Not rough enough for tough 'legends'

Gallery

PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - To win the gruelling Aquila Safari Trans Agulhas rubber duck boat race for the 13th year is a record that sits behind the names of David Barnet and Tjaart Oosthuizen. Besides their 16-year partnership – which totals a combined 40 years of experience, many years on the sea and time spent getting fit for the race – the team-mates also believe their winning recipe is the attention to detail they put into the preparation for the race.

Barnet and Oosthuizen, known as the "Legends of the Sea", raced between Plettenberg Bay and Gordon's Bay from the 28 December to 1 January – but not without misfortune. "Sea conditions were better than previous years," said the pair.

"The first day the engine attachment on the boat broke which meant the steering of the boat was very difficult, but we still managed to win the leg. The second day we were lucky to experience no problems, the sea conditions were flatter than previous years and we managed to win this leg as well. The third day the sea conditions were acceptable and we once again managed to win this leg as well. We were very proud to be able to win the night race (fourth leg) in Struisbaai, for our sponsors as well as the many holidaymakers who came out to watch."

On the fifth day, they decided to take the shorter but riskier route, between the rocks along the shoreline, which they said counted in our favour and assisted them with winning the fifth leg.

Click here for a photo gallery.

"On the sixth and final leg the sea was extremely rough and challenging and we had to stay focused in order to maintain our advantage. We were well ahead with 40km still to go to the end when we experienced mechanical problems and ended up coming third in our class, but with the advantage we had we were still able to win. We were crowned kings of the waves, modified class winners and overall winners for the 13th time."

Will the duo be participating in the upcoming Trans Agulhas at the end of 2019? "Our decision is still to be made," they said.

A contestant runs for the finish line with spectators in awe of the 2018/19 Aquila Safari Trans Agulhas Challenge. Photo: Rona Sauer