A bumpy ride

Flying along the sea at 70km an hour is not an activity designed for comfort, and doing it for five full days in a row is not for sissies.

Dolphin Coast locals Regard Roets and Kevin Mackridge recently took part in the Trans Agulhas Challenge, racing their twin pontoon ‘Thundercat’ rubberduck from Plett to Strand.

This was the pair’s first time taking part in the gruelling challenge and they managed to claim a second place in the novice class, holding the province’s name up high as they were the only entry from KZN.

“It is not called the toughest ocean race for nothing,” said Mackridge.

“We would generally be up from 4am to prep for the day. Then the stage would start at about 8am and we would cover anywhere from 100-200km depending on where the next overnight stop was. Sometimes we would only come in at 11 at night.”

The two men completed 13 heats in the five days of the challenge.

Roets told the Courier day five was a particularly challenging one.

“Half the field just abandoned the race that day but we kept going to the finish line,” he said.

“This is something I have been wanting to do for 20 years and one day Kevin and I were having a beer and we decided it was now or never. I used to race cars, so racing bicycles was getting a little boring. I wanted to up the ante.”

The two men spent 10 months training and preparing to take on the ocean.

“From the moment you hit the surf it’s all go-go-go,” said Mackridge.

“Your body really takes a pounding.”

Through the race, Roets and Mackridge managed to raise more than R20 000 for Spaniel Rescue and Spaniel Welfare, two charities close to their hearts.

“We would just like to thank our main sponsor Atlas Copco as well as all the others who made this possible for us,” Mackridge said.

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