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The eagerly anticipated Olifants River Canoe Marathon was held over the weekend of Saturday 30th Sunday 31st August and for those who paddled it – the race lived up to its hype of being one where exciting paddling, crystal clear water, magnificent snow-covered mountain  backdrops, Namaqua spring flowers and damaged paddling reputations ruled!

The weather on both days could not be bettered – cool and crisp early on, and windless and sunny under blue skies later on – as the 60 plus paddlers lined up to pay homage in the ‘Valley of the Elephants’.

  King & Queen of the Olifants -  Heinrich Schloms and  Lisa Scott

Starting slightly downstream from the normal start on Partrysberg Farm, the leading bunch got away through the first rapid and long pool thereafter, the 2010 King of the Olifants, Paarl’s Heinrich Schloms leading the charge and closely followed by Peninsula CC’s Edgar Boehm jnr, and Matie CC’s paddling cousins, Ernest and Louw van Riet. Schloms took the first channel through the Palmiet and bushes, getting away from the others as they went into a blind channel, but Schloms lead was quickly reduced when he too ran out of water. Schloms turned around and paddled back looking for another channel, whilst Boehm and the van Riet’s, giving vent to their frustration of making a mistake with very colourful language,  opted to carry through the Palmiet. Schloms eventually emerged from the Palmiet to see Boehm and Ernest van Riet some 300m ahead of him and so the chase began until just as Admin Alley and the Waterfall Rapid were reached, this became the leading bunch again, Schloms having caught up.

At the final set of rapids/obstacles before the top end of the Clanwilliam Dam, van Riet chose the correct and more easily negotiable left hand channel, Boehm and Schloms going right and to their detriment as coming out at the bottom of it, van Riet had opened up a 50m lead. Working very hard, Schloms managed to reel van Riet in as they headed for the line in a final, end sprint, Boehm dropping off. Schloms thus won day 1, van Riet was 2^nd whilst Boehm took 3^rd place.

"How not to shoot waterfall" - Dale Lewis doing it backwards but successfully

In the ladies race, defending Queen of the Berg, Maties Robyn Kime had problems with blind channels (as did most paddlers) whilst Milnerton’s Lisa Scott, paddling at a more measured pace and following local paddler, Neil Bartie, had a clear run, even though there was potential for disaster in the big ‘S’ bend corner before the flats to Algeria Bridge. Here, Scott decided to turn back after taking a dicey looking channel and seek the correct one – which she duly found – to emerge ahead of Kime and Tamika Haw (also Maties CC), the lead of which she maintained to Algeria Bridge and beyond, even negotiating the famous (infamous) Waterfall Rapid with aplomb. (This rapid is infamous because of the fact that although it is a known obstacle/rapid in the latter half of the racing section of Day 1 of the Olifants, many paddlers fail to find it, the entry to it being via a maze of fast flowing, very narrow Palmiet channels!). Scott was the 1^st woman paddler home and in 16^th position overall.

                                    Lloyd Ferreira showing how it's done!

Day 2 started with paddlers leaving in elapsed time  based on their positions and times of day 1 – this is because the section of river raced upon (upstream of Citrusdal), is very narrow and does not warrant a mass start.

Heinrich Schloms, the day 1 winner and Ernest van Riet (who had come in on his slip), took off together, paddling flat out to try and get distance between one another and which Schloms managed to do. Boehm, starting 40 seconds later, managed to catch and overtake van Riet and setting his sights on Schloms’ rudder, systematically began to reel him in.  By his own admission, Schloms said that he really had to dig deep to keep the chaser (described as a ‘bloodhound’!) at bay and in a desperate move to overtake Schloms shortly before the end, Boehm, taking a channel on river left, lost contact with the leader, allowing Schloms to take line honours, Boehm taking the silver and van Riet the bronze which meant that Schloms was again crowned, King of the Olifants – 2011.

In the women’s event, Lisa Scott, starting off in 16^th position, again had a virtually flawless race and paddling strongly with Rolf van der Merwe, a fellow Milnerton club mate, was not challenged and so took away the title of ‘Queen of the Olifants’ from the Matie, Robyn Kime. Robyn Henderson (also Milnerton) came home in 2nd spot, with Kime in 3 ^rd.

Mention must be made of Western Cape paddling stalwart, finisher of 41 Berg River Canoe Marathons – Paarl’s Giel van Deventer, who, although he paddles in the Grandmasters age category (60 – 64 years), finished in the Top 10 on both days – and obviously won the Grandmaster’s category. Congratulations and well done to him in recording an amazing result and confirming that knowledge of the river one is racing upon is so important.

As always, this race was not without its more humorous and interesting moments – one’s that will go down in the ‘Lore of the Olifants’ to be recounted around campfires and braais held by paddlers in the future. Kirsten Penderis’, dripping wet in paddling gear, flagging down a passing motorist on the N7 and using his cell phone to call for help, she having lost here paddle in one of the many Palmiet channels and being rescued by paddlers who had finished the race travelling back to lend her a paddle, is one; the wrapping of his canoe shortly after the start by paddling maestro and former Springbok and Berg River Champion, Mynhardt Marais will also be kept in mind proving that the Olifants has no regard for paddling reputations!

Milnerton Canoe Club the host club  are again to be congratulated on another outstanding Olifants River Canoe Marathon and if paddlers reading this have not done this race – or haven’t done it for a while – then the message is very clear – you are doing yourselves a disfavour by not travelling up to experience the delights of this fantastic river.

Results:

Top 10.

1.    Heinrich Schloms, Paarl Canoe Club, 2 hours, 44 minutes 51 seconds.

2.    Edgar Boehm jnr, Pen, 2:46:31

3.    Ernest van Riet, Maties, 2:49:05

4.    Daan du Toit, Mil, 2:49:31

5.    Eugene van der Westhuizen, Mil, 2:49:41

6.    Michael Farringer, Paarl, 2:57:03

7.    Owen Gandar, Maties, 2:58:49

8.    John de Villiers, Maties, 3:05:56

9.    Hennie du Plooy, Mil, 3:06:58

10. Giel van Deventer, Paarl, 3:07:03 (note well – Giel is a Grandmaster – i.e. paddling in the 60 – 65 year age category, so this was an outstanding result)

Senior Women

1.    Lisa Scott, Mil, 3:26:37

2.    2. Robyn Henderson, Mil, 3:56:47.

3.    Robyn Kime, Maties,4:39:09

Juniors (U16)

1.    Michael Farringer, Paarl, 2:57:03

2.    Daniel Pretorius, Paarl, 3:27:09

3.    Michael Pretorius, Mil, 4:37:28

U21

1.    Owen Gandar, Maties, 2:58:49

2.    Julian Atkinson, Maties, 3:18:26

3.    Erich Andrag, Maties, 4:06:59

Sub Veterans

1.    Daan du Toit, Mil, 2:49:31

2.    Hennie du Plooy, Mil, 3:06:58

3.    Paul Roos, SIM, 3:07:13

Veterans

1.    Duncan McIvor, Pen, 3:22:24

2.    Rob Meintjies, Lan, 3:22:45

3.    Dale Lewis, Cty, 3:26:05

Sub Masters

1.    Eugene van der Westhuizen, Mil, 2:49:41

2.    Etienne Buys, Paarl, 3:29:35

3.     Phil Pla-Pillans, Cty, 3:30:55

Masters

1.    Neil Bartie, Paarl, 3:26:30

2.    Francois du Toit, Paarl, 3:33:04

3.    Brian Whiteford, Umz, 3:55:28

Sub Grandmasters

1.    Shaun Butler, Pen, 3:19:32

2.    Christo Smit, Mil, 3:23:56

3.    Eric Farringer, Paarl, 4:33:23

Grandmasters

1.    Giel van Deventer, Paarl, 3:07:03

2.    Edgar Boehm snr, Pen, 5:12:03.

Day 1 paddlers

42^nd – Richard Kohler, Mil, 2:11:07

50^th Charles Melck, Mil 2:44:56

Day 2 paddlers

Chris de Waal, Mil, 1:45:50

Mandy Simpson, Mil 2:31;12

WRAPPERS !

1.    Mynhardt Marais, Paarl.

2.    Danie Buts, Paarl

3.    Tim Pouw.