Fitting finale for 2016 marine series

THE 2016 Varsity College FNB Marine Surfski Series came to an end on Friday evening with the Varsity College FNB South African Schools Surfski Championships taking centre stage.

Mark Keeling and Kyeta Purchase became national champions, while Hank McGregor took the overall spoils in the series.

Keeling finished second the Bailey de Fondaumiere in 2015, however he was too strong for the rest of the schools field as he cantered to a win by just over a minute, while Purchase repeated her win of 2015 as she outgunned the other girls to take the national championship title.

The overall series title was up for grabs as McGregor was chasing Matt Bouman for the spoils, however it was the former who produced the goods to claim yet another Varsity College Marine Series title.

“It was a perfect evening for racing with a light westerly wind blowing. There was a great field there and I knew that I was under a bit of pressure because I needed this result if I was going to win. It was an awesome evening for racing and I am really glad that I have another title,” McGregor said.

With the focus of the final race being on the SA School’s championships, Hayley Nixon managed to get her second win of the series despite the fact that Nicole Russell had already wrapped up the women’s series title.

The popular short course was won by Nic Riosa whilst the Wilkinson pair of Travis and Rachel were the quickest double across the line.

Visit: www.marineseries.co.za