Hi ,

It's hard to think that this time last week only the first day of the Dusi had been completed and day two was well underway.

It feels like an age ago!

My predictions were spot on in both the women's and the Men's results.

When Graeme Pope Ellis won his 15th Dusi in 1990, the general consensus was that the record would never be broken.

Just like Bruce Fordyce's record number of wins in the Comrades and Jack Nicklaus' record number of golfing major's, there are just too many talented youngsters coming through to allow a single individual to dominate the sport for such a protracted period of time.

Apparently Andy Birkett never received the memo. On Saturday morning, he managed to do what the Pope never achieved, and won his 10th consecutive Dusi, bringing his total of wins to 13, just 2 shy of the record we all claimed would never be broken.

What needs to be taken into account is that Pope was 43 when he won his last Dusi in 1990. Andy is only 34. And, as current world marathon champion, is certainly nowhere near the twilight era of his career.

His win this year was, however, no pushover. Although he seemed to be in control for the duration, he was made to work for his gold by the impressive performance of the 25 year old Msawenkosi Mtolo who posted the fastest time on the final day, displaying some solid river skills.

David Evans proved that the K2 winning combination from last year was not an "all  Andy" show, by taking the final step on the podium, with Scott Little just missing out.

The depth of performance in the men's field was highlighted by the fact that the top 10 were separated by a mere 32 minutes.

Christie MacKenzie did somewhat of a demolishing job on the women's field, winning by 22 minutes from the evergreen Bridgitte Hartley who managed to pull a comfortable gap of 9 minutes on previous K2 gold medallist, Jordan Peek. Christie's performance is put into perspective by the fact that she finished in 22nd place overall, in a field stacked with super competitive males.

Kudos also to Ric Whitton who, at 65 years old managed a 58th position overall. Apparently he has adapted his boat carrying harness to double as a Zimmer frame. Also, to Glenn Hilliar (Soup Kitchen) for completing his 40th Dusi, finishing in 52nd.

Overall, it was a very different Dusi, with the start being moved, and an ultra-full river forcing the organisers to adapt, and to make a number of the larger rapids compulsory portages. By all accounts the decisions taken were respected, and agreed with, by the majority.

The full river certainly forced the safety crews into a whirlwind of activity. Fortunately there were no major incidents, and the most revelled in the abundant river conditions.

Hopefully the full river conditions on the Umgeni will have allowed many to appreciate that it is not as daunting as one would suspect, and that the Umko will now be flooded (excuse the pun) with entries from previously "low water" specialists.

The Umko is only about 4 weeks away. At the risk of being nauseatingly repetitive (I post the same message each year), one cannot call oneself a proper canoeist, in this country, until at least one Umko has been ticked off. Last year I took "Oom" Giel Van Deventer down in a K3, with a very patient Eric Hilderbrandt. At 73, he was a veteran of 51 Berg river marathons, but had never done an Umko. He was ecstatic after the race to be acknowledged at the prize giving as a "proper paddler". He tragically drowned in a race on the Breede river a few months later.

So, don't leave it until it is too late, and allow the opportunity to pass you by. Take the plunge and commit. It is certainly not as scary as many make it out to be. Find someone to take you down on a trip. You will fall in love with the unspoilt majesty of the valley and the unique nature of the river.

I have never seen anyone finish the Umko without a huge smile on their faces. This year is my 38th, I should know. At the risk of tempting the river gods, I have finished every one that I have started. It can't be that bad if a plonker like myself can do it.

Between now and the Umko is the South African Canoe Polo championships, which will be held in Knysna on the 18 - 19 March. We will keep you posted on results.

The African Beach Games is scheduled to take place in Tunisia in late June. The format of the games will be a paddling race in plastic Nelo surf ski's. South Africa will be sending a team of one male and one female. The selection document has been loaded onto the website HERE for those who may be interested. The selection will be based on an individual time trial result over 3km.

The next major surf ski race is the annual "High Altitude Championships". This "contradiction in terms" event takes place on Emmarentia dam, in Johannesburg, and involves a ski race around the dam with motor boats providing the hectic conditions. It is scheduled for the 11th of March. The after party is the talk of the town and is unmatched at any paddling event in the country. Those with anything that resembles a surf ski should head up there.

That's enough for one week

Until next time
Your SG
Copper
1111

And a little joke.

"A Mafia Godfather finds out that his bookkeeper, Guido, has cheated him out of $10,000,000.00. His bookkeeper is deaf. That was the reason he got the job in the first place. It was assumed that Guido would hear nothing so he would not have to testify in court.
The Godfather goes to confront Guido about his missing $10 million, he takes along his lawyer who knows sign language. The Godfather tells the lawyer, "Ask him where the money is!”
The lawyer, using sign language, asks Guido, Where's the money? Guido signs back, "I don't know what you are talking about."
The lawyer tells the Godfather, "He says he doesn't know what you're talking about."
The Godfather pulls out a pistol, puts it to Guido's head and says, "Ask him again or I'll kill him!"
The lawyer signs to Guido, "He'll kill you if you don't tell him."
Guido trembles and signs, "OK! You win! The money is in a brown briefcase, buried behind the shed at my cousin Bruno's house.”
The Godfather asks the lawyer, "What did he say?"
The lawyer replies, "He says you don't have the balls to pull the trigger."