FOLLOWING some devastating storms during the week, the Illovo Suncoast Pirates Wall and Back Surfski Series got underway in some tricky conditions on Friday which saw the experienced Michelle Burn and Andy Birkett taking home the race one spoils.
The end of winter is typically a quiet time for surfski paddlers but the likes of Fenn Kayaks’ Burn and Euro Steel's Birkett have been focused mainly on flat-water marathon racing with the world championships last month in Pietermaritzburg.
The spring surfski season is the beginning of a long surfski period with many of the local stars working towards the Ocean Racing World Championships in Hong Kong in November.
Burn, who represented South Africa in the women's K2 at the recent marathon world championships, was happy to be competing in her surfski again.
With the world surfski championships the final goal for Burn, she is looking to use the Wall and Back Series as an opportunity to hone her skills before she heads off to Hong Kong in the middle of November.
The second race of the 2017 Illovo Suncoast Pirates Wall and Back Surfski Series is at 5.15pm on Friday 20 October. Visit: www.wallandback.co.za.
