Durban’s surfski paddling community were greeted with picture perfect conditions for Sunday’s Bay Union Surf challenge, race two of the Bay Union Surfski Series, as Mother Nature served up a warm and sunny winter’s morning on KZN’s east coast.
Race two victor Michelle Burn once again continued her dominance as she worked hard in the flat ocean conditions to break free from her nearest rivals, and claim a second victories in the three-leg series.
Burn claimed victory in the women’s race over Natalie Beuster and Nikki Russell, a good confidence booster for the South Coast competitor as she too looks forward to challenging for the World Champs title in a few days’ time.
“It was really nice to get one last race in before Worlds, and especially to get a good result under the belt before we leave,” said Burn.
“The surf was quite heavy but there wasn’t too much help out there after that. You had to work really hard to catch the couple of bumps that there were but if you did manage to get onto one or two it really helped you get ahead of the others.
“Once I got ahead I’d benchmarked the guys who are usually around me and a similar strength to me so then I started trying to use them to push myself.
“I’ll definitely be at the third race. It’s been a really cool series and it would be nice to try win the series title as well,” she added.
The third and final race of the series, the Bay Union Reef Challenge, sees things move slightly further South to Durban Under water Club (DUC) on Sunday 11 August with racing getting underway at 08h00. More info can be found at www.pitchandpaddle.co.za
Leading Long Course Results of the Bay Union Surf Challenge, Race Two of the Bay Union Surfski Series: 1. Michelle Burn 46.09 2. Natalie Beuster 51.23 3. Julie Cornelius 54.54
(With editing by gsport)