Race within a race at Biogen Pete Marlin

EAST LONDON – The Biogen Pete Marlin Surfski Race on November 2-3 will see a lucrative extra incentive for reigning champions Hank McGregor and Kira Bester when they defend their titles in East London.

With two out of three events completed in the exciting new Euro Steel Surfski TRPL Crown series, the 2023 Biogen Pete Marlin winners are leading the lucrative series and know that repeat victories in November will ensure a healthy double pay-day for the pair.

The Euro Steel Surfski TRPL Crown is a three-event series incorporating the three major surfski events in the country – the Prescient Freedom Paddle in Cape Town in April, the SA Surfski Championships in Durban in July, and the Biogen Pete Marlin Surfski Race in East London in November.

With the results based on total time for all the three events, McGregor holds a tenuous 65-second lead over his Freedom Paddle partner, Joshua Fenn, going into the final race. In the women’s event, Bester, the winner of the Freedom Paddle with Pippa McGregor, is just over two minutes clear of the recently crowned SA Champion, Michelle Burn.

The Biogen Pete Marlin race rewards the men’s and women’s winners with R15 000 each out of a total prizefund of more than R140 000, while the extra Euro Steel Surfski TRPL Crown prizes can make the event a healthy payday if the race winners are also the series champions.

Paddlers have to compete in S2 (double skis) for the Prescient Freedom Paddler around Robben Island, and S1 (single skis) for the SA Champs and Biogen Pete Marlin Surfski Race.

In the Freedom Paddle, McGregor and Fenn eked out an initial lead of just under three minutes over Uli Hart and Wayne Jacobs, but then Hart won the SA Champs and so shaved more than a minute off McGregor’s lead. The top three are now within 90 seconds of each other, ensuring a tense race within a race in East London.

In the women’s event, Burn and Saskia hockly lost nearly three minutes to Bester and Pippa McGregor at the Cape Town event in April. Burn could only recover 35 seconds of that deficit by claiming the SA title in Durban. The net result is that Bester is the overwhelming favourite to claim the inaugural series title, but even with a two-minute cushion she cannot afford any mistakes.

While the focus is on the leading protagonists in their battle for the lead, the series also provides the backmarkers with a goal of finishing the “Big Three” surfski races in the country, and there are currently 42 paddlers who will be aiming to complete the series and earn a commemorative award.

Entry fees are R600 per paddler for singles and R400 per paddler for doubles. Entries are open at the official Canoeing SA entry portal at https://paddler.canoesa.com/