Paddlers take on rough seas

WITH some tough conditions being the order of the day on Friday evening, paddlers had to be keep their wits about them as they took on some rough seas.

It was the calm heads of Hank McGregor and the impressive Michelle Burn who managed the sea the best to record wins, and with that Burns' first win of the series at the Hansa Surfski Challenge.

It was a welcome return to winning ways for seven-time series winner, Michelle Burn, who has been moving up the results sheet over the past few weeks. The surfski star felt that the conditions on Friday were ideal for her and she exploited them well.

“Coming in and going out was always going to be quite hectic, that is why I was quite glad we had a backline start. With that said, when we got out there the wind died down a bit and the conditions were really good with some massive runs coming back. The conditions suited me better I think – I enjoy the rougher conditions and feel that I managed them pretty well,” she said.

Having been on the wrong end of the top two last week, Burn was able to turn the tide on her closest rival, Jenna Ward, on Friday, and the race was a reciprocal of the previous Friday as Burn was able to get in front of her young counterpart and stay in front.

The men’s race was won by Hank McGregor, who was pushed hard by Wade Krieger as he claimed the win by only a couple of seconds. With that he takes the lead in the series log over Matt Bouman, who did not take part in Friday's race.

With the surf being tricky, McGregor knew that the playing field was going to be level with the backline start and it was a ding-dong battle for the current marathon world champion against Krieger as he battled with a couple of issues.

“I managed to get away quite early but I got caught up in the shark nets, which meant I had to get off my ski and untangle myself, and in that time I saw Wade go past me so I had to work to get back to him. I got back ahead of Wade but got caught by a wave about 800 metres out which knocked me off my ski, and as I was scrambling to get back on Wade went past me again. So it was again a case of working to get ahead. After that I managed to regain my thoughts and get back in front, where I just maintained, and had a solid second lap so I kept ahead of Wade all the way home,” a relieved McGregor explained.

The top three in the men’s race were rounded out by event organiser, Barry Lewin, as the athlete just pipped youngster, Gene Prato, to the line on Friday evening.

The Lettie Paddle Surfski Challenge, race seven of the 2015 Varsity College FNB Marine Surfski Series, will take place at 5.30pm on Tuesday, 17 February at Addington Beach. Visit www.marineseries.co.za.