Marc Mulder and Tiffany Kruger took full advantage of a lull in the stormy weather to snatch victory in the Umhlanga Pirates surf ski race.
However, the race, the eighth leg of the Discovery Men's Health Surf Ski Series, provided a shock for top Australian racer Mark Anderson, who was one of the victims of the big surf at Pirates beach.
A westerly breeze on Sunday morning helped to clean up the five-metre surf conditions for the 24km out-and-back race from Pirates to the Umhlanga lighthouse.
The race was started beyond the backline, giving paddlers the opportunity to get out at protected beaches further south of Pirates beach. Anderson was one of those who opted to brave the crunching surf at Pirates at the start, and was smashed by a massive wave.
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| The pace was set by Andre Pohl |
Anderson, who had just arrived in Durban to begin his preparations for the Dunlop Surf Ski World Cup, was using a ski borrowed from local paddler Brett Bartho for the race. His backline dumping, however, left that borrowed ski shattered, and he failed to make the start.
The pace was set by Andre Pohl, who was the first single ski to the turn at Umhlanga.
However, after the turn, Marc Mulder powered past Pohl on the tough homeward leg. Pohl was second, ahead of the on-form Shadrack Mkhize.
The overall line honours went to Gavin Searle and Quinton Rutherford.
"It was pretty flat most of the way," said Searle. "But the surf and swell was big at the Umhlanga lighthouse. The surf coming in at Pirates was also big, but we were lucky because we came in in between sets. That's just the luck of the draw," he added.
Many finishers were smashed by the big waves at the finish, with at least five skis being broken in the heavy surf.
- This article was originally published on page 11 of The Mercury on June 29, 2009
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