Dabulamanzi Canoe Club members take on the Dusi
Several members of the Dabulamanzi Canoe Club took part in the 74th Dusi Canoe Marathon, gaining podium finishes.
The 74th Dusi Canoe Marathon recently took place, and as with the many previously held, members of Dabulamanzi Canoe Club (Dabs) participated, and, in some cases, gained podium finishes.
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The race, which runs over three days, takes place in KwaZulu–Natal along the Msunduzi and Mgeni Rivers, over a total distance of 120km. The race attracts about 1 600 to 2 000 paddlers each year, making it the biggest canoeing event on the African continent.
Dabs paddlers from Northcliff, Linden, and Melville participated in this challenging event. This year the water level was medium to low, compared to the 2023 flood conditions, which also included a tricky paddle on day 3 as 20 cumecs of water was released. This was also the year that the rapid known as Little John was renamed Big John.
The top finisher for Gauteng was a paddler from the Soweto Canoe and Recreation Club (SCARC), Siseko Ntondini, who trains, and participates in events, at Emmarentia dam regularly. The top finisher for Dabs was Mike Arthur, completing the race in 23rd position overall, and first in the veteran age category, in 08:14:00. Robert Crichton finished third in the sub veteran category, and 26th overall, in 08:30:00. Mark Garden was third in the sub master category, and 48th in K1, in a time of 08:37:00. Michael John Robb was the first Dabs double kayak finisher, partnered with Craig Metherthell, finishing third overall in the K2 category, and seventh in the sub veteran age category, in 09:10:00. Troy Clark was seventh in the sub grand master category, finishing the race in 11:43:00.
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Sophiatown’s Ryno Armdorff (one of the founders of SCARC) finished 57th in the K1 (single kayak) category in 09:26:00. While Sonya Bohnsack and Nick Warren partnered up to finish the challenge successfully, ending in 34th in the K2 category, as a mixed double.
The tradition of the Dusi goes back to the 1960s, when Ian Player (Gary Player’s brother) arranged a group to paddle, and carry, boats from Pietermaritzburg to Durban. It took them weeks. There was no dam for a water release at that time, so they had to carry the boats a long way. Those boats were made of wood and canvas, and were not speedy boats, like they use for racing today.
As a result, the tradition of the Dusi is that the paddlers have to take boats out of the water and carry them through the rural areas, over land, then put them back into the water some distance later on a number of occasions each day. It requires a lot of training and preparation to be fit enough for this endurance event.
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