Birkett takes seventh Dusi title

ZULULANDERS once again assembled on the river bank at Camp’s Drift in Pietermaritzburg to take on the FNB Dusi Canoe Marathon, which took place from Thursday to Saturday.

The hype was high as speculation about dam releases to increase the flow were tossed around, but in the end some of the ‘old Dusi rats’ said that the race was as they remembered many years back.

Low water levels and searing heat meant that the times were possibly slower, but these did not deter Andy Birkett and Abby Solms who paddled to victory in style, taking their respective men’s and women’s titles.

Birkett’s three day performance was one of class and experience as he did not put a foot wrong on his 120km trip to the sea.

Birkett has now tied with the ‘Dusi Duke’ Martin Dreyer with seven Dusi victories with Birkett finishing first in four consecutive races from 2014 to 2017.

The race for second was ended half way up the gruelling Burma Road portage as Euro Steel/Red Bull’s Sbonelo Khwela powered past Hank McGregor and into the distance to his best K1 place at the FNB Dusi.

Women’s race

In the women’s race, Solms led the women’s race from the first portage on the opening day to the finish at Blue Lagoon in Durban.

It was the 27 year-old first FNB Dusi title.

‘I think I feel more relief than anything at the moment,’ Solms said with a smile after finishing.

With 120km to navigate from start to finish the margins for error become smaller and smaller as the race progresses and despite a slight mishap on the second stage of the race Solms believes she was as close to her best as she could get.

Bridgitte Hartley went into the final day in second place and may have had the edge over the dam with her flat-water prowess, however, when the paddlers were on their feet it was Christie

Mackenzie who eventually finished second, 21 minutes ahead of Hartley.

Overall results

Men

1 – Andy Birkett (08:32:55)

2 – Sbonelo Khwela (08:56:22)

3 – Thulani Mbanjwa (09:04:29)

4 – Hank McGregor (09:09:31)

5 – Jakub Adam (09:11:56)

Women

1 – Abby Solms (10:16:03)

2 – Christie Mackenzie (11:05:50)

3 – Bridgitte Hartley (11:26:41)

4 – Alex Adie 04:00:00 (11:57:43)

5 – Kerry Segal (12:14:37)

Zululanders

K1 Paddlers

69 – Bridgitte Hartley (11:26:41.02)

144 – Emanuel Zaloumis (12:54:30.55)

190 – Mike Stevens (13:44:03.67)

356 – Perry Cobbold (16:00:08.42)

411 – Warren Smith (16:38:44.01)

426 – Stephen Scrase (16:47:18.84)

610 – Jacques Venter (21:39:51.39)

K2 Paddlers

388 – Keith Lyons / Nikki Aitken (16:22:09.45)

405 – Ward Young / Craig Hanbury-King (16:34:39.58)

415 – Donald Voysey / Lionel Foster (16:41:54.16)

447 – Mark Henderson / Johnny Stander (17:02:27.30)

523 – Mathew Clowes / Melissa Aitken (18:20:09.72)

542 – Sig Rudner / Michael Shuttleworth (18:47:40.59)

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