Durban - Bouman and Eray Strike Again (Pics)

Durban May 31, 2009: Series pace setters Matt Bouman and Michéle Eray claim their fourth successive wins in the Discovery Men's Health Surf Ski Series at the Hansa Five Beaches held at Marine after race organisers changed the course of the popular race due to strong swells on the South Coast.

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The format was changed to a two lap trip from Marine to Blue Lagoon making the long course a hard 20 kilometre race with the option of a one lap 10 kilometre short course, forcing competitors to face the strong winds to the finish.

Million Miles of Flat Water

"The race felt like a million miles of flat water," said Bouman who later drew a parallel with the Comrades Marathon. Bouman finished a mere fifty-three seconds in front of Barry Lewin who has being training hard in the past few months and continues to improve from week to week.

"This week was a really tactical race," said Bouman. "There is a lot more to these races than what you can see from the shoreline," added Bouman. Lewin managed to creep a little closer to the Bouman this week but failed to keep up as they continued to face the wind on their way through to the finish. "He (Bouman) dropped me at Pirates with about 3 kilometres to go," said Lewin. "This week I made Bouman work a little bit harder, but he's still a machine!"

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Grant "Swimmer" van der Walt

Not far behind was both Andre Pohl who overtook Grant van Der Walt, then in third position, near the last turn. "I took a swim just past Pirates at the last turn which set me back," said Van der Walt. "I've being training hard for the last few weeks so I'm pretty exhausted at this point."

A cheerful Eray beat Durban local Donna Winter into second position. She was disappointed with the change of course as she was excited to compete in the popular Hansa Five Beaches this week. "In terms of safety it was the right decision for the organisers to make, especially as the wind definitely picked up towards the end," said Eray.

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The doubles race went to Gavin Searle and Quinton Rutherford and the mixed doubles race was claimed by Warren Beuste and Natalie Verckranges. 

Pics by Anthony Grote - for more, go to www.anthonygrote.com

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DISCOVERY MEN'S HEALTH SURF SKI SERIES RACE FOUR Hansa Five Beaches at Marine

Men

1. Matt Bouman 01:28:00 (Epic V10 Elite)
2. Barry Lewin 01:28:53 (Custom Kayaks Icon Lite)
3. Andre Pohl 01:29:49 (Red 7 Surf70Pro Light)
4. Grant van der Walt 01:30:11 (Kayak Centre Illusion)
5. Herman Chalupsky  01:31:05 (Epic V10 Elite)
6. Steve Woods 01:31:32 (Fenn Mako Elite Carbon)
7. Oliver Burn 01:32:21
8. Jeffrey Smith 01:32:54
9. Warren Valentine 01:34:17
10. Mark Lewin 01:34:24

Women

• Michèle Eray 01:37:20 (Epic V10L Ultra)
• Donna Winter 01:45:40

Double ski

1. Gavin Searle / Quinton Rutherford 01:30:54
2. Anton Fouche / Derek Hauptfleisch 01:30:54
3. Colin Simpkins / Gavin Shuter 01:30:58

Mixed Double ski

1. Natalie Veckranges / Warren Beuster 01:33:43
2. Sean Uys / Alison Uys 01:39:13
3. Dave Herridge / Debra Barker 01:39:37

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CALENDAR OF EVENTS:

• 31 May Hansa Five Beach, Umkomaas to Toti
• 7 June Discovery Winklespruit race, Winklespruit
• 14 June HiQ Marine race, Durban
• 20 June Scottburgh Winter Solstice Cyclelab race, Scottburgh
• 28 June CMH Toyota Pirates Umhlanga Pirates, Durban
• 5 July KZN Awnings Downwind, Amanzimtoti
• 11 July Durban Surf Ski World Cup, Durban
• 18 July Men's Health Scottburgh to Brighton

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