Paddlers take to Breede River for championship
A BIG field of paddlers will contest the 51st edition of the Breede River Canoe Marathon this weekend.
The paddlers will have the added lure of a national title up for grabs as the event doubles as the SA K2 River Championships.
Event organisers made the call to race the two-stage event over the same section of river, using the second stage from Bonnievale to Kam’Bati Resort, close to Swellendam, on both days, as the upper reaches of the river around Robertson were too low to be paddled.
They say the conditions won’t be as tough as they were last year, when they were forced to take the same decision on the race course after the winter rains failed to arrive in the catchment area.
“There is much more water than last year.
“At least we will need our splash covers.
“Last year I didn’t even pack mine for the race and left it in Cape Town,” said defending champion Kenny Rice.
Rice, who will partner with Stu MacLaren to defend the title, said the low river suited where they were at in terms of training for the marathon world championships in Portugal next month. “We have been doing a lot of portage training because we have to be up there with Hank (McGregor) and Adrian (Boros), so it might come in handy on the weekend.
“In a low river you have to be quick out of the boat to portage over a few shallow rapids, and then quick back into the boat,” he said.
The race sees a return to competitive paddling after a long lay-off for former marathon world champion Shaun Rubenstein, who has co-opted Eastern Cape talent Jordan Zeelie as his partner in a crew that might be light on training hours but boasts an impressive pedigree.
Many experienced paddlers have opted to paddle with first-timers to the Breede as part of an innovative “Nurture a Novice” project that has succeeded in boosting the number of newcomers to the sport taking part in their first major two-day marathon.
The competition takes place tomorrow and on Sunday.