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Three weeks until Pennypinchers Easter Surf Ski Challenge supported by PPC cement

With just three weeks left until the 4th edition of the Pennypinchers Easter Surf Ski Challenge (supported by PPC cement) kicks off on 23 and 24 April 2011 in Plettenberg Bay, a number of the area’s top local paddlers are eyeing out the R12 500 prize money in the men’s and women’s Singles divisions.

The three Surf Ski Challenge events form part of the Plett Easter Games 2011, a four day Easter weekend sports festival which also includes a Trail Run (4km & 10km), Golf tournament, MTB Challenge (20km & 40km) and Road Run (10km). Wayne Craig of Offthehook Events, organizers of the Pennypinchers Easter Surf Ski Challenge supported by PPC cement, said that “there was previously no surf ski race in Plett over Easter. We were interested in starting one up, and Pennypinchers and PPC Cement have since been unbelievable in their support”.

Along with the Singles race (1pm on Saturday, 23 April), there will also be a Doubles race (8am on Sunday, 24 April) and Kiddies Guppy Race (10am on Saturday, 23 April). Local legends Michelle Eray and Alexis Lyon have already signaled their intent to challenge for the Singles surf ski race title. Craig said that “the Singles surf ski races are sure to be super competitive. Plett’s beautiful coastline offers many spectacular vantage points for spectators to watch the race so I’m hopeful that our event, as well as the other epic Plett Easter Games, will be well supported”.

Of those who enter the surf ski races before 15 April, two people will be in line to win a three-night weekend in Plettenberg Bay, including breakfast and dinner. The first 100 entrants will also receive an awesome Goodie Bag. The entry forms are available on www.offthehookplett.co.za, and those wanting to see pictures of last year’s event can visit https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=offthehookplett&target=ALBUM&id=5587694667823198769&authkey=Gv1sRgCKDSvJrElLvnpgE&invite=CMHZ3LEP&feat=email

Those who are interested in participating in or attending the event can find additional information by visiting www.offthehookplett.co.za, following @offthehookplett on Twitter, Pennypinchers Easter Surfski Challenge on Facebook or by contacting Wayne Craig at wayne@offthehookplett.co.za or on 044 533 0796. For accommodation, Patty Butterworth is available at admin@plettenbergbayinfo.co.za.

After The Doctor Ski Race, we went South of Perth, to Margaret River. Better known for its big wave surfing, we were there to do a ski race. Marg’s is a pretty cool place, reminded me of The Garden Route here where I live.

The Race was fun, pretty low-key, with fun wind. We started in Gnarabup, and paddled North towards Grace Town. The SUP’s went off first, followed by the women, and then 5 minutes later the men. After about an hour of downwind, we turned around a rock and headed in to the Beach. I won from Ruth Highman and Lara Taylor. Jasper Mocke won the Men’s, followed by Tom Schilperoot, and Bruce Taylor (who took a short course:) )

Ruth Highman (2nd place) and Head Coach

The final race I was meant to do was in Mandurah, however with the predicted cyclone (for Sunday) Saturday’s race was cancelled! The Aussies sure are cautious…

Anyway, I am now back in SA, after a great time in Perth. I had a week off, and am now back into training. I have changed my whole approach, and will spend the next few blocks working on the neglected aspects of my paddling. So far I am loving the variety and change. Hope I can keep it up!

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!

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