Photo by Anthony Grote

MultiCoach athlete Craig van Heerden had a 7% improvement in his race time from Race 1, Head’s Up to Craig! Keep up the good work, S2B is in your grasp!

Durban - The defending champion in the Discovery Men’s Health Surf Ski Series Matt Bouman won the 14 kilometre Powerade Dairy Beach race which formed the second leg of the popular winter series ahead of Barry Lewin and the brothers Herman and Oscar Chalupsky, continuing the impressive form that saw him win the European Surf Ski World Cup title earlier this month.

“After the start it was pretty much Indian file all the way to the finish,” said Bouman, who has set his sights on the Mauritius and Durban Surf Ski World Cup events and feels that it is essential that the title is captured by a South African paddler.

“Michele (Eray) caught me on the third lap,” said Eder. “We were about three or four waves apart at the end and Michele (Eray) took a little bit of a swim, which made for a close run up the beach with just metres between us.”

Luke Chalupsky won the junior title, Herman Chalupsky took the sub-masters honours in third overall, and the evergreen Mark Lewin bagging the Masters title once again.

The double ski category was won by Marc Germiquet and Warren Valentine

The race was rescheduled to an earlier to start to try and complete the event before the arrival of the forecast cold front. However conditions improved throughout the morning, and the South Westerly buster that was predicted never materialised.

SUMMARY OF RESULTS

Women
1.Michele Eray 1:22:41.2
2.Michelle Eder 1:22:44.0
3.Carol Joyce 1:25:38.4
4.Donna Winter 1:26:22.5
5.Nathalie Veckranges 1:31:12.3

Double ski
1.Marc Germiquet/Warren Valentine 1:14:16.7
2.Anton Fouche/Greg Frizelle 1:16:25.0
3.Gary Waud/Glenn Hilliar 1:16:57.7
4.Dave Herridge/Richard Lowe 1:17:02.7
5.Richard Philps/Gary Clarke 1:17:20.5
6.Mike Nichol/Ted Walburger 1:17:31.9
7.Guy McCormack/Kelvin McCormack 1:18:35.3
8.Andrew Neal/Chris Muller 1:18:49.3
9. Joe Boy/Stephen  Evans 1:19:05.5
10.Ross Poacher/Bruce Poacher 1:19:46.3
11.Stretch Struwig/Colleen Struwig 1:20:28.2 (Mixed double)

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

Bouman made a clean break at the start going out through the moderate metre-and-a-half surf at Dairy beach, and as he turned for the first of three laps from Addington to Pirates he was alone at the front of the race.