Six intrepid paddlers completed a titanic 160 kilometres between Richards Bay and Durban on Monday.

The ‘100 Miler Harbour to Harbour’ was the first race of its kind for surfski paddlers worldwide and ran as flawlessly as possible, with all six participants completing the distance.

Originally planned by Salt Rock’s Quinton Rutherford, the race soon grabbed the attention of three other North Coasters in Bevan Manson, Brent Chiazzari and Clyde Barendse.

They were later joined by Clinton Wissekerke from Richards Bay and Brett Hadiaris from Durban to complete the group on the start line.

“There is basically no other stretch of coastline in the world that is as well suited to this kind of long distance paddling,” said Quinton.

“We have the perfect current, wind and swell to make these distances possible and set out a 10-day window for the race to take place. Monday just happened to be the first day in that window and we went for it.”

Aside from the ideal coastline and conditions, the paddlers who signed up also happen to be among the best globally over ultra long distances. In their ranks they had world record holders, paddlers who had circumnavigated Ireland and decades of marathon paddling experience.

“It’s never going to be a race that gets 50 guys, there are just not that many people who could make this distance,” said Quinton.

“We did some long training paddles over the last three months, getting our preparation right in terms of seeing what we needed to carry and what wind levels we could deal with.”

The paddlers were unassisted and had to carry all of their own food and drinks, adding to the weight of their skis and the overall challenge difficulty.

A stinker of a hot, humid day also made things tricky, given the majority of the paddle was in full sunlight after pushing off at 4am.

“So much of the race became about monitoring intake, making sure that your body was getting enough liquid and food, but also that there would be enough for the whole day.”

The group proved their experience however, and were grateful to touch sand again at the Durban harbour.

Bevan finished first in a blistering 11 hours and five minutes, followed by Brent (12h13m), Quinton (12h15m), Brett (12h46m), Clint (13h49m) and Clyde (14h07m).

The success of the day has paved the way for an annual event and Quinton is hopeful that some international paddlers might join in 2025.

He thanked the sponsors, 29 Degrees Latitude Premium Coffee, Engen Ballito, Fenn Kayaks, Downwind Paddling Gear and Sean McCarthy from Yamaha, whose combined support meant that no entry fees were charged. Quinton further thanked Chris Fisher for organising live trackers for safety, Barry Lewin for being race support on the jetski, Paulo Magni for driving and to all the paddlers’ wives for the support.

To see more, visit @100_miler_harbour_to_harbour on Instagram.

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