Local paddler and partner getting ready for 2021
Claude Nish and John Cunningham took on the rapids recently at the JCC Two day Klip race and came on victorious. This is in preparation for the upcoming Dusi later in March.
With the 2021 My Life Dusi around the corner, contestants got the chance recently to gain some qualifying points as well as to be seeded for start batching at the upcoming Dusi race.
During the 2021 JCC 2 Day Klip that was hosted on 27 and 28 February, Lanseria resident John Cunningham and his partner Claude Nish finished first in the double-boat (K2) category.
Jennie Dallas from the Gauteng Canoe Union explained that the Johannesburg Canoe Club (JCC) based at Wemmer Pan, which was the first canoe club in Gauteng, hosted a two-day river race on the Vaal in December before the flood gates were opened.
Unfortunately, their two-day Klip River race that was scheduled for January had to be cancelled because of lockdown restrictions.
Fortunately, the club was able to obtain the necessary permission to host the 2021 JCC 2 Day Klip during the last weekend of February.
The race took place in the Midvaal area from above Daleside through Henley on Klip and finishing in Meyerton. It consisted of two days of 33km each with a few kilometres of portage, where paddlers carry their boats and run, in between.
Jennie said that the hail storms in Alberton and Henley on Friday meant that the river was in full flood for the race, and participants even had to paddle over low-level bridges.
“The running portage was around the Henley Kidson Weir for safety in grasslands on the banks that were saturated and swamp-like,” she added.
While some of the rapids flattened out with no rocks in sight, others were challenging and powerful waves tossed boats in the air, resulting in a number of participants having to swim, and a few broken boats.
“It was a very challenging, exciting river race, perhaps on par with what can be expected from a full Dusi in March since Inanda Dam is full to capacity!”
John and Claude finished both days in four hours and 28 minutes, and according to Jennie, “They thoroughly enjoyed the huge waves and hard-working battle to control the boat in the strong currents”.
The Dusi will be taking place from 18 to 20 March this year after it was delayed by a month due to the January Covid restrictions.
The race is a three-day marathon canoe race along the Msunduzi and Mgeni Rivers near Pietermaritzburg and Durban and stretches over 120km.
