Wayne Jacobs of Dabulamanzi Canoe Club tamed the technical rapids of the Crocodile River on Saturday, winning the TRAC Lowveld Croc Canoe Marathon.

He had the help of two Lowveld paddlers, Piers Cruickshanks and Stuart Butcher, who took him on a pre-race recce of the river they know like the back of their paddles, the Sunday prior to the race.

Jacobs clocked one hour, 59 minutes and 37 seconds.

As in previous years, the sluices of Kwena Dam were opened to raise the level of the river. The Croc was flowing at 7.5 cubic metres per second.

KwaZulu-Natal Canoe Club’s Carl Folscher was second in 02:00;21.

Siseko Ntondini of Soweto Canoe Club was third in 02:02;15.

Sixty paddlers competed.

The top-10 seeded paddlers started at 60-second intervals from below the Kwena Dam wall, while the others started at 30-second intervals.

Jacobs spoke to Lowvelder about the race.

“I knew I had rivals both in front of me in Siseko, a multiple winner of the race, and Carl, a top river racer from KZN, and behind me, in Piers Cruickshanks, a Lowveld local who is also a past winner and knows the river extremely well.

“I made a small error going under the first low-level bridge which cost me about 30 seconds so I knew I had to put my head down and go for it before Piers caught sight of me on the more open sections of the river.

“I soon caught Loveday Zondi who started fourth and had capsized in one of the rapids. I then reeled in Alex Roberts at Sterkdoon Weir, 10 kilometres into the race.

“After catching Alex, I could just see Siseko and Carl just under one minute ahead of me through the trees. I had a good clean run through rapid 14, but then took a silly swim at rapid 13.5. “I managed to get going again having lost about one minute, but had now lost sight of Siseko and Carl.

“Having spoken to my friend, Hank McGregor (a past winner), the night before, he reminded me to relax and take it easy through the tricky rapid sections and use my strength of pushing the pace on the flats. I focused on doing this and pushed hard from there through to the finish, but with the time trial format, I did not know if I had done enough to make up the time lost on the two in front or the charging Piers behind me.

“When I crossed the line in under two hours, I knew I had a solid race and would be in a good position to take the win. My victory was confirmed by the time keepers.”

Jacobs was 17th in 2018, ninth in 2019 and finished last year’s race in third position.

“Having come close in the past and falling short I decided to take some time out to trip the river this year with locals Piers and Stuart Butcher being kind enough to take me down and show me the right lines through the rapids. This made a world of difference and I don’t think I would have won without their help.

“It is such a special race to win with a rich history of SA’s top paddlers’ names on the trophy. To have won it for the first time and to have my name alongside theirs is a real honour for me,” he said.

Canoeing, like other sport, has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I am so grateful for the opportunity to have raced after Covid-19 resulted in a lot of races being cancelled over the past two years. I am also so thankful to my sponsors, Euro Steel Sport, Set Kayaks, and Gara Racing Paddles for all of their help and support,” Jacobs said.

The first Lowvelder to cross the finish line, Cruickshanks, was fourth overall and the winner of the sub-masters’ race.

The Lowveld Canoe Club paddler clocked 02:02;56.

His clubmate, Wihan Venter, was second in the masters’ race and 16th overall in 02:19;27. Butcher, of Lowveld Canoe Club, finished 19th overall and third in the sub-masters’ category. He clocked 02:20;44.

Clubmate, Eric Dickson, was 31st overall and the third in the masters’ race in 02:32;57.

Lowveld Canoe Club’s Gustav Smook was 36th overall and the fifth master home. His time was 02:36;03.

Lowvelder, Gustav Smook jr, now racing for Stellenbosch University Canoe Club, finished 40th in 02:41;03.

Jacobs concluded, “The Lowveld Croc has to be one of, if not the best, river in the country. There is never a dull moment and is non-stop rapids from start to finish, clean water, and surrounded by beautiful Lowveld countryside and animals the whole way down the river.

“The technicality of the rapids and the fact that you paddle the majority of the race without seeing another paddler means it is almost as much you against the river as it is you against the other competitors. If you manage to have a clean run you will always be competitive.

“The organisers did a fantastic job putting on the race this year. There was a great water release for us and everyone made it to the finish safely. There was delicious food and juice for both paddlers and supporters at the finish put on by the organisers and local farmers”.