Port Elizabeth to East London 4th to 7th December 2014
The Challenge is happening! Already there are well over 50 paid up confirmed entries (more than enough to have the event) and the organizers are expecting to have more than a hundred paddlers on the water. These surfskiers will be paddling for four days covering more than 250km along a wild beautiful, unspoilt coastline, known for its whales, dolphins, huge surf and some serious downwind sections.
The organizing committee, ably lead by Angus Warren, has done an incredible job in signing up some core sponsors, getting the National Sea Rescue Institute (possibly the best in the World!) to provide water safety and also covering all the legal requirements and approvals for hosting such an event. They will also be issuing each craft with a special tracking devise for safety and also allows folk at home to follow the race progress.
The committee really need to get all the entries in as soon as possible so that they can finalize the logistics. In order to achieve this they have extended the cut off for normal entries (at R2500) to 15 September. Late entries will still be accepted at R3000 but they really want to finalize the entries in September. So, if you are thinking about doing the Challenge, decide now and send your entry in (follow this link
www.bordercanoeclub.co.za/pe2el for further details and forms)
There is also a lovely promotional video clip of the Challenge available on the following link:
www.bordercanoeclub.co.za/video
Some paddlers have already shown their intent – Hein van Rooyen and Duncan Boyd are both going for glory in the singles. Bianca Beavitt will be pushing for her third victory in the ladies singles. The doubles will be interesting with Bevan Manson (Current singles Champion) is rumoured to be teaming up with Gavin Dickinson (ex Dubai) but they will challenged by a number of contenders (including the ever green Rob Welsh and his yet to be determined partner - could be Richard von Wilderman or even Gary Butlion - from Australia).
What does it take to do this event? Well besides a bit of insanity you need to do some hard training – I set my mind on doing the Challenge in late March and have paddled an average of 14 km per day over the past 150 days – including an eight day stint of 40 km per day! But then I was coming off a base of zero fitness! The big thing about the Challenge is being able to paddle for perhaps eight hours a day for four days – believe me the bum will get sore and the sun will take its toll. If you are fit and prepared you will actually enjoy the Challenge and savour the glory of finishing on East London’s iconic Nahoon Beach. Man, those cold beers taste sooo good!
