Leatherback Rum Surfski Challenge in Scottburgh

Forming part of the Ocean Festival celebration in commemoration of World Oceans Day is the Leatherback Rum Surfski Challenge taking place in Scottburgh on Sunday, June 11.

Entries for this exciting contest sponsored by Leatherback Rum are now open, with some of the sports’ top paddlers already signed up, among them Hank McGregor, Kenny Rice, and Michelle Burn.
Russel Symcox, event organiser, explained that the Leatherback Rum Surfski Challenge is an incredible addition to the Ocean Festival sporting activities, with R50 000 in prize money up for grabs – making it the most lucrative surfski event in the province.

“We’re hoping to bring paddlers from all over the country to Aliwal Shoal to celebrate World Oceans Day (June 8). The event will start from Scottburgh, which is a key coastal area, with paddlers getting to experience Aliwal Shoal, a Marine Protected Area (MPA) that forms a vital ocean space, protecting marine habitats while supporting ocean life. We’re also excited to be based out of the incredible Premier Cutty Sark Hotel which has provided us with the space and support to bring this free ocean paddling to the festival,” said Symcox.

Paddlers will head from Scottburgh Main Beach, in front of the Premier Hotel Cutty Sark beyond the surf zone north towards the famous Greenpoint Lighthouse. They then turn around the first marker buoy and head in an easterly direction to the internationally renowned Aliwal Shoal, one of 41 MPAs in South Africa and named by Jacques Cousteau as one of the world’s top 10 dive sites. Paddlers then head around the hotspot marker south for the final approach around the backline marker, through the surf zone, and to the finish line on Scottburgh Main Beach.

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