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Paarl - Skooltjie Canoe Race sponsored by Du Toit Catering & Rietvallei Wine Estate
Saturday, 23 May 2009
Registration: 8h30-9h30 at Paarl Canoe Club
Start: 10h00 opposite the club
Finish: at Skooltjie low level bridge, opposite Vogelgesang farm on Bergrivier Plase road
Distance: 23 km (so bring juice) Must be registered with club + WCCU, have River Proficiency, wear Lifejacket
Water level: medium to low, making it rather safe for novices.
Prizegiving: right there at Skooltjie, as soon as results are ready, ± 13h00
Cash: 1st mens + ladies - R250 each )
2nd mens + ladies - R150 each ) sponsored by Du Toit Catering
3rd mens + ladies - R100 each )
Wine: 1st, 2nd + 3rd of all the age categories - sponsored by Rietvallei Wine Estate
Sorry, if you're not at the prizegiving, you forfeit your prize!!
Sien julle Saterdag in Paarl
Herbert
Paarl Kanoklub
The W.C.C.U. river season gets under way in full glory this weekend with the first of the President’s Trophy races taking place over the 21 km section of the Berg River between Paarl (Paarl Canoe Club) and the bridge at Skooltjie, beyond Wellington - deep into the region known as ‘Die Berg Rivier plase’. (An administrative note here – paddlers doing this race MUST be registered with W.C.C.U. for the 2009 season, wear PFD’s (i.e. life jackets) and have taken their River Proficiency Certificates if they are Novices). The level of the river remains low, despite last weeks heavy rains, although at least it is higher than the race last Saturday – in addition, the weather prophets are promising clear skies and south easterly (i.e. from behind) winds, but no rain, so it should be a very pleasant day out in the Boland. This 21 km section of river between Paarl and Skooltjie has a number of areas to keep in mind – firstly, because of the lack of rain, the river is low, so it wont be wide enough to spend too much time slip-riding and so competitive paddlers will be looking to break away before obstacles and where the river narrows. Spectators and paddlers should be on the look out for places like the Market Street bridge Weir, 200-300 m after the start – question? is it best to shoot on the right or the left? Suggestion – register early, get onto the water and go and check it out before the race and see where it is easiest to get out on – left or right bank – getting in below the weir is pretty much equal on either side – remember, this weir is a COMPULSORY PORTAGE – it is just too dangerous to shoot (ask Barry Coltham!). Another 2km downstream is a very narrow ‘gangetjie’ before the flat section upstream of Dal Josephat Weir and bridge – this ‘gangetjie’ has a sharp left turn in it, so be aware and don’t let anyone hit the tail of your canoe as that will be problematic. The Dal Josephat Weir is very straight forward – take the ‘friendly V’ and follow the flow down under the bridge – try an avoid going too far to river right under the bridge, otherwise you will be forced up against the concrete which wont be any fun. Again – look for the main flow and be assured that there will be some bumps and scrapings here at this level. Below the Dal Josephat Weir and bridge, the river ‘stretches out’ and so slip riding becomes an option much of the way, but there are still areas and obstacles to look out for – the very large tree stump mid river about half way into the race, the rapid about 2 km before the Wellington High Level bridge – be careful here as there is a tree lying in it on the right hand side which is a known ‘canoe muncher’ – rather shoot this one mid-stream – and then below the Wellington bridge and to the Lady Loch bridge, look out for tree blocks and the old ‘Katryntjies’ weir, now a fairly easy rapid to shoot although it does flow in left and out right. Within a kilometre below Lady Loch, there is really only one potential problem – that is where the river sweeps down to the left where there are a number of low branches just looking to pluck an unwary paddler out of his/her canoe. At higher water, there is a sneak on the right, but it probably wont be working this Saturday. Approximately 1 ½ km from the end, the river flows through and between the remains of piles for an old, ‘no-longer-there’ bridge – whilst negotiating this should be pretty straight forward, it is possible to be washed up against one of these piles and there are the steel remains of the bridge in the water – best idea is to either miss these or ramp over them.
All in all, a good opening to the river season where all the necessary river skills that a paddler needs will be put into place. The favourites for the Men’s division will no doubt come from those paddlers who have been dominating the earlier races of the season – Lance King (Milnerton), Graeme Solomon and Gavin White (both Peninsula), Heinrich Schloms (Paarl), Ernest van Riet and Pierre-Andre Rabie (both Stellenbosch). For the Women’s section, Robyn Kime (Stellenbosch) will probably dominate, but watch out for Jackie Barnes (Pen), Bianca Beavitt (Mil) and Jemma Hofmeyer (Pen). The race begins at 10h00 in front of the Paarl Canoe Club. Registration is from 08h30. Paddlers MUST be registered with W.C.C.U. (no temporary licences will be issued), MUST wear P.F.D’s (life jackets) and MUST have their racing numbers on the canoes.. For more info., visit the website www.wpcanoe.org.za |
