Three Byres men take on the river
EMMARENTIA – What does a father, grandfather and son love to do together? Paddle river races of course.
It was a river race like no other for three generations of the Byres family on 21 November when they participated in the Standard Bank One Day Liebensbergvlei river race.
The race, which included 110 boats on the river, had close to 130 paddlers take part, of which about 36 were K3 boat canoes (a kayak that carries three people). Kelvin (44) Malcolm (70), and Jordan (13) paddled K3 and came in sixth position after having finished the 33km race in 02:22:00. The three are from Emmarentia-based Dabulamanzi Canoe Club and this was Jordan’s first ever official river race.
Kelvin and his father Malcolm have been paddling for the past 25 years while Kelvin’s son, Jordan, has paddled for the past three. Kelvin said paddling ran in their family and it had always been a goal for them to paddle together. They had spent six months training and were really excited to paddle with three generations in the kayak.
Liebensbergvlei river flows towards Frankfort and ultimately empties into the Vaal Dam. The water is said to originate from the Ash River in Clarens, where it is pumped from the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, which is often chilly as it contains melted snow. During the race, the family enjoyed the trek on the free-flowing river past Frankfort with exciting waves trains, drops and rapids as the river meander through the farmland area.
