Local paddlers shine at surfski challenge
Event organisers welcomed a larger than expected field for the 8km short course and 15km long course.
THE best surfski paddlers from around the country were in Scottburgh on the KZN South Coast recently to compete in the Leatherback Rum Surfski Challenge.
The event was part of the first-ever Ocean Festival.
Event organisers welcomed a larger than expected field for the 8km short course and 15km long course which included a paddle around Aliwal Shoal, one of 41 marine protected areas in South Africa.
It was a well-contested challenge for the R50 000 prize money, but at the end of the day, it was surfski racing legend Hank McGregor who took the first spot in the men’s race, while local paddler and Glen Anil resident Michelle Burn cruised to victory in the ladies’ division.
Barry Lewin, the race director, said all of those who participated came with an immense amount of pedigree.
Also read: Hockly and Burn bring home Freedom Paddle title
The race saw paddlers head from Scottburgh Main Beach in front of the Premier Hotel Cutty Sark beyond the surf zone, north towards the Greenpoint Lighthouse.
For the 8km short course, paddlers then headed back from the Greenpoint. The 15km long course saw paddlers turn around the first marker buoy and head in an easterly direction to the internationally renowned Aliwal Shoal. Paddlers then headed around the hotspot marker, south, for the final approach around the backline marker, through the surf zone and to the finish line on Scottburgh Main Beach.
In the men’s race, 13-times World Champion Hank McGregor took the early lead ahead of Joshua Fenn, the current U23 World Champion, and Mark Keeling, the Single-ski Lifesaving World Champion.
In the ladies’ division, Burn took a top 10 overall finish with second place going to U23 paddler and Mount Moreland resident, Saskia Hockly, with ex-Olympian Tiffany Kock taking the third podium spot.
The beneficiary of the event was the Clansthal Community Project (CCP), committed to the community and conservation efforts related to Clansthal on the KZN South Coast, and for the Green Point Inshore Restricted Zone (GPIRZ).
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