Well done to all who participated in the Watuni SA Mercantile Klip Race on Saturday 12 September, from the Fat Chef venue below Scout Hall, upriver and round a tree and back down to Henley Weir to spread the field before hitting the fun rapids on the way to the finish at Caravan Park…..
Reports are that the day started off rather chilly but warmed up nicely and the hardy canoeists nevertheless took the opportunity for a training event, with some 32 K2’s as well as a dozen or so K1’s finishing as well as half a dozen K3….which included our Gauteng para-canoeist who’s third man pulled out at Henley Weir due to back spasm but the determined Constant Olivier and a young development partner Macdonald Nkosi nevertheless finished – with a spare open cockpit filling the boat up with water!
Paddlers were in good hands with the Vaal club based marshalls as always and with tasty hot food available at start and finish they were satisfied at the end of the 18km paddle.
The winning K2’s were from Centurion – with Raymond Rorich in 1st place, also as first Sub Veteran partnered with JCC’s Michael Kirkby, in a time of 1 hour 24 minutes, while club colleagues Duncan James and Andrew Molver finished in 1:27, and the third finisher overall was Richard Cele (VLC) in a K1 some 5 seconds later. The third K2 finisher was ERK’s father and son team – Liam and Michael Stewart a couple of seconds after Cele crossed the line.
The winning ladies K2 team were Sub Grant Masters Minnie Kretzschmar and Cally Henderson in 1 hour 49, as the 28th K2 (Dabs) with Slyvia Nel (LIK) finishing as the first K1 lady in 1 hour 54 minutes, 7th K1, and 5th Sub Master – its the older age category ladies that are cleaning up the river!
There were 7 mixed doubles who finished the river race led by JCC’s Sibling team of Morgan and Ryan Ziervogel in 1:29 who were also the first Under 23 finishers in 1 hour 29.
Glen Sinclair and his new SGM river race partner Vincent Buttrick, (JCC/ERK) finished in 1:28 while sibling’s daddy Warren Ziervogel finished as first K3 with partners Martin Sly and Mark Hall (JCC) a minute after the young pair, as the first Sub Master Finishers although the K2 Sub Master winners in 1h33 were Dabs’ Iain Hume and William Hardie in 1 hour 33 minutes.
Hardus Theunissen and Joseph McINtyre (FLO) finished as the first Veterans in 1 hour 33 as well with the first Master finisher being K1 finisher from VLC in 1:34, Mark Handley however the Master K2 winners were also from VLC – Simon Treston and Claudio Gaspari in 1 hour 44 minutes.
The winning Grand Master was Rod Carpenter (ERK) in 1:57 followed by the winning Great Grand Master, Franz Fischer in 1:56 (JCC) and they were followed by the first Under 18 finisher in 1:47, VLC’s Kanyisa Mancoba.
While the water level had dropped from previous week rainfall swell, it was still a lovely level which often makes rapids easier or more fun and there were no reports of drama!
So well done Gautengers……and its now the countdown to FISH with two training river races for K2’s on Vaal and Klip coming up, and the K1 Lowveld at the end of the month, and one final flat water race to make sure partnerships and new boats / pumps / splashees all work well!
Jennie Dallas
for GCU PR
082 857 857 1