Powerade On Dairy Beach race report and race photos

Ace paddler Matt Bouman kept a firm grasp on his lead in the current winter series by winning Powerade On Dairy Beach race on Sunday which formed the second leg of the Discovery Sunglass Hut Surfski Series.

The strong North Easterly wind created a tussle for the field at the start on Dairy Beach. Competitors had a choice of completing one 7.5 km lap or two laps at a full 15 km. The race started at Dairy Beach heading towards Marine Lifesaving Club out to a the first bouy then on to the second at Suncoast Casino and back to Dairy Beach.

Current U23 World Marathon Champ Grant van der Walt headed out first after getting a lucky gap in the rough surf and managed to gain a full 50 metres on Bouman.

Bouman then managed to catch Van der Walt near the first turning bouy and the two paddled together until the headwind section half way through the second lap where Bouman bolted ahead and managed to finish over two minutes ahead of Van der Walt.

"It was pretty tough out there, but as the final race before the Dunlop World Cup next weekend it was great practise, as we had winds from all direction!" said Van der Walt.

In the ladies race Michelle Eder managed to hold on to her series lead by racking up her second win even after competing in the 5km Sunrise Run just hours before the start of the race. "I didn't realise how tired I would be after fitting in the run this morning and padding directly into the wind was exhausting!" said Eder.

"I'm a bit nervous for next weekends world cup race," added Eder. "I'm counting on the wind blowing, as I race my best when I have some exciting lines to focus on, rather than it being a long flat race." Series regular Donna Winter came in second over six minutes behind Eder.

In the doubles race Bryan Taylor and Quinton Rutherford came in first, followed by Dwayne Powell and Steven Atkinson and then Paul Cormack and Gary Albers in second and third consecutively.

The Dunlop Surfski World Cup Durban which form the third leg of the Discovery Sunglass Hut Surfski Series takes place on Sunday 16 May over a distance on 32 kilometres. The final race course will be decided by the prevailing weather. More information can be found at www.surfski.co.za

More details of the series can be found at www.surfski.co.za

ENDS

SUMMARY OF RESULTS
DISCOVERY SUNGLASS HUT SURF SKI SERIES
POWERADE ON DAIRY BEACH

Men:
1.Matt Bouman 1:06:10
2.Grant van der Walt 1:08:21
3.Bevan Manson 1:10:20
4.Marc Holtzhausen 1:11:03
5.Oliver Burn 1:12:02
6.Murrya Smith 1:12:46
7.Brandon van der Walt 1:12:51 (U18)
8.Herman Chalupsky 1:12:53
9.Oscar Chalupsky 1:13:36
10.Mark Mulder 1:14:25

Women:
1.Michelle Eder 1:21:15
2.Donna Winter 1:26:39

Doubles:
1.Byran Taylor/Quinton Rutherford 1:10:41
2.Dwayne Powell/Steven Atkinson 1:12:43
3.Paul Cormack/Gary Albers 1:15:56