Hank McGregor. Photo: Anthony Grote/Gameplan Media
Durban – Series defending champ Hank McGregor returned from international commitments in Australia to record his second victory of the Varsity College Marine Surfski Series when he narrowly out-sprinted under 23 star Grant van der Walt to claim the honours in race 3, the Buddys Surfski Challenge.
McGregor, who hasn’t been beaten in the series for over three years, used his wealth of experience cleverly as he bode his time perfectly before attacking the rest of the field at precisely the right moment after the closely fought 8km showdown on the relatively flat waters of Durban’s bay.
“It was great to come back home again and get another win in the series,” said McGregor. “My focus at the moment is obviously on The Unlimited Dusi in a couple of weeks but winning this series is also something I’d really like to do again so it’s all about trying to do enough to win each week without pushing too hard.
“Grant (van der Walt), Matt (Bouman) and I were all together for most of the first half and then when we turned Grant and I were just ahead of Matt and he then fell off with a couple hundred meters to go.
“I had the inside line going around the final can before heading for the beach so I knew I had the advantage and fortunately I was able to make it count and it’s great to have gotten win number two of this year’s series,” he added.
van der Walt crossed the line in a close second place with Bouman having to settle for third with Brandon van der Walt and Adam Nisbet rounding out the top five.
With regular top performer and ladies’ defending champ Michelle Burn out of action after injuring herself in last weekend’s N3TC Drak Challenge, it was London Olympian Tiffany Kruger who also claimed her second victory of the series as she stormed home ahead of Varsity College’s Jenna Ward and Julie Cornelius.
