Luke Tomlinson and Daniele Finezzi may not have finished the Unlimited Dusi Canoe Marathon in their target time, but they had the satisfaction of knowing that they had saved the life of a fellow paddler.
The Westville Boys’ High matric pupils came to the rescue of Clint Frost during the third and last stage on Saturday.
The 38-year-old Frost, of Howick, was paddling with his friend Sarah Vermaak in the mixed doubles category when their canoe capsized in a rapid and his right leg became trapped. Tomlinson and Finezzi saw the incident and, realising immediately that Frost was in danger, came to his rescue while Vermaak managed to keep Frost’s head above the water.
“After we passed them, we got our canoe off a rapid, climbed out and ran up a bank to help them. I held him up while Luke tried to help the man’s partner turn the capsized boat over,” Finezzi said.
Tomlinson and Finezzi then sacrificed their canoe for the couple, whose own boat was damaged.
The two paddled to safety, while the boys swam to safety with the damaged canoe. Once it was established that Frost was none the worse for wear, both crews got back in their boats and completed the race.
Tomlinson, who completed his third Dusi, said that the rescue had been an adventure.
“The experience was an adrenalin-filled moment, but we were just very happy that they were safe in the end,” he said. Tomlinson and Finezzi, who had been aiming to complete the stage in less than three hours, eventually crossed the finish line in 3:49:23, while Frost and Vermaak also completed the race.
“We’d rather lose the race than see a fellow paddler getting hurt. It was an instinctive reaction and we are just happy that we could help. That’s just what you do as a paddler. The whole incident probably took less than half an hour, but it seemed like forever,” Tomlinson said.
The Dusi race committee later acknowledged Tomlinson and Finezzi’s courage and selflessness by awarding them the Fletcher Campbell Trophy at the prize-giving ceremony after the race. 8P23
