LOCAL veteran paddler, Neil Tupper, said although he’ll be taking on his 43rd Dusi Canoe Marathon this year he still gets the jitters just before the gruelling three-day race from Pietermaritzburg to Durban.
Neil, better known as ‘Tups’, said this year he will be even more stressed as his 17-year-old son, Jordan, will be taking on his first single race without the guidance of his seasoned father. The Kloof High School Grade 12 pupil and his father, a former Umzinyathi Canoe Club chairman, said it will be a race against time to see who finishes first on the last day at Blue Lagoon.
“I hope I’ve shown him everything, but this year will certainly be stressful. Not only will I be competing with my paddling partner, Kevin Moran (who hopes to complete his 20th race), but I will also have the stress of worrying where my son is in the race.
“As I start in the over-25 category I will start before Jordan and should finish before him every day. But I really hope I finish before him on the last day so I can see him finish his first single race,” Tups added proudly.
But Jordan said he’s looking forward to taking on the race on his own: “I am looking forward to being alone and not having my dad shouting at me from behind. I am physically prepared for the race, but mentally it will be a challenge.”
The youngster, who held his first paddle at the tender age of six, said he regards himself as a paddler aiming to shoot all the rapids, including the notorious day two rapids, which include Gumtree, Ntombi and Hippo rapids.
Tups is currently third in the standings for the paddler who has done the most Dusi marathons and will be attempting his 43rd race this year. The late Graeme Pope Ellis is first, having completed 46 marathons, followed by Lyle Wheeler, who has completed 43. Wheeler and Tups have been close friends for the past 56 years.
“It is my dream to participate in the next seven marathons, so that by the seventh marathon Jordan will be completing his 10th race, and I will be completing my 50th race.”
Dusi stalwarts remembered
FOR Tups this year’s Dusi will be especially memorable as paddlers remember Dusi pioneer, Ian Player, who died in November last year.
The first recorded trip down the Dusi by boat was recorded in the Natal Witness in 1893. According to an insert on Wikipedia, two Pietermaritzburg men, Paul Marianni and William Foley, covered the distance in seven days, arriving at Blue Lagoon on 10 January, 1893.
It was not until 1951 that a race along the river would formally be held between Pietermaritzburg and Durban. The first ever Dusi Canoe Marathon was organised by Ian Player and began on 22 December, 1951.
The race was held with a non-stop format and there was no time limit. Of the eight paddlers that entered the race, namely Ian Player, Miles Brokensha, Ernie Pearce, John Naude, Basil Halford, Willie Potgieter, Fred Schmidt and Denis Vorster, only Player finished the race in a time of six days, eight hours and 15 minutes.
“Every year the late Ernie Pearce’s wife, Sheila, is at the start to wish paddlers well. It is a memorable moment to see her on the bank wishing all the paddlers good luck. To me it brings back the many memories of the years I have experienced the Dusi. In 1972, when I took on my first marathon, it was awesome to hug her and be wished well by her.
“My most memorable Dusi was my first, in which I finished 14th on the first day and 16th overall. The last two years have also been great, as I competed with Jordan,” he said.
Tups remembered when the Dusi once cost only R3.25 to enter, compared to today’s R940 entry fee, but congratulated the Natal Canoe Club, which has managed to grow the sport of canoeing to what it is today.
“We must also not forget the sponsors, who have promoted the sport in the valley with development programmes. It’s been so gratifying to see development paddlers in the top 20 over the years,” Tups said.
