Seven-time Dusi Canoe Marathon champion Martin Dreyer is hopeful that his team will be strong enough to compete at this year’s Berg Canoe Marathon.
Dreyer will take ten men from the Valley of a Thousand Hills to the 240 kilometre challenge and admits that he would have loved to take even more paddlers.
“We are taking down a strong team to the Berg this year,” he said. “It would be more than that, but we are only taking one bus down, unfortunately.”
Dreyer, who runs the Change a Life Academy, believes the difference between the winter conditions in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal will present a challenge for his side.
“The KwaZulu-Natal river season has been over for a while when the Berg comes around and I have always thought that it is a great chance for guys to set themselves a goal for the middle of the year,” Dreyer explained.
“It provides a great platform for the guys when they come back and head into our summer paddling season.
“The weather is not the only issue for these guys, but the river is so different to what they know in KwaZulu-Natal. There are trees in the river down in the Cape, which make navigation a lot more critical, with the trees being more like a strainer in the river.
“The weather will be different, with rain and cold, but hopefully the cold front that is hitting the Cape this weekend will be a thing of the past when we down there for the race because in the cold conditions I think it will take its toll on my guys.
“We are going to have to be prepared for some cold conditions and I have made it clear to the guys that they must not go into the race expecting the weather to be the same as it was last year.”
The Computershare Change a Life Academy team will include Dusi Canoe Marathon winners Sbonelo Zondi (EuroSteel/Computershare Change a Life) and Thulani Mbanjwa (Build It).
The Berg Canoe Marathon takes place from 16 – 19 July.
