Dabs paddlers paddle upstream to the win in KZN

Dabulamanzi Canoe Club (Dabs) paddlers were among the top Gauteng finishers in the N3TC Drak River Challenge, one of South Africa’s biggest canoe races.

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The hotly anticipated two day race, is held in the heart of the KZN Midlands, in Underberg. Recent rains saw water levels rise which made for an exciting first day of race which covered 38km and featured some tricky rapids in two of the gorges for paddlers to paddle through.

Day one started at Swartburg Bridge, finishing at Hopewell Farm and day two started at Castleburn Bridge and finished at the Swartburg Bridge – about 25km. The river is described as tricky and technical with notorious Black Murray (a legendary rapid named after Steve Black and John Murray) being the final rapid before the finish.

A large contingent of paddlers from the Emmarentia-based club participated in the event, some more successfully than others but it was an amazing exciting experience for all.

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Dabs paddlers Clinton Cook finished in 03:46:00 as third senior age category across the finish line and Bradley Boulle clocked 03:53:00. Ethan Cockram came in 14th in the U23 category and Sean Evans was third in the master age category. Nick Warren was fifth in the master age category with Keith Flemmer coming in sixth in the same category and Clive Evans placed sixth in the grandmaster age category.

Kirsty Pott was placed as the 25th female finisher in 06:18:00. She enjoyed the experience despite the huge waves and rocky rapids. She described the river as ‘terrifying’.
“There was so much water, you could see the water level rising while you paddled and was lapping the top of the Castleburn Bridge.”

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