Robertson – The focal point of the river K2 paddling season, the two-day Breede River Canoe Marathon on 7 and 8 September has scooped a late bonus by being aw
arded the SA K3 championships, in addition to decided the Western Cape K2 Championships.
Canoeing South Africa shifted the national K3 title decider to the Breede after the low conditions prevented the Orange Descent from hosting the triple seater craft.
The 2019 Breede will be the 52nd edition of this iconic event, and will be held from Robertson to Kam’bati River Resort near Swellendam, and has become one of the most popular venues for national river championship title deciders as it has long wide pools ideal for marathon racing interspersed with rapids and weirs that pose technical challenges.
Capetonians Kenny Rice and Stu MacLaren come into the event as double-defending champions, but they will be sure to be challenged by a large number of top elite crews.
With the ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships in China in October being significantly later in the year, many of the best marathoners are expected to make the trip to the Langeberg valley for the race.
With the recent Berg River Canoe Marathon enjoying exceptional water levels thanks to well-timed winter rains, Breede organisers are bullish that the race will be held on far better water levels than the low water that dogged the event in the dry winter last year.
The first stage covers 37 kilometres from the outskirts of Robertson to Riggton Farm near Bonnievale, which includes the challenges of the Sliding Weir, Secunda Weir and the Jonkeer Low Level bridge.
The final stage is 33,5 kilometers long, including the Blue Rock Rapid and testing Waterfall Rapid before entering the tree-lined channels into the finish at Kam’bati River Resort a short distance from Swellendam.
