The Vaal River Canoe Marathon was hosted for the 58th time by the Johannesburg Canoe Club based at Wemmer Pan, the oldest canoe club in Johannesburg, on the weekend of 7 and 8 November.
With drought conditions and low water levels, it arguably was the most difficult marathon in many years as boats got stuck on the large flat shelf rocks on the river between the Barrage and Smilin’ Thru resort, continuously forcing paddlers to get out of their boats and pull the boat over the rocks before continuing.
Vaughn Steven from Krugersdorp with his partner, Gordon Bridger certainly fought their way through the stopper waves on the Big Daddy rapid. The two, who are school friends originally from Bloemfontein where they played hockey together, are members of the Florida Lake Canoe Club.
They finished the race in eight hours and nine minutes over the two days.
With 35km covered on the first day, they had to cover 26km on the second day, from Smilin’ Thru resort and into Parys. There were a number of portages over the boulders in the low-water section of the river into Parys. There the real fun began as the white-water rapids become more treacherous in low conditions.
The race finished at Hadeda Creek, a resort downriver from Parys, and those who completed both days were triumphant.
The race traditionally has been a K2 event owing to the long flat river sections of the Vaal, which always have been sluggish and hard work. However, it was 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 day 1, nearly 20 boats withdrew, either as a result of boat damage or disappointment and exhaustion from the tough conditions, which provided excellent stamina development for those planning to take on the 2016 Dusi in Kwa-Zulu Natal where the water levels are likely to be also very low.
Fortunately Parys is the home of the white-water rafting groups, and paddlers always can rely on Big Daddy and Gatsien to provide some excitement during the tough race.
Related articles:
• Dusi paddlers cross the finish
