Race report by Faz Perin, 10km SUP paddler….

This year’s entry to the event was seamless!

The West Coast Canoe Club kept us up to date via their Facebook page with all the relevant info and routes, and the registration on the morning was quick and efficient.

The weather was  great for the event – sunny with a cool breeze.  It ensured a good workout, paddling against the wind and tide simultaneously, and the breeze was a great relief.

The new course for the 10km race this year was the best one so far, and the wind conditions allowed us the opportunity to explore the river on both sides of the bridge.

As always, the “West Coast Gees” that comes with this race is phenomenal! Paddling with so many contestants all enjoying the water and the sport, is a sweet satisfaction that brings happiness. The support from fellow paddlers on the water, as well as residents in the bay, is heart warming and much appreciated.

The prize giving is always good fun with loads of incredible prizes with Appliance City as the main sponsor for the lucky draw.

This year I was the lucky winner of a beaut of a steam iron. Now, I just need to teach my my kids how to use it!

The results for all paddlers are in the images below:

Thanks to the SUPSA organisers, Etienne Laubscher from WCCC, Oscar Chalupsky for an inspirational talk, as well as all the organisers and sponsors to make this event a fabulous start to a new year of paddling. Thank you!

Paddling is for all ages and stages of life. Don’t be afraid to join the local SUP events. It’s not about winning. 

Stand-up paddling is about leisure and fun, connecting with other water-loving folk, and spending time out in nature, which is rejuvenating every time! 

This year SUPSA plans to focus on social paddling, so get ready to come and join us. No matter what board, no matter what your age. If you can swim, you can paddle with us. Bring your friends and family too!

Keep an eye on our calendar link below for the social events. 

SUPSA 2024 calendar

For more Velddrif 2024 race images, click to view our Facebook race album:

http://StandUpPaddlingSA on FB race images

We regret to inform you that the SA Stand-Up and Paddleboard Championships will not take place in St Francis this year. The decision was made due to low interest and the high costs to host the event, which would not justify the low number of participants entering.

However, we are pleased to announce that we will be hosting events in Durban and Cape Town respectively, featuring various disciplines. The times recorded at these events will count towards paddlers’ ranking for 2023, as well as the selection trial times for qualifying for the ICF World Championships in Thailand in November 2023.

We are still finalizing the details, but preliminary information indicates that the events will take place on 24-25 June in Cape Town, while our Durban event will be split between the East Coast Classic, taking place on 27-28 May 2023 and an additional event in June.

We hope to build and strengthen the sport over the next year so that we can host a successful event in 2024 in St Francis. We encourage athletes from across South Africa to attend both these provinces’ events so that you can ensure your ranking and a spot on the SA SUP Team.

SUPSA will circulate the qualifying times for the SA SUP Team so that you can train and aim for your age category. We wish all athletes the best of luck in their training and hope to see you all at the events.

Thank you for your understanding and ongoing support.

Should you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact me. 

Kind regards,

Anja Marie Burger 

SUPSA President & Team Manager 

As Freedom Paddle Race Day became an impending reality, a potential squall opened the floodgates for the usual pre-race jitters.

The race organisers took it all in their stride, changing tactics and issuing conditional lists. This was done to help the 410 registered paddlers decide if they really were racing material suited for a stormy paddle.

Despite numerous drop-outs, a few seasoned SUP and prone board paddlers decided to tackle the challenge. Here is their feedback, to give you a true taste of participating in this iconic race.

The hype starts at registration, on the day before the well-organised race.

Due to limited parking space the paddling craft are all dropped off at and left on racks overnight. This helps reduce chaos on race day. Paddlers sign in and get a very generous goodie bag.  All they need to do on race day, is arrive, do the safety check and go paddle!

“My hubby helped me out with dropping my board etc….. He said everything was pretty slick and well organized. I was happy with the booking process and the comms etc.”  (Gaby Nordgaard)

Great goodie bag. Loved the Prescient dry bag which is useful for all water based sports. Registration was super efficient and quick. (Lynne Beachy-Head)

On offer for regular mortal paddlers, was a 10km short course.

This was intended as almost a mini-version of the island experience. It entailed a 1km headwind paddle out to sea, and then a downwind back. Completing five laps would make up the total distance.

“We’d had such beautiful weather all week, so I was hoping for great conditions like last year, but that was wishful thinking. On seeing the churning water and fierce winds, and hearing that some of the early starters for the long paddle had quit, I seriously considered not attempting the start. But nothing ventured, nothing gained, and we positioned ourselves on the starting line with some difficulty staying upright!”  (Lynne Beachy-Head)

When foul weather threatens, the organisers choose alternative options to ensure the safety of all involved. It does not always make the course easier, but ensures that they can still participate to the best of their abilities.  The 5 laps intended were shortened to 3, but even this did not make for easy going.

“Thankfully the course was changed to suit the conditions, but the slog to reach it heading into the wind had me resorting to my knees. Having rounded the buoy, I was hoping to catch runs back but the unpredictable swell was from all directions. This meant I had to stay on my knees and could only stand up after the breakwater to make a vaguely respectable exit, and end my attempt after only one lap. It was just too gruelling!”  (Lynne Beachy-Head)

“The conditions were pretty gnarly with strong wind and big swell. The vibe was great though! I only ended up doing 1 lap, but in retrospect I feel like I should’ve pushed myself and done another lap. (It ended up being only 3 laps in the end, but I only found out afterwards.) It’s fine, and was a great experience all round – I’ll definitely do it again!” (Gaby Nordgaard)

“Yesterday was a question of should I stay or should I go? The hype got to each and every paddler and it was difficult not to go and see for ourselves. On the short course there was knee paddling into squalls for the first 2 rounds. Most paddlers bailed after one lap. Three of us remained standing and Mark Bind showed us some prone paddling techniques which were quite amazing to see on a 14 foot Naish! The downwind section was fun closer to the wall, if your legs were strong enough to time it right between side-swell, with some swimming in between, and an enormous sun fish looking on.  (Evette Terblanche)

Gary Van Rooyen reports about the short course race:

“Absolutely brutal, really tough…..Even the short course was a kilometre straight out to sea, very, very tough. Well done to the girls!  You know, they spent most of their time on their knees, but well done for even trying. It was terrible – the wind, the chop, the swell, NOT pleasant at all. but well done to them!”

This is only the start of the story – follow on to the Prone and Long course articles. These also have details of the experiences and lessons learnt by the paddlers taking on the trip to Robben Island under gruelling open ocean conditions. 

All photos courtesy of Prescient Freedom Paddle photographers.

​The Prone paddlers set out with the long course participants, making some team and individual trips to Robben island.

The four teams of 2 paddlers swopped out every 7.5 kilometres to make up the race distance.

Their prone Freedom Paddle experience is described here by Kit Beaton:

A brutal headwind 10 km start to the island….. Sheet rain squalls and some shelter on the inside of the island… Incredible runs along the side of the island!

We suffered a lot from cold, and actually had a few situations. Nothing escalated, as we managed to bail the boys out.  Naor was in a rash vest and a pair of jammers.  We had to get him into a wetsuit halfway across the channel. He lost about 3 minutes or so – bailing him out of potential hypothermia, just making sure he completed. Heath also went into quite a cold state on the support boat afterwards.

It was so gnarly at one stage that, actually, paddling was almost easier than the support boat!

I warned them all but they didn’t want to listen to me. They are all “laaities,” and they want to go as light as possible, as fast as possible.

I think everybody learnt a vital lesson. If you get cold; you lose energy. You lose energy; you go slow. If you get more cold – you’re gonna have to DNF (did not finish).

That’s what could’ve happened – but it didn’t happen and everybody was super stoked.