Paddle Mag 4 2018

Issue 4 2018

GraEme solomOn

Defining

Training Rules

comeback king at the BERG

EVENTS

Liebenbergsvlei Marathon Vaal Marathon & more

+

Full Race Calendars

Cape to Rio

Spot Yourself: Out & About

SA Sprinters

Contents FEATURES 22 Liebenbergsvlei

All you need to know about this marathon

44 potatoe farm to podium Christie McKensie

48 sa sprinters 50 paddle for the planet Jack Seymour

RACES IN REVIEW 14 berg river

marathon

28 pink lady 32 vaal river marathon

36 harbour to heads 40 sa marathon champs

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SA Schools National River Championships Entries opening soon!

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For more information visit LIEBENSBERGVLEI Facebook page

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for the

LOVE of the

LAND www.vkb.co.za

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REGULARS 10 a word from you 12 tidbits News clips 50 Opinion Unsung heroes 54 paddling tips Defining

Send your letters to admin@thepaddlemag.co.za

FIND us on the WEB thepaddlemag.co.za FB @thepaddlemag

on the cover ISSUE 4 / 2018

training rules

69 club chat St Francis Paddling Club

70 Out and about Spot yourself

76 Calendars

Canoeing and Surfski events around the country, get training and planning

82 view from the back of the boat Lost and Found

IMAGE Graeme Solomon and Adrian Boros EVENT Berg River Marathon 2018

CONTRIBUTORS

PHOTOGRAPHY

Graham Daniel Kevin Brunette Celliers Kruger St Francis Canoe Club Darren Berry Natali Coetzee Wayne Robertson Tracey-Lee Anderson Canoe South Africa Liebenbergsvlie Canoe Marathon

Anthony Grote Sandy Coffey Tracey-Lee Anderson Graham Daniel LizaMay Images Natali Coetzee Mary Barnard Wayne Robertson Paddle for the Planet Jack Seymour

PUBLISHER Terrence Pomeroy-Ward terrence@thepaddlemag.co.za AD SALES admin@thepaddlemag.co.za

DESIGNER Tracy Ward ADMIN admin@thepaddlemag.co.za PUBLISHED ON Issuu.com

CONTRIBUTORS CELLIERS KRUGER

Celliers Kruger – Writer of paddling books; designer and manufacturer of some of the most innovative kayaks on the market; expedition paddler with descents on 4 continents; veteran of races like Dusi, Fish and Berg; freestyle kayaker representing South Africa at World Championships; safety kayaker and raft guide on various rivers in Africa and Europe; ex-competitor in canoe polo and raft racing; experienced in open canoeing, surfski, slalom, wildwater racing and oar rafting; mechanical engineer with intimate understanding of fluid dynamics; reluctant coach and eternal student.

GRAHAM DANIEL Graham Daniel - Former athlete, staying involved in sport to fuel his life passion by sharing moments of excellence and achievement, supporting those who are doing and being part of it all. “simply searching to make a difference, to showcase the talents, efforts and abilities of others, to share with humanity the wonderful moments we create and enjoy each experience.”

KEVIN BRUNETTE Kevin is an established surfski paddler, having completed three Cape Point Challenges. He is motivated by technique and boat speed, and can often seen on the water perfecting his stroke or at the gym improving his fitness. He is also a keen hiker and mountain biker.

Kevin has authored and published a number of books of surfski.

WAYNE ROBERTSON Wayne is a passionate sea lover, eco warrior,soul surfer and seasoned ocean sailor. He is an endurance athlete, and was the first person to complete the Argus Cycle Tour on one wheel (twice) and another 12 times on a BMX after crushing his spine in an accident. He runs his business Wayne Robertson Yachts in Cape Town specialising in design and composite boat building.

TRACEY-LEE ANDERSON “Live life to the fullest...You only get one shot.... and if you are lucky, you get to photograph it!”

DARREN BERRY Darren is a keen multi-sport athlete who specialises in Adventure Racing with Team Painted Wolf. Paddling is one of the three main components in most adventure races, the others being mountain biking and trail running/trekking. Darren is spoilt having easy access to the Knysna Lagoon for paddle training and is often found enjoying the weekly club dice on Tuesday evenings.You can following his adventures at outdoorsinsa.wordpress.com

Natali Coetzee Natali is an avid photographer and writer, but she’d just as soon exchange the tools of the trade for a paddle and canoe.

She keeps a healthy balance, not quite first nor last when it comes to paddling. Rapids still terrify her, but sometimes, she’ll face those fears. She believes that everyone needs encouragement, and will happily cheer on all other paddlers.

SANDY COFFEY Born in KZN, Sandy Coffey now lives in the surfing village of St Francis Bay. She’s a mother of two sons, a wife to Dave, professional photographer, ex-paddler (in the 80’s and early 90’s), reluctant runner, enthusiastic surfer and lover of all things water and ocean.

MARY BARNARD My granddaughter fell in love with canoeing about 6 years ago. Her love for the sport got me started with capturing all her special moments. I am what they call a Happy Snapper.

FROM THE ED South African paddlers just seem to have this unquenchable thirst for adventure and the darn near impossible! This month we had the opportunity to follow the men and women who took on the 2018 Berg River Marathon. This must be the best endurance adventure South African paddling has to offer. The distances, the cold and the conditions must make it our toughest race on the calendar. We were therefore very surprised to meet a number of paddlers who were relatively new to paddling doing it for the first time.

We were completely in awe of Edgar Boehm who completed the race for the 45th time! We were absolutely delighted to have the privilege of being one of the people to scream and cheer for Graeme Solomon and Adriรกn Boros as they came flying in to Velddrif to take the win of the 57th running of the event.

This in our mind, gives Graeme three firsts: 1. Having your wins span the longest time (17 years!)

2. Being the oldest winner and 3. It brings his podium tally to 13, making him the person who has been on the podium the most!

No mean feat!

Talking of epic paddles, later in the mag we catch up with Wayne Robertson who with Braam Malherbe was at sea for 92 consecutive days after rowing from Cape Town to Rio De Janiero unassisted. His experiences were mind-blowing in terms of being out there all alone. His near death encounters sound petrifying to say the least and they take home three world records to boot! Read all about it and think about it next time you think you are having a bad day! They did it under the banner of Do One Thing (DOT) - we think more people should know about the voyage. This is the campaign to make one change to save our planet and it sure needs all the changes it can get!

As South African paddlers we joined hundreds of other paddlers throughout the world (26 8

THEPADDLEMAG.CO.ZA

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amazing countries) in celebrating Paddle for the Planet on the 2nd of June. We helped raise awareness, cleaned up waterways and donated towards a cause that is close to all of our hearts. We are the people that see the conditions of our waterways and it up to us to do whatever we can to take care of our environment. The Chinese trawlers that used to slip in to our coastal waters at night have been limited because a concerned citizen blew the whistle. There is a desperate need for more people to blow the whistle about the Vaal River right now as it is in a rotten state due to neglect. Unfortunately for us the interventions on the Vaal are going to cost millions, which is out of our league. But the louder our voices are, hopefully the sooner the repairs will start.

On a lighter note we applaud young Jack Seymour who took the initiative and organized a cracker of a day for Paddle for the Planet so do read his story and feel inspired to do something at your own club.You too can do something for a great cause!

Ed.

This is how we roll

INBOX

Send your letters to admin@thepaddlemag.co.za

Hi, Thanks for a great mag. I was given my first lifejacket with the canoe that I bought some time ago. It is now shredded from trees and swims. I would like to replace it but I am not sure what to get. Some friends suggest that I get the cheapest and others point out that is some law about lifejackets so it is not that simple or is it?

Regards, Wilmer The Canoeing South Africa handbook says that your ‘kayaking jacket... must support a minimum of 6kg of lead weight in the water’ page seven pretty simple but good quality lifejackets are expensive so we went in search of some other answers to help you.

Here is what Colin Simpkins (CSA GS) had to say in one of his newsletters: “One of the numerous issues that SAMSA (South African Maritime Safety Authority) wanted clarity on was the wearing of PFD’s (personal floatation devises/ lifejackets). In order for them to accept the PFD that we recommended, they needed a recognised international standard against which the devise could be tested.The lightest and least restrictive classification that they would accept was the EN ISO 12402-5 (level 50).

In order to protect the PFD manufacturing industry from suddenly having a pile of stock that they could not dispose of, as well as giving the buyers of PFD’s the luxury of getting some use out of them before they were declared “illegal”, we requested a five year moratorium on compliance with the ISO standard. (This moratorium expires on the 26th of January 2020.)

After that date, paddlers will not be allowed to enter races without a PFD that complies with the ISO definition.... If

we do not enforce this SAMSA requirement, they will be at liberty to remove our current status... In the interim, a PFD needs to comply with the following; o It must be able to float a weight of 6.15kgs. o It must carry the appropriate labelling. o It must be in sound condition. o It must not be loose fitting o Shape and design of the jacket must allow freedom to twist and lean the torso.

We are not the only country that has these issues. At the Perth Doctor this year, no competitor was allowed to compete unless they had a PFD of the same ISO standard as we have recommended to SAMSA.” We would add ˚Should be highly visible. So as long as your lifejacket complies with the points above you are safe for the moment. But in the near future you will have to either buy one that complies with the EN ISO 12402-5 (level 50) or encourage your preferred supplier to get registered.

Happy shopping regards, Ed.

THEPADDLEMAG.CO.ZA 11

TIDBITS Have you made it to Orka’s new shop yet? A stunning space, right in Main Road, Southern Suburbs.

They stock of a wide variety of FENN surfskis along with everything you need to help you on your way.

They are ready and waiting to fulfill all your paddling desires! www.orkapaddles.com

Where are our readers from?

Thank you to Fluid Kayaks for their support and sponsorship of the South African woman’s Canoe Polo team, who are only weeks away from their tour to Belgium this August to gain invaluable experience in their build-up to the World Championships in Rome in 2020. Thank you too to the parents, coaches, fellow players and friends who have cheered us on along the way! canoepolo.co.za FreeSpirit Downwind Race 1, Sat 21 July Top 10: 1.Tyron & Trevor Maher.

2.Travis Wilkinson.

3.Ross Fountain.

4. Dave Harker.

5.Dean Chezzari.

6.Shaine Mcalister.

7.Grant Foulds.

8 . Angus Ferguson & Guy Collier.

9.Johann Terrblanche.

10.Vernon O’Connell. facebook.com/pg/darealdownwind/

12 THEPADDLEMAG.CO.ZA

Thank you to Bay Union for sponsoring our development program a second year running. We are very grateful paddlingacademy.co.za

McGregor and Nixon lead South African show at Ocean Racing World Cup JULY 2018

Hank McGregor might be about to step back from individual races in canoe marathon, but when it comes to ocean racing the big South African is showing no sign of slowing down.

he has dominated in recent years, taking his fourth Mauritius Classic.

Hill had the better of McGregor at the past two ICF Ocean Racing World Championships, but the South African was in a determined mood in Saturday’s Investec Mauritius Ocean Classic.

McGregor and Hayley Nixon provided a South African double at the Investec Mauritius Ocean Classic on the weekend, capping off an exciting week of events at one of the world’s premiere ocean racing venues.

He finished the 24-kilometre race from Sancho Beach to Le Morne in 1.13.11, just ahead of Hill on 1.14.00. Another South African, Dawid Mocke, was third in 1.15.13.

McGregor finally got the chance to turn the tables on his Australian nemesis, Cory Hill, on a course

Nixon went into the Mauritius Classic as the current world champion, and lived up to that

billing with a powerful performance from start to finish. She crossed the line in 1.29.23, well ahead of fellow South African and 2012 Olympic bronze medallist, Bridgitte Hartley, in 1.35.55.

Kyeta Purchase made it a South African trifecta when she finished third in 1.34.28.

More than 80 athletes took part in the Mauritius Surfski Week, the constant downwind course providing competitors with some of the best race conditions on the planet. www.canoeicf.com

Berg River Marathon 14 THEPADDLEMAG.CO.ZA

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IMAGE Jean Tresfon

The Berg River Marathon is a tough race!

The warm up day is 62km long and there are three more Days AFTER THAT. The race organisers where really mixing things up for the 57th running of the race which would dramatically change the face of the race. The first big change was that they decided to drop the time trial that has traditionally been run on the Tuesday afternoon. This is great news for travelling paddlers who now have to take one less day off work and worry about one less night’s accommodation.

We think that it takes nothing away from the race. The second was that they adopted the team format that we have seen in MTB races. This we think, is a first for South African paddling races and we applaud their willingness to try something new. In our discussions with the paddlers we found it has been met with mixed reviews. Some revel in the idea and others did not enjoy it for various reasons. The most important concern seems to be that it is very difficult to find someone that you can paddle with for four days that paddles at your pace. Our jury is still out on whether it was a good idea or not. But we are leaning towards it being a good idea and hope that it just takes time for paddlers to get used to it.

The Berg River Marathon is our ‘Tour de France’ of the 16 THEPADDLEMAG.CO.ZA

paddling world with each day being its own stage with different challenges on each day. It is set in the Swartland of the Western Province in the middle of winter – what could go wrong?

As the paddlers set off there was a big cold front predicted to be heading towards them and set to bring icy winds and pounding rain to compound the challenge. Fortunately it was not as severe as predicted making Day 2 chilly and the whole of Day 3 was punctuated with squalls of rain. Just as in the Tour de Francethere are stages, breakaways (well for the racing snakes anyway), mistakes and team work and that is what makes each day so exciting to watch!

Out in the front of the race it was always going to be a tough battle with each of the top four paddlers bringing their own strengths to the race. Right up there was our local favourite Graeme Solomon. He knows the river well as the Berg River is his training grounds. But he last won the race in 2001 and after that had to settle for the lower steps on the podium. Would this year be his comeback year? That would make him the oldest winner of the Berg. Solomon in keeping with the team initiative of the new Berg teamed up with his old foe and eventual winner of the 2017 Berg – Adrián Boros. Boros had just jetted back in to South Africa after a very successful European Marathon Champs in Metkovic Croatia where he came 2nd in the Men’s K1 and 1st in the Men’s K2 final.

Team Bamboo Warehouse was up against the International team of Keith Moule and Joep van Bakel.

There big plus is they are used to the cold so the icier it got in the Berg River valley the more it felt like home to the international team.

Added to this is that Moule is no stranger to the Berg river having raced it twice already and that he has a formidable marathon pedigree.

This type of race is suits him down to the T.Van Bakel last raced the Berg in 2015 when he came 6th and is currently the Dutch marathon champion.

Back home we were wondering if the low water (but much better than last year) would not suit the lighter pairings of Anders Hart teaming up with Jermaine Pietersen and Gavin White teaming up with young Bartho Visser allowing them a back door in to the fight. The other team to watch out for was Team Capensis from the Martin Dreyer Change a Life Academy, Mthobisi Cele and Mpilo Zondi. The pair did exceptionally well in last year’s race and had taken their fitness through to the recent Non-stop Duzi showing that they are not shy of the longer races.

In the ladies race the new format appears to have made it difficult for the ladies to find equally strong / paced lady team mates so they opted to team up with male partners introducing the for the first time the category of mixed double to the Berg River Marathon. Reigning Female Berg Champion Bianca Beavitt teamed with Crispin Thompson, Lisa Scott made a welcome return to the Berg and teamed up with Kevin Bouwer and Flo Els teamed up with Edgar Boehm. This meant that if Boehm crossed the finish line he had completed his 45th Berg and claimied a space on the podium.

DAY 1

Day 1 is 62km long.This year the paddlers set off with just under 10cumes under their boats and they would pick up more water along the way as they passed the various tributaries.This is an exciting mix of little rapids, tree blocks, long stretches and 3 small weirs. Local river knowledge is a big plus here in order to avoid getting the nose of your canoe pegged in either a tree or the bottom of a weir. Although not life threatening – one would not want to waste valuable energy on a swim in the ice cold water.

The paddlers set off from Paarl Canoe Club in nearly perfect conditions and enough water in the river to make the racing technical and fast. Within a few minutes from the start Team Bamboo Warehouse and the Internationals had settled in to a battle that would last the four days and right behind them were the teams of Hart / Pietersen and White / Visser locked in battle for the last step of the podium.

Things were looking great for Team Bamboo of Solomon/ Boros’ as they came through Skooltjie with what we thought to be a commanding lead of about 2 minutes but a bump

of a tree by Boros’ just around the corner lead to a long swim and suddenly they were looking at a 30 second deficit to Moule / Van Bakel and it was game on again! With a huge amount of effort and very tactical paddling they managed to reel in Moule/ Van Bakel and cross the line with just over a minute and a half lead. In the chase for 3rd it was neck and neck for Hart / Pietersen and White / Visser as they exchanged places throughout the day. A quick swim by Bartho allowed Hart / Pietersen to put down the hammer but after a quick recovery White / Visser were off to chase

them down and eventually pipped Hart / Pietersen by 7 seconds across the line.

In the mixed doubles Beavitt / Thompson stamped their mark on the race right from the start. At Skooltjie Bridge they were only a couple of minutes behind the race leaders. Instead of coasting along assured of victory they were taking to fight to the other paddlers and finished a fantastic 6th place over all.

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DAY 2

Day 2 is 46km (33km this year) Water hyacinth made the first 13km almost unpaddleable, forcing the race organisers to make the call to shorten the day. This is a tricky day were you need to have your wits about you.The water level was good so one needed to make snap decisions about whether there was enough space to go through the trees or around them and which line to take through the rapids. It may have been shorter this year but it certainly was not a rest day!

The race started at Gouda Bridge this year and since it was only 33km long the winner of today’s stage would be the team that makes the least mistakes.

That honour went to Team Bamboo Warehouse who paddled a faultless race and managed to extend their lead by a further 8 minutes. Team International was not so fortunate when after paddling a great race for the first half let things slip when Moule took a refreshing swim at one of the weirs. Right behind them the fight for third place and a ‘stage’ win still raged on with Hart / Pietersen and White / Visser exchanging places throughout the day. In fact on the day the times for teams Hart / Pietersen and White / Visser were actually faster than Team International with only the elapsed start allowing Team International to get their noses over the line first!

Only six minutes slower on the day than Moule/ Van Bakel came the pair of Beavitt / Thompson. That is how close the racing was and testament to how relentless Beavitt / Thompson were in chasing down the leading teams and certainly not being content to sit on their laurels.

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DAY 3

Day 3 is 75km long. And we mean looong! There is nowhere to hide if you have not trained for this. It starts off with a 16km flat paddle to the dam wall then a few little rapids down to the bridge at Moravia which is waiting to catch any paddlers that dropped their guard and then about 43km of grind to the finish. Although the river does get wider near the end there are still some interesting rapids, turns and bends in the river worthy of your concentration as you make your way to the overnight stop at Zoutkloof.

All the top contenders go off in one batch at 8am at the start so the trick is to quickly get in to a bunch that helps you across the dam while not letting your opposition get away from you this early in the day.

Across the dam there was a big bunch but it was soon broken up into Team Bamboo and Team International fighting it out in the front of the race. In the end it came down to an end sprint that was taken by Moule / Van Bakel. Minutes behind them the unyielding battle between with Hart / Pietersen and White / Visser continued to unfold. Hart / Pietersen went out hard at the beginning in order to put a gap between themselves and White / Visser. The call seemed to be working for them and by the time they got to Moravia bridge, they had a minutes lead on their rivals which would eventually build to almost three minutes before White/ Visser started winding them in leading to an heroic end sprint which was won by White / Visser.

In the mixed race, the tussle took a more permanent turn when Thompson had to withdraw after the paddle across Misverstand Dam due to ill health. This left Beavitt to fight on, on her own which she did to the spectators applause and cheers. With the withdrawal of Thompson the top step was vacated leaving the teams of Scott / Bouwer to fight it out with Team Boehm / Els.

DAY 4

Day 4 is 57km long.This is the test of endurance! Can you get your bum back in to the boat after 3 days and roughly 18 hours of paddling and get ready for another five or six hours of paddling. O’ and did we mention that it is cold; 4.6˚C at 7:30am this year. Added to this is the knowledge that the finish is in Velddrif a coastal town.This means that you could be paddling in to an oncoming tide and that the prevailing Northerly winds may be on your face for most of the day. Only the knowledge that once at the end you would have completed one of the toughest canoe races on the planet drives you on to the finish.This is the race for champions!

There was a mass start at 8am on day four for the serious racers so it is very difficult to break away.

This day is just about consolidating your lead and holding on to your position. Team Bamboo Warehouse had a lead of just over 10 minutes

going in to the day so all they had to do was make sure that Team International did not break away too soon in order to hold on to their lead. This they did and after a strong run at the Oordraplek portage they took the lead allowing

them to charge in to Velddrif and take their third stage and ultimately the win for the 57th running of the Berg River Marathon. This is a phenomenal comeback for Solomon who last won it in 2001. This also makes him the oldest winner of THEPADDLEMAG.CO.ZA 19

the Berg. Behind them, the now massive battle between with Hart / Pietersen and White / Visser continued but Hart / Pietersen having thrown everything that they have at the race on day 3 were unable to sustain the effort allowing White / Visser to claim the third step of the podium.

with Boehm recording one of his best times for day four in recent years. Unfortunately it was not enough to really challenge team Scott / Bouwer. Edgar Boehm had to settle for the 2nd step and completing his 45th Berg River Canoe Marathon. We stand in awe of him!

In the mixed race it was with Scott / Bouwer who came crashing over the line to steal top place from Els / Boehm who put in a late charge

In the end it is the length of this race that gives it, its feared reputation. It is it stage wins and overall wins that gives it

20 THEPADDLEMAG.CO.ZA

illustriousness. But it is the paddlers both new and old that give this race its incredible vibe; the grit and determination shown by each paddler out on the water when the conditions got tough, the comradery on the river, the laughter around the fires and the respect that each paddler gets for simply getting out there for four solid days in a row make it a race to remember. This one should definitely be on your ‘to do’ list.

Final Results Overall 1.Graeme Solomon/Adrian Boros (Team Bamboo Warehouse) 16:57:18 2.Keith Moule/Joep van Bakel 17:07:40 3.Gavin White/Bartho Visser 17:40:53 4.Anders Hart/Jermaine Pietersen 17:43:38

Spot yourself in more images in the Out & About section.

5.Greg van Heerden/Anthony Wostenholm 17:56:42 6.Daan du Toit/Gert van Deventer 17:59:21 7.John de Villiers/Heinrich Schloms 18:02:17 8.Mthobisi Cele/Mpilo Zondi (U23) (Capensis) 18:20:40 9.Chris de Waal/Roy Clegg 18:22:27 10.Loveday Zondi/Richard Cele 18:40:52

Under 23 1.Mthobisi Cele/Mpilo Zondi (Capensis) 18:20:40

Under 18 1.Melvino Klaase/Angelo Smith 19:13:19

Mixed 1.Kevin Bouwer/Lisa Scott 22:05:01 2. Edgar Boehm / Flo Els 28:44:02

THEPADDLEMAG.CO.ZA 21

Liebenbergsvlei

Canoe Marathon 15 & 16 September

TWO DAYS 63KM B RATING

IMAGES Graham Daniel

GUARANTEED CLEAN WATER WITH A LEVEL OF AT LEAST 25 CUMECS!

22 THEPADDLEMAG.CO.ZA

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Day 1 - 31km

Start – Reitz Waterworks Finish – Zorgvliet Farm,Tweeling

Nagmal Weir – 10km Dangerous weir! Please approach with caution – do not shoot anywhere other than options provided below.

Three options: • Hug the left bank – stay left of the concrete block.

Line up straight as you get to the weir.

• Hug the right bank. Shoot within a meter of the right bank. Hard rudder left as you go over the weir to avoid getting stuck on the bank. Safer option, but a bit of bump and scape over the rocks.

• Portage on right bank There will be a marshal on either bank – listen to their instructions

bottom of the rapid There will be a marshal on the left bank.

Broken Bridge Rapid – 12km

John’s Drop – 28.5km

Can be shot anywhere on the left half of the river.

Anything on the right will result in getting stuck on the causeway. The safest line is to approach river left and take the drop at an angle. Follow the wave train to the

Still’s Weir – 26km Straight forward weir with approx 1m drop. There is a nasty suck back so shoot as close to the left bank as possible where there will be a marshal with a throw rope.

Tweeling Bridge Rapid – 28km Nice rapid just before the Tweeling Bridge. Nothing complicated – stay river left or right to avoid the rock in the middle of the rapid.

Sneaky rapid just before the finish. Approach from the left and slide down the tongue. There is a big rock on the right hand side that you will only see once you are on top of. Follow the wave train to the bottom.

R500 Spa Voucher up for grabs!

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The River Day 2 - 32km

Start – Bruinswick Farm Finish – O’Gala Pub & Restaurant, Frankfort

Pollock Weir – 6km COMPULSORY PORTAGE! Very dangerous weir!

Approach with caution. Portage on left bank. Listen to the marshals.

Wilge River – 24km The Liebenbergsvlei flows into the Wilge River 24km into Day 2. Follow the river left.

Frankfort Weir – 28km COMPULSORY PORTAGE! Very dangerous weir!

Approach with caution. Portage on right bank. Listen to the marshals.

All women entering before Women’s Day on the 9th of August stand a chance to win a spa voucher of their choice to the value of R500!

Draw will take place on Women’s Day. THEPADDLEMAG.CO.ZA 25

WATCH the promo video and get READY for an awesome journey down the river!

CLICK HERE TO ENTER

26 THEPADDLEMAG.CO.ZA

GPS COORDINATES & SECONDING • Start day 1: Reitz water works (Google maps or -27.691806, 28.377000) • Broken bridge rapid turn-off (Google maps or -27.676006, 28.496750) • Broken bridge rapid (Google maps or -27.633544, 28.432282) • Tweeling Bridge Rapid (Google maps or -27.530979, 28.475844) • Finish day 1: Zorgvliet farm (Google maps or -27.507707, 28.484014) • Start day 2: Bruinswick Farm (Google maps or -27.473754, 28.525331) • Finish day 2: O’Gala Pub & Restaurant (Google maps or -27.276645, 28.489351)

Broken Bridge Rapid This will take approx. 45min to get to from the start. Paddlers should take 4050min to get to this point.

Head back the way you came towards Reitz.

After 5.4km turn LEFT After 4.6km turn LEFT onto R57 towards Reitz After 2.1km turn LEFT at 4 way stop onto R26 towards Tweeling After 14.3km turn left off R26 onto dirt road Follow signs along dirt road towards river.

Tweeling Bridge Rapid This will take approx. 40min to get to from the start. Paddlers should take approx. 2 hours to get to this point: Head back the way you came towards Reitz.

After 5.4km turn LEFT After 4.6km turn LEFT onto R57 towards Reitz After 2.1km turn LEFT at 4 way stop onto R26 towards Tweeling After 27.2km turn LEFT towards Tweeling. Once in town turn right at the 4th Street. Turn first left, over the railway tracks and then first left again. he road makes a dog leg to the right. Continue to follow this road down to the river.

LIIBENBERGSVLEI CANOE MARATHON

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Pink Lady Canoe Marathon

IMAGES Tracey-Lee Anderson

23 - 24 June 2018

Considering Cape Town’s death of rain this year, it was a real treat having enough water to actually do the first proper river race of the season!

My favourite aspect of going to a race is the camaraderie between all 28 THEPADDLEMAG.CO.ZA

the paddlers, and their seconds -especially after not having seen each other for a while, with everyone catching up on the ‘skinner’ they’d missed over the past few weeks.

The kickoff of the Pink Lady Canoe Marathon was no exception.

The morning of day one saw 81 paddlers, their accompanying family members, and seconds, make the trek to the Gouda Bridge starting point for registration. Pink Lady flags lined the path to the river where the organisers had expertly laid out all the batch camps for the paddlers.

Fanie, Janine and Ilse were at their posts, checking the paddlers in with their cheerful ‘good mornings’ and chats.

Muddy conditions meant that viewing spots along the way were hard to reach -- it turns out rain is

good for paddlers, but not always for spectators! But those watching from the start line made up for it with some voracious cheering as each batch went off.

The road to Bridgetown is slippery and muddy, but well worth the hot

coffee and pancake at its end (oh, the joys of being a second!). The seconds mull around chatting and talking, and finding good vantage points for the finishing sprint -which is visible from a long way off. We sit on the top of the bank overlooking the almost kilometre THEPADDLEMAG.CO.ZA 29

of river, eating and drinking the delicious soup and burgers prepared

by Ansu and the church ladies of Moorreesburg. The atmosphere is laid back and friendly. Then, the first 4 boats round the corner.

The bank awakens. Binoculars, cameras and eyes are trained on the approaching racers. The bank erupts with screaming, as the spectators call for the paddlers to make the final sprint.

As they inch closer, we see the precise moment that Graeme Solomon digs his blade in, and punches into the lead. Finishing in first place, Graeme Solomon (2:12:21.67) was followed by Luke Stowman (2:12:22.19), Ulvard (Uli) Hart (2:12:24.05), and Ernest Van Riet (2:12:25.37).

The ladies’ race for day one was won by Bianca (Bubbles) Beavitt, who cruised home in 11th position overall (2:20:44.35). She was followed by Melanie Van Niekerk (2:31:40.73) and Joritha Prins (2:45:41.34).

In the junior’s race we saw 3rd place’s Ulvard (Uli) Hart (2:12:24.05) take the top position in the Under 18s, with Bartho Fisser (2:14:13.29) placing 2nd, and Daniel Jacobs (2:31:39.04) placing 3rd. The Under 16s top paddler, Malvino Klass from Paarl (2:25:39.89), placed 15th overall.

30 THEPADDLEMAG.CO.ZA

Day two’s tranche ran from Paarl to Schooltjie, starting at Paarl Canoe Club. The reverse start saw the paddlers who finished at the back the previous day starting first, and the race leaders starting afterwards in a lapsed time batch. At the first portage, just a few 100 metres from the start, we see the epic scramble for the advantage gained by getting back into the water first.

Each of the viewpoints along the riverside showed the leading four stuck together, like glue. Locals and family cheered their support all the way.

RESULTS Men 1 Graeme Solomon 2 Luke Stowman 3 Ulvard Hart 4 Ernest Van Riet

3:42:51.24 3:42:51.77 3:42:53.33 3:42:56.18

Ladies 1 Bianca Beavitt 3:55:23.85 2 Melanie van Niekerk 4:14:58.19 3 Joritha Prins 4:35:22.66

And what a finish: Schooltjie Bridge was lined with those paddlers who had completed their race, and all the seconds and spectators. The four sprinted flatout to the flag, with Graeme Solomon narrowly taking the lead a split second before Luke Stowman.

TRACEY-LEE ANDERSON

Spot yourself in more images in the Out & About section.

THEPADDLEMAG.CO.ZA 31

IMAGES Natali Coetzee

Vaal River Marathon SA K1 River Champs Johannesburg Canoe Club had the privilege of hosting the SA K1 River Championships at the Vaal River Marathon this year. The race took place on 30 June- 1 July 2018, and covered a distance of 70km. This race was perfect for training for the paddlers going to do the Berg River Race.

Day one is 36 km, and starts with faster flowing water, a couple of rapids and such, ending off with approximately 10 km of flat water. Not for the faint of heart, Day 2 also has a few rapids and one shoot, but it is mostly flat water with rock and sand beds in between. A race 32 THEPADDLEMAG.CO.ZA

that will get any long distance athlete excited, there is enough to keep the thrill seekers coming back.

From the first timers to the experienced, there was a definite excitement tinging the air at the prerace briefing. Although there was quite a strong and competitive field of paddlers, the new comers were not to be dissuaded, and they happily paddled the required distances. Despite a couple of swims, most of the paddlers showed pure elation when they crossed the finishing line.

It was an interesting race, with the first six overall finishers receiving podium positions for their respective categories! First in, and winner of the title of SA K1 River Champion, was Siseko Ntondini (DABS) in a time of 5 hours, 42 minutes, for both days. He was closely followed by Loveday Zondi (VIC). Alan Houston (US – Western Province) was the first U23, and managed to squeeze into 3rd overall. Alex Masina(NAT – KZ) was the 2nd U23. Kobus Filmalter (WAT) was the first Vet, followed by the 2nd Vet, Shaun Maphanga (FLO).

Some other K1 category podium finishers: 1st U14 – Finlay Leask (DAB) 1st U16 – Ruan van Pletzen (LIK) 1st U18 – Sibusiso Chwayi (SOW) 2nd U18 – Sean van Pletzen (LIK) 1st SM – Andre Zandbergh (WAT) 2nd SM – Herman Vogel (LIK) 1st M – Anton Nel (VIC) 1st GM – Gavin Robert Taylor 1st GGM – Brian Longley (DABS) 2nd GGM – Peter Oconnor (DABS) THEPADDLEMAG.CO.ZA 33

The race results showed which paddlers had done their training, and which ones were wishing they had! If paddlers over the age of 70 (GGM) can come and do the Vaal River Marathon, it should be an inspiration to the rest of us. Hope to see you there next year!

Natali Coetzee

JCC was originally called the Transvaal Canoe Club 69 years ago and changed names to Johannesburg Canoe Club in1967.

In the original Vaal Marathon there was no Fischgat Weir and Letaba Weir, and the race was from Vaal dam wall to Parys, 138km with a stopover at Vanderbyl Park.

In 2019 we will be celebrating the 70th running of the Vaal Marathon!

34 THEPADDLEMAG.CO.ZA

Ponta do Ouro

Orange River Mouth

Tugela River Mouth

Port St Johns Dassen Island Cape Agulhas

SALDANHA PORT CONTROL Tel: 022 714 1726 Stn. 24 Lambert’s Bay – 060 960 3027 Stn. 04 Mykonos – 082 990 5966 Stn. 34 Yzerfontein – 082 990 5974

CAPE TOWN PORT CONTROL Tel: 021 449 3500 Stn. 18 Melkbosstrand – 082 990 5958 Stn. 03 Table Bay – 082 990 5963

Seal Point

Great Fish River Mouth

Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) Tel: 021 938 3300 NSRI HQ: 021 434 4011 MOSSEL BAY PORT CONTROL Tel: 044 604 6271 Stn. 33 Witsand – 082 990 5957 Stn. 31 Still Bay – 082 990 5978 Stn. 15 Mossel Bay – 082 990 5954 Stn. 23 Wilderness – 082 990 5955 Stn. 12 Knysna – 082 990 5956

EAST LONDON PORT CONTROL Tel: 043 700 2100 Stn. 07 East London – 082 990 5972 Stn. 28 Port St Johns – 082 550 5430

DURBAN PORT CONTROL Tel: 031 361 8567 Stn. 32 Port Edward – 082 990 5951 Stn. 20 Shelly Beach – 082 990 5950 Stn. 05 Durban – 082 990 5948

Stn. 14 Plettenberg Bay – 082 990 5975

RICHARDS BAY PORT CONTROL Tel: 035 753 1991

Stn. 10 Simon’s Town – 082 990 5965

P.E. PORT CONTROL Tel: 041 507 1911

INLAND DAMS AND LAKES

Stn. 16 Strandfontein – 082 990 6753

Stn. 36 Oyster Bay – 082 990 5968

Stn. 22 Vaal Dam – 083 626 5128

Stn. 09 Gordon’s Bay – 072 448 8482

Stn. 21 St Francis Bay – 082 990 5969

Stn. 27 Victoria Lake – 060 991 9301

Stn. 17 Hermanus – 082 990 5967

Stn. 37 Jeffreys Bay – 079 916 0390

Stn. 25 Hartbeespoort Dam – 082 990 5961

Stn. 29 Air Sea Rescue – 082 990 5980

Stn. 06 Port Elizabeth – 082 990 0828

Stn. 35 Witbank Dam – 060 962 2620

Stn. 30 Agulhas – 082 990 5952

Stn. 11 Port Alfred – 082 990 5971

Stn. 38 Theewaterskloof – 072 446 6344

Stn. 02 Bakoven – 082 990 5962 Stn. 08 Hout Bay – 082 990 5964 Stn. 26 Kommetjie – 082 990 5979

Stn. 19 Richards Bay – 082 990 5949

CRAIG LAMBINON: 082 380 3800 (Communications)

THEPADDLEMAG.CO.ZA 35 You can download a digital version of these emergency numbers from our website: http://www.nsri.org.za/emergency-numbers/

IMAGES LizaMay Images 36 THEPADDLEMAG.CO.ZA

Harbour to Heads

THEPADDLEMAG.CO.ZA 37

The Knysna Canoe Club and Knysna Yacht Club has hosted a paddling event during the annual Oyster Festival for many years.

The event used to be called the Knysna Lagoon Challenge, however, 4-years ago we rebranded the event under the Harbour2Heads Lagoon Challenge banner and settled on the first Sunday of the festival, as the annual event day.

There are two distances, 11km (1-lap) and 22km (2-laps). It is a K1 event, but we welcome K2’s, K3’s and surf-skis. Next year we may have a small SUP field as well.

38 THEPADDLEMAG.CO.ZA

The previous winners of the new event have been Greg Louw (2015 and 2016) and Jean Van Der Westhuizen (2017).

The race is one of SA’s most picturesque, taking in the Knysna Heads and Lagoon, the Thesen Island channels and beach for the portage and the Knysna Waterfront.

The Knysna Yacht Club, the host venue, is also arguably one of the best on our coast line. The race course is interesting in that it is on tidal estuary and influenced by currents and sandbanks and whatever weather conditions deliver on the day.

It is a small event, attracting 60-100 paddlers over the last few years.

This year we had a small field of about 65 participants, but they were treated to great conditions. The race start and first lap, in particular, were with near perfect conditions.

A north-westerly berg wind did pick up for the second lap and made things a little more interesting for the more social paddlers.

Bevan Manson was our champion paddler for the year, with Mark Keeling in second.

DARREN BERRY

22km results

THEPADDLEMAG.CO.ZA 39

IMAGES Sandy Coffey

SA marathon champs

St Francis Bay – Andy Birkett and Hank McGregor won a thrilling race for the men’s K2 title at the South African Marathon Championships on Sunday afternoon, ratifying their selection as part of the national canoeing 40 THEPADDLEMAG.CO.ZA

team to the world championships in Portugal in September.

their tactical race perfectly and were able to power home at the end of the seven lap, 30 kilometre duel on the canals of St Francis and The current world number one and the Kromme River estuary, while two, who won the FNB Dusi title the Cape crew of Stu MacLaren and together in January, held a steely Kenny Rice sensationally grabbed grip on a thrilling fast-paced five silver in an absorbing race for last boat duel for the podium places and, men’s K2 spot in the national team. more importantly, the two berths in MacLaren and Rice outlasted the the national team. tenacious Louis Hattingh and The Euro Steel team mates paced Hamish Lovemore in the end-sprint,

dramatically depriving the former K2 world champ Jasper Mocké and Nick Notten of a place in the medals.

“It was a tricky course, it was very easy to make a mistake” said McGregor afterwards. “We played it safe over the last couple of kilometres and made sure we kept in front all the way to the finish.

Birkett was thrilled with the win

and the prospect of partnering ten times world champion McGregor in the K2 race at the world champs.

“It was awesome racing with Hank (McGregor) today, and it leaves me so excited to go on and race our hearts out at the Sella Descent and then the worlds in Portugal,” said Birkett. The women’s title was just as dramatic as London Olympics 500m K1 bronze medallist Bridgitte Hartley completed the

women’s double by winning the K2 gold medal with her new partner Melissa van Rooyen, at the end of a dramatic four boat arm-wrestle on the tight course, with a gusting wind complicating matters.

“I knew was always going to be a challenge,” said Hartley afterwards.

“This was the most competitive women’s field ever.

“I just decide to keep a cool head THEPADDLEMAG.CO.ZA 41

and play the game, play the tactics, and it is all about getting better and better at the end.

“The last portage is always the most important, and I happened to have great last portages in both my K1 and K2 races, just when it counts the most.

She said that she had tried to hide the fact that they were carrying a lot of water in the boat on the short final lap after the last portage.

“I warned Melissa that she might jump into deep water at the portage take-out, but told her not to worry if I went with the boat, she 42 THEPADDLEMAG.CO.ZA

must just follow.

“We took on so much water at the last portage but I decide that I was just going to pull the boat with all the water in it because stopping to empty would have taken too much time. We paddled the last 800 metres full of water. I am surprised that we actually managed to pull away from the others,” said Hartley.

Silver went to Hayley Nixon and Christie Mackenzie in a sensational comeback after looking dead and buried after dropping off the bunch on the penultimate lap.

They surged past the tenacious

Cape crew of Bianca Beavitt and Melanie van Niekerk, while the pedigree crew of Jenna Ward and Kyeta Purchase, both former world champs medallists, were left reeling in fourth place.

The event concluded with the ratification of the national junior, senior and Under 23 teams for the world championships in Portugal in September.

CANOESA.ORG.ZA

SUMMARY OF RESULTS SENOR MEN K2 1 Andy Birkett Hank McGregor 2:13:16 2 Stu MacLaren Kenny Rice 2:13:16 3 Louis Hattingh Hamish Lovemore 2:13:16

SUB MASTER MEN 1 Anthony Rowan Gustav Radloff 1:41:33.01 2 Richard Lowe Jason Ekstrand 1:41:34.12 3 Marc Germiquet Shane Millward 1:46:47.41

SENIOR WOMEN K2 1 Bridgitte Hartley Melissa van Rooyen 2:06:11 2 Hayley Nixon Christie Mackenzie 2:06:17 3 Bianca Beavitt Melanie van Niekerk 2:06:22

MASTERS MEN 1 Rob Hart Garth Watters 1:41:52.38 Gustav Smook Gordon Spalding 1:42:29.50

SUB VET WOMEN 1 Debbie Gillet Lyn Bennett 1:33:39.68 2 Kirstin Scott Tracey Campbell 1:33:40.62 VET WOMEN 1 Ronel Stevens Cathy De Villiers 1:40:14.00 SUB MASTER WOMEN 1 Lis Hart Romy Findlay 1:34:25.62 2 Stephanie Arndt Penny Hulett 1:55:00.21 SUB GRAND MASTER WOMEN 1 Beth Burton Liz Russell 1:13:10.12 2 Antoinette Scholtz Hilde Lapere 1:16:01.08 3 Solly Peckett Brenda Myburgh 1:22:35.77 SUB VETERAN MEN 1 Michael Arthur Wayne Jacobs 1:39:35.32 2 Alex Roberts Ernest Van Riet 1:42:45.47 3 John De Villiers Heinrich Schloms 1:42:49.78

SUB GRAND MASTER MEN 1 Bruce Wenke Linton Hope 1:21:34.56 2 Colin Wilson Nicolas Oldert 1:21:35.90 3 Colin Simpkins Ronald Pronk 1:21:36.32 GRAND MASTER MEN 1 Theo Smit Pierre Van Der Merwe 1:22:09.52 2 Markus Burri Rob Welsh 1:30:05.08 3 Nigel Tatham Anthony Edmonds 1:30:45.48 SUB GREAT GREAT GRAND MASTER MEN 1 Allan Hold Geoff Thompson 1:31:09.81 2 Brian Longley Peter Oconnor 1:31:10.70 3 Giel Van Deventer Lodewyk Rabie 1:38:13.42 GREAT GREAT GRAND MASTER MEN 1 Bevin Worlock Willem Deyzel 1:38:26.33 2 Louis Beyers Allan Botha 1:41:51.78 3 Mike Howard Claude Graham 1:46:36.59

VETERAN MEN 1 Andre Wood Bevan Manson 1:41:17.55 2 Anthony Wostenholm Daan Du Toit 1:41:31.89 3 Duncan Boyd Kelvin Herman 1:41:50.15

THEPADDLEMAG.CO.ZA 43

IMAGES Graham Daniel 44 THEPADDLEMAG.CO.ZA

Potato farm to Podium Christie McKenzie

With the World Marathon Champs looming large on the radar of Christie McKenzie, she’s had to deal with the transition from school to Varsity College and still maintain a commitment to train in order to perform, to continue her high level of achievement, but more

importantly to fuel her passion for performance. Christie has graced the Dusi Canoe Marathon podium in the last two years, both times on the second step, the first time at the tender age of 17 years. This, combined with a Bronze Medal at the World Marathon Champs while

in front of her home crowd last year, rank amongst the highlights of her career thus far, many would be very satisfied with this resume for their entire paddling career, but not this nuggety KZN paddler; she has aspirations for more, much more.

She took up the challenge to race THEPADDLEMAG.CO.ZA 45

K2 in with current World Surfski Champion, Hayley Nixon, to see if they could qualify to represent South Africa at World Marathon Championships in the Open Women. They took silver in the race but subsequently have decided that Christie will now “drive” the boat.

Testament to the fact that she is up for it, to take on the might of the best paddlers in the World and do it on her own terms. This pretty much sums up this determined athlete who has been guided and groomed with a strong support structure from a large family, with huge input from Dad (Ken) and brother, Hamish, who she credits so much of her success to. She looks up to Hayley with deep respect, but credits Hayley with being so understanding and motivating at the same time - such an important point that female paddlers need to look up to other female role models in the sport, and both roles have been fulfilled perfectly with this combination.

Christie did admit that it took a tough SA Marathon Champs competition to set her back on the straight and narrow after “enjoying” some of the benefits of a less structured lifestyle, in Cape Town, as a first year student - ok, so she is human, that’s good to know.

But that commitment meant going back to Durban to re-foucs, train with her squad (Mac Squad) and Coach, Lee McGregor as well as paddle with her new partner, Hayley.

Varsity College allowed her the flexibility in terms of lectures and exams and this facilitated the move, something so key to the success of our future stars: having support from institutions and corporate to allow them to navigate the new waters of a developing career. So many potential stars are lost at this 46 THEPADDLEMAG.CO.ZA

point in their career due to lack of focus, lack of guidance, loss of motivation and the attraction of the “easy” option - success, particularly in paddling, does not come without hard work, and Christie knows this too.

Christie started her competitive athletic career in Junior School, running 1500m on the track, when her Uncle trained her around their potato farm. Her Dad assisted her with the move from Epworth to Durban to train with Lee McGregor, which was a defining decision for her. Brother Hamish, a successful paddler in his own right, gives Christie some hard words when needed which must have led to a few family disputes, but ultimately seems to have made them all stronger as a unit and more supportive of each other’s careers - clearly a strong support structure being another key factor to success in sport.

Christie draws inspiration from Kirsten van Heerden, a former National swimmer, and currently a practising Clinical Psychologist which is also Christie’s current line of study. The balancing act of maintaining a professional career and performing at the highest level are the traits Christie holds in high regard - these are clearly mature consideration on a young set of shoulders. Those same shoulders though are strong enough to carry a K2, on her own, up Burma Road when her Dusi partner was not able to assist. Mental and physical strength abound in this young athlete’s arsenal of talents.

Dusi is a big goal and strong focus for Christie as she loves the race, rivers and running and with 2019 being a K1 year, Christie’s first one out of school, she is “ready to give

it everything she’s got”, to quote her. Strong warning shots fired to all Ladies contenders for next year. Current Dusi Champ Cana Peek is also studying in Cape Town (Stellenbosch) and might provide an incredible tussle between the two of them if they both make it back onto the start line next year.

Christie’s advice to young female paddlers wanting to get into the sport, “Never give up, paddling is a tough sport and requires many hours. It can be tough.You need to be composed on rivers, as well as when Marathon racing. Persevere, make mistakes and push through it.

If you don’t give up, you can achieve anything that you want to.”

So there you have it, massive inspiration from a young star who is rising steadily and making waves both locally and hopefully Internationally too. SA has great female talent, which needs nurturing and care to produce results.

Christie is getting the formulae right so far, long may it continue.

GRAHAM DANIEL

THEPADDLEMAG.CO.ZA 47

SA Sprinters migrating to Europe Preparation for the Olympic qualifier in Szeged next year, Canoeing South Africa has really stepped up their attempt to see South Africa paddlers in a position to secure berths in the Olympic heats. They are sending a huge (by South African standards) team to take on the world in Montemor O Velho, Portugal. The event is the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships and it takes place from the 2326 August. What is interesting to see is that the team is taking the opportunity to try new distances and for the first time since 2015 (U23 K4 1000m) for the men and 2013 for the women – they are sending across a K4 team. As Cameron put it “The branching out of events by everyone is great, it is always good to try something new and see how something different works out. “ Earlier this year Canoeing South Africa sent a smaller team to Szeged, Hungary and the next weekend to Duisburg, Germany. The team did unbelievably well achieving B Semi Finals and above with a couple of the most noteworthy 48 THEPADDLEMAG.CO.ZA

accomplishments being: Chrisjan Coetzee’s A final for the 500m on both weekends. 9th / 7th Esti Van Tonder / Kayla de Beer’s A Final for the K2 200m. 7th / 6th This bodes well as Coetzee has historically preferred the 200m and the pairing of Van Tonder / de Beer are a relatively new combination so to get to the A Finals is a remarkable achievement! De Beer is making a phenomenal come back this year as she last raced at this level in 2015 when she was a junior.

Coetzee will pick up where he left off and continue to represent South Africa in the K1 200m and K1 500m events in Portugal.

Bridgitte Hartley makes a welcome return to the international circuit and will be leading the charge in the two longest races in the sprints domain – the K1 1000m and K1 5000m. In 2012 she became famous for her bronze in the K1 500m Olympic event. This year she has chosen to race the longer disciplines which must be more in keeping with her other goal of representing South Africa two weeks later at the ICF Canoe

Marathon World Championships in Prado Vila Verde, Portugal. Here she will be representing SA in the K1 and K2 heats.

Van Tonder and de Beer appear to be working well together and will combine again in the K2 200m at the upcoming regatta.Van Tonder will also continue her K1 charge taking on the 200m and 500m disciplines. Although Van Tonders best times have traditionally been in the 500m events she certainly seems to have found her new niche in the 200m events with her best results this year coming from the 200m.

In the men’s side there are a number of exciting changes and new developments. The first of which we have already mentioned and that is that we have a K4 team going. It will be made up of Chrisjan Coetzee, Mike Arthur, David Rodrigues and Nick Weeks. David Rodrigues has just represented South Africa at the U23 sprints and we are confident that this recent exposure will help develop his big event mentality and bring some maturity to the boat.

Although the idea of a K4 team in

new to us, the paddlers are not new to each other. Arthur / Coetzee and Rodrigues / Weeks have teamed up very successfully before. In April these two pairs fought it out at SA Sprints for the top step of the podium in the K2 200m and K2 500m disciplines. Arthur/ Coetzee won 500m, Rodrigues / Weeks won 200m so each team brings and important aspect to the team.

Rodrigues / Weeks will also team up for the K2 200m.

the distances that they are racing are new to them and so is their combination. Hudson until recently was a 200m specialist. Hudson/ Lovemore will race the K2 1000m together and Lovemore will go on to do the K1 5000m. This will also be the first time both of them are racing at senior level so their learning curve will be huge.

sprinting and will be cheering them on every step of the way. The preliminary timetable is out but you know we love the sprints so stay tuned to our Facebook page and we will keep you up to date.

We wish them the very best in

IMAGE Supplied by Cameron Hudson

The next new kids on the block are Cameron Hudson and Hamish Lovemore. Hudson is not new to the international arena having raced Junior World Champs back in 2013 but

THEPADDLEMAG.CO.ZA 49

50 THEPADDLEMAG.CO.ZA

IMAGE Paddle for teh Planet

IMAGES Supplied by Jack Seymour

Jack Seymour takes on

Paddle for the Planet While most of us just grabbed our boats and headed down to the water to celebrate Paddle for the Planet (P4P) Jack had a plan.Turns out it was a fantastic plan; it raised lots of money and we were amazed to see the number of paddlers out in support of his event.

The first thing that struck us was – gosh Jack looks young! So we went off to meet Jack and find out just how old he is and more about the plan.

TPM How old are you?

JS 15 TPM How did you come up with the idea?

JS In about January I asked my dad about it as I had done it a few times when I was younger and I realised that no one has really been organising it in Hong Kong for the last couple of years. So I just thought – “why not me?’ if nobody else is going to do it I might as well.

I paddle every day in Hong Kong so I see how much of an issue the plastic and trash in the water is, so that also helped me take the initiative to do it and to organise it.

TPM Where does your rubbish come from?

JS In the winter when the wind is blowing off shore the trash from China and Hong Kong all blows out in to the ocean and then in summer when the wind turns south and onshore it all just comes straight back in. Then it is deposited all along the shore.

TPM When did you start planning it?

JS We started in about March which was actually quite late as there are a number of moving parts and elements. We had to get shirts made and a permit from the marine department. We did

WATCH and be inspired!

THEPADDLEMAG.CO.ZA 51

some promotion on social media; we had a Facebook page. We also did physical promotions and had a booth that some dragon boat and other paddling races before Paddle for the Planet to get people to sign up. Essentially we were hoping for between 80 – 100 people to attend.

The turn out on the day was actually a lot more than we thought it would be initially. We ended up running two events; the main one in Deep Water Bay had about 120 paddlers and then there was a smaller event at a club on the other side of Hong Kong and they had a further 20 paddlers.

TPM We understand that this event also go towards a school project, what was the project?

JS At my school at the end of Grade 9 you start what is called the personal project and the scope is quite vast so I took the opportunity

52 THEPADDLEMAG.CO.ZA

to take action and do this project since I realised that there was a need to do it since nobody else was organising it and it is a really big issue.

In the project you have to document the process and you have to explain why what you did is important and how it affects others and aspects such as that. So doing this made it easier for me to do well in the project as it is a big issue and it is affecting a lot of people in different ways so that part was easy to do. The process was also extremely easy to document as there were a lot of things that I had to do which made it very interesting for my report.

TPM Would you do it again next year?

JS I would definitely do it next year, because it went so well this year and now I have everything in place

for next year, I have the banners, I have got volunteers – who did it this year and are willing to help out again next year. Plus I now know what it takes so I can do it better next year. So I will definitely do it again next year. We are also hoping to get Sea Shepard to help out next year.

TPM We see that you managed to get t-shirts printed – how did that go?

JS It was actually quite funny because P4P offers t-shirts for about one fifth of the price that we offered ours for. The original P4P are cotton t-shirts but we decided to get t-shirts that were made out of recycled plastic bottles instead as it helps with the message.

TPM How much litter did you collect on the day?

JS We collected about 10 – 15 of those big bags of trash. It may

not appear to be a lot but when you realise that it all came from the water and was picked up by paddlers on SUP’s, surf skis and dragon boats it is a lot. We also found a dead turtle with plastic in it which was also quite shocking.

TPM You also managed to raise a lot of money for P4P – how did you do that?

JS First of all we were fortunate to have a lot of people who participated in the event – about 140. We organised a barbeque for them after the paddle where we were selling burgers and drinks. So quite a bit of the money that we raised was from the barbeque as people stayed around to have a few drinks. We made sure that we did not sell anything in plastic bottles, we only sold drinks in glass bottles and cans.

We also charged a bit more that

they recommend at P4P so that we could raise more money. People can afford to pay a bit more in Hong Kong – so it was not a big issue if we charged a bit more. They also got a sticker and a shirt with their participation fee so they were willing to pay a bit more for the cause.

It is amazing that you has SUP’s, surf skis and dragon boats at your event, are they all from your club?

JS Only about 30 of the 140 paddlers were from our club. Then we had several different dragon boat teams that came for example we had the Spanish team, we had the green dragons and lots of other teams. We also had out-riggers come from Hong Kong and the outlying islands who came and lots of people who are not part of a club but saw it on Facebook and decided that they are interested in that.

Defining

training rules

IMAGE Athony Grote 54 THEPADDLEMAG.CO.ZA

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Rules provide the framework for your training sessions, enabling you to derive the optimum benefit from them. Working to rules ensures that you don’t suffer from the illusion of fitness, only to undergo a reality check when competing in an event.

Few individuals have the flexibility to train at the times he or she wants, and therefore set up and follow a routine. This can result in some sessions being undertaken on your own and with other paddlers in a group environment.

Remaining unique Sessions should be more or less demanding, in line with your objectives.You might want to test yourself more in some activities than others.Your program should define the intensities, subject to daily and seasonal cycles.

Although sessions need to be tackled in a certain way, take time for adventure and to feel the wind on your face. Don’t blindly follow what someone else has on his or her schedule because you don’t have a routine of your own.

Doing quality rather than quantity Training for surfski involves potentially long hours to develop the relevant push and pull muscles, in addition to the necessary cardiovascular conditioning. Even with the long hours, however, always opt for a quality session rather than quantity.

It can be counterproductive being active for endless hours in the hope of becoming a more competent athlete. Continual, long and arduous sessions can become unnecessarily demanding and demotivating, 56 THEPADDLEMAG.CO.ZA

especially when on your own. Fatigue can introduce poor habits into your stroking action and lead to repetitive type injury.

The workout that you continually avoid can often do the most amount of good. One hour of effort to exhaustion typically provides the optimum for most surfski activities.

Doing what you want to do Training must be individual, according to your paddling personality.Your mental approach therefore plays a major role in all your endeavours.

This means doing only that which sustains your interest and adds value.

Work out what suits you, then structure a program around it.

If you want to paddle six days a week, then do so. If three sessions complemented by cross training provides a more desirable outcome, do that instead. It is about choices coming from a positive mental space. Don’t feel that you have to undertake a specific activity just because the training group is doing it.

You might be keen to train on the open sea as much as possible, but significant benefit can be gained from flat water sessions. Training on a dam or estuary gives the opportunity to work on your fitness and technique with little interference from the elements.

Incorporating adventure A crucial aspect of surfski is the adventure that can be derived from undertaking varied activities and exploring different offshore locations.

Don’t neglect this by doing long, mundane sessions involving the same route and routine, continually out and back. Conditions are never the

same, so there should always be something to stimulate your interest.

Keep your sessions engaging, training should not become a chore through endless repeats, perhaps ins and outs through the surf only in front of the crowd watching from the clubhouse balcony.

Being flexible Surfski is weather dependent, forcing you to seek the best conditions in the day, even if doing only a few sessions a week. It is not feasible to spend the major part of a day organising a session, so it can be more practical working to a set a time.

Flexibility has its merits, but you can spend more time juggling the logistics than in the activity itself.

Make a plan with the conditions, saving your organisational effort for when your training partners can join in. It is simple to set up an efficient communication network using social media.

Training without disruption It is vital having the mental space for training. It is not the time to be dealing with issues that divert your focus. In a session, you should not be formulating a marketing strategy to sell an ebook or drafting a request to your banker for a loan.

Stress does not take long to surface and can soon negatively impact your efforts.You cannot expect to attain or even approach full potential with conflicting issues vying for your attention.

KEVIN BRUNETTE

improvE your paddling experience

Available from www.lulu.com (just type in “surfski”), or contact author Kevin Brunette: brunette@iafrica.com THEPADDLEMAG.CO.ZA 57

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Opinion

Unsung Heroes

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Our Unsung heroes, called ‘seconds’ or ‘shuttle bunnies’, these are the people that provide support for paddlers. Their role typically involves taking a vehicle to the take-out point of a trip, or in the case of river races, meeting their paddler/s at multiple points along the river to offer refreshments and spare parts. More often than not, though, their unofficial duties extend to that of being a cheerleader, cook, navigator, paramedic, psychologist, physiotherapist and emotional punch bag. The list of tasks is endless.

For these reasons, a more apt name for them would be ‘unsung heroes’.

They are the true legends of the sport. Paddling can easily become a very selfish pursuit, and a very common manifestation of this is

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that paddlers take their seconds for granted. I mean, face it, why are they called ‘seconds’ in the first place?

Second to what?

Our lives as paddlers would be quite miserable without sacrifices from shuttle bunnies. Here are some suggestions to keep the shuttle bunnies in your life on your side.

• Don’t mess them around. They are doing you a favour, not the other way around.

• Make sure your vehicle has enough fuel for the trip. Don’t make this their problem.

• If your trip will be quite long, arrange something nice for them to do while you’re on the water. Don’t expect them to just sit around waiting for you.

• Make sure you provide good directions to get to the take-out and other points along the river where you would like them to meet you. It causes a lot of unnecessary stress for both parties if your shuttle driver takes unexpected detours.

• Don’t ask the same shuttle driver on every trip or race that you do. At some point, the favour is no longer a favour.

• If you have a big group, club together and pay someone to do the shuttle.

• If you end up having the same shuttle bunny on many trips, arrange a trip for them as a treat to say thank you. Book a trip with a commercial rafting company, or buy/borrow/rent a kayak or raft that

suits your shuttle bunny’s skill level.

• If you do a trip far away from home, don’t be shy to ask a local to be your shuttle driver. I have done many trips where I recruited a shuttle driver for the trip on the evening before getting on the water.

There is always someone-whoknows-someone with time on his hands who would be keen for a little adventure. Good places to ask around include the establishment where you plan to stay the night before the trip, or a restaurant where you stop for a meal. Try the local pub too, but don’t be surprised then if your would-be shuttle driver doesn’t pitch the next day.

Race organisers, a word of advice for you too: if you want paddlers to keep coming back to your races,

make sure their shuttle bunnies have a good time. This applies to races on dams and surfski races too, not just river races.

A few things to keep in mind: • Make sure that there are enough toilets for racers and their supporters.

• Make sure there is entertainment for children too.

• Having food and refreshments available to buy can go a long way.

• If it is a rainy, miserable day, some form of shelter will be appreciated by everyone.

I’ll leave you with this little story.: I once did a trip in the Transkei where we asked the chief of a little

village in the area to do the shuttle for us. He was the only person in the village with a driver’s licence.

The next afternoon, after a long day on the river, my brand-new bakkie was nowhere to be seen at the lowlevel bridge where we had agreed to be met by the chief. I spent two stressful hours contemplating the wisdom of my decision and wondering whether he was really a chief or maybe just a thief who had decided to take off with my bakkie.

Then, he arrived, all smiles. The chief explained that he was convinced we would take longer to do the trip than what we estimated, so he gave us some more time before coming to the meeting point. My faith in humanity was restored!

CELLIERS KRUGER

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Cape to Rio 7 Feb – 10 May 2017 92 consecutive days 2.4 million strokes 8100km IMAGES supplied 62 THEPADDLEMAG.CO.ZA

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As a boat builder, I attend the Cape Town International Boat Show boat show every year and it was here that I bumped into Braam who was talking to a group of people on the key side about the expedition. I was interested in the design and construction of the boat and offered my expertise if he needed any help in getting the boat ready for the crossing. Within the next few weeks, one thing led to another and soon the boat was in my factory. Over the following three months many modifications were done to the communication systems and various other gadgets. Because Braam needed an online presence during the row, with the ability to send live sound and video clips, a whole new satellite communication system had to be installed including the power systems to run them.

By the time the boat modifications were done Braam was teamed up with another rower. I was training them about safety procedures,

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radio communication and most importantly navigation and equipment use. There was so much to be done in such a short space of time that I landed up taking on the role of ground crew weather router and project manager of the team.

In the week running up to the departure Braam’s team mate had to withdraw from the expedition which left one rowing seat vacant. As Braam knew that I was an experienced sailor and an endurance athlete, he asked me if I would consider rowing with him. So I had to go and ask management for permission. My wife Cindy’s biggest concern was long term security (What if I did not come home) so first up I had to take out very elaborate life insurance policies to make sure that the family would be taken care of. Once that was done that I had four days in order to learn how to row a boat – I had never rowed a boat in my life before, but I was lucky enough to

be introduced to Guy Biscoe, an experienced rowing coach who had been training Braam. Guy knew that he could not train me or improve my fitness levels in only four days so he simply focused on posture, rowing technique, habits and what not to do. Basically I rowed for just three hours training before getting on the boat to do the crossing. Two of those hours were on a rowing machine with Guy filming me so that I could keep a reference on basic techniques. Luckily for me I had 12+ years of martial arts Shukokai karate behind me – which essentially is all about core posture, weight distribution, conservation of movement and being grounded. So it was an easy transition where it all just clicked. I just had to watch my wrist action as it was the most foreign concept to grasp. My biggest concern physically was my back. I had a major spinal accident in 2001 where I crushed my lumber spine in three places while racing downhill

MTB. All L1, 3 and 5 vertebrae were broken and compressed to such a degree that I lost 55mm of height.

I also collapsed both lungs, broke some ribs and was paralised in both legs. At the time the doctors said that I would never walk again. I never believed them!

The thing about rowing across an ocean is that it is an extremely long endurance event. Luckily for me I am an endurance athlete and I am accustomed to the mental and physical challenges when under extreme conditions. I knew that both Braam and I shared the same endurance athlete mind set, but I did not know him as a person at the time and that we would have to spend a very long time in a very confined space together. Braam had no experience in rowing boats or any ocean crossings and I was concerned about how he would behave when things got really out of hand. We would both be extremely sleep deprived and exhausted most of the time. Working as a team under these conditions takes a special kind of character to pull it off without ego stepping in. We did not have one single argument in the 92 days that we were at sea. We both pulled our weight without ever complaining, and if one of us was feeling down for any particular reason, the other would take on an extra hour or two rowing. We worked as a team, and looked out for each other 24/7.

The reason why this was the first attempt from Cape Town is that the sea conditions off the Southern Cape and South West African coasts are some of the most treacherous in the world. It is no coincidence that there are over 10 000 ship wrecks along this coastline alone. The challenges of rowing a

southerly route like we did from Cape Town are complex because of the prevailing winds, unpredictable weather and heavy sea conditions.

The Cape Peninsula and the west coast of Africa are exposed to the massive cold fronts and low pressure systems that travel east uninhibited from Antarctica and the Southern Ocean which crash onto our shores with a huge amount of energy. With these weather systems come big seas and waves that can and do break ships into pieces.

Planning a departure date was like playing a game of Russian Rolette in that we had to watch the weather systems very closely and plan for the best weather window which would give us enough time to get as far offshore as possible. We had planned to leave Cape Town in early January, but due to a number unforeseen delays we scheduled to leave in February, one month late when westerly (onshore) winds are predominant. Because of the westerly winds we rowed for 11 hours straight, no breaks on our first day just to keep off the coast. In a sense we were very lucky that our first major storm after departure was about 15 days into the row and we were about 700 miles off the Angolan Coast at that stage. But once you are that far off shore and outside of a commercial shipping lane, there is little to no chance of rescue or recovery.

The reason for the route we chose was to row anticlockwise and circumnavigate the South Atlantic high pressure system by travelling north near to St Helena Island before turning west and heading for the South American continent. In the southern hemisphere summer months, the high pressure cell expands further south and prevents

world records

Longest row unassisted

First time the row has been undertaken Most southern row attempted

boat specs 6.8m long 980kg The cabin is big enough for one person.

cooking Cooking like everything else was a choreographed affair. All food was freeze dried and packaged into zip lock boil in a bag type bags.

Water was heated on a small hand held gas burner while the other would hold the bags. We had to work in unison while pouring and holding everything together. Open flames and pouring boiling water in a very small space on a moving platform is a tricky business.

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the traditional cold fronts from reaching Cape Town. We followed a traditional trade wind route and used tried and tested routing charts to depict the most predictable prevailing wind patterns for the given area we were in. But the problem currently is that Global Warming is alive and well and it has knocked previously predictable weather patterns on their heads.

It could just be a natural planetary cycle but I believe that the more disrupted we act as human beings the more disrupted we make the planet The day we left Cape Town was the first time I had climbed on the boat in the water. We left on the best weather window that we could hope for and rowed towards Llundudno / Camps Bay before really heading out to sea in order to clear Robben and Dassen Island before heading north. We rowed for 11.5 hours, both of us nonstop in to the south easterly. (By the time Wayne rounded Green Point he had doubled his rowing time). After that we rowed for 2 hours on, 2 hours off for 90 days.

The greatest challenge on the row apart from the mental/ physical one was managing our power (electricity) generation and consumption. We could not carry enough water so we had a reverse osmosis desalinator pump that could produce 22 litres of water an hour, but it consumed most of our available power. Everything onboard the boat was solar powered. Our solar panels had monitors where we could see exactly how much charge we were putting into the batteries and how much charge we were using when systems were powered up. No less than 48 out of 92 days, we had no sunshine – could not see 66 THEPADDLEMAG.CO.ZA

the sun at all due to heavy cloud cover. The boat needs electricity to run the desalinator pump (that is your life line) and secondly to run your navigation instruments, navigation lights at night and our chart plotter with an AIS system (Automatic Identification System) The AIS is a system that transmits your vessel details to other boats and receives the same information back about other boats within a certain range. It also calculates collision vectors and will sound an alarm if there is any vessel gets within range of a set parameter. We had our parameters set at 2 nautical miles or 24 min.Very important stuff when you are only 6m long and at the risk of being run down by massive freight ships. Because we had very limited power we could not run the pump or use the navigation system when required so I had to navigate by using a dead reckoning system and use the sun and the stars to stay on course. We only powered up the chart plotter at midday in full sunlight to get a noon GPS fix. Because the water maker used so much power we could not risk running it for more than a few minutes and depleting the battery bank completely. During a storm we would get got blown wherever the wind and waves would take us. We would have to replot our course and claw our way back to our previous position, sometimes up to 80 miles! The only way to make water was to make use of the manual desalinator pump.

But this was hard work and it took 58 minutes to make just one litre of water. That hour was meant to be used for sleeping. In the next hour you had to attend to food preparation, boat maintenance, personal hygiene, rest etc. We never got to sleep for more than

a few minutes at a time. The g forces on your body inside the cabin made sure that you would lift off and slam back onto the mattress continuously. Sleeping was impossible.You stop rowing – you die.You run out of water you die.

No sleep, you go mad.

Our little boat represented for me a microcosm of our own world and our connection to our planet.Without every system working properly it placed the whole boat at risk and increased our risk of injury or death.The longer we spent out there, the higher the risk we faced.

Storms are always far worse at night when visibility is reduced to zero. At 3am one morning, we were huddled together in the bow, trying to keep the boat from capsizing and we just knew when the big ones were coming. They come with a roaring sound that is difficult to explain. We had 40 / 50 foot waves breaking around us and we had been rolled a couple of times when we heard this particular wave coming. It just picked us up higher and higher up the slope of the wave. Suddenly we were pitchforked through the air and landed about 20m away. We were free falling through the air and we could not see a thing – when suddenly whack we hit the water. it is extremely loud and violent, Everything not strapped down including yourselves just becomes like a projectile inside a tin can. In that storm we had a rowing seat ripped out of the deck and our carbon fiber dagger board got snapped off like a toothpick.

On another occasion we got rolled 180 degrees in huge seas and for some reason the boat did not right itself immediately. The first problem with that is that all the navigational equipment is mounted on the roof

and hull side panels which is now below you. So you try desperately not to stand on anything because you can’t afford to break screens or damage any of the gear. It’s also pitch dark where you can’t even see your hand in front of your face.

There is also an air vent on the roof without which we would suffocate but on one this occasion the boat was upside down and the water was blasting in like a fire hose through this 40mm hole. So we had to work as a team and rock the boat until it righted itself. Once it had righted itself we found ourselves sitting in a pool of water at 11˚C, satellite communication system gone, our cloths were wet, our mattress was wet. The only thing to do was to keep on rowing while the other one cleaned up and repacked the boat until the next wave hit. This would go on for 4 to 5 days at a time. We would just take turns. It was not our biggest fear however – our biggest

fear was shipping traffic.

Our AIS system would pick up any vessel that was still out of sight and on the other side of the horizon.

We would know instantly if we were in any danger by looking at the speed and heading travelled by both vessels. If and when we were on a collision course the AIS system would calculate the time to impact in minutes and seconds. We literally could see the clock on the screen counting down to impact all the while an alarm would be sounding if and the ship would be getting ever closer. Because we were always so sleep deprived, Braam and I would continually practice a drill procedure and choreograph all our moves on what to do down to the finest detail. We didn’t have the luxury of thinking under pressure, so we had our moves and tasks set out. Who grabbed what bag or radio in an emergency was always done without thinking.

We could not run the AIS system when we needed it most (at night). In order to maintain safety, we had to keep strict watches, even while the other was rowing.

When rowing, the rower r is facing backwards and cannot see what is in front of the boat at all. So the person not rowing (who should be sleeping) would have to keep a lookout for shipping coming from ahead of us. Most large 1000 ft bulk carriers can travel between 18 and 22 knots speed over the ground. These vessels can be seen on the horizon seven miles away and be within collision distance in a very short space of time. We were nearly killed no less than 27 times by bulk carriers. Many of the radio operators do not speak English and simply do not respond when called.

Our closest call was on the east coast of Brazil; it is oil country with oil tankers and many oil platforms and all the activity that goes with

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that plus the fishing vessels. We were coming down the coast past Vitoria, a major industrial port. It was my turn on the ores so before I took up my position, I checked the AIS and there was a ship coming out of the channel and there was another one coming in which was still on the other side of the horizon. As we started to cross the channel we could see the two ships entering the channel from either side. So I said the Braam that this was going to be touch and go for us. As we got to the middle of the channel both ships were bearing down on us so we radioed both ships. Luckily the one ship radio operator spoke English and responded that they had seen us on their AIS and that we should hold our course but we got no response from the other ship at all.

Because of their size they needed to accelerate in order to get more water going past the rudder which forced the ship to lean over in our direction with their cargo right above us which was hair raising. We were so close that we got covered in bunker oil soot. The other ship

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never acknowledged us and nearly ran us over.

My most profound experience was while we were on para-anchor about 300 miles off the Brazilian coast, just north of Trinidad Island.

Braam and I are both divers and so we would dive and swim and film whenever we got the chance. When we were stationary for long enough, the pelagic fish would use the shadow of our boat to hide under, while the predators would hunt them from below. On one occasion we had a school of about 30 trigger fish hiding around the rudder area of our boat. Now triggerfish are great food for other fish. Early one morning I got up to see this glint in the water and realizing that it was Dorado, so I quickly grabbed my goggles and jumped in to go and dive with them. It was incredible to watch them dive down below me until out of sight. Just when they were deep enough, they would come hurtling up from the depths and attack the trigger fish.

These huge fish hunting in a feeding frenzy in their natural environment

was a real privilege to witness. I realised then that many people would consider it totally normal to simply kill the Dorado and eat them. At that point something snapped in my head and I realized that I could not eat meat anymore and kill animals for food. Since that day I have been vegetarian. The interesting thing is that as an athlete I had been reluctant to give up meat for the fat and protein content, but since being vegetarian my training times/ results have improved dramatically.

I would definitely do it again, but solo this time!

WAYNE ROBERTSON

Contact Peter Mitchley 082 8811193

With safe, sheltered paddling in the canals, long river paddles available up the Kromme (navigable for 14km), and the usually calm sea in the Bay, St Francis is a paddler’s mecca. On top of this are the world-class downwinds to JBay and Oyster Bay for the more adventurous.

Besides our Wednesday canal time trials, there is paddling on Mondays, for some in the sea (usually the sheltered 10km route to Shark Point and back), and for others on the canals, as well as other days. Downwinds to JBay and Oyster bay have become much more regular.

Where is the club situated?

15 Sea Glades Drive, St Francis Bay, Eastern Cape When is the time trial?

Every Wednesday 17H30 @ QUAYSYDE, 15 Sea Glades Drive.

Does the club have canoes / Skis for the beginners to try?

Yes, by arrangement. extras There is a lady’s group that paddles on Tuesday’s. We do downwind paddles from Grannys Pool to Kabeljous Beach (Jeffreys) when conditions are favourable.

Our club is situated on the beautiful St Francis Canals.

You can start your paddle on the canals which are protected from the wind, and for the more energetic you can make your way onto the Kromme River which is navigable for about 15 Km’s.

We have arguably some of the best wave riding for surfskis in the world at Granny’s Pools or Huletts.

The club caters for those who just want to enjoy paddling around the canals at their own pace taking in the scenery and those who use the waterways to train for marathons, rivers and surfskiing.

Members normally stay for a drink at the Quayside Restaurant after the Wednesday time trial.

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OUT

&ABOUT

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Berg River Canoe Marathon July 2018

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OUT

&ABOUT

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Upper Umgeni Season Opener July 2018 IMAGES Mary Barnard

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OUT

&ABOUT Harbour to Heads July 2018

IMAGES LizaMay Images

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The Pink Lady June 2018 IMAGES Tracey-Lee Anderson

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Let’s Race Events , events & more events

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EASTERN CAPE DATE AUGUST SUN 5 SUN 19 SAT 25 SEPTEMBER SUN 2 SAT 2 SUN 23 SUN 30 OCTOBER FRI 6 - SAT 6 SUN 14 FRI 19 THU 25 NOVEMBER SAT 3 - SUN 4 FRI 9 FRI 16 FRI 23 DECEMBER SAT 1 - SUN 2 SAT 22 FRI 28

RACE

DETAILS

CONTACT

Border Winter Series 3 Border Winter Series 4 Kowie Intercity Challenge

secretary@bordercanoeclub.co.za

Border Winter Series Pre Fish

secretary@bordercanoeclub.co.za

secretary@bordercanoeclub.co.za secretary@bordercanoeclub.co.za

Gamtoos Challenge

Jeffry’s Bay, 10 or 20km

Hansa Fish Marathon 2018 John Woods Challenge Border Summer Series Border Summer Series

Fish River, Craddock, 84km secretary@bordercanoeclub.co.za secretary@bordercanoeclub.co.za secretary@bordercanoeclub.co.za

Pete Marlin Race Border Summer Series Border Summer Series Border Summer Series PE - EL Carey Olsen Shark Point Surfski Sporty Anderson Surfski Race

secretary@bordercanoeclub.co.za secretary@bordercanoeclub.co.za secretary@bordercanoeclub.co.za secretary@bordercanoeclub.co.za

St Francis Beach, 18km St Francis Beach, 18km

GAUTENG DATE AUGUST SAT 4 SAT 18 SUN 19 SUN 26 SEPTEMBER SUN 2 SUN 9

SAT 15 SUN 16

RACE Centurion 9 Miler SAMC Watuni Klip Sprints at Roodeplaat 5 FLCC Klip

DETAILS

CONTACT garthgerdi@gmail.com mariettezandbergh@gmail.com

Ixoxo Manzi to Caravan Park

VLC Klip Sprints at Roodeplaat 6

Liebenbergsvlei Reitz to Tweeling, Canoe Free State, 70km Marathon

info@gcu.co.za dennis@seacob.co.za

info@gcu.co.za

http://dabulamanzi. co.za/liebenbergsvlei/

Capturing the World in Motion John Hishin +27 82 504 5702 john@capetownsportphotography.co.za

DATE SAT 22 SUN 23 SAT 29 OCTOBER SAT 13 SAT 20 SUN 21 SAT 27 NOVEMBER SUN 4 SUN 11 SAT 24 DECEMBER SUN 2

RACE

DETAILS

CONTACT

Lowveld Croc ERK Nite Race Schools League Race 10 Likkewaan 2 Day Race

Dabs Parys

DABS 24 hour Enduro

Dabs

Schools League Final Race 11 JCC Klip - Vaal VLC Maluti

Homestead Dam, Benoni

FLCC Dusi Klip

Heidelberg Bridge to Caravan Park

K W A - Z U L U N ATA L DATE AUGUST THU 9 SUN 12 SAT 18 / SUN 19 THU 23 SAT 25 SAT 25 SUN 26 TUE 28 SEPTEMBER SAT 1 SAT 1 or SUN 2 SUN 2 THU 13 SAT 15 or SUN 16 SAT 15 SUN 16 SAT 22 or SUN 23 SUN 23 SAT 29 OCTOBER SAT 13 SAT 13 or SUN 14

RACE Tugela 20’s

DETAILS

CONTACT

Winterton / Bergville

Gara Dolphin Coast Challenge Pirates SLC Lance Park Memorial NCC Camps Drift, 16km Capitol Caterers Schools Polo Shongweni Shaka Challenge ZKC Clubhous, Meerensee, Richards Bay Alex Caruth 2 Upper Umgeni, 16km Duncan Scotney PYC, 16km Capitol Caterers Schools Polo Da’Real Downwind Series Race 1 Supa Quick Jock Claasens Eric’s Canoe Shop Race Da’Real Downwind Series Race 2 Capitol Caterers Schools flat water slalom Supa-Quick Fezela Classic Da’Real Downwind Series Race 3 Nobby Nel Memorial NCC Boat Auction Capitol Caterers Schools 10 Lap Enduro Da’Real Downwind Series Race 4

NCC 033 342 1528

mike.jackson@lake-agri.co.za stella.canoe.club@gmail.com

Varsity/Shongweni Pirates - Umdloti, 22km Upper Umngeni, 18km KCC at Blue Lagoon, 16km Pirates - Umdloti, 22km TWC, 16km Camps Drift to Moto-X wier Pirates - Umdloti, 22km Upper Umgeni, 21km Camps Drift, PMB, 9am Camps Drift Pirates - WEstbrook or Toti, 30km

fezela canoe club

DATE SAT 13 or SUN 14 SUN 14 SAT 20

RACE

DETAILS

CONTACT

SA Canoe Polo Trials Table Mountain Descent

SAT 20 or SUN 21 SAT 20 SUN 21 WED 24 SUN 28 SUN 28

Mouth to Mounth Downwind Ski Race Da’Real Downwind Series Race 5 Dam to Dam 2-man Relay K1 and K2 Da’Real Rbay - Pirates Downwind Surfski Challenge 6 Umpetha Challenge

NOVEMBER SAT 10 SUN 11

Popes Walk Alan Gardiner Memorial

SAT 17

Ithala Challenge

SUN 25 DECEMBER SUN 2 THU 6 SUN 9 SUN 16 SUN 16

Ozzie Gladwin Supa-Quick Fezela Challenge NCC Nite Race No 8 to Josephines Bridge Winkle - Toti - Winkle KZN MD Champs

SUN 30

Fast Drak

Table Mountain to Nagle Dam, 20km Ricahards Bay to Mtunzini, 35km Pirates to Tinley, 30 or 50km Albert Falls, 25km (K1) or 30km (K2) Richards Bay to Pirates, 162km Camps Drift to Bishopstowe Hall, 18km Dusi Bridge to Mfula Store Ibis Point to Mbeje’s Store, 22km Bivane Dam to Ithala Game Reserve, 42km Bon Accord Park, 29km Bon Accord Park, 25km Camps Drift, 15km Úmkomaas, 15km Winklespruit LSC, 15km Sccottsons Bridge to 2nd Coleford Bridge, 25km Underberg, 65km

WESTERN CAPE DATE AUGUST SAT 4 THU 9 SAT 11 SAT 18 SUN 19 SAT 15 SUN 26 SEPTEMBER SAT 1 SAT 15 MON 24 OCTOBER SUN 14 SAT 20

RACE Robertson to Bonnievale K2 Wyzersdrift K2 Elandia to Robertson Drew to Swellendam K2 Bontebok K2 Breede River Marathon

Franschoek to Paarl K1 Goude to Bridgetown Eerste River Heritage Day K1 Surf Ski 1 - Three Beaches Ski Race Junior Triple Series 1

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DETAILS 10am, 28km Wyzerdrift bridge, Breede River, 10am, 20km 10am, 27km Breede River Breede River Breede River, 71.5km

Paarl, 9am, 20km Eerste Rivier

CONTACT secretary@peninsula-canoe.org.za

chrisjanc@gmail.com chairman@centurycitycanoeclub.co.za

richarda@akaciamedical.co.za chrisjanc@gmail.com richarda@akaciamedical.co.za

DATE SUN 21 SAT 27 SUN 28 NOVEMBER SAT 3 SUN 4 SUN 11 SUN 18 SUN 25 DECEMBER SAT 1 SUN 2 SUN 9 SUN 16

RACE

DETAILS

Surf Ski Race 2 Junior Triple Series 2 Surf Ski 3

Langebaan

Junior Triple Series Surfski 4 Surfski 5 Surfski 6 Surfski 7 - 2 Harbours

Oceana Power Boat Club Milnerton to Melkbos Fishhoek

Cape Point Qualifier

Surfski 8 - Daniel Conradie Surfski 9 Surfski 10 - Peter Creese Fenn Cape Point Challenge

Cape Point Qualifier Pete Cole 083 675 0616

I N T E R N AT I O N A L DATE

CONTACT

RACE

DETAILS

JUN 25 - 30 JUL 28 - 29 AUG 1 - 5 AUG 22 - 26 AUG 31 - SEP 2 SEP 3 - 4 SEP 6 - 9 SEP 21-22 OCT 19 - 21

Mauritius Ocean Classic World Series, Mauritius ICF Junior and u23 Sprint World Champs ICF Canoe Polo World Champs ICF Senior Sprint World Champs and PARA Champs 2018 ICF Canoe Ocean Racing World Cup ICF Masters Marathon World Cup ICF World Marathon Champs 2018 Canoe Sprint Super Cup 2018 ICF Canoe Ocean Racing World Cup

dhenry.jphboathouse@intnet.mu Bulgaria Welland Portugal Portugal Portugal Portugal Russia France

OCT 13 - 16

Youth Olympic Games

Buenos Aires, Argentina

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View from the back of the boat Kids used to walk around this t-shirts saying… LOST and I was never sure if it was in reference to them or me? Well, this feeling of not always being entirely sure remains with me today.

time I realised that I was on the wrong path was when I literally bumped in to a huge irrigation pump in the river and there was no river on the other side. Blast!! I am lost.

Last week was the start of my river season and I had finally managing to convince my wife to second for me again.You see she took a 3 year sabbatical after a most unfortunate red barn incident! Usually my paddling is considered an all-day affair by those that second me due in part to my consistent lack of fitness. But today I simply had to get a move on as my 92 year grandmother was coming home that afternoon. In my defence; I did listen to the race briefing and those on the water will testify that I asked everyone on the water where the ‘gatjie’ on the left was. Off we went.

I did ok for the first half and then my hours in front of a computer took its toll and I was soon left paddling on my own. Not to worry – I had listened to the race briefing and I went in search of this little ‘gatjie’ on the left. Well I found it – odd I thought that it was so narrow. Still wondering how the doubles were expected to get through I paddled on and on ducking under branches, making 3 point turns in my single. The first

Not to worry, I knew that the river was somewhere to the left so I jumped out my boat and prepared to set off. Just as I picked up my boat I heard the first dog bark – WHAT! Farm dogs are not famed for their good breeding so please don’t ask me what they were.

What they are famed for is their ability to protect and these three took it upon themselves to protect the pump. Well off I went, boat on the shoulder, dogs in hot pursuit and all the while I am muttering that wonderful Afrikaans word. I must have looked a bit like Neanderthal man running through the bush with my primitive weapon on my shoulder – what made it more fun was that someone had cut down the wattle so every now and again I had to hurdle the wattle – still with my boat on my shoulder. The dogs on the other hand were having none of the antics; they simply found a way straight through the wattle and off we went again.

It was only when I finally ran head long into very old, very disgusting water that they finally gave up the chase.

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Although I was clearly a huge amount of fun to chase, there was no ways they were going in to that water!

And so began my wonderings… it is hard to remember quite were I stumbled upon the two girls with a boat on their shoulders. Suddenly one became three.

Not that it helps, because three people lost is worse because now you have to negotiate through your lostness! My track will show that we paddled down a 200m long pool of water before having to turn back and get out where we first put in. We also walked in circles a few times as we edged our way closer to the water. But it is the last part that was the death of me.

We got so close to the water that we could hear it and occasionally we thought that we heard voices, we were almost there. Between us and the water was firstly a wall of cut down wattle trees, an island of trees and finally palmiet reeds.

Palmiet reeds for those that don’t know are: This is a robust, evergreen semi-aquatic shrub that grows up to about 2m

going no where slowly

high.The main stem is 50-100 mm in diameter and is usually covered with the dark brown, fibrous remains of old leaves.The leaves are stiff, leathery and pale grey-green, with toothed edges. (SANBI) What I discovered is that to get through them you need to stand on them otherwise you will quickly end up in chest deep water with a spike up your nose. Pride dictates that I go first, so after battling to get my canoe and I up, over and across the landscape I finally reached the water myself – freedom. No wait! What about the girls? Back I go leaving my canoe looking longingly at the water. Wade across the palmiet and help the girls. Hold their canoe while they get in – which leaves no one to hold mine. Battle, snuggle up to more palmiet and finally I am on my way leaving me shattered. By the time we crossed the finish line only the ever faithful timekeepers and a few curious onlookers were left. So begins my river season…

walking in circles push through the bush

chased by dogs

chased by dogs

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IMAGE Dale Staples