Tough conditions at Vaal River Canoe Marathon
VLC paddler conquers two-day marathon.
The Vaal River Canoe Marathon, hosted by the Johannesburg Canoe Club (JCC), ran for the 58th time on November 7 and 8.
Based at Wemmer Pan, JCC is the oldest canoe club in Johannesburg.
With dry drought conditions and low water levels it was arguably the most difficult marathon, as boats got stuck on the large flat shelf rocks on the river.
This forced paddlers to continuously get out of their boats and pull them over the rocks before continuing.
Thomas Ngidi, a member of the Victoria Lake Canoe Club (VLC), sponsored by Alclad, partnered with his prospective Dusi partner from the Dusi valley, Sboniso Shozi.
The pair finished as the third senior category paddlers in a time of five hours and 47 minutes.
With 35km covered on the first day, the second day covered a distance of 26km, from Smilin’ Thru Resort through into Parys, where there were also a number of portages over the boulder-scattered low water section of river.
The race finished at Hadeda Creek, a resort downriver from Parys, and those who did complete both days were triumphant.
The race has traditionally been a K2 event, suitable for the long flat river sections of the Vaal, which has always been sluggish and hard work.
It was, however, the lighter boats, with lightweight paddlers, and perhaps the K1s that had the advantage in the low water conditions.
After the hard, tough slog on the first day, close to 20 boats withdrew, either as a result of boat damage or disappointment and exhaustion from the tough conditions.
On the brighter side, the tough conditions also provided excellent stamina development for those planning to take on the 2016 Dusi, in Natal, where low water levels and numerous portages can also be expected.
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