McGregor Takes Dolphin Coast Challenge 2010 (SA)

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Tuesday, 31 August 2010  |  Written by Anton Fouche

Team Pic - Dolphin Coast 2010

Dolphin Coast Challenge

The 2-day Dolphin Coast Challenge is one of the iconic surfski races in South Africa and 2010 was its eleventh running.  The event is run over two days between Zinkwazi and Durban on the Kwazulu-Natal North Coast, and is centred around Salt Rock (total distance: 74km).  Typical conditions:  A combination of challenging starts and finishes through big surf and cracking downwinds…   plus warm water, and plenty of wildlife – it’s not called the Dolphin Coast for nothing!

The doubles start - Day 1

Smack!

Late Entry

Hank McGregor left his entry till late, making sure he had shaken off the fatigue of his recent exploits, including winning the Berg River Marathon as well as the recent Avon Decent in Perth, Western Australia.

Single ski champ: Hank McGregor

McGregor travels to Mauritius next week to defend his victory in the 2009 Mauritius Ocean Classic.

Day 1

Unlike the doubles, the singles had a relatively easy launch in fairly testing North Easterly conditions with a shallow bank on the Salt Rock backline.

Hank was chased by Matthew Bouman and Daryl Bartho from the start with Herman Chalupsky and Brett Bartho in hot pursuit.

Daryl Bartho came second

Hank led the pack home in an excellent 2Hrs 34min beating the best doubles time by just under 4 min and Matthew Bouman (who found the distance a tad too far) by 3 min with Daryl Bartho a further minute behind.  Veteran Herman Chalupsky (4th) and Brett Bartho (5th) rounded off the top five.

Shark Encounter

We had been warned of the increased shark activity around Ballito, where a whale had been washed ashore the previous week.  Some large predators had been spotted close to shore and Nigel Stevens and Eddie Smith, from Zululand Kayak Club, were knocked on the tail of their ski by an unknown assailant about 6km from the day 1 finish in Durban.  The resultant tooth marks led to water intake on Day 2.  Bad shark!

Day 2

The wind had dropped substantially over night which suited some rather than others.  Hank again made the most of the conditions, and with Matthew Bouman’s withdrawal, his only threat was from Herman Chalupsky and the Bartho brothers.  The 2010 Single Ski Champion managed to extend his lead over 2nd place Daryl Bartho by a further 2 min.

Doubles winners: Grant vd Walt & Marc Holtzhausen

Women’s Race

Danika Vorster took the ladies title relatively unchallenged after Donna Winter’s shoulder injury in the surf zone put an end to her race, at the start of day 2 at Zinkwazi Beach.

Commendations

Other note worthy results: Tony Scott at age 63 finishing in the Top 10 and Mike Halliday and Dave Gillmer, both grand masters, finishing the race (Dave completing his 10th).

Dave Gillmer (R) completes his tenth

What an great race!

The Dolphin Coast lived up to its name with numerous pods of dolphins, humpback whales, manta rays and several species of sea birds sighted by paddlers and safety crews en route.

The Salt Rock Hotel’s pool deck provided the perfect setting for the post race formalities and much needed rehydration.

• Daryl Bartho Daryl Bartho
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• Butch Murray Butch Murray
• Darryl Wood Darryl Wood
• Daryl, Hank & Herman Daryl, Hank & Herman
• Dave Gillmer completes 10 Dave Gillmer completes 10
• Doubles start Day 1 Doubles start Day 1
• Doubles winners Doubles winners
• Finish - Day 1 Finish - Day 1
• Hank McGregor Hank McGregor
• Race HQ! Race HQ!
• Hank McGregor Hank McGregor
• Zinkwazi Beach - Day 2 Zinkwazi Beach - Day 2
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BoE Private Clients Dolphin Coast Challenge 2010 - Single Ski Results

BoE Private Clients Dolphin Coast Challenge 2010 - Double Ski Results