Fourways residents paddle their way to victory
FOURWAYS - The epic Dusi took place from 19 to 21 February from Pietermaritzburg to Durban and saw two Fourways residents finish in top positions.
The top three Gautengers 2015 Dusi included paddlers from the Soweto Canoe and Recreation Club, but a number of the members of the Dabulamanzi Canoe Club managed to achieve prestigious top 100 finish positions, including Barry Painting from Fourways.
Sonja Bohnsack a resident from Glenferness returned to river racing after a five-year hiatus. Bohnsack was the first master age category woman to finish the Dusi this year. She was the second Gauteng finisher.
Despite thunderstorms in recent weeks, the storage dams levels were still well below expected levels for this time of the year at the Dusi. For paddlers, this meant the luxury of water releases from the dams, that have been a hallmark of the modern Dusi, were noticeably reduced.
Day one of the race ran through the centre of Pietermaritzburg on the low level Mngeni River, to end in the Dusi Valley of 1000 hills, where local townspeople lined the river banks at first, replaced by local valley villagers cheering the paddlers while seconds struggled on the hilly dirt roads.
On day two, on the Msundusi and the Mngeni Rivers, the rapids were treacherous as the fast-flowing current swerved around boulders at top speed requiring quick reflexes to avoid boat wraps.
However on the final day, the departure from Inanda to Durban, the shortest section of the race, was tougher than usual with no release and strong resistance was felt on the approaches to Blue Lagoon in Durban.
