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 What a difference a day makes.
Sunday morning dawned full of promise. The front arrived during the night, the West
wind was blowing strongly, and the chilly grey dawn sat at odds with the
excitement and anticipation I was feeling.
After months of waiting and hoping for thrilling downwind conditions,
Durban was poised to deliver...
Monday morning was like waking from a bad dream - an
incomplete race, a missing ski, and the hollow emptiness of my
disappointment. This is my World Cup
story.
OK Start
It's been a long time since I was this excited about
something. The race had a lot of hype,
what with the prize money, the best competitors in the world and great
organization. Add to that the chance to
spend a few days with my family in Durban (I live in Cape Town) enjoying the
mild Durban winter. I am an A/B grade paddler, really enjoy downwind
conditions, and was really looking forward to a great event.
 Dean - confident & ready to go (Photo: Dean Jordaan)
My race started ok-ish.
I got jammed at start, got knocked off, got back on, beached the front
of my ski on someone else's tail, got going again, and rounded the buoys
roughly mid-field.
 Chaos at the start (Photo: Dean Jordaan)
It took a while to
find my rhythm in the runs - catching the wind swell out to sea then hooking
the bigger runs toward shore while working a solid line up the coast - but I
was very comfortable in the conditions and after ½ hour was going along
nicely. An hour into the race and it
really became fun, the swell picked up, I had caught a few screaming runs
(25km/h+ on my Garmin) and I caught myself letting off a few yee-ha's.
 [ Editor: Can't get enough of this shot] - Darryl Bartho catches a run (Photo: Gameplan Media)
Disaster Strikes
It happened very quickly.
I was bottoming out of a steep run when I fell out. I wasn't completely straight on the run and
as the swell pitched I ran more sideways and my ski got rolled. Maybe I wasn't concentrating enough but I
didn't have a chance to brace or correct.
I hit the water hard and when I came up my ski was already 15 meters
away, being rolled by the wind and waves.
I made an attempt to swim after it, but the sea was pushing
it along faster than I could swim. I had
a flare pack in my PFD and fired one off thinking if I could attract the
attention a safety ducks they could quickly take me to my ski and I could
continue the race. I waited for about 10
minutes but nothing. Fired a second
flare, waited another 10 minutes but nothing.
Two paddlers came by in response to my flares but I waved
them on because I was comfortable with the idea of swimming to shore so they
couldn't really help. It took me about ½
hour to swim in, doing a slow 1 arm because I didn't want to ditch my paddle as
well - I was probably 1.5 kms offshore.
 Where Dean came off
Two Broken Skis
I came in at the cutting.
The NSRI had a lookout on the hill and he radioed the vehicle that later
took me to Ansteys where my second picked me up. While waiting with the NSRI another paddler
was dropped off at the beach, and we saw a lone ski being swept up the
coastline. I searched the beach around
Ansteys, saw 2 broken ski's - neither were mine. While at Ansteys 3 or 4 paddlers were brought
ashore. My race was over and my ski was
gone.
Lessons/observations:
- So stupid not to tie my ski to my body. I always do this on a downwind paddle in Cape
Town. My paddle was leashed to my ski
but the Velcro ripped right off.
- Very happy I had my PFD and flare.
- Very happy it was the warm Durban water not cold Cape Town.
- Very happy I am a good swimmer so wasn't stressed about
reaching shore.
- Less happy that 2 flares and 15 minutes didn't bring a boat
to my assistance. I'm guessing the
safety craft were pretty busy. Was there
sufficient coverage given the conditions?
Did a safety craft even see the flares?
- Very grateful to the NSRI for their assistance and general
efforts on the day. They are pretty
jacked. All paddlers should make a
monthly contribution to this organization, one day they might save your life.
- The organizers should have made PFD, flare and leash
compulsory in those conditions. They do
so in the Cape in far more benign conditions so I don't know why they didn't
here. If branding is a concern make it
optional for the international teams but compulsory for the rest.
- Paint your paddle neon pink.
A black blade is invisible to rescue craft/helicopter in those
conditions.
- Paint your ski tips red.
A white ski is invisible in those conditions - blends in with the white
horses.
- Ensure your second is carrying your mobile phone, or that
you know the number of theirs. (My second had mine)
New Gear
So it's a new ski and Garmin for me - I'm thinking of
upgrading to carbon and the Garmin 305.
That and this weekend's paddle from Hout Bay to Camps Bay off the
picturesque Cape coastline should wash away the blues. We are the lucky few that get to do the most
awesome sport. I'm already psyched for
the Mens Health Series and Cape Point Challenge later this year. Come on summer!
Dean
Postscript
Editor: Dean's ski was found (in two pieces) on 5th July at the Bluff - with his GPS still attached.
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