The 2013 Port Elizabeth to East London Challenge is already the stuff of legend: after carnage at the finish of day 1 at Woody Cape, nly two paddlers made it out through the surf at the start of day 2, the rest opting to trek up to 20km up the beach to find kinder launch sites!  And the race is only half done!

The Challenge is on!  Widely accepted as the world’s toughest test of ocean endurance paddling, the 4-day, 250km Port Elizabeth to East London Challenge will begin on December 6th and end on December 9th.

There was drama at the start of the fourth and final day of the Southern Shamaal today when a Great White Shark attacked a nearby fishing ski.  The first batch of paddlers was recalled to the beach while the NSRI escorted the unruly shark out of the area and they finally left some 15mins later!

Scott Rutherfoord extended his lead to just over seven minutes today and is seemingly in an unassailable position – but said that anything could happen in the downwind conditions tomorrow.

The Southern Shamaal class of 2010 has survived Day 2 of the world’s longest, toughest surfski race – thanks to a Woody Cape, which, for once, was meek as a lamb.

The first day of the Southern Shamaal PE2EL Challenge kicked off this morning with 50km out and back course set by race director Anton Erasmus.

As I write this, over 160 paddlers have already started the toughest four-day surfski event in the world – the 250km Southern Shamaal Port Elizabeth to East London Challenge.

Standby for the toughest surfski race in the world … the Southern Shamaal, presented by Epic Kayaks - 21 days and counting!

Dec 9, 2010 will see the start of one of the World’s longest running Ocean Paddling races. The Port Elizabeth to East London Solo Challenge holds iconic status among South African paddlers as an ultra distance event where simply finishing is a victory.

Shamaal (noun):  1. Desert Storm 2. The biggest surfski race in history 3. Growing international surfski racing series (3 races in 2010)