Last weekend there were 3 very different, almost fringe events, all which show how much there is to do in our wonderful world of paddling, even if it’s not this kind of fringe stuff….
The Carbonology PE2EL Challenge is not a race for the average paddler; actually it’s not for the vast majority; and for the bulk of the competitors it’s not a race, rather as the name suggests, it’s a challenge, run every second year. 31 singles (29 guys and 2 girls) and 20 doubles with 1 girl in the mix lined up for the 2025 event; only 22 singles and 19 doubles would finish. To try and attract more paddlers the organisers introduced a relay option that allowed paddlers to share the load as a team, but only one crew took up the offer, suggesting most want to do it properly or not at all. From our little landlocked pond we had Bevan Manson along with Sibusiso Zulu, Brad Fish and Raoul Goosen in S1’s. In doubles we had Wayne with his boet Warren Jacobs, young Jack de Swardt with Hein van Rooyen from Carbonology and also there was Washy Neate with the PE2EL (and Berg) legend Ralph Tulips.
Day one is the long one; 76 kilometers long. From Blue Waters to the infamous Woody Cape, which hadn’t been paddled in 2023 or 2021 because of bad weather (they went out and back to PE due to hectic head winds) but this year there was almost no wind. Conditions were glorious for Vaalies, with penguins, turtles and dolphins all showing off. Even the surf coming in at Woody Cape wasn’t too bad. So they got to do the proper course, and although it’s hard, all who started finished. The faster doubles (Warren & Wayne) went under 6 hours; the leading singles (Zach and the Bevan) needed just over six hours, and keeping the NSRI guys company at the back we had Raoul, who later admitted he was “under trained & over aged.”
That evening Admiral Boet O’Connor reported: “I’ve just had a braai at Raoul’s house. After 10.5 hours he’s hosting, drinking, eating chili …..as off the wall as ever. Been to the shops 4X. When we left he still was going to tidy up, feed the dogs, etc. Brad and Phineas look broken. They had showered and slept. Raoul must still shower, sleep, fix his ski pedals, make breakfast, drive 45 mins to start. Start is 5am. 55km into the wind. Raoul’s performance today was astounding. Meanwhile Wayne leading S2; Bevan second S1. Not bad for Transvaal Navy.” There were lots of likes on the TVL Navy group to which Raoul responded: “Thanks all, but think may have to bail 2mro – abusing great kindness of NSRI, and especially the organisers. Too much admin – the guy paddling.”
Raoul didn’t bail and we got more news from the Admiral on day two; 54km from Wood Cape to Port Alfred, with a halfway beach stop at Kenton. “Today started gloriously. Beautiful morning. Everybody cruised out despite some big waves. (I hope somebody got a picture of Raoul nipping the crest off two 3m waves). But by Kenton the wind was gusting 30km/h against the paddlers. And the surf started crashing onto a sandbank. There were quite a few withdrawals including Brad and Raoul. Warren and Wayne paddled in a bunch of 5. Some confusion at the finish saw them give up 10 secs on the day but they still lead S2 convincingly. I don’t yet know how Bevan did. He was looking good at Kenton. Jack was hooked by a big wave breaking far out after Kowie point but I think finished just behind leaders. Phineas looking ok at Kenton so should make PA after a hard grind. Conditions for the next two days look perfect, particularly tomorrow.” Brad Fish has had several epic tales to tell over the years, and here he had another. He mistakenly tried to go in at the Bushman’s River mouth (instead of at the Kariega River mouth on the other side of Kenton) got trashed, did lots of swimming, got hypothermic and lost lots of time before he got to the proper landing spot. With all of this the organisers pulled him out, much to his disappointment. With the headwind and the swell getting stronger, seven singles and one double pulled out at Kenton, with Bevan (who remained second behind Zach) saying: “it was a very difficult and dangerous day on the ocean today.” Day 2 ensured that the Challenge remained exactly that, a challenge.
Day three is 68km from Port Alfred to Hamburg with a checkpoint at the Fish River, and all must have been very happy with the friendlier south westerly conditions, giving them a decent downwind. With Raoul’s withdrawal, he took over the seconding and commentating: “Excellent Sosi, & our adopted Alan Neate too. Washy great too. Of course Wayno top top. Bevan great day too. And Jack, shot. Should be social light DW to Nahoon tomorrow. Enjoy the finish guys, v special, especially virgin one.”
Day four from Hamburg to East London is a 58km paddle. The morning was almost breathless and there was hardly a wave to beat on the way out, but at the sharp end it wasn’t social – it was hard work with the chasers in both the K1s and the K2s hoping to find in a chink in the armor of the leaders, but that didn’t happen and Zach won the S1s in exactly 20 hours, some 10 minutes ahead Bevan who was 5 minutes ahead of the U23 Luke Swinney. Nix Birkett won the ladies, comfortably ahead of Bianca Beavitt, although little can be comfortable about the PE2EL. An hour behind Bianca was who many thought to be the ‘man of the match’- Sibusiso Zulu, aka Phinny aka Sosi, a newbie to surfski, who now loves the ocean. Well done Sosi! In the S2’s Warren & Wayne finished in 19hours and 9 minutes, a fantastic win for the brothers, some 10 minutes ahead of Brent Chiazzari & Brett Hadiaris. Interestingly they shared the driving between them, changing at the beach checkpoints each day. Jack & Hein were 5th S2 while Washy & Ralph were 13th. They ran up the beach, telling the officials they were looking for Rum. As Moolies said: “Well done to all the Navy guys, the complete the challenge in any format is an incredible achievement!! – I’m sure those rums are going down well now.”
While the proper sea dogs were in the Eastern Cape, we had Daniel McLachlan, Kevin Davie and Peter Geach down in KZN at another kind of fringe event – the Canvas Dusi.
Here there is no racing, very little portaging and no winner. It’s a commemorative trip, simply about enjoying time out on the river. Paddling replica wood and canvas craft as used by Dr Ian Player when he won the inaugural Dusi in 1951, only flat bladed paddles are allowed and some still wear the old uniform of khaki shorts and shirts, but all now wear life jackets – which weren’t a consideration back then. In the words of Dan the Canvas man: “It was another magical Canvas Dusi trip. The chairman, Mr Venter, ushered in Pete Geach to the group as the new official safety officer for the group. Pete got straight to work helping his fellow Dabs paddler, Kevin Davie, who was still finding his Canvas river legs at Tegwaan rapid, which was immediately below the start at Campbell’s put in. There were plenty of spills and laughs over the 3 days of meandering through the beautiful valley of a thousand hills pretending to be Ian Player in a timeless state. The base camp at Umfula Store was always well stocked with refreshments, good food, fireside stories and camaraderie.” Seeing footage of them shooting stuff like Finger Neck and Little John was great and we will have to get Dan and Co to do another talk on this at the Club next year. Fantastic stuff – well done guys!
While the old school canvas canoeists and salty sea dogs were doing their thing, Rich Domleo and Iain Rennie held a different fringe event – an informal Kayak camp for youngsters down at Nyala Pans on the Umko. Aimed at building a culture of just hanging out on a river, living a bit rough, playing until exhausted, they are looking to build the next generation of what Rich calls ‘River Scum’. How fantastic – many an older man that saw this wished that they could go play too, although sadly no youngsters from our little pond went…
Back home at Emmerentia on Sunday, many of our less fringe / more mainstream paddlers (including Neil’s polo people) enjoyed a great day of good company, lovely weather, lots of fun and a couple of cooldrinks at the SCARC and Dabs Annual Awards. Celebrating yet another incredible year at the Finest Canoe Club in the Whole Dam Universe there may have been one hundred awarded, but none deserve louder applause than our outstanding Elandrie and her team – well done and thank you.
Till next time, whether you are fringe, mainstream or both, keep on playing – and Go Dabs!
