The John Madill Toyota Fraser Island Stand Up Paddle Challenge headed for home at dawn Friday when the paddlers rounded Sandy Cape and began the long haul of 130 kilometres down the ocean coast of the world’s largest sand island.

The paddle had to be abandoned on Thursday when predicted northerly winds failed to arrive and paddle surfers Chris De Aboitiz and Woogie Te Manu Marsh were met with the full force of a south easterly. After two conditions checks later in the day, they decided to save their strength. Paddling about a kilometer off the coast in the hope of picking up the East Coast Current, Chris and Woogie made good time through the early hours and made a breakfast pit stop at Waddy Point before tackling the rocky coast around Indian Head.

Despite muscle stiffness and multiple blisters, both paddlers were in good spirits and confident of completing the Challenge by Sunday afternoon.

Chris and Woogie are attempting to become the first stand up paddlers to circumnavigate Fraser Island. The 300-kilometre marathon, in aid of the Disabled Surfers Association of Australia, is sanctioned by the Noosa Festival of Surfing. Supporters have already donated more than $4000, but the Challenge has a long way to go to reach the $20,000 needed to equip the new Sunshine Coast branch of the DSA.