Excellence in all categories as water sports thrive at Florida Lake
Chane Steyn puts in great performances at the SA School Sprint Championships in Cape Town
Florida Lake remains a hot bed of water sports activity, churning out several high-level performers.
Affiliated to the various water sport governing bodies, the Florida Lake Canoe Club (FLCC) is situated on the banks of one of the premier venues for aquatic training and participation. Catering for all ages, paddlers, skiers, swimmers and rowers have the freedom to grow, prepare and challenge for the biggest water-based prizes South Africa has to offer.
Earlier in the year, February 19 and 20, Roodepoort residents showed incredible tenacity as they took on the Dusi Canoe marathon. The gruelling race is known for taking its toll on man and boat, with several canoes breaking before the spirits of their pilots. FLCC paddler Tristan Trican and partner Shelley carried their broken boat but sadly despite repairs, the boat sank in a dam on day three en route to the finish line.
Sean Jones, completing his 18th Dusi with life-long friend Kevin Atkinson were another pair left stricken in a broken canoe after its nose broke on day one but soldiered one. Day two did not go to plan either as they collided with another pair in the notorious ‘Washing Machine’ section of the rapids. This crash broke their canoe in two but they were determined to reach the finish of the final 35 kilometres before the 17:00 cut-off. Unable to repair the vessel, they were forced to retire but still crossed the line on foot, an achievement worth any medal.
Surf ski is a sport usually associated with the breaking waves of the beach; however, using a speedboat to generate waves on a lake, Dabulamanzi Canoe Club pioneered the world’s only high-altitude Surf Ski Challenge. Embracing the challenge, Chantelle Fraser from FLCC enjoyed her first participation at Emmarentia Dam’s surf ski race on March 3, finishing in a time of one hour 13 minutes.
Chane Steyn from Florida Primary School was selected to represent the Gauteng Canoe Union at the SA Sprint Championships in Cape Town, April 23 to 25. On her first big trip away from home, Charne shrugged off the nerves to put in a string of finishes.
A long-distance specialist, Chane’s best result was a sixth place finish in the 1 000m in a time of seven minutes and 23 seconds. The Florida Yacht Club and the Canoe Club merged some ten years ago and while the Yachting members sail on Sundays from 09:30 to 12:30, the canoe club hosts time trials on Wednesday evenings at 17:30.
The next big event at the lake will be round three of the Gauteng Canoe Marathon Championships on Sunday May 15.
