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DOWNLOAD RESULTS HERE 65 paddlers took to the Breede River, Bontebok section, on Saturday morning 17th September and all 65 finished the race at Napkysmond with their canoes intact – a rare occurrence on this section of river, although as the ‘old sweats’ will say, not necessarily so with the river at the medium to low level that it was raced upon.
It has been hoped that the 20 cumecs measured at Secunda Weir, between Robertson and Bonnivale, earlier in the week, might have reached the Bontebok by Saturday, but this was not the case, so in about 12 – 15 cumecs (because the paddles paddled out of the flow), the race proceeded. Nevertheless the disappointingly small field (especially with the Fish coming up in 2 weekends time), got away at the start, below Jabawingi Rapid, in perfect weather. No wind, clear skies and in the gorgeous surrounds of the Overberg – could life have been better? It certainly could have for Edgar Boehm jnr and Ali Glass (both Peninsula CC), one of the favourite crews to enter, who at the very first rapid of the day, a mere 800 m into the race, capsized when they did not account for the side flow that enters the pool at the bottom of the drop of Hors D’oevers Rapid and which had them swimming in a twinkling. To Edgar jnr’s credit, he did confirm that he saw some rather large crayfish at the bottom of the pool, so for those keen on sea food, keep this in mind! The unscheduled swim saw Boehm and Glass have to dig deep and chase the field – all of whom had paddled past them whilst they competed in their own swimming gala, the leading crews being Lance Kime and Owen Gandar (Maties/Maties), Ernest van Riet/Heinrich Schloms (Maties/Paarl), Ian Glass and Shaun Butler (Pen/Pen) and Herbert Conradie and Gary Cromie (Paarl/SOS). Rapid’s such at The Wall, caused a bit of consternation as the drop there was not open (river too low) and so the very sharp left/right turn in the channel on river right had several crews opt to portage – it being the faster option, especially if stuck behind a canoe trying to negotiate it, whilst the ‘S’ Bend rapid some 200m on was a fun breeze to shoot. Down past Round the Bend camp and the Good Morning Rapid saw Boehm/Glass reeling in canoes that had earlier passed them and by Ouwerf, the half way mark in the race, they had recovered from being stone-last, to 6th overall. After Ouwerf paddlers encountered such obstacles as Cascades, Dead Man’s, the 2nd ‘S’ Bend rapid of the day, Toboggan, Wham Bam - which was rather bony and had a few paddlers checking for crustaceans at the bottom of the hole below it - before the notorious Rock Garden – also called, Zimbabwe Ruins by some! Again, with the river being low and not too pushy, the very sharp lefts and rights claimed a few victims but none of the broken-boat scenario – just as well as it is a looooong walk out from there! On the final, long, flat, shallow 2 ½ km stretch to the boma beyond Napkysmond, where the officials waited patiently and seconds suntanned, Boehm/Glass caught and over took the front runners – van Riet/Schloms having holed their canoe, whilst Kime/Gandar were suffering from the effects of examinations, the distance (34.8km) catching up on them at the end – to win the event some 12 seconds ahead of Kime/Gandar, whilst the first Masters crew home, Ian Glass/Shaun Butler (Pen/Pen) were 3rd overall. The only senior women’s crew taking part, Robyn Henderson/Lisa Scott were (obviously!) the first ladies home and in the Top 10, coming 9th overall, whilst heading up the 11 K1’s that took part, was Paarl’s Mynhardt Marais from Wynand Rossouw (Out) 2nd and Andre Rabie (Paarl) 3rd. Results. Top 10 1. Edgar Boehm jnr/Alasdair Glass, Pen/Pen, 2 hours 32 minutes 04 seconds. 2. Lance Kime/Owen Gandar, Maties/Maties, 2:32:16 3. Ian Glass/Shaun Butler, Pen/Pen, 2:36:23 4. Herbert Conradie/Gary Cromie, Prl/SOS, 2:39:53 5. Ernest van Riet/Heinrich Schloms, Maties/Prl, 2:46:25 6. Michael Hay/Troy Haworth, Maties/Maties, 2:46:39 7. Duncan McIvor/Mike Duffus, Pen/Pen, 2:46:49 8. Giel van Deventer/Daantjie Malan, Prl/Maties, 2:49:14 9. Robyn Henderson/Lisa Scott, Mil/Mil, 3:00:38 10. Alastair Roberts/Murray Walters, Pen/Pen, 3:01:32 Senior Women 1. Robyn Henderson/Lisa Scott, Mil/Mil, 3:00:38 Under 23 1. Lance Kime/Owen Gandar, Maties/Maties, 2:32:16 2. Michael Hay/Troy Haworth, Maties/Maties, 2:46:39 3. Sam Hancock/Allen Clark, Maties/Maties, 3:21:51 Mixed doubles 1. Rob MacLean/Shannon MacLean, Pen/Pen, 3:20:12 Veterans 1. Herbert Conradie/Gary Cromie, Prl/SOS, 2:39:53 2. Duncan McIvor/Mike Duffus, Pen/Pen, 2:46:49 3. Robyn Henderson/Lisa Scott, Mil/Mil, 3:00:38 Masters 1. Ian Glass/Shaun Butler, Pen/Pen, 2:36:23 2. Giel van Deventer/Daantjie Malan, Prl/Maties, 2:49:14 Sub Grandmasters 1. Rene Boehm/Eric Farringer, Sim/Prl, 3:36:22 Grandmasters 1. Ian Smith/Pete Smorenberg, Pen/Blu, 3:52:26. K1’s 1. Mynhardt Marais, Prl, 2:46:23. 2. Wynand Rossouw, Out, 3:04:04 3. Andre Rabie, Prl, 3:17:15. |
