It has long been a tradition in the Western Cape to ‘bill’ the ‘Fish’ as the last race of the season and given that it is guaranteed good water (26 cumecs are released from the Grassridge Dam by DWAF for 2 days prior to and obviously, during the event) it has become a crowd-pulling favourite – and not only from the Western Cape, the numbers entering  (794 canoes, which included many doubles, 45 x K3’s and even 1 x K4!!! = 3000 or so paddlers – from all over South Africa), testifying to its popularity.  

As stated, the river level is guaranteed at 26 cumecs and over the two days of paddling, the river changes from a relatively narrow, fast-flowing, stream fringed with overhanging ‘Weeping Willow’ trees – so often the nemesis of paddlers, experienced and inexperienced alike, as they have to duck and paddle there way through, often blindly, to serious man-made structures such as weirs that most often must be portaged, to intimidating rapids such as ‘Keith’s Flyover’ and ‘Soutpans’, to the wider-flowing 2^nd day when true racing including slip-riding can be adopted, with plenty of generally easily handled grade 2 type rapids, to the big chute at Marlow and of course, the ‘big-drop’ photo-opportunity at Cradock Weir before the final 3 km romp home to the Cradock Sports Complex and the end of what has been rated as the ‘best river race in the country’. Subjective of course, but there is seldom a paddler who comes away from this event with a negative attitude to it, even if they had problems along the way. In the end, the war stories each year become more implausible, but no-one really cares, because the overall experience of the Fish, even of the ‘head-bangers (who shall remain nameless), is always one of remembered excitement of a big race on a good river.

From the Western Cape, perhaps the most famous Fish Legend is Peninsula Canoe Club’s Rory Anderson, who, when he completed the 2009 Fish, continued to be the only paddler in the history of this event to have paddled every single one that has been held. He is closely followed by Andre’ Rabie (now also out of the WCCU), now with 27 Fish marathons to his credit, and Dave Gilmer (KZN). And along with them were paddlers like Giel van Deventer who has 40 Berg River Marathons to his credit, JT Basson, who has won the Berg twice, to 19 year old Matie student Robyn Kime, who not only won the 2009 Berg River Canoe Marathon in her first start, but also took home the 2009 Fish Senior Women’s title and against an exceptional, international field.

And who can forget the excitement when the Inter-University title of the 2009 Fish was announced by Veteran microphone-wielder, Dave McLeod, as that being Stellenbosch University, who defeated strong opposition from the UKZN, Rhodes and Pretoria.

In all, WCCU paddlers graced the podium in a number of racing categories:

Robyn Kime (Stellenbosch) – 48^th (in a new record time) overall and 1^st U23 women and of course, claiming the Senior Women’s gold medal; Lance King, (Milnerton) who was 6^th overall, Gavin White (Peninsula) who was 17^th, Pierre-Andre Rabie (Stellenbosch), 19^th overall and 3^rd U23 Male, Chris de Waal (Milnerton), 3^rd Sub Veteran, Lisa Scott (Milnerton), 1^st Lady Veteran, Mandy Simpson (Milnerton) 1^st Lady Sub Master, Shaun Butler (Peninsula) 3^rd Master, Andre Rabie (Paarl) 1^st Sub Grandmaster, Rob MacLean (Peninsula) 2^nd Grandmaster and Giel van Deventer (Paarl), 1^st Grandmaster and new record-holder of that category.

Those were just some of the results – others are deemed to become legends (even myths) of the Fish, and in particular, the 2009 running of it - ask any one of the number of WCCU paddlers who were seeded in ‘B’ batch on day 1 (…shades of Shakespeare…”A GPS, a GPS, my (Fish) kingdom for a GPS”!!!!......) who got lost in the pea-soup of a mist bank that enveloped them on the Grassridge Dam when John Oliver fired the gun for them at 07h10 on Friday 2^nd October – some were on the dam for over 40 minutes, and the distance from the start to the take-out is only 1.3 km!!! Not for nothing were 2009 day 1 ‘B’ batch paddlers welcomed home below Knutsford by the announcer saying….’and here comes another gorilla’. And then what about the various victims of ‘Toast rack’, who shall (still) remain nameless, but there is word about that a brass plaque is to be mounted on the chute on the right hand side of the bridge that will in perpetuity read the followed legend…..’Hey Mike, remember to duck!”……!!!!!

And what about the after party? The Cradock showground’s bounced the rhythm and sounds of a live band and a disco, late into the night AND THEN the Rhodes Ou’s continued at the Cradock Spa, where only the judicious use of a tazer eventually quietened things down – or did they?

Another Fish has come and gone, the 29^th awaits all S.A. paddlers in 2010 and we wonder what new war-stories, legends and myths will it create?