Students tackle the Fish

The Hansa Fish River Canoe Marathon is the biggest race on the Rhodes University Canoe Club’s calendar.

The two-day race covers a total distance of 86km, starting on Grassridge Dam and ending in Cradock.

It is a fast-flowing river with plenty of big rapids and obstacles along the way.

The 2015 edition saw more than 1 300 paddlers competing in the race.

Participants would have to endure scorching temperatures as well as the icy cold water of the Fish River. This year the marathon doubled as the South African K2 River Championships as well as University Sports South Africa Tertiary Tournament.

The Rhodes doubles pairing of Jason Aubin and Pierre Schweyer were the favourites among the club’s members and were hoping for a top 30 finish among some of the best river paddlers in the world.

Unfortunately, 6km into day one their steering system broke when they got stuck on a submerged log. They ended up having to paddle the remaining 42km with practically no steering on a fast-flowing river with technical rapids.

“In a race like the Fish, where some of the best paddlers in the world are competing, any form of time delays automatically mean one's competitive race is over,” said Aubin.

That was not the end of their bad luck. At the beginning of day two, Schweyer’s blade broke when it came into contact with another paddler’s blade, spoiling their chances of making up any lost time.

After finding a replacement, Aubin and Schweyer finished in a total time of 6 hours and 10 minutes and were the first of the club's craft in, finishing in what they considered a disappointing 146th position.

The next of the club's boats in was that of Sean HerdHoare and Mark Weston. They too experienced the dangers of the Fish River on day one when they broke half of their cockpit as well as popping the seam of their canoe.

This meant they took in a lot of water which would slow them down quite considerably.

They finished the race in a total time of 6 hours and 50 minutes and in 266th position. Richard Gardiner, Wesley Pons, Adam Klaas, Joshua van Schalkwyk, Kyle Johnstone, Rachel Johnstone and Kyle Smetherham were competing in their first Fish River Canoe Marathon with their main goal of finishing the race unscathed. They did just that and can be very proud of their achievements.

See the Rhodes Canoe Club results in Know the Score on Page 28.

sport@grocotts.co.za

Photo: SUPPLIED Kimberly Handley from Kingswood (right) and Hannah Jones from DSG Junior (left) were in Eastern Cape Equestrian A teams that won the working riding and the dressage team events at the Sanesa Nationals held near Pretoria last week.

Photo: SUPPLIED Rhodes University Canoe Club members, from left, Kyle Smetherham, Roger van Tonder, Adam Klaas and Josh van Schalkwyk during the Hansa Fish River Canoe Marathon in Cradock.