Sandton paddlers fair well at the 2021 JCC Two-Day Klip Race
SANDTON – Hurlingham resident Ryan Hawke and his race partner Dan Cole finished as the second double boat across the finish line.
Johannesburg Canoe Club, based at Wemmer Pan, hosted the 2021 JCC Two-Day Klip on 27 and 28 February in the Midvaal area.
Sandton paddlers used the event as training for the upcoming Dusi Canoe Marathon scheduled to take place from 18 to 20 March.
The Klip River Race begins above Daleside through Henley on Klip to finish in Meyerton. The race consists of two days of 33km each including a few kilometres of portage, providing paddlers with the opportunity to race for qualifying points for A grade river status as well as seeding for start positions at the Dusi.
Hail and rain storms took place in the Alberton and Henley area on 26 February meaning that the river was in full flood with participants paddling over low level bridges. The running portage took place around the Henley Kidson Weir for safety in the grasslands on the banks that were saturated and swamp-like.
While some rapids flattened out with no rocks in sight, others were incredibly challenging with powerful waves tossing the boats into the air, resulting in a number of swimmers and a few broken boats.
The top finisher was Sowetan Siseko Ntondini (of movie fame – Beyond the River) holding onto his seeding as the top Gauteng paddler, while the first woman home was Soweto-based junior Tinyiko Mahwayi.
The top finishing double boat (K2) was Claude Nish and John Cunningham, who completed both days in 04:28:00. Hurlingham resident and novice Ryan Hawke partnered up for his first race alongside Dan Cole, who hails from KwaZulu-Natal, finishing the event in 04:29:00 as the second double boat across the finish line.
Teacher and canoe coach at The Ridge School in Westcliff, Daniel Maclachlan and his partner Alex Weir completed the race in 05:18:00. Sandton-based lawyer Michael Tilney completed his race alongside young, experienced and dedicated paddler Macdonald Nkosi in 05:25:00, despite breaking their boat and limping along with leaks until it finally began to fall apart as they crossed the finish line.
Related articles:
https://sandtonchronicle.co.za/289506/paddlers-train-on-the-umzimkulu-river-in-underberg/
https://sandtonchronicle.co.za/288020/local-canoeists-excel-in-vaal-river-race/
