Historic day for Marine at lifesaving champs
It was a historic day for Marine Surf Lifesaving Club at the recent SA Surf Lifesaving nationals.
THE 2015 South African Surf Lifesaving Championships concluded at Suncoast Pirates, Durban recently with local club Marine Surf Lifesaving Club (SLC) clinching a historic first ever senior national title while Fish Hoek narrowly edged out the Eastern Cape’s Kings Beach for the junior spoils.
Starting the day just two points behind local rivals Durban Surf and a slender five points ahead of defending champions Fish Hoek, the Marine team needed a strong start and a memorable victory in the senior men’s single ski clash by Barry Lewin gave them just the foundation they were looking for.
Up against global surfski powerhouses Hank McGregor, Matthew Bouman and Jasper Mocké and surf lifesaving paddling standouts Wade Kriger and Luke Nisbet, Lewin got off to a flying start and despite a charging Bouman and young Dominic Notten breathing down his neck, managed to claim a victory that will remain a fond memory for many years to come, clinching the same title his father Mark Lewin won at the same venue 28 years
ago.
Lewin’s individual effort on the water was then replicated by club mates Chad Ho and Sasha-Lee Norgenden, who won the men’s and women’s surf swim race respectively, before Mhlegi Gwala clinched the men’s beach run title from Siyanda Mthethwa of Durban Surf.
There was a strong Marine presence in the team events’ top three position throughout the day as well, including victories in the both the men’s and women’s coveted taplin relay, women’s board rescue and the women’s single ski relay.
The women’s taplin relay was a particularly interesting affair as all three title challenging outfits desperately sought vital points while Suncoast Pirates’ challenging surf conditions made it difficult for competitors to find any sort of a rhythm.
Women’s standout surf competitor of the championships Anna Notten put in a remarkable effort on the board leg to not only bring her Fish Hoek team back into the mix but into the lead as well however a costly swim in the tricky surf during the ski leg saw Marine eventually charge through to claim the spoils.
Hosts Suncoast Pirates were another outfit to enjoy a strong start to the day as Nisbet brothers Luke and Adam clinched the men’s board rescue, aiding in their club’s effort to make fourth place overall their own.
The juniors contest went down to the wire with Fish Hoek eventually being too strong for Kings Beach and Marine’s youngsters.
Suncoast Pirates star Luke Nisbet claimed the Men’s Iron Man crown at the event. It was an all-round performance from Nisbet who was first out of the water on both the swim and board legs of the race and never looked back as he powered to victory ahead of day one’s hero Paul van Achterbergh and Wade Krieger.
The Iron Lady was an exciting affair however it was Fish Hoek’s Anna Notten who reaffirmed her prowess as the top woman competitor at the Champs as she worked hard on the paddle to take the lead right at the end and even a swim on the shore could not stop her from getting over the line ahead of Marine’s Carmel Billson and Kirsten Flannagan in second and third respectively.
