CAPE TOWN – The Western Cape’s winter canoeing season winds down this weekend with a fascinating battle for the WP K2 title at the AJM Breede River Marathon on Saturday and Sunday.
The two-day marathon from Robertson to Swellendam is one of the iconic events on the South African canoeing calendar, and a fitting end to the winter racing – although a few competitors still have eyes on World Championship Ocean Racing titles in Durban later in the year.
Traditionally the men’s and women’s races attract the most attention, but a few intriguing results throughout the build up means a lot of attention will be focused on the mixed doubles, with current World Surfski Champion Kira Bester and partner Dyllan Farrell ensuring a few male egos are looking fragile.
Bester – who is one of those targeting the defence of her world surfski title later this year in Durban – and Farrell shocked the top men’s crews two weeks ago when they surprisingly won the Robertson to Bonnievale race, a direct replica of the opening day of the Breede on Saturday. Day 2 takes paddlers from Bonnievale to Swellendam.
That result tees up a fascinating battle for the mixed double race. Bester’s women’s title-winning partner in 2023 and 2024, Melanie van Niekerk, is partnering Scheepers Schoeman and are another crew that is sure to be among the leading positions overall, while Neriyah Dill and Daniel Buys should also feature on the mixed doubles podium.
The decision by Stephanie von der Hyde and Ian Trautmann not to paddle, despite finishing third overall two weeks ago, means Bester and Farrell are clear favourites for the mixed title, but cannot afford any mistakes on what is looking like low and tricky river conditions.
With defending champions Hank McGregor and Uli Hart in Hungary for the World Championships, a new men’s winner is certain to be crowned. There is no clear favourite with a host of new-look crews and some experienced old hands among a field packed with ocean racing stars.
2022 Surfski World Champion Kenny Rice and 2015 junior world champion Mark Keeling struggled two weeks ago, but are sure to be in contention, while John de Villiers and Heinrich Schloms have been consistent in the build up races and will be confident of a top placing. Surfski specialist Josh Fenn and his upcountry partner Wayne Jacobs will also be hard to beat.
The Eastern Cape pairing of Greg Louw and Matt Fenn will be strong in the deeper water, but may find their lack of river knowledge in the less-forgiving low-river sections could cause problems, while Ant Lake and Anders Hart, and Ron Benjano and Thomas Lovemore should also be in contention.
The experience of the Mocke brothers, Jasper and Dawid, could see them inside the top ten in the tricky conditions, but it seems likely the Mocke family will feature prominently with Junior Ocean Racing World Champion, Sam Mocke, and Matthew Coetzer strong favourites to win the junior race – and upset a few old hands.
The women’s race looks like a straight fight between the Tayla Isaac / Rachel van Deventer and Bianca Beavitt /Tamsin Lovelock crews, depending on late entries.
One crew that will not be fighting for the win, but holds a remarkable record in this iconic event, is that of JT Basson and Gerhard Beukes. Basson, a six-time winner in the 1970s and 80s, will become the paddler with the most finishes when he paddles into the finish on Sunday. Remarkably it will be his 39th finish while Beukes is aiming for his 35th finish to give the crew a remarkable 74 finishes between them if they reach Swellendam.
The racing starts at 10am on Saturday at McGregor Bridge just outside Robertson, and Day 1 ends 37km downstream at Bonnievale. The 33km second stage takes paddlers from Bonnievale to Kam’bati River Resort, just outside Swellendam.