Winter action for paddlers
WHILE winter was often seen as a paddling off-season, the KwaZulu-Natal paddling fraternity has the capacity to constantly reinvent itself, and find new and innovative ways to enjoy the sport.
This month, two series get under way in the region that will give eager paddlers opportunities to enjoy the best of the winter conditions.
With the FNB Durban Downwind a thing of the past, the Bay Union Open Ocean Challenge gets under way tomorrow, offering surfski paddlers the opportunity to enjoy the runs and swells around the harbour and Bluff area.
Starting and finishing at the DUC club near Vetch’s Reef, which makes for an easy and safe surf zone in most conditions, the four races consist of a short course of 6km and a long course of 12km. The series is open to Stand Up Paddleboarders as well.
With Durban being home to many of the world’s best surfski paddlers, the competition for the prize money will be fierce, particularly as some of the sport’s superstars will be away on international duty at surfski races in Europe, Canada and America at that time.
For the series opening race on July 9 the field will include the potent likes of Hank McGregor, Matt Bouman and Bailey De Fondaumiere, while the ladies field will be just as impressive with commitments from new SA Champion Michelle Burn, Nikki Russell and Jenna Ward.
The series goes out of its way to treat male and female contenders equally, and has equal prize money for men and women.
The series uses the thriving community of surfski paddlers who call themselves the Geriatskis, and who base themselves at DUC, as a springboard.
The Geriatskis have weekly paddle-outs from DUC on the weekend and have also clubbed together to collectively sponsor half of the series races.
With the KZN winter generally offering benign and paddler friendly ocean conditions, the races out to the turncans off the Bluff have proven popular with seasoned surfski paddlers and novices who are plucking up courage to venture further offshore.
The series organisers go to a great deal of trouble to ensure that prizes cascade down to all classes, and that backmarkers stand a good chance to win prizes as well. On Friday July 28 the first KZN leg of the Euro Steel McGregor Paddle Series gets under way at Blue Lagoon.
The series, started last year by the multiple marathon world champ and his wife Pippa, was a resounding success and they broadened the series in 2017 to include a leg in Johannesburg, which, despite the almost freezing temperatures, was very well supported.
The 2017 series will feature two races in Durban, and two races at Camps Drift in Pietermaritzburg, ahead of the ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships in September.