Novices learn the ropes
Novice paddlers took to the river to hone their paddling skills.
Freedom Day recently gave new paddlers in Gauteng an opportunity to practise their newly acquired skills at their first ever river race.
It was a wonderfully sunny, pleasant day for the canoeists to gain their first point for A grade status when Victoria Lake Canoe Club (VLC), based at Germiston Lake, hosted the Novice Cake Race, where the first placed novices received a specially baked cake as their prize.
The race started in Henley-on-Klip, at the Makery restaurant, in Twin Rivers Estates, and traversed through to the Danie Maclean Park, in Meyerton, a distance of some 15kms, which is manageable for new paddlers starting out on their challenging adventures.
The water levels are also currently manageable, not too high or too fast, as is found in the peak rainy season, and not too low and technical, so ideal for new paddlers to gain experience in a manageable environment.
Wayne Saunders, from VLC, where he has worked on the committee for many years and is an experienced canoeist with years of Dusi and Fish River races to his credit, partnered with a novice, his wife Karen, who is learning to canoe.
The pair finished the race comfortably and enjoyably in a time of one hour, 10 minutes, as the fourth mixed double (ie male/female combination), as well as an experienced/novice combination.
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