IDEAL conditions greeted paddlers for the opening leg of the eight race Illovo Suncoast Pirates Wall and Back Surfski Series at Battery Beach on Friday evening while Wade Krieger and Donna Tutton got their campaigns off to victorious starts.
The field of enthusiastic paddlers threw themselves at the series opener as Mother Nature served up overcast skies, warm conditions, small surf and no wind to speak of, something Krieger embraced as he edged out uMhlanga’s Matt Bouman in the men’s race.
“I didn’t have the best start but I managed to come back and then it was just a flat, hard grind. At times the doubles upped the pace quite a bit which made it really intense for us singles but it was a good, hard race,” Krieger said.
The former lifesaving sensation has shown steady progress since taking up surfski competitively two years ago and to overcome a paddling powerhouse like Bouman was a special result for Krieger.
“Matt has been paddling for over ten years and is a person a have a lot of respect for. I’ve also never beaten Matt in a long paddling race before so this really is a nice win for me. The Wall and Back Surfski Series was also the first surfski series I ever paddled in a few years ago and one I respect quite a lot so I hope to show that through racing the series as hard as I can, which I did here in race one.”
Bouman was closely followed across the line by Irvin Dixon while Suncoast Pirates local Luke Nisbet finished fourth and Under-18 flyer Bailey de Fondaumiere continued to show he has what it takes to step up and take on the seniors as he finished fifth.
Tutton, freshly back from her K2 ICF Canoe Marathon World Champs effort in Hungary, enjoyed a comfortable return to the ski while the doubles clash saw a fascinating contest unfold.
