Homestead Dam was as smooth and flat as glass for the ERK Pre Fish Night Race and the pace of the race was fast, on Friday 2 October. Once the sun had dropped and the paddlers were splashed wet, those who dont paddle at a frenetic pace felt the chill creep over! The field was quite spread out over the 3km course where 5 laps with 4 ending with a short out and in portage slowed down the less agile as well!
With the winners, Alex Roberts (Dabs) and Phineas Zulu (SOW) finishing in 1 hour 10 minutes, and the last finishers in 1 hour 46 minutes, there were quite a few lonely boats rounding the inlet buoy at the far end and with little light to see other participants in order to call greetings as the shadows moved around the long dam end. The atmosphere however was jovial and all enjoyed the Hansa promo’s, beers and boeries after the flat water ordeal!!
Alex Masina and Peter Chissano finished 2nd, (JCC) (U18) with fractions of seconds between them and the first team, with Tommy Booth and Nicholas Weeks (ERK) taking up the 3rd spot one minute later. Zonele Nzuza (SOW) was the first K1 finisher in 1 hour 11 minutes, and the first Veteran combination finished in 1 hour 17, as the 6th K2 with Raymond Rorich and Michael Kirkby (CEN).
The winning mixed double at their homegrounds finished in 1 hour 19, Jarryd Breeds and Kirsty Fox (ERK), in 1 hour 19 minutes, as 8th K2, and the first finishing K3 were also locals – with Liwalam Ntsiza, Miguel Simoes and Leon Maritz in a time of 1 hour 23 minutes, followed by Master paddlers three seconds later from Dabs – Bryan Slater and Graham Neate.
The Sub Master winners were Franz Lottering and Vallon Kupferberg (ERK) some 9 seconds after, finishing as the 17th overall boat, while 10 seconds later the FLCC para-canoeist boat with Constant Olivier steered by Melusi Nxumalo and powered by Delamaine Du Toit (Hansa Brand Manager) finished comfortably as 18th finishers having sat out the portages.
Keith Beeston and John Rowan (JCC/ERK) finished as the only Grand Master age category in 1 hour 34 minutes, and all felt suitably well prepared to head towards Cradock!
Thanks to ERK for providing the final training session where boat seats / pumps and partnerships had their last test run!
Jennie Dallas
for GCU PR
082 857 857 1
THE ALTERNATE HUMOROUS VIEW by Chris Rowe
Ja Boet, die Hansa East Rand Kayak Night Race het plaasgevind Vrydag aand
by Homestead Dam ek se’. Die wind het nie waai nie, soos laas jaar – daai
jaar het dit gevoel asof ons in die Oos Kaap roei. The Hansa sponsorship
started on the Wednesday time trial – they sent us a bakkie load of Hansas
and a Hansa girl and a Hansa guy and some lekker prizes. Ja swaer, enige
Hansa girl is mooi, maar ‘n Hansa guy – daar is nie baie ouens by ons klub
wat daai pienk ski pants dra nie, en daar is net drie cherries wat aan ons
klub behoort, so ja, but maybe it was for the wives and girlfriends, ek
se’. So ja, back to the race, it is the last race before Fish – you know
when you do Fish, the calendar of the year is divided in two: before Fish
and after Fish, true my broer, January and December se moer ek se’. So ja,
there we line up for the start, a different course, the Delmas course,
anticlock to the bollard, up to the inlet, back to the first jetty, portage
to timekeepers jetty, en fok voort nog so vier keer. But ja night race, the
manne scheme that there are lank flood lights shining on the water with
chicks waving flags showing you where to go. Sorry boet – the flood lights
are at the portage and the time keepers jetty, the rest of the way you are
in the donker ek se’. You don’t know if there is anyone behind you, and you
can maybe see someone in front of you. So there we go, me and my partner we
stroke it out ek se’, we paddle up to the inlet where you turn around,
there are reeds and bullrushes there, and we hear these noises, these
grunts and laughs and snorts, some people come to the dam at night, maybe
they are mating next to dam, or sampling herbs, or drinking, or probably
all three, this is the East Rand after all, ek se’. So daar gat ons – ons
roei die oorblyvende rondes, dis net die hotties wat ons verbysteek, ons
hou ons posissie, ons roei die laaste ronde, we go past the bullrushes at
the inlet, we hear a final grunt of ecstasy, hey these locals on the East
Rand can get it on ek se’. We go on to the finish, nice to see some lights
and get out the boat. In the pub afterwards, it was lekker to see the other
clubs there, Centurion, Dabs, Florida, mooi man, maybe JCC was there. To
East Rand Kayak, chairman Rich, thanks boet, it was a grand race.