Hi ,

A hugely sad time for our federation.

The sport has lost an icon of a sportsman, coach, and administrator.

Many have lost far more than that: They have lost a friend, a mentor, a sibling, a dad, a husband.

Peter Cole was so many things, to so many people. 

His selfless contribution to a vast array of facets, has left a gaping void that will take the combined efforts of many to fill.

The fact that the vast majority of the South African national team members, who will represent the country at the ICF Ocean Racing World Championships in Durban in October, come from his squad, bears testament to his dedication and expertise as a coach. To many of his squad members he was far more than “merely” a coach. He had a profoundly positive impact on their personal development.

He has been the race organiser of the world-famous Cape Point Challenge for many years, and has served on a multitude of federation, union, and club committees over a protracted period.

Notwithstanding the amount of time and effort that he contributed to the sport, he remained a devoted family man and always had time for his mates.

He was a relatively uncompromising individual, and almost all who knew him well would have felt the sharp end of his tongue at some stage. There was very little grey area between his black and his white.

The number of people who attended his memorial service on Sunday, and the poignant messages delivered by friends and family members, reflects the love and respect that he was afforded.

Goodbye my friend. The world is a far poorer place without you.

For the few who are unaware of the circumstance, Peter died of a heart attack while training with his squad on the Vlei recently.

Hank and Uli were at Pete’s memorial and flew out the next day in order to take part in the race/fiasco that is the Sella Descent in the North of Spain.

The “Sella” (pronounced Seya) is the largest one-day canoe race in the world.

It is characterised by thousands of canoes setting off in a Le Mans start into a narrow river. The ensuing chaos is a spectacle that is well worth watching.

The size of the field is surpassed by the number of spectators (around 300 000), the size of the after-party – and the severity of the hangovers the next day.

Hank and Uli will be joined by the Fenn brothers (Matt and Josh), as well as Clint Cook and Nic Notten as they navigate their way from the inland town of Arriondas, down the picturesque river, to the coastal town of Ribadesella.

The 87th running of this iconic event will take place on Saturday (August 9th) at midday.

There is always live streaming, but I don’t have the link yet.

It may be a long weekend in front of the TV as the World Games is being held in Chengdu, China from this week. 

Hamish Lovemore and Saskia Hockly will be flying the flag for South Africa in the marathon discipline. 

They have just landed with team manager, Nkosi Mzolo.

The events will be live streamed https://live.theworldgames.org/

Chengdu is 6 hours ahead of us and the program of events in Chengdu time is as follows:

Saturday (August 9)
Short Course heats: From 09h20
Short Course finals: From 17h00

Sunday (August 10)
Long Course women: 15h15
Long course men: 17h15

The start lists of the 20 qualified paddlers for both the women’s and men’s events are enough to make your eyes bleed: It is the absolute “who’s who” of marathon paddlers from around the world.

These are going to be humdinger affairs, not for the feint hearted.

Hamish has proved that he has the speed and endurance to mix with the best of them, and none of us would be surprised to see him on the podium.

Saskia is a multiple world marathon medal winner and will certainly not be outclassed.

As some planes take off, others arrive.

Our junior and U23 sprint team, consisting of Jimmy Papadopoulos, Cody Stallard, Matt Wilson, Sbulelo Ngobese, Kayla Szalay, Jordan Klopper and Alexa Godden, returned from competing in the world championships in Portugal.

Some fantastic experiences, coupled with a small wake up call regarding international standards, will equip our sprinters with perspective moving forward to qualifying for LA.

The long count down to the ICF Ocean Racing World Championships has taken on a life of its own. When you order the medals, you know that things are imminent. 

Just over 70 days to go. Our social media has kicked into top gear and the third bulletin is about to be posted.

Lots of questions are being asked on our WhatsApp groups. Many are clearly answered by merely reading the bulletin or going onto the website. Don’t be that person.

As mentioned, we have not increased the entry fee as previously announced. It will, however, definitely be going up a month before the event. 

We have also allowed people who only wish to enter the SS2 race, to do so without having to pay the SS1 entry fee. 

Remember also that there are two great “allied” events around the World Championships.

Firstly, the oldest surfski race in the world, the Pirates-Umhlanga, is being held the Sunday before, and the Biogen Pete Marlin is being held the weekend after.

Entries to the Pete Marlin are already open, with a great pair of Funky Pants being included in the entry for those who get in early.

There are already a host of internationals who have entered, so it promises to be a second weekend of fantastic cosmopolitan racing.

Until next time ... 

Your SG
Copper

Under normal circumstances I would dispense with the joke out of respect for our lost friend, but know that Pete would have frowned at this. So, to a life well lived, this one is for him ...

A woman wakes in the middle of the night to find her husband not in bed. 

She puts on her robe and goes downstairs to look for him and finds him sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of hot cocoa in front of him. He appears to be deep in thought, just staring at the wall. 

She watches as he wipes away a tear from his eye. 

“What's the matter dear?” she whispers as she steps into the room. “Why are you down here at this time of night?”. 

The husband looks up from his drink.

“It's the 20th anniversary of the day we met.” 

She can't believe he has remembered and starts to tear up herself.

The husband continues: “Do you remember, 20 years ago when we started dating? I was 18 and you were only 15,” he said solemnly.

Once again the wife is touched to tears thinking that her husband is so caring and sensitive.

“Yes I do,” she replied.

The husband pauses, the words were not coming easily.

“Do you remember when your father caught us in the backseat of my car?”

“Yes I remember,” said the wife, lowering herself into a chair beside him.

The husband continued: “Do you remember when he shoved the shotgun in my face and said ‘Either you marry my daughter or I will make sure you spend the next 20 years in prison?’”

“I remember that too,” she replied softly.

He sighed, as he wiped another tear away from his cheek and said: “I would have been released today!”