King Edward VII School learner and Greenside resident Harry Edgar completed the two-day white water Fish River Canoe Marathon in Cradock, finishing both days in under six hours.
Harry learned canoeing at Emmarentia Dam. He wanted the adventure of rivers so, together with his father and brother, during the March/April period, he mastered the art of swimming through huge wave trains and rapids when the Gauteng rivers were still flooding.
When the winter season stabilised the rivers, he mastered basic techniques and learned about currents and the various dos and don’ts. He also joined the high-performance training sessions at Dabulamanzi Canoe Club.
Harry took on the B rated section of the Fish River, covering a distance of 20km on day one and 26km on day two. The route included challenging and exciting river rapids, chutes over weirs and huge wave trains. He never gave up despite being unable to find a suitable or experienced doubles partner and persevered on a single K1. On day one, he had big swims at Knutsford drop. On day two, he had a long swim at Coccyx rapid, eventually finding his boat about a kilometre downstream, still in one piece except for a damaged rudder.
Harry was pleased with his performance at the event.
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Rosebank resident is first U18 female to finish the Gauteng Canoe Union Marathon Championships
Rosebank resident is first U18 female to finish the Gauteng Canoe Union Marathon Championships
