DURBAN – Newcomers usually look at the Dusi with dread, especially when the water level suddenly rises, thanks to a storm in race week. Somebody clearly forgot to tell Olympic sprint canoeing medalist Bridgitte Hartley that she is supposed to be nervous.
“If you asked me to put my level of excitement on a scale of one to ten, I would probably say 12!” Hartley exclaimed on Tuesday, welcoming the lashing of rain that hit the Dusi flow of dreams on Tuesday afternoon, giving a new dimension to Thursday’s opening dash.
For Hartley, the past few months have been a remarkable shift in mindset and technique, given the rigours of river paddling, and the added challenge of the Dusi and its history. Hartley has never done a K1 race at the Dusi before. For some that would be daunting, given how lonely the river can be when things go belly-up. But others, like the tenacious Hartley, revel in the simplicity of solitude. Your boat, your race, your fate.
It says everything about her competitive nature that she is already being spoken of as a podium candidate, at the very least.
“I’ve done more than enough tripping – well, you can never do enough tripping,” she said, slightly tripping herself up in the adrenaline rush of it all.
“I’ve done more tripping than I ever thought that I would at this stage,” she explained.
For Hartley, these are compelling new waters, as she carves out another niche into her storied love affair with the water. Where she has previously made herself known worldwide for her prowess on flat water, and being able to power her way across dams, she is now looking forward to embracing the washing machine world of the Dusi, where anything can happen between Maritzburg and Blue Lagoon.
“The rain has come at the best time ever,” she said on Tuesday.
Her timing, as it has been for much of her career at the sharp end of the paddling game, couldn’t have been better.
“I went into the valley, and the water is flowing! It is so exciting, there are so many options. There is water hyacinth, there are portage... it is really going to be an exciting race.”
Of course, given her strength, a higher water level will mean more chances to stay on the boat and ram that advantage home when she gets onto the open water. But, she is infinitely more than just a one-trick pony.
Those who know Hartley well will also attest to an almost freakish level of fitness, which will be very handy when it comes to the dreaded portages, such as ‘Tops Needle’ and the notorious ‘Burma Road’, where strategies and dreams can often meet their untimely fate.
Hartley, still at the peak of her fitness, will not be found wanting, though, and the only thing that she will have to guard against is a lack of in-race experience, when it comes to spilt-second decisions.
Though river water can be overwhelming for some – as several, big-name European paddlers will admit – Hartley says that the last few months have been a lot of fun.
“It was quite a change, initially. But I have come a long way since I did the Fish River Marathon at the end of last year,” she said of her transition.
“I really enjoyed the big water on the Drak, however the race seemed to be smaller,” she reflected on the tune-up to the flagship event on the canoe marathon calendar.
“Maybe in the Dusi there will be lots of big water, which I have really started to enjoy so much.”
For much of her career, Hartley has been a one- (wo) man band, charting international waters and being accountable only to herself. Come Thursday dawn, she will brace herself for three days of character, concentration and, crucially for her, no end of fun.