Matthew Bouman and Michelle Burn put in cracking performances to claim the 2017 Pete Marlin men’s and women’s Surfski titles at a bustling Yellow Sands beach at the weekend.
With previous Pete Marlin champs from the last few years missing out, Bouman took full advantage to power home in a time of 1hr, 27min, 28sec, 2min and 46sec ahead of fellow KwaZulu-Natal paddler Gene Prato, while a stirring performance from rising local talent Joshua Fenn saw him finish third under a minute later.
“It is always nice to win, there are some really good up-and-coming talents who are getting fitter and better every day, so to get the win was really cool,” said Bouman.
“Being back taking part in the Pete Marlin is always fantastic, the coastline is magical, even when the conditions aren’t great and it is such a special race.
“It was tough, the conditions made us honest, we had to work for it but I think everybody enjoyed the race.”
For Burn it was a special effort to beat double defending champ and homegirl Nikki Russell into the runner-up position in a very competitive women’s race.
Burn cruised home in a time of 1hr, 39min, 6sec; 3min, 36sec ahead of Russell in second, while Kyeta Purchase rounded out the podium 4min and 20sec later.
“I thought that my main competition in the race would be Nikki and Kyeta and it ended up being them in second and third, so I was really happy to get the win,” said Burn.
“Nikki is paddling so well at the moment and at the start she was a little bit ahead of me riding with a bunch of guys, so after a while I just wasn’t feeling comfortable so I decided to drop off the bunch and go on my own and came a bit in shore and work from my own paddle.
“After a while I saw Nikki had dropped off the bunch as well and she was a bit deeper at that stage and I kept trying to watch and we were line for line for a very long time and eventually I couldn’t make out exactly where she was so I figured she must be right behind me, so I just put down my head and went as hard as I could the whole way, so she made me work very hard and I was grateful for that.”
It was a great workout for many of the paddlers who will be heading over to Hong Kong to compete in the world champs in a couple of weeks time, with tricky conditions making for a tough workout.
“I was expecting a bit more assistance from the wind, but it actually ended up being a really good training session ahead of the World Champs in Hong Kong in two weeks time,” said Burn.
“I think the conditions will be very similar to what we might get over there, so to be able to get a workout like that and push yourself just before the world champs ended up being perfect.”
In Sunday’s doubles race Luke Nisbet and Steve Woods, who finished fourth and fifth respectively in the singles, teamed up to take the win in an exciting finish that saw Bouman and Wade Krieger finish just two seconds later in second, while the Border duo of Matthew Tebbutt and Bevan Manson waved the local flag high taking third place barely a minute later.
On the women’s front Russell and Purchase teamed up to dominate the field finishing over eight minutes ahead of Kirstin Scott and Melanie van Niekerk in second while Candice Murray and Paula Franklin finished third.
A comfortable mixed doubles win then went to Heinrich van Rooyen and Cloe Bunnett, with Andre and Zara Wood taking second place and Gene Prato and Sarah Land in third.
In all 175 paddlers took part in the race, enjoying a fantastic two days of Pete Marlin Surfski action.
“I was very happy with how everything went this weekend, the feedback we have been getting back from all the competitors has been great and it was just an enjoyable event,” said race organiser Charl van Wyk.
SURFSKI: Wavebusters steal the thunder in blistering show of force at Sands
With previous Pete Marlin champs from the last few years missing out, Bouman took full advantage to power home in a time of 1hr, 27min, 28sec, 2min and 46sec ahead of fellow KwaZulu-Natal paddler Gene Prato, while a stirring performance from rising local talent Joshua Fenn saw him finish third under a minute later.
“It is always nice to win, there are some really good up-and-coming talents who are getting fitter and better every day, so to get the win was really cool,” said Bouman.
“Being back taking part in the Pete Marlin is always fantastic, the coastline is magical, even when the conditions aren’t great and it is such a special race.
“It was tough, the conditions made us honest, we had to work for it but I think everybody enjoyed the race.”
For Burn it was a special effort to beat double defending champ and homegirl Nikki Russell into the runner-up position in a very competitive women’s race.
Burn cruised home in a time of 1hr, 39min, 6sec; 3min, 36sec ahead of Russell in second, while Kyeta Purchase rounded out the podium 4min and 20sec later.
“I thought that my main competition in the race would be Nikki and Kyeta and it ended up being them in second and third, so I was really happy to get the win,” said Burn.
“Nikki is paddling so well at the moment and at the start she was a little bit ahead of me riding with a bunch of guys, so after a while I just wasn’t feeling comfortable so I decided to drop off the bunch and go on my own and came a bit in shore and work from my own paddle.
“After a while I saw Nikki had dropped off the bunch as well and she was a bit deeper at that stage and I kept trying to watch and we were line for line for a very long time and eventually I couldn’t make out exactly where she was so I figured she must be right behind me, so I just put down my head and went as hard as I could the whole way, so she made me work very hard and I was grateful for that.”
It was a great workout for many of the paddlers who will be heading over to Hong Kong to compete in the world champs in a couple of weeks time, with tricky conditions making for a tough workout.
“I was expecting a bit more assistance from the wind, but it actually ended up being a really good training session ahead of the World Champs in Hong Kong in two weeks time,” said Burn.
“I think the conditions will be very similar to what we might get over there, so to be able to get a workout like that and push yourself just before the world champs ended up being perfect.”
In Sunday’s doubles race Luke Nisbet and Steve Woods, who finished fourth and fifth respectively in the singles, teamed up to take the win in an exciting finish that saw Bouman and Wade Krieger finish just two seconds later in second, while the Border duo of Matthew Tebbutt and Bevan Manson waved the local flag high taking third place barely a minute later.
On the women’s front Russell and Purchase teamed up to dominate the field finishing over eight minutes ahead of Kirstin Scott and Melanie van Niekerk in second while Candice Murray and Paula Franklin finished third.
A comfortable mixed doubles win then went to Heinrich van Rooyen and Cloe Bunnett, with Andre and Zara Wood taking second place and Gene Prato and Sarah Land in third.
In all 175 paddlers took part in the race, enjoying a fantastic two days of Pete Marlin Surfski action.
“I was very happy with how everything went this weekend, the feedback we have been getting back from all the competitors has been great and it was just an enjoyable event,” said race organiser Charl van Wyk.
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