
Start Times: 1pm –SUPs and Paddleboards; 1:45pm – OC1 and Female competitors, Plastics; 2pm Male Skis.
Finish Times: From 3pm onwards
What: Ocean skis, surf skis (traditional Surf Life Saving competition skis), plastic skis and kayaks, Stand Up Paddle Boards, Paddleboards, Outrigger Canoes
Who: Ocean Skis - Tim Jacobs (NSW), Dawid Mocke (RSA), Jasper Mocke (RSA), Jeremy Cotter QLD), Bruce Taylor (QLD), Ben Allen (QLD), Brendan Sarson (WA), Reece Baker (WA). SUPs – Travis Grant (QLD), Jamie Mitchell (QLD), Connor Baxter (Hawaii).
 
Sunday, January 22 - FINN KAYAK COASTAL CHALLENGE
 
What: A teams and relay race from Fremantle to Sorrento Beach. Competitors can enter in a team of two, three or four in an all male, mixed, plastic or SUP team category.
When: Sunday, January 21, 2012
Where: Port Beach, Fremantle (in front of Salt On The Beach Restaurant)
Start Time: 12 Noon – all categories
Finish Time: From 1:15pm
Finish Location: Sorrento Beach SLSC
Transitions: North Cottesloe, City Beach, Scarborough Beach
Who: The majority of the competitors double up for the Challenge
 
FESTIVAL OF PADDLE SPORTS FACTS
 

• The Doctor is named after the well known prevailing afternoon sea breeze “The Fremantle Doctor”.
• In the case of off shore winds the course may be changed to start on the mainland and finish at Rottnest Island. This was the case in 2010 – the only time it has reversed in 10 years.
• The event has attracted a wide range of competitors from the elite athlete, including Olympic representatives to the recreational paddler.
• The Doctor provides the opportunity for the weekend paddler to line up against the world’s best.

 
ALL INTERVIEW REQUESTS: Ian Hanson (0407) 385 160