Boksburg participants at Dusi fly the flag high
The race has always been widely known as the toughest endurance canoeing event in the world.
A number of members of the Ekurhuleni Kayak Club (ERK) based at Homestead Dam in Benoni successfully finished the 2018 FNB Dusi marathon.
The race took place between Pietermaritzburg and Durban from February 15 to 17.
A distance of approximately 120 kilometres in extreme heat was covered by the competing paddlers.
Boksburg based paddlers included Tommy Booth from Springs and his partner Pieter Engelbrecht from Boksburg, who finished as 80th K2 (doubles), in a time of 11 hours and three minutes over the three days.
Despite a number of competitors getting stuck on rocks in some sections which had low water levels, which forced them to carry their boats and walk and or run, they all finished.
While the river is frequently in flood between December and March, the last few years of drought has had a huge impact on the river water levels making it tougher than before.
Many of the portages are based on the original Dusi of 1965 where the participants had wooden/canvas boats and no dams, no water releases and no choice other than to carry and walk with boats for kilometres around rocky, tricky rapids.
Other finishers included club members from Boksburg, Leon Marais who partnered up with Bob Harvey.
