Local paddlers conquer the Dusi Canoe Marathon

They finished the event in 13:31:00 over the three days and 120km, including some portages.

Their times for the days were: day one 04:33:00, day two 04:54:00 and day three 04:02:00, with the pair finishing as the 163rd K2 (two-man kayak) and as 19th in the sub-master age category.

Both agreed that they had fun along the way, including social events, catching up with other paddlers from other areas and making new friends.

Kelby Schmidthaus is a Grade 12 learner at Marist Brothers, Linmeyer, who enjoys paddling, archery and trail running and has a passion for history. One of his mentors is the legendary Ian Player, one of the pioneers of the Dusi Marathon and a passionate conservationist.

Schmidthaus raced his first Dusi with his dad, Uwe, at age 15 and gained experience by learning the route and lines over the past two years. This year, he received the batten from his father, and Kelby sat in front and steered, taking control of the choices, decisions, pace and lines to complete his third Dusi with his dad in 12:03:00 minutes.

The father and son live on the banks of the Klip River in Henley on Klip and frequently paddle down to the Vaal River, thoroughly enjoying the more challenging river. They finished as the 131st K2 (double kayak).

Dusi’s background:

Since the 60s, the Dusi River Canoe Marathon between Pietermaritzburg and Durban happened annually in February.

Ian Player (Gary Player’s brother) was the first to explore it after World War II. At that time, there were few dams and water releases available. Today, dams can provide a water release if the water levels are too low. Boats then were made of canvas and wood, unlike the lighter carbon fibre of today’s race boats.

Because of these problems, the paddlers had to carry their boats and run past certain sections, making it an endurance event.

Some even consider it one of the world’s toughest canoe endurance events.