Maiden series titles for champs Van der Walt and Ward

GRANT van der Walt and Jenna Ward were crowned 2014 series champs at the second edition of the Bay Union Surfski Series at Durban beachfront’s Point Watersports Club (PWC) on Sunday, 25 May.

Hank McGregor and Nicole Russell romped home to clinch victory in the day’s feature race while Van der Walt and Ward were crowned series champions.

McGregor put in a determined effort to overcome the lingering after effects of his recent trip to Hawaii, where he claimed the prestigious Molokai Challenge winner’s trophy, to win both of Sunday’s tough challenges.

Epic Kayaks’ Bouman came home to claim second place in the Bay Union Reef Challenge and secure the middle step on the overall series’ podium as well, while this year’s series winner Van der Walt (Epic Kayaks/Varsity College) finished the day’s feature race in third.

“I pushed hard this series and managed to have a few really consistent races which has meant I’ve come out on top and I’m really stoked to have won this year’s Bay Union Surfski Series. Taking on the likes of Hank (McGregor) and Matt (Bouman) week in and week out is tough so when you race a series you maybe look to try get a race win here or there under the belt but a series title is really tough to win so to have gotten this one is great!” he said.

With McGregor having secured the Bay Union Shootout title, it was series coordinator Barry Lewin’s bold tactics that paid off best as the Varsity College/Team Jeep athlete finished second with van der Walt and Bouman claiming third and fourth respectively.

Ward clinched her first race victory as a senior competitor in the women’s category of the series’ opening race four weeks ago and this solid platform saw the emerging talent go on to make it three victories in a row in the subsequent weeks, clinching her maiden series title in the process.

The equally talented Nicole Russell has been hot on Ward’s heels throughout the four-leg series and Sunday’s feature race finally saw Russell’s hard work and determination rewarded as she claimed her first race win of the series. Fittingly though, Ward had the final say when she returned to the front of the pack in the Shootout and she narrowly edged out Russell over the high tempo speedfest.

“It was nice to get my first race win in the first race of this series and now to have won the series title as well is just fantastic. I’m really happy, especially having beaten someone who is as strong in surfski as Nicole Russell is. Hopefully now I can start looking to win some of the bigger, national races and competing against some of the other top girls from all of the provinces,” said Ward.

There is still plenty of surfski action to take place in KwaZulu-Natal this winter with the full calendar culminating in the FNB Mazars Durban Downwind which doubles as the 2014 SA Surfski Championships. Visit: www.pitchandpaddle.co.za