Dabulamanzi Canoe Club finish third at the 2021 Fish River Marathon.
The trio, which featured Kelvin Byres, Jordan Byres and Mark Garden, participated in the 81.8km race which was held from Grassridge Dam to Cradock in the Northern Cape recently.
According to Jennie Dallas of the Gauteng Canoe Union, Emmarentia Dam’s Dabulamanzi Canoe Club members Kelvin Byres and Mark Garden teamed up to provide young Jordan Byres with the opportunity to enjoy his first full distance Fish River Canoe Marathon.
She said, “The K3 team shot all the rapids successfully without feeling the need to portage around any of them, as is sometimes a good idea to avoid long, cold swims. The Fish River Marathon is an AR-rated river which requires certain qualification/ grading and experience to enter the event, and provides much enjoyment to those who love white water and rapids in fast flow.”
Young paddler Jordan Byres has spent some years training at Emmarentia Dam, and participating in the Gauteng Canoe Union School League races and done smaller river races with his highly experienced father, grandfather and friends in the canoeing arena.
Dallas added, “The glee on young Jordan Byres’ face showed how much he enjoyed the huge exciting rapids and wave trains on the Fish River Marathon with the water release arranged for the event. Another Emmarentia Dam canoeist who participated in the event was Christie Mackenzie who finished as the first lady finishers in the K2 race (two-person kayak) with Bridgitte Hartley from KwaZulu-Natal. Wayne Jacobs and Clinton Cook finished 4th overall as the 3rd Seniors.
