Father and son take on the mighty Big Daddy Rapid in Parys

Peter and Carel van Biljon paddled to victory on 7–8 November at the Vaal River Canoe Marathon.

The father and son team from Auckland Park, who are also members of the Dabulamanzi Canoe Club based at Emmarentia Dam, finished the race in a time of 06:47:00, covering 35km on the first day, the second day they covered a distance of 26km.

The Vaal River Canoe Marathon hosted by the Johannesburg Canoe Club, ran for the 58th time.

With dry drought conditions and low water levels, it was arguably the most difficult marathon for many years, as canoes got stuck on the large flat shelf rocks on the river between the Barrage and Smilin Thru, forcing paddlers to continuously get out of their canoes and pull them over the rocks before continuing.

The race has traditionally been a K2 event suitable to the long, flat river sections of the Vaal which has always been sluggish and hard work, however it was the lighter canoes, with lightweight paddlers and perhaps the K1s that had the advantage in the low water conditions.

After the hard tough slog on day one, nearly 20 canoes withdrew from the race, either as a result of damage or disappointment and exhaustion from the tough conditions.

Carel and Peter have enjoyed partnering together during the past year.

While Carel is the more experienced paddler and he initially taught his son the river ropes, it seemed Peter is more than capable of holding his own and taking over the reigns as he cruised comfortably through Big Daddy.

Having had a successful A Grade Fish River Marathon, they are now looking forward to their next major challenge, the 2016 Dusi.

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