Whipping up a froth
RUBBER duck races returned to Port Alfred last weekend after a 10-year absence, part of the Royal St Andrews Hotel Easter Festival.
In addition to the rubber duck circuit racing in the East Beach surf on Saturday and Sunday, a highlight was the resurrected Barnacles Challenge which saw the inflatables race from the Port Alfred Ski-boat Club out the Kowie River Mouth and in a circuit off West Beach and around Fountain Rocks.
The thrilling high-speed race drew throngs of spectators on the east and west piers and lining the river banks.
“It was fantastic,” said Mike Hattingh of the Border Inflatable Boat Club (BIBC), which organised the weekend races.
The event drew participants from Port Elizabeth, Cape Town and Sasolburg.
“I last did the Barnacles Challenge about 15 to 20 years ago, and this was one of the better ones,” Hattingh said.
Rubber duck racing was last in Kowie the last time the Formula One boats raced here 10 years ago.
Hattingh said the BIBC had suggestions for improving the ocean circuit racing.
“We may have to look at the other side of the river, down from West Beach, because it’s far for the guys to carry toolboxes and fuel to the site we had at East Beach. And for safety we need a buffer of about 450-500m, with 100m on each side,” he said.
“If the surfing wasn’t happening it would have been alright, but we were the guests there.”
He said if the BIBC had had more time they would have attracted more boats to the event.
“We recently had a world cup in Cape Town. It’s a bit heavy having another competition just three weeks later. We’ll definitely be back with a lot more numbers and we have suggestions to make it more interesting for spectators.”
The final results for the rubber duck racing were: pro stock class – 1st Kyle Kolbe and Ross Templeman, 2nd Jaco Kloostezul and Antonio Sequeria, and 3rd Josh Myburgh and Sarah Hawkes; modified class – 1st Chad Romans and Candice Hatting, 2nd Mike Hatting and Caitlin Young, and a combined 3rd place between Travis Hawkes and Jonty Craniey, and Elandré Human and Rikus Human.