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The 2006 South African Double Surfski Championships were held on Saturday 25th November, at Knysna, South Africa.
The course which doubled as the Discovery Men's Health Series race 6 took the fleet of 53 double skis (and 29 single skis) from Knysna, through the spectacular Knysna Heads via Buffels Bay to Sedgefield, a distance of some 30km.
Some of South Africa's finest surf ski paddlers were lined up at the start - the crew of Clint Pretorius (winner of the 2006 Molokai Challenge) and Hank McGregor (winner of the 2006 South African World Cup in Durban) clearly the favourites.
 The course - Knysna to Sedgefield (Gavin Searle's GPS track)
For our overseas readers, the location of the race is shown in the map below:
 Knysna is about 500km west of Cape Town
The 3m swell made conditions interesting - waves were breaking across the mouth of the Heads and the organisers were obliged to delay the start by thirty minutes to allow time for the tide to start coming in.
Some of the race's newcomers found the briefing quite intimidating. "We were told to stick close to the right hand side of the Heads," said Caren Planting, "and then to go straight out and not to cut between the rocks. They said that if we did that, the ski would be smashed, the rescue boat wouldn't be able to get to us and we'd probably be eaten by sharks!" She added, "I've never concentrated so hard in all my life!"
As the skis headed out through the Heads they had to negotiate a frantically confused sea as the incoming waves rebounded off the cliffs.
 Negotiating the Knysna Heads (Photo: Hazel McQueen)
Click here for a larger version of this photo.
This photo is available from Hazel McQueen (
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).
The next 8 km to Buffels Point was tricky, the wind (a moderate 25km/h southeaster) and waves were coming from an angle behind the skis. "It was very bumpy," commented Capetonian Paul Marais, "not as bad as Cape Point, but there were runs in all directions - quite difficult to catch on a double."
As the skis rounded Buffels Point the angle of the waves improved, and the runs became better and better.
"Just after the Heads, Clint and Hank got away from us on a couple of runs," said Dawid Mocke who finished second with Paul Marais. "Clint was doing the driving," he added, "and did really well."
 Clint Pretorius and Hank McGregor (Photo: Hazel McQueen)
 Dawid Mocke and Paul Marais (Photo: Hazel McQueen)
At the finish the most fun was had by the spectators - most of the paddlers failed to negotiate the strong side rip and massive sets and ended up swimming 150m or so to get to the beach at Gericke's Point. Caren Planting and mixed-doubles partner Rusty Mills were casualties. "We were taken out by a side wave," said Caren, "and swam for about five minutes."
Even some of the top paddlers paused to choose their moment to come in. "Hank and Clint were probably about 1 1/2 minutes ahead of us at that point," said Paul Marais, "We actually back-paddled to let a set through before we came in."
The Durban pair ended up winning by three minutes.
Hank McGregor - four-fold champion in 2006
Hank McGregor is now the holder of the South African Surfski single and double championships as well as the single and double canoe championships, an extraordinary achievement. This is the first time that this has ever been achieved in a single calendar year.
Dubai Shamal Race
On the back of their victory, Clint and Hank will be flying to Dubai, UAE with Dawid Mocke to take part in the inaugural Dubai Shamal race. Click here for details.
The next major race on the South African calendar, the 244km Port Elizabeth to East London Challenge takes place from 16th to 19th December.
Results:
MEN:
- Clinton Pretorius/Hank McGregor 1:57:37
- Dawid Mocke/Paul Marais 2:00:39
- Peter Cole/Ian Trautmann 2:04:45
- Ernest Van Riet/Steve Woods 2:04:56
- Jasper Mocke/Tom Schilperoort 2:06:19
- Rob Welsh/Mike Davies 2:09:03
- Andrew Blackburn/Simon Blackburn 2:10:36
- Pete Mote/Alan Schuddinh 2:10:40
- Anton Oosthuizen/Duncan Boyd 2:10:51
- Daantjie Malan/Gary Cromie 2:11:35
WOMEN:
- Rebecca Newson/Jackie Barnes 2:26.59
- Kirsty Wessels/Nicola Irvine 2:40.40
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