Paddling on the Fish River excites Florida paddlers
The Fish River Marathon was fun and exciting for all paddlers
Gauteng paddlers recently packed their kayaks and oars, and did the eight-hour trek to Cradock, to participate in the exciting Hansa Fish River Marathon.
The river offers many exciting white water rushes of huge wave trains, drops and stopper waves, as well as three chutes, built to avoid portaging around the weirs on the river, adding to the adrenaline rushing excitement of the 80km, two-day race. And, even though it is a tough race with many challenges, occasional swims and broken boats, paddlers look forward to this event for most of the year.
According to Jennie Dallas, the Gauteng Canoe Union’s spokesperson, the entry field before the race was 650 boats (which included K1, K2 and K3 boats), but only 476 finished, due to withdrawals, boat damage and other issues.
Bertie Baard, 65, and Jennie, 60, have been committee members at the Florida Lake Canoe Club (FLCC) for many years, where they have been involved with coaching, managing and getting new paddlers and children involved in the sport. This year they completed their respective 17th and 16th Fish River marathons.
They have also started to enjoy the K3 experience, where a novice, or new paddler, is offered the opportunity to enjoy the wild ride. They are usually paired with experienced paddlers, who will help them and guide them through the race, in order for them to gain more experience.
This year Bertie and Jennie partnered with Kobus Ellis, an enthusiastic newbie who contributed greatly with his strength and fitness, that helped a lot with managing the heavy boat in the huge waves, as well as on the few portages where the boat must be carried around a bridge or weir that is not shootable.
“The novice sits in the middle and needs very little prior river knowledge, or river reading experience as the front and back paddlers have extensive experience and will manage the steering and decisions regarding which lines to shoot,” Jennie said.
The team finished the race in seven hours and 41 seconds, and ended with a 62nd place in the K3 category.
Jennie concluded by saying, “The team chose to portage the Keith’s Rapid, which is known as a boat breaker, at the start of the race, but otherwise shot all the challenging chutes and rapids, except the compulsory dangerous weirs and low level bridges quite successfully, with one swim on each day to cool down and add to the fun!”
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