In true event tradition, The Plettenberg Bay Field Band led nearly 50 participants to their surfskis, lined up at the waters edge on Central Beach for Saturday's 11km and 20km singles races.
The course proved as gruelling as ever and retained its status of being dubbed the best lap course in the world, by Jasper Mocke, a past winner of this event. Participants tore off from the start, digging in hard to gain position and once round the infamous blind rocks, off Beacon Island, the field spread out, with a pack of five paddlers keeping a steady lead pace. The Keurbooms river mouth proved to be the biggest challenge, with low tides, sand banks and a fair sized break, literally keeping participants on the edge of their seats.
Dawid Mocke snatched first place ahead of his younger brother and 2011 winner, Jasper Mocke, while Richard von Wilderman crossed the line in third place. Kirsten Flanagan took first place in the female entries, followed by Jenna Ward in second and Nicky Russell in third place.
Doubles
The revised course for Sunday's doubles race, was slightly shorter at 14km and took paddlers from Plett's Central Beach, across the bay to the Robberg peninsula, before heading to the Robberg point and finally back to the Central Beach finish line.
The participants faced a fair sized swell with a biting wind behind them for the first leg of the race.
Key to the day's challenge was a paddle into Robberg Beach at The Wreck, where a team member had to run around a beach marker and back to the ski to launch into the pounding surf again. From there to the Robberg point, a gruelling 3km of heavy swell and strong surge off the nearby rocks kept paddlers working hard to reach the end of the peninsula.
It was the team of Sean Rice and Simon van Gyssen, who despite the headwind, powered their way to the finish line in a time of 1 hour 10 minutes, followed by Steve Woods and Luke Nesbit in second position, with Dawid Mocke and Mathew Gru in third.
The singles event of the 2012 Pennypinchers Easter Surfski Challenge was held in near perfect sea conditions in Plettenberg Bay on Saturday, April 7.
