Rottnest Island

My time in Perth has been great so far. Done lots of downwinds, had a team BBQ, tasted the local beer, and am fnally understanding the Aussies when they speak;) It’s a whole other English over here!

Team Nelo has been super organised, with Nigel and Jimmy being super managers, making sure we are well prepared. The race is really well run, with Dean and Yanda and their whole team putting on a fantastic event.

We got all our ski’s taken to the ferry and loaded up the day before for the trip over to Rottnest Island. After a good breakfast we boarded the ferry to get over there for the start. The wind wasn’t blowing quite as much as I would have liked, but it was still blowing. The main factor was the heat, as we went over at 1030, and were only starting at 1345, in the heat of the day but also hopefully the windiest part.

On the ferry over to the start

The women were due to start 15 minutes before the men. I was hoping to have a real stormer and try not let them catch me, and be the first person across the line… Would have been classic to see the reaction from the crowd. Bernadette and Lauren tore off toward the Hotspot (at 1000m it was more of a “Longspot”). I managed to hang onto their wash, and then about 200m before the buoy that marked the Hotspot, I kicked and managed to overtake them and take (my first ever) hotspot! Then we turned left and headed across the bay, with a side chop and some small runs. Luckily we had a lead boat showing the way, as I had no idea where I was going. I opened up a small 100m lead, from Krystal Smith. 11km along, and we could finally turn around the shipping lane marker buoy and head straight toward Sorrento Beach, and the finish, with the wind right at your back. I managed to string together a few great runs, and open up the lead somewhat.

I was now in the front, whereas usually the leading men are in front of me. I had put a GPS marker point in my Garmin before the start, so I just followed the dial. My line felt ok, and about a kilometer from the finish, Bruce Taylor passed me on my left, with Tim Jacobs on my right. Such tight racing and I was stoked that Tim got the sprint up the beach.

Close finish between Tim Jacobs and Bruce Taylor

I was pretty happy with my race. I would have loved just a little bit more wind, and I really need to work on my concentration. Just under 2 hours is a long time to stay focused on one thing! Below is a photo of my awesome Nelo ski with the lumo yellow nose!

Photo’s above were taken by Tanya Mangold, thanks!

I came in about 4 minutes ahead of ironwoman Krystal Smith, with young Lauren Smith in 3rd. Team Nelo had a good day out with wins in both the male and female hotspots, and the men’s and women’s winners. I will try post the a link to the super cool video Bernadette made (she came in 5th).

On Sunday we did the Finn Kayaks Relay event. I teamed up with Tim, and we managed to just beat Kirsty and Zane Holmes (thanks to Tim, I was a bit useless on Sunday). Andre and I paddled down from the halfway mark to the Sorrento, to round off a great weekend of downwind paddling.

I am sticking in Perth for another week, staying with ex South Africans Tanya and James Mangold. There are 2 more races around here, so I will post some more news soon.

Thanks to Andre from Nelo for getting me over here to Perth. I have always wanted to do this race, and it doesn’t disappoint!!

All the category winners received this “doctors” coat!

cape-point-ad1

Bridgitte Hartley won bronze in the K1 1000m at the World Canoe Sprint Champs in Canada on Saturday! Well done Bridge!

Marc Cloete writes (see www.paddle365.com)

Halifax - Bridgitte Hartley was the toast of the South African Sprint Kayaking Squad as she won South Africa’s first ever World Championship medal on Saturday. The sprint queen claimed bronze in the K1 1000m Final to cap off an outstanding individual year where she has announced herself as a potent force in women’s sprinting.

Having qualified for the A-Final by finishing in third place in her semi-final on Friday, Hartley was drawn in an outside lane for the main event on a windy Saturday morning against multiple Olympic medalists and World Champions. However, she took the confidence of having beating a number of the competitors earlier in the year into the race, and managed to rise to the occasion in style.
 
New Zealand’s Erin Taylor and Denmark’s Henriette Engel-Hansen shot off the blocks, and Hartley found herself in seventh place by the first 250m mark. The Gauteng-based star is well known for her powerful kick though, and it came to the fore when it counted as she surged up to fourth at the 750m mark. Digging deep, she managed to pip Engel-Hansen into the final podium position, one second off the pace of race winner Katalin Kovacs from Hungary. Germany’s Franziska Weber took the silver medal.

Friday afternoon’s K1 500m semi-final was a tough one for Hartley as she was drawn against some stiff competition. Her fourth place was good enough to secure a B-Final, which she went on to win solidly on Sunday, but she was hoping to make the A-Final in the Olympic distance event at the start of the regatta.
 
Hartley was not about to get carried away with her results though. “I must take this as another learning curve for the bigger picture to build on for the next few years. I have had a good year so far of training and racing, and all my competitors have many more years of racing and training in their bag already,” she said afterwards. Considering this is the first time she has competed at the World Championships in the 1000m and 500m events, there is much to look forward to.
 
The remainder of the results were a mixed bag for the South African team. Shaun Rubenstein had a frustrating K1 1000m Semi-Final on Friday, with a sixth place finish only enough to qualify for the C-Final where he came second. His budding K2 partnership with Mike Arthur was more successful though, as they qualified for the K2 200m A-Final by finishing third in their semi-final. In another fast and tight race on Sunday morning, the pair finished in sixth place to announce themselves as a crew to watch in the new Olympic distance. Earlier in the day, the two claimed third in the K2 500m C-Final.

The men’s K4 of Nick Stubbs, Len Jenkins, Nic Burden and Greg Louw had a promising weekend, the highlight of which was qualifying for the K4 1000m B-Final. The other team boat of Cam Schoeman and Stu Waterworth failed to progress through their K2 1000m Semi-Final races. In the 500m distance, Len Jenkins raced a good K1 Semi-Final to qualify for Sunday’s C-Final, where he had to settle for eighth spot. Greg Louw raced the short and sharp K1 200m event, and managed an encouraging fifth place in the C-Final.
 
Competition was definitely a step up from the May and June World Cups in Europe, however the team acquitted itself excellently on the course, and team manageress Julia Thomas was proud of the squad’s achievements, “Finals days at World Champs is undoubtedly the pinnacle of the year for any athlete and apart from the Olympic Games, it represents the biggest stage upon which to measure up against the best of the best. Team SA took on the odds and staked its claim, and made us and South Africa so incredibly proud,” she said afterwards.
 
With another full year of training and conditioning, which will begin again later this year, there is much to be excited about for the core of this squad, and the experience gained from this year’s world-class competition will be a vital ingredient for the journey.
 
Sprint World Championship A-Finals
Women’s K1 1000m

1. Katalin Kovacs (HUN) 3:59.846
2. Franziska Weber (GER) 4:00.429
3. Bridgitte Hartley (RSA) 4:00.966
   

Men’s K2 200m

1. Piatrushenka / Makhneu (BLR) 0:32.229
2. Craviotto / Perez (ESP) 0:32.231
3. Dober / Willows (CAN) 0:32.652
4. Straume / Rumjancevs (LAT) 0:33.069
5. Postrigay / Molochkov (RUS) 0:33.118
6. Rubenstein / Arthur (RSA) 0:33.429

PVM has brought out a new bar, the iSnack. The 40g bars weigh in with 5.73g Protein, 22.46g Carbs, and 4.69g of Fat. There are 2 flavours-Yoghurt Strawberry, and Chocolate Cranberry, both are delicious

PVM are the makers of the original Energy Bar, and thankfully, one of my longest standing supporters! Thanks Petru and the gang at PVM for keeping me well-fueled and ready to train and race at my best.

Congartulations to Craig van Heerden who finished his first S2B yesterday! Besides a slight detour along the shore, he had a great day out.

Craig at the finish

Craig and wife Simone at the finish of the S2B

Press Release from Gameplan Media:

Mocke brothers dominate Men’s Health Discovery Scottburgh to Brighton surf ski ultra marathon

Durban – Dawid Mocke brought down the curtain on the winter surf ski series with an emphatic family domination of the tough 46 kilometer Men’s Health Discovery Scottburgh to Brighton surf ski ultra marathon, raced on a dead calm ocean that offered little assistance to the big field that took part.

Mocke and his younger brother Jasper timed their race to perfection, and make their break at the front from the big bunch as they approached the compulsory beach stop at Amanzimtoti.

“I have done this race often enough to know that it is a long way, and that the racing only starts at Toti,” said Dawid Mocke, who has now won the race four times in six outings.

With his younger brother happy to follow his lead Dawid Mocke caught a small wave going into Amanzimtoti that gave the siblings a fifty metre lead. “It was crucial because there can be carnage in the surf when a big bunch comes in together,” said Dawid Mocke.

Only the winner of last weekend’s Dunlop Surf Ski World Cup Clint Pretorius was able to stay with the Mocke brothers, but shortly after that he paid the price for doing most of the pulling on the long leg to Amanzimtoti, and was dropped off the front bunch. “When Clint (Pretorius) blew, he blew pretty spectacularly!”, said Dawid Mocke.

“The brotherly love thing ended about four kilometres from the finish at Brighton,” he added. “From there on it was every man for himself.” Dawid Mocke managed to beach at the finish on the Bluff less than a minute ahead of his brother, with visiting Australian racer Mark Anderson pacing himself well to clinch the last place on the podium.

“I am stoked to be on the podium with my brother,” said Jasper Mocke. “The race was just like our training sessions together. He is always giving me tips and advice, and I am happy to sit on his wave for as long as I can.”

“This race is sadomasochism!” chuckled Dawid Mocke. “You know when you get to the start in the dark and cold at Scottburgh, where the surf is always dodgy, that you are in for a very tough race, no matter what the conditions are like on the day.”

The women’s title fell to the nuggety Amanzimtoti star Tiffany Kruger, revelling in her local waters to post another excellent result ahead of Michelle Eder.

Nigel and Michael Stevens won the double ski race, finishing third overall, with the season’s on-form mixed doubles crew of Sean and Alison Uys crowning a successful winter with the mixed doubles title.

Despite the flat sea conditions, the notorious surf at Amanzimtoti gave the big field a hard time, many of them taking part in a new shorter marathon that ended at Toti. Several paddlers misjudged the surf coming in at Amanzimtoti and ended the race with broken skis.

DISCOVERY MEN’S HEALTH SURF SKI SERIES
Men’s Health Discovery Scottburgh to Brighton
Men
1.Dawid Mocke 3:45.57
2.Jasper Mocke 3:46.46
3.Mark Anderson 3:51.56
4.Bevan Manson 3:54.39
5.Travis Wilkinson 3:55.59
6.Brett Bartho 3:56.07
7.Richard von Wildemann 3:56.11
8.Clint Pretorius 3:58.40
9.Shadrack Mkhize 4:03.41
10.Mark Mulder 4:03.42

Women
1.Tiffany Kruger 4:25.42
2.Michelle Eder 4:40.00

Double ski
1. Nigel Stevens/Michael Stevens 3:51.09
2.Gavin Searle/Quinton Rutherford 3:54.11
3.Brandon van der Walt/Chad Andrews 3:54.23
4.Marc Holtzhauzen/Werner Holtzhauzen 3:56.26
5.Luke Symonds/Neil Evans 3: 57.49

Mixed Double ski
1.Sean Uys/Alison Uys 4:08.55
2.Glen Trueb/Lindy Bradshaw 4:12.20
3.Nathlaie Veckranges/Warren Beuster 4:15.34

Full details of the series can be found at www.surfski.co.za

And Berg Results/press release:

Hank McGregor wins record-equalling sixth  Berg River Canoe Marathon title 

Velddrif – Hank McGregor paddled his way into the canoeing record books when he equalled Robbie Herreveld’s six victories in the Berg River Canoe Marathon by wrapping up the 2009 title in emphatic style, while the enthralling women’s race went the way of nineteen year old debutant Robyn Kime on another day of high drama.

Then outcome of the race was clouded in controversy as the race jury heard several appeals against the use of shortcuts in the river and portages that might have been in conflict with the race rules.

Starting in a massed start for the 56 kilometre final stage from Zoutkloof to the West Coast fishing town of Velddrif, all McGregor had to do was stay with the front bunch to secure his overall race victory. After a flawless day on a full river, McGregor sprinted away from a six boat bunch in the closing stages to cross the finish line alone where he celebrated his sixth title in style.

“This is such a special race to take part in, let alone to win,” said McGregor. “The obstacles and the sheer distances of each stage makes it the toughest race I have ever done. Ever since I was kid growing up in the Cape I wanted to do this race, and dreamt of possibly winning it.

McGregor also savoured the shared record with “King of the Berg” Robbie Herreveld. “It’s fantastic to share his record,” said McGregor. “Simply to be mentioned in the same sentence as Robbie is an honour and a privilege. Maybe he will make a comeback next year and we can race it together!”

His finish was more dramatic than anticipated, as he saw a five hundred metre lead that he had worked hard for in his solo charge evaporate as the five chasers took a short-cut on the long final loop in the river before Velddrif.

“For the start of the race, this sneak channel was banned,” said a clearly frustrated McGregor. “When I got to Oordraplek I double-checked with the race official, who told me that we had to stay in the main channel, which is what I did. I was very surprised to see the five boat chasing bunch suddenly arrive on my tail a hundred metres behind me at the finish.”

The full river also caused some anxious moments for the front bunch as they charged down the full river and across flooded vlies. “It was a bit nerve racking,” admitted McGregor. “At one stage we got stuck in a fence and had to break the wire to get free. We then ran out of water and had to carry our boats for two hundred metres to get back into the river.”

The second place for King is his best ever paddling result. “I am over the moon,” bubbled the Milnerton ace. “I have paid my dies on this race, taken more than my fair share of wrong channels, and had my share of admin. So to have it all come together like this feels very special.”

The women’s race has captivated the race’s followers for all four days of the ultra-marathon. Pre-race favourite Robyn Kime was on the back foot after a series of disasters on the critical first stage left her nearly five minute adrift of Milnerton star Lindi-May Harmsen. That lead was whittled down to fifty two  seconds by the time the two women started side-by-side in the massed start for the final stage of the race.

Harmsen however made a critical error – her first of the race – by taking a channel that proved to be a long-way around a bend, leaving the door open for Kime to scamper away to claim victory in the women’s race, and to become only the fourth women in the history of the race to win it on debut.

“Obviously I am disappointed,” said Harmsen. “For a while I could see Robyn (Kime) ahead of me after she got a lead when we went over some fences, but them all of a sudden she was gone. But full credit to her, she paddled like a steam train today.”

McGregor and King paved the way for their Team Epic to claim the team prize comfortably, with fellow team mates Pieter-Willem Basson and Heinrich Schloms all finishing in the top five, ensuring victory over Solomon’s Team Roamer Rand.

The end of the race was dogged by some heated debate over the use by some paddlers of a portage at Rietdakhuis that had been disallowed before the days stage started. The very full river also created opportunities for paddlers to leave the river banks and paddle across vlies, often with no guarantee that they would be able to get back into the main flow of the river.

Pierre-Andre Rabie was the first Under 21 paddler to cross the line, finishing in sixth place, while Joseph Williams took the juniors title in 51st place overall.

The race also saw two paddlers race into a unique slice of Berg River Canoe Marathon history when they became the first paddlers to complete forty of these tough ultra-marathons. Andre Collins and Giel van Deventer both completed their fortieth races with hitch free final stages to Velddrif, where they both received heroes welcomes.

“This has got to be one of the best Bergs ever,” enthused Collins. “The weather and water has been magnificent – warm, blue skies and a full river. I had the pleasure paddling with Willem van Riet (who took part in the first ever Berg in 1962) on the third stage and we agreed that this has been one of the best.”

Collins was quick to congratulate Giel van Deventer when he made it to the finish and promised to share a “bottle of great twenty year old” with him after the race.

SUMMARY OF RESULTS
BERG RIVER CANOE MARATHON DAY FOUR
(STAGE TIME) OVERALL RACE TIMES
1.Hank McGregor (1:56.10) 13:22.54
2.Lance King (1:56.45) 13:25.58
3.Graeme Solomon (1:57.02) 13:32.04
4.Pieter-Willem Basson (1:57:00) 13:33.54
5.Heinrich Schloms (1:56.45) 13:37.27
6.Pierre Andre Rabie  (1:57.08) 13:44.43
7.Ernest van Riet (2:15.32) 14:02.05
8.Edgar Boehm Jnr (2:15.32) 14:03.10
9.Andrew Birkett (2:15.33) 14:10.53
10.Cornelius Human (2:15.34) 14:14.05
11.Ryno Armdorf (2:19.39) 14:23.33
12.Nick Longley (2:19.38) 14:23.41
13.Mynhardt Marais (2:19.38) 14:28.44
14.Louw Van Riet (2:20.13) 14:33.06
15.Dane Sanvido (2:20.26) 14:37.28
16.regory Smith (2:23.09) 14:39.41
17.Roland Smith (2:23.08) 14:40.02
18.Daan du Toit (2:27.09) 14:43.37
19.Chris de Waal (2:20.14) 14:44.33
20.Willen van Riet Jnr (2:20.25) 14:54.55
 
WOMEN:
1.Robyn Kime (2:28.12) 15:26.07
2.Lindi-May Harmsen (2:35.08) 15:32.11 
3.Jemma Hofmeyer (2:28.53) 15:50.08
4.Angie Gafney (2:32.09) 16:15.34
5.Lisa Scott (2:32.56) 16:23.21

More information can be found at www.berg.org.za