Kevin Davie at the Dusi Canoe Marathon: Thursday
I suppose if Dusi paddlers say prayers to the weather gods the night before the event, the thing mentioned first is good water.
Second would be overcast conditions. Rain would not feature. This is because paddling in the rain is cool, but the portages soon get muddy and slippery.
We got first-prize weather today, as it was mostly overcast with the temperature predicted to be 24 degrees Celsius.
But at the same time the water level was low and dropping.
We left Pietermaritzburg at a reasonable level but after the first long portage, Campbells, we found that we had overtaken the water release from Pietermaritzburg (a small release from the Ernie Pearce is usually made by dropping a step at the top of the weir).
The new improvised scaffolding at the witness weir quickly took a toll on K2 boats. We were warned at the start that boats were getting damaged by a rock at the bottom of the chute on the left-hand side of the river.
With lower water levels than usual paddlers have to choose their lines carefully so as to miss the many rocks which are exposed. Rapids, generally, are trickier and do more damage to the fibreglass canoes.
There were no swims during the day but did have to get out of the boat once or twice after taking the wrong line or running out of water.
Our race was pretty uneventful but we did see the skin of a fat snake on the guinea fowl portage and a large leguaan which was sunning itself on a giant rock. These creatures are normally shy and swim away when you see them, but this fellow (fellowette?) was lord (lady?) of this particular domain and paid us no heed.
Going strong
Our decision with both major portages, probably about 8km in total, was to paddle as far as we could rather than get out as the first take-out. There are generally multiple options for these portages. The decision was a good one and we felt strong on both portages.
Our race started to come apart, though, at about the 30km mark of the 42km stretch which makes up the first day.
We opened an old wound on the boat which had been patched, probably in a rapid called The Maze. The boat is fitted with pumps but it could not do the job of emptying fast enough. Problems with my partner’s seat in the back, which meant that it was out of alignment, added to the frustration.
We patched the hole with glue and tape, but the patch tore off in the low river conditions at the very next rapid. We tried paddling as far as we could before emptying, but the boat soon got heavy with water and very difficult to control.
It was with a mixture of stopping and emptying — and putting on tape and glue — that we limped home in five hours and forty five minutes. The sun was out for this last stretch and I quickly felt fatigue settle in.
The boat has been fixed, the deal being with some suppliers that they will fix their boats for free at the Dusi overnight stops.
At the front of the race was Michael Mbanjwa, who grew up in this valley, not far from where we will be paddling tomorrow. He and others used to kick a ball around on a soccer field not far from Nagel Dam, when Robert Lambethe, a Dusi legend, stopped one day and asked them if they did not want to become canoeists.
Mbanjwa has the very talented Ant Stott about four minutes back. The big rapids of the second day will suit Stott, but I am hoping that Mbanjwa will win, completing wins in both a K2 (last year) and a K1. The television footage of the day certainly suggests that Mbanjwa will be the paddler to beat.
I am sure there were spills but can’t say any news of this nature has reached me. I put my head into the medical tent to see what was going on and it is well-kitted out, but free of patients.
Friday we have a similar distance, but will leave the Dusi and paddle on the Umgeni. We have been promised zero water release from Nagel Dam and the bigger river will swallow the water in it.
Most alarming though, is that there is no predicted cloud cover with temperatures in some of the valleys expected to reach 40 degrees Celsius.