The body of Johannesburg surf-ski paddler and businessman Mark Feather, 43, was found yesterday on the Wild Coast near Trennerys about 100km east from where he went missing in Saturday’s Pete Marlin World Series.
Four hikers found his body on the beach still clothed in his safety vest and costume, in “good condition with only a few scratches”, said Eastern Cape disaster management spokesman, Captain John Fobian.
An autopsy would be held to determine what caused the death of the Dabulamanzi Canoe Club member and would be submitted to an inquest, he said. Border Canoe Club chairman Angus Warren said Feather’s brother, Greg, had arrived to represent the family, and the paddling fraternity was “gutted”.
Warren said: “Mark paddled for 10 years, and completed virtually all races. He was an avid sportsman and gained Gauteng colours. He finished 10 Comrades Marathons.”
Feather’s disappearance off Yellow Sands point soon after 8.40am is a mystery since he was paddling ahead of Warren who had sight of Feather until about halfway through the 23km downwind race.
Warren said: “I was part of his batch. He was ahead of me and I finished within a minute of the last ping at 8.40am. He overshot like many do to avoid the point, but something must have happened.”
Adding to the mystery, a massive force 12 storm, the strongest there is, slammed into the area soon afterwards. But it only hit about 80 minutes after Feather should have beached his hardy Fenn Swordfish craft, and race director Charl van Wyk was adamant the storm did not hit the event.
A search led by the National Sea Rescue Institute was hampered by near zero visibility, said spokesman Craig Lambinon.
By 10.30am a 110km gale and 6.5m swells had turned the ocean into a heaving blizzard of white water.
If Feather was still alive when the weather turned, Lambinon said, the ferocity of the storm would have made it almost impossible to survive.
“In that wind, a ski bounces like a piece of styrofoam. You cannot get back in and paddle, and hypothermia sets in.” — mikel@dispatch.co.za
Joburg paddler’s body found at Trennerys
Four hikers found his body on the beach still clothed in his safety vest and costume, in “good condition with only a few scratches”, said Eastern Cape disaster management spokesman, Captain John Fobian.
An autopsy would be held to determine what caused the death of the Dabulamanzi Canoe Club member and would be submitted to an inquest, he said. Border Canoe Club chairman Angus Warren said Feather’s brother, Greg, had arrived to represent the family, and the paddling fraternity was “gutted”.
Warren said: “Mark paddled for 10 years, and completed virtually all races. He was an avid sportsman and gained Gauteng colours. He finished 10 Comrades Marathons.”
Feather’s disappearance off Yellow Sands point soon after 8.40am is a mystery since he was paddling ahead of Warren who had sight of Feather until about halfway through the 23km downwind race.
Warren said: “I was part of his batch. He was ahead of me and I finished within a minute of the last ping at 8.40am. He overshot like many do to avoid the point, but something must have happened.”
Adding to the mystery, a massive force 12 storm, the strongest there is, slammed into the area soon afterwards. But it only hit about 80 minutes after Feather should have beached his hardy Fenn Swordfish craft, and race director Charl van Wyk was adamant the storm did not hit the event.
A search led by the National Sea Rescue Institute was hampered by near zero visibility, said spokesman Craig Lambinon.
By 10.30am a 110km gale and 6.5m swells had turned the ocean into a heaving blizzard of white water.
If Feather was still alive when the weather turned, Lambinon said, the ferocity of the storm would have made it almost impossible to survive.
“In that wind, a ski bounces like a piece of styrofoam. You cannot get back in and paddle, and hypothermia sets in.” — mikel@dispatch.co.za
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