The Florida Canoe Club has thrived once again in the world of water sports by taking on the High-Altitude Surf Ski Championships (HASSC) at the Dabulamanzi Canoe Club at Emmarentia Dam on April 13.
The Dabulamanzi Canoe Club annually hosts the world’s highest altitude surf ski race, and this year it was no different with paddlers from Durban, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, and East London.
It is a very unusual sport in Gauteng, and paddlers in this province have to go to KZN or the Cape to do surf ski races. Despite that, Chantelle Fraser and Cliff Andrews from the Florida Canoe Club took on the challenge and enjoyed the race.
Chantell partnered with Mark Lewen from KZN, and it was a very special moment for her because Lewin is a well-known name involved in the manufacturing of kayaks and surf skis and the founder of Custom Kayaks, a customised craft for the past 40 years. They enjoyed their 10 km race, finishing in a time of 54 minutes and 13 seconds.
Cliff Andrews from Quellerina happily teamed up with his son, Chad, who is involved with the sales and repairs of kayaks in Gauteng.
A surf ski race is a highly competitive event that involves creating surf waves using jet skis or motorboats. Paddlers or participants race in long surf skis and narrow kayaks designed for speed and efficiency on the water.
The races take place on open-water courses, and participants must navigate through the waves and challenging conditions to reach the finish line.
According to Florida’s media liaison Jennie Dallas, this was more of a fun and social race than competition.
“The coaches know that not everyone will be a top achiever, and the majority of the participants take part in races to enjoy themselves while keeping fit and improving their skills over the years,” she said.
At the end of the race, only the top three finishers were recognised at the prize-giving
