Dabs paddlers bring home top prizes from surfski championships
The canoeists participated in the Biogen Pete Marlin Surfski Race which was held in the Eastern Cape.
Another awesome performance on the river was delivered by Dabulamanzi Canoe Club (Dabs) paddlers when they participated in the annual Biogen Pete Marlin Surfski Race that took place in East London on the first weekend of November.
The weekend consisted of a singles race on the Saturday and a doubles race on the Sunday. Both events were designated as the respective singles and doubles South African Surfski Championships for 2023, with over 250 paddlers entered in each race.
Dabs paddler Peter O’Connor finished third ‘Gautenger’ in 01:45:00, and in first place in the Great Grandmaster age category (over 65 years). As a child, O’Connor suffered from polio and faced many challenges as a result, but he has become one of the most respected and experienced river and surfski paddlers in South Africa. Fellow Dabs paddler Bradley Boulle finished 27th overall in the singles event, and in eighth position in the U23 category in 01:24:00.
The purpose of this surfski event is to honour Pete Marlin, a popular East London surfski paddler who tragically lost his life while paddling on the Umkomaas River in KZN in 1988.
Marlin is described on the race website as a ‘charismatic, high-energy free spirit who loved wild places and adventures, which he found aplenty in the rivers and seas of the rugged and magnificent coastline of the Eastern Cape’. It continued to state that Marlin joined a small group of intrepid, pioneering kayakers and paddlers who began to explore every river that could be paddled in the Eastern Cape.
Following his passing, it was decided to honour him by holding a surfski event in the Eastern Cape, and the Biogen Pete Marlin Surfski Race has grown to become one of the country’s most prestigious events.
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